Developing a new routine for 2011

Last week had been a very fruitful week for me - I stayed off my pc for almost the whole week!

That was quite something, considering I spent a good amount of time in front of the screen, and I had been hearing comments that I had been very active online. I guess it made me feel insulted a bit, like I'm so free liddat??!!

OK, so it wasn't more of the insult but the guilt in me that I ought to be spending more time, more QUALITY time with the kids, and also with the hubs when he comes home from work in the evenings. So that was roughly a rough resolution for me to change my online behavior.

Now that we are starting the new year, I am hoping to make it good, and working on developing a new routine for the kids and myself.

The traffic to school is still somewhat not quite settled yet. If we make it out of the door at 7, we would be stuck on the road for around 30m to 1 hour, that's worst case scenario when it rains! Gosh! This new year really started off with lots of rain, didn't it?

So, we try to rush out off the house before 6.50am and it would be ok. I would be back home at 7.30 and honestly, speaking, I'm suddenly overwhelmed with so much free time for myself! In fact, so much that I do not know what to do first! And I don't even need to cook lunch as well since I ordered food catering from the canteen for them while they wait for me and for the traffic to disperse after dismissal.

It feels nice to be eating out by myself for the past 1 week, I can suddenly indulge in the local fare again, eating what I like to eat! Boy! I think I'm sick of my own cooking too! Then again, judging from the rate I'm eating, I would be gaining weight than losing them! Not a very good piece of news for me.

When they are home, first thing to do is for them to have a nice clean shower, smelling clean and fresh. Then, maybe some TV time, and by 3 or 3.30, I would remind them that they need to do homework. First week of school, do they have homework already? Not for meimei, but the 2 boys had them at the later part of the week.

When they are done, I would tutor them in their BM a bit, trying very hard to develop this habit of at least an hour a day to inject some BM new words into their heads, so we need not panic when exams are near. In fact, the exams are scheduled in Mar! Why? Why? Why?

But I figured today that they are very very tired and exhausted by that time and almost nothing, NOTHING goes in! So, we have to do some adjusting to the schedule.

Let's try and slot in a short nap after their shower and see how things go. I actually cut that short nap away because I feel it's much better for them to sleep before 9 and wake up refreshed and sharp minded during the morning at school. It gonna need a lot of balancing work...

1. sleep from 9 to 6, sharp in the morning and exhausted after school or...
2. sleep from 10.30 to 6, blur in school, naptime after and fresh for revisions at home?

Ideally, I would want the former, and just let them laze around at home doing nothing after school or just play! or just read story books. Or just watch TV. Or do some exercise. *eyes closed in dreamland*

But with the pressure that everyone else are moving so far ahead, unless I don't really mind that they slack in their studies and slip way way down the hill, I think it's not so possible at the moment. Have to guide them in their work so they would be maintaining their average positions, if not better. At least they don't have to rush here and there for tuition all day.