May and her family are the stars of our fashion shoot in the latest issue of Parents World, March/April 2016
Being a stay-at-home mom is a tough job on its own but add in a self-made business and it gets a little hectic, to say the least!
During our recent fashion shoot, we caught up with Singaporean mummy blogger, Liang May, to find out a little more about her life, as she juggles being a stay-at-home mom to two kids with her writing and blogging adventures.
1.Could you tell us a little about your daily schedule?
2016 marks a brand new year with a totally new schedule for me. I have been a SAHM since 2012 and my life revolves around my family. Every day is filled with caring and nurturing my children, 24 hours round the clock.
Ever since my littlest one entered pre-school this year, I embrace the four and a half hours of me-time with open arms! I now get to enjoy uninterrupted breakfasts after the children bid their goodbyes to me in the mornings. I had been indulging my first half of the days with blogging, photography-related tasks, attending events, socialising with fellow SAHMs amongst cooking, housework and marketing.
After my lunch, I will pick the children up from school and that’s when the most challenging part of my day comes. It is always a fight for me to tear my worn out 21 month old daughter away as I busy through my chores of showering both children, making their milk and settling them into their daily afternoon nap routine.
I have mastered the skill of milk-making and showering my son with only one hand. The other is busy carrying Faye by my waist. On other days, the older brother could be the one throwing an angry fit. Thank goodness for good days when they are cooperative!
Nap time lasts somewhere between two to three hours. Unfortunately, they stir quite a lot. If either of the children do not see me in the room with them, they will wail for my return, waking up one another. Cooking dinners at the moment is still a demanding task to undertake because of this. We are blessed that their maternal and paternal grandparents live just five minutes away. So, we head over to their homes for dinners every alternative evening.
I love our nights because that’s when daddy is home with us. We spend time together playing, listening and singing to music and reading books before we turn in for the night.
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2. What is your blog A Million Little Echoes about?
A Million Little Echoes is a family-centric blog covering topics like the latest trends for families in Singapore, our travels, documenting the children’s milestones, inspiring and encouraging other young parents. It is mostly a portal for sharing our experiences at certain establishments that other parents may be interested to know.
A lot of us dedicate all our time and energy on our children but it is also important to keep reminded that spousal relationships need to be worked on as well. I take this opportunity as a mom blogger to remind other families [and myself] to spend time with their better halves and making them feel special as well.
I had been blogging since 2003, writing only about our love story as a dating couple. I bounded my writings into books [by year], anticipating to read them together as we age. Ever since we became parents, it is only natural that I moved on to A Million Little Echoes as a mom blogger.
My vision for this blog is to present my writings of unconditional love, anger, sadness and joy to Ewan and Faye when they come of age. Reading their own growing up stories could ignite certain memories that they’ve forgotten and most importantly, know how much we love them as parents.
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Oh I enjoy pairing my writings with photographs I take of my family. I can get somewhat overboard in photographing the children but they grow up too fast! The encouragement and comments that come after a blogpost is being published give me a great sense of fulfilment as well. I feel the happiest when my content benefits my readers.
I am a young parent. 44 months to be exact with so much more to learn [as a mother and a wife]. One thing I learnt from motherhood is: Ideals are just Ideals. I had so many plans about how I wanted to bring up my children – only the best produce for their food intake, limited TV/media exposure, no pacifier, to breastfeed exclusively, etc.
While some were successful, some weren’t just because every child is a unique individual. I learnt that we cannot force certain teachings or likings down their throats if they are not receptive towards them. Each child takes to a different approach and the idealistic me realised it only after becoming mommy.
So hey! What do you do if your rule was “No French Fries” towards a two year old who refuses to eat a single meal a day but enjoys fried chicken and french fries at KFC? You relent. You allow table-food. You encourage them to explore food because any kind of food is better than no food.
Catch more from May on her blog A Million Little Echoes. See the final edit from the fashion shoot in Parents World March/April 2016 on shelves now.
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