It’s Sunday night and the kids are in the library reading with their dad. Well at least the 6yo is. The 4yo is lounging on my bed asking me, “Mummy, when are you going to be done with your homework?” Then, looking at his baby photos on my dresser he asked, “did you throw away all my baby clothes? Did gege have my baby clothes? Was he three years old then became four years old like me? What’s this?”

It never stops!

It’s the last full week of summer vacation for the 6yo who starts first grade on August 30. The 4yo has been back at preschool pretty soon after we returned from Singapore and luckily he has been ok at going back. And last night, a whole week after we returned, he finally finally finally had a proper night’s sleep. It was improving gradually, but it was only last night that he stayed in his room, even when he couldn’t sleep. It was such a relief to sleep – and I really did sleep last night, from 10 to 620 (yup I still wake before 7 on weekends).

Anyway, I’m using this post to declare my intention to join Bout of Books this week!

And my goal will be to finish these library books as well as the library e-books I’ve recently borrowed.

 

“Your homework is almost done right Mummy?”

Right. Time to put him to bed. Meanwhile some photos of our latest walk around Coyote Hills and some other stuff we were up to this week, including summer swim classes (Mondays to Thursdays) at the water park, brownie making and library browsing. Also mooncakes and what my zucchini plant was up to when I went away for three weeks.

 

 

Currently…

 

Reading:

A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J Maas

Watching:

 

I decided to rewatch Downton Abbey!

 

 

Eating:

 

I had chow mein and broccoli beef for dinner from our nearby takeout place.

Drinking:

Water

Cooking:

I’m not entirely sure. The husband will be away for a few days so it’s just me and the kids next week so I don’t think I will need to cook much…!

Last week:

I read:

The Chalk Artist – Allegra Goodman
Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish – Barry Deutsch
Lisa and the Lacemaker – Kathy Hoopmann
I posted:

Yayoi Kusama exhibit in Singapore

Back from Singapore

 

 

 

 

The kids always ask on Saturday mornings: “are we going hiking today?”

So yes, we did.

 

 

 

Currently…

 

Reading:

 

 

Chemistry – Weike Wang

 

The Lost Ones – Sheena Kamal

 

 

Watching:

The same – Bones and Gossip Girl. Although we just watched the first episode of the new season of Sherlock Holmes too.

 

Eating:

Just had pancakes for breakfast

Drinking:

Yorkshire Gold with milk

Browsing:

The Millions’ most anticipated book preview (second-half of 2017) 

Review of Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave (Beth Fish Reads)

Review of Epic Crush by Genie Lo (Huntress of Diverse Books)

Review of Joyride to Jupiter by Nuala O’Connor (746 Books)

Last week:

I read:

Batgirl Vol 4: Wanted – Gail Simone (Writer), Fernando Pasarín (Illustrator), Jonathan Glapion (Illustrator)
Silk – Alessandro Baricco

Master Keaton Vol 4 – Naoki Urasawa
 

Exit West – Mohsin Hamid

 

 

 

It’s my birthday tomorrow and so my three guys took me out to a rare dinner out on Saturday. We ate super early at 530 but it was nice to sit with my family and enjoy some Italian food. And best of all, the kids were well behaved and they enjoyed their dinner out too. The husband had also ordered me a sinfully rich chocolate cake from a bakery not too far from the restaurant.

On Sunday, we met some good friends and their kids for a picnic in the park. Everyone had a great time. It was a warm sunny weekend but the picnic area is up on a hill and caught some nice breeze so it was very pleasant. The kids all ran around the two playgrounds, tired themselves out and fell asleep easily after bathtime!

 

And the books I bought at the recent Book Outlet sale finally arrived!

Currently…

 

Reading:

 

 

 

Watching:

I’m kinda switching back and forth between Gossip Girl and Bones. Because you just don’t want to be watching Bones while eating lunch.

Listening:

Nothing at the moment. Recently finished Dear Mr You and haven’t downloaded a new audiobook yet although I recently got some great recs on Litsy.

 

Eating:

I had a slice of ciabatta and a tiny slice of chocolate cake. I emphasize the tiny because really, all that is manageable is a tiny slice. It is SO rich.

Drinking:

PG Tips with milk.

Cooking:

I am trying to figure out what to do with stew meat (beef) other than you know, beef stew. I would do a rendang  but my kids can’t eat spicy. I may try using this cut of beef to do a slow cooker version of stroganoff (which perhaps may defeat the purpose of doing a stroganoff? But maybe it’s worth a try)

The 6yo is in a full-day science camp this week (9-3) so I have to pack him lunch! Yesterday I made some ‘Hot Pocket’-like pastries, filled with salami/ham and cheese and some pizza sauce. So will pop one in his lunch bag later. And maybe a sandwich tomorrow, quesadilla another day. It’s good practice for when the school year starts and I have to actually pack him lunch!

 

Last week:

I read:

 

 

 

 

 

Another Saturday, another hike! This time we hit the Sunol Regional Wilderness and it was a lot more ‘wild’ than our previous hikes – we didn’t see other hikers for quite a bit of the hike and the kids spotted wild turkeys, lots of ground squirrels, and on the drive in, some deer.

We hiked for two hours! Then returned to the picnic area for some lunch.

 

Later for dinner, we tried out a new Korean fusion eatery.

Cheese corn! Kimbap and chicken wings. Also ordered kimchi fried rice and bulgogi

Currently…

 

Reading:

 

 

 

Watching:

Gossip Girl

Listening:

I’m really enjoying this audiobook!

 

Eating:

Chocolate banana bread

Drinking:

PG Tips

Cooking:

Oyako don

Fried noodles

Pasta

Browsing:

This review of The Whale Rider (ANZ Lit Lovers) 

That review of Jubilee by Margaret Walker (Reading the End)

lots of new-to-me books here – Mid-Year Book Freak Out (Reading (As)(i)an (Am)erica)

16 books you should read this July (Lit Hub)

Last week:

I read:

Wonder Woman Vol 2 Guts – Brian Azzarello (Writer), Cliff Chiang (Artist),
Deep Red – Hisashi Nozawa
The Mothers – Brit Bennett
Night Work – Laurie R King
LaDivine – Marie NDiaye

Mercury- Hope Larson

I posted:

Best Books Read In 2017 So Far

 

 

 

 

On a lovely overcast morning – such a relief from the heatwave of the past week! – we took a hike in Coyote Hills again. 

Our friend introduced us to an Indonesian restaurant in Berkeley. I got the Ayam Penyet (smashed chicken), served with tempeh and tofu. So good! Of course everything is fried so…

 

 

 

Currently…

 

Reading:

 

 

A bit of a strange book this one

 

 

Watching:

Gossip Girl. For some reason I decided to try watching it and I’ve watched the first few episodes!

 

Eating:

Takeout from the Kebab Shop – mixed meat with green lentils and hummus

Drinking:

A very delightful Gewürztraminer

Cooking:

Oyako don 

Maybe some pork chops and potatoes with zucchini

Browsing:

Last week:

I read:

Also,
Lady Killer – Joëlle Jones, Jamie S. Rich
Moving Sideways like a Crab – Shani Mootoo
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and the Great Lakes Avengers – Steve Ditko

I posted:

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday was the last day of school and the Kindergarten class had a class party with performances, awards and more. My boy received a “good citizen” award. Every kid got a different award and a medal. They were all so excited. About half of the class joined us in an after-school picnic at a nearby park. I brought the 4yo along too – he’s always joined in at their Friday after-school playground play so it’s almost like he’s part of the class. He knows many of the kids already!

I’ve signed up the 6yo for some summer camps in the area (mostly sports related), and the 4yo’s preschool is a year-round one so phew! one less thing to worry about for now.

A proud moment for me – the 6yo sat down and read most of this chapter book on his own accord! 

On Saturday we went out for an early Father’s Day lunch at Black Angus. And with Sunday being so hot, there’s nothing much to do except stay home and build Lego!

 

 

 

Currently…

 

Reading:

 

 

 

 

Watching:

Bones Season 5

 

Eating:

Waffles

Drinking:

Nespresso

Cooking:

Well this week is all about lunch – I have to pack lunches every day for the 6yo while he’s off for his sports camp! Luckily he’s happy to eat sandwiches (quite a few of his friends aren’t bread eaters!).

Maybe I’ll try my hand at onigirazu (sushi sandwiches)

Browsing:

Fun post – a book playlist for Want by Cindy Pon

Book covers of note June 2017 (The Casual Optimist)

This review of The Mountain by Paul Yoon 

Last week:

I read:
Unicorn vs Goblins – Dana Simpson
I Kissed a Squirrel and I Liked It (Squirrel Girl Vol 4) – Ryan North (Writer), Erica Henderson (Artist)
Frostbitten – (Women of the Otherworld #10) Kelley Armstrong
Paper Girls Vol 2 – Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang (Illustrator)
Jesus’s Son – Denis Johnson
The Dew Breaker – Edwidge Danticat
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe – Ryan North (Writer), Erica Henderson (Artist)

I posted:

 

 

 

 

It’s the last week of school for my 6yo!! He will be finishing off his year as a kindergartner and will be in first grade next year. And finally (finally!) I will have my mornings to myself again. It’s definitely been a challenging school year for us – he’s the first in the family to attend an American elementary school and it’s so different from what primary school is like in Singapore. For starters, the Singapore school year is January to December! And there are lots of tests, mid-year and end-year exams, even in Primary One.

Here, my boy attends Kindergarten in the afternoon, and it is Mandarin immersion so his main teacher speaks to the class in Mandarin only, while the AM class teacher takes over and handles the English half hour of the class. So very different! But he loves school and his friends and the fact that on Thursdays and Fridays he gets to stay after school and play in the playground with some of his classmates. And so it has been a successful year!

Anyway, this weekend…I seem to have caught a bit of a cold/itchy throat/cough thing. But I still managed to make a pandan cake, pasta salad and luckily the husband helped with making sandwiches – all for a picnic on a strangely chilly and blustery Sunday. We found a new-to-us park convenient for our friends too and for a while there it was like we had reserved the whole place for ourselves. The playground was empty and we had our pick of picnic spots. Of course some families arrived later but it was a lovely place that wasn’t as busy as the central park on a weekend. And there was even a nice field for the kids to play soccer. We are definitely coming back to this park!

 

 

 

 

 

Currently…

 

Reading:

 

 

 

 

Watching:

Bloodline on Netflix – I have a weakness for Kyle Chandler and there’s the bonus of Linda Cardellini (you may know her from Freaks and Geeks and Mad Men)

Eating:

Leftover sandwiches for dinner

Drinking:

A glass of warm milk

Browsing:

Review of The Good Immigrant (Huntress of Diverse Reads)

Not typically a book I would reach for but I’m intrigued by Deb’s description of how she was sucked into the story – White Fur by Jardine Libaire (Kahakai Kitchen)

Where are the great Italian women writers? (Lit Hub)

Last week:

I read:

The Dispossessed – Ursula K Le Guin (Loved it but may have been too heavy a book, coming from my marathon Asian Lit Bingo reading session last month which led to a book hangover).

Phantom Pains – Mishell Baker (LOVED IT)