Currently…

The 4yo is sick as of writing this on Sunday night. He’s had a fever on and off for most of the afternoon. So hopefully he will be ok when this post runs tomorrow. Meanwhile I had written up part of this post earlier today when everything was ok.

Reading:

Watching:

White Gold on Netflix

Listening:

Last week I finished listening to The Soul of An Octopus and just adored it. I am still trying to decide on a new audiobook.

Eating:

Just a pizza and doughnuts kind of Sunday.

Currently…

Reading:

Watching:

Star Wars Episode IV with the kids – we weren’t sure when was a good time to introduce the show to the kids. But you know what they’ve been reading the books and they kinda know a lot of the story already, so guess it’s as good a time as ever. They loved it of course!

Listening:

The Soul of an Octopus – Sy Montgomery

I don’t think I had any particular fondness for octopuses before this but oh wow, this book has changed my mind about these amazing creatures!

Eating:

Maple bacon doughnut.

Drinking:

Yorkshire Gold with milk

Last week:

I read:

this is one of the extremely rare weeks where I don’t think I’ve finished reading anything!

I posted:

#RIPXII The Bear and the Nightingale

#SomethingOnSunday (October 8)

Currently…

Reading:

Watching:

The Lego movie with the kids

Listening:

The Soul of an Octopus- Sy Montgomery

Eating:

For lunch, chicken porridge

Dinner was Pakistani food.

Drinking:

Grapefruit green tea by Lupicia – it has grapefruit peel in it and is quite refreshing

Last week:

I read:

Heroine Complex – Sarah Kuhn
City of Small Blessings – Simon Tay
A Closed and Common Orbit – Becky Chambers
The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden

I posted:

#SomethingForSunday

#ripxii The Unquiet Dead

Back to School night was last Tuesday and we learnt just how much work the first graders will have to do. My boy is in a Mandarin immersion programme so everything is taught in Mandarin, with 90 minutes of English a day. He also gets science lab and music once a week. It seemed like a lot of work but when he got down to it, most of it was quite quickly done.

I’ve been trying to figure out a good after school schedule for the kids. They do swimming on Mondays, the 6yo has piano class on Thursdays, on Fridays they hang out after school where some of their classmates’ dads are trying to start up their own basketball class. And in between, there’s homework and piano practice and I work with the older boy on some extra Math (I think the math here is too easy and we work on Singapore math textbooks). The kids have started taking tennis lessons on Sunday but I’m considering switching that to Tuesdays. And sometimes I wonder, should they try other sports? Soccer? Add in an extra swim class? Some kind of martial arts? Isn’t this time for them to try out different things and figure out what they’re interested in? Some of their classmates go for Chinese class on weekends, or attend extra Math classes, others do kungfu, ice hockey, many of them go skiing in winter. I have absolutely no interest in skiing but I always wonder, are my kids missing out because of something I’m not keen on?

Anyway, enough about all that. I’m loving how the temps are cooling down a bit here after that heatwave. I even braved turning on the oven to bake some tangzhong raisin bread (you can read my previous post on that here) and I also adapted that recipe to make a chocolate chip and sliced almond bread. I made shepherd’s pie too and a tomato soup that my 4yo kept asking me to make again and again. I usually make my tomato soup with some carrots and celery added in, although since I just picked up some lovely leeks at the farmers market, may try one with leeks instead.

Currently…

Reading:

Watching:

Gossip Girl

Eating:

I made some fresh spring rolls (summer rolls?) for dinner – crabstick, cabbage, carrots and cilantro.

Drinking:

Water

Cooking:

Tomato and leek soup?

Fried noodles

Chicken rice

Also something to use up these lovely colorful peppers!

Last week:

I read:

I posted:

#ripxii Fox Woman

Currently…

Reading:

Waiting on a Bright Moon – JY Yang

The Unquiet Dead – Ausma Zehanat Khan

Watching:

Gossip Girl

Listening:

Chasing Space: An Astronaut’s Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances – Leland Melvin

Eating:

Chocolate almond pound cake

Drinking:

Nespresso

Cooking:

Maybe a shepherd’s pie – the weather looks like it may cool down a bit this week and I can brave the oven again!

Last week:

I read:

The Chaos – Nalo Hopkinson
Fox Woman – Kij Johnson
Meka – Jean-David Morvan, Bengal (Illustrator)

I posted:

#ripxii The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson

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