It's the final stretch to the end of 2015! The kids have enjoyed starting on their advent calendars... because they are filled with chocolate. I can't be bothered with the Lego and Playmobil advent calendars this year because they never get played with and it's just a waste of money and plastic. Last year's Playmobil one is quite festive looking ( Read more... )

Nearly a month into the new school year, and we still haven't quite found our feet yet, especially with regards to homework. I think, this year, Year Two, will be henceforth remembered in my mind as the year Things Ramped Up.

( very long post about school and homework )

I am loving, loving, LOVING how both kids are in school for at least part of the day. Bao stopped crying at drop-off at the end of last week, and has been cheerfully talking about school and (according to her teacher) running amok in the playground, so I think all is well. The mornings are still a mad rush with two children to ferry to two ( Read more... )

With June's imminent arrival, J and I have embarked on that trial-by-fire journey that every Singaporean parent has to go through: registration for Primary One. The actual dates for registration run from July to August, but since we are overseas, our process begins slightly earlier because we need to scan and email all the relevant documents for ( Read more... )

It's very likely that Bao will be starting nursery in the last week of August, at the end of the summer break. I think she's ready; she's quite social and clearly enjoys playing with others and she will get more out of nursery than she does staying at home with me. We'll probably continue going to our Tuesday playgroup because she has lots of ( Read more... )

In our household, the weekend means that the kitchen is mostly closed and I take a break. All our weekday meals are basically cooked by yours truly and the routine (and meal options) can get a little repetitive, especially when I am busy, sick or feeling uninspired. Now that the children are able to tolerate staying up past their bedtime better, ( Read more... )

Bao is approaching the two-and-a-half year old mark (where does the time go?!) and her language skills have really been exploding recently. Just before she was two I was a little concerned because she was still not putting words together and I sometimes had to interpret for her because no one else (her father included) could understand what she was ( Read more... )

Those who are familiar with me will know that I'm a very unsentimental person in general, even though my emo maudlin posts may indicate otherwise. I'm one of those people on the opposite end of the hoarder spectrum - I prune down and keep only a very few items for memory's sake. When we were moving out of our apartment last year, J and I did a ( Read more... )

It's Day Four since her fever began and today Bao woke up from her nap with her face half-covered in a flat, pinky rash. Her tummy also has them but not the rest of her. Today is also the first day where her temperature hasn't gone past 38ºC. We didn't manage to get an appointment with the doctor on Friday so in the absence of any medical advice ( ( Read more... )

I shall interrupt my (not very interesting) account of my family's visit to write about the kids and sleep. Again. What can I say? When they sleep badly, this means I sleep badly too ( Read more... )