A special delivery…

Simple dinner with braised pork belly. The pork belly is always a big hit with the boys. It’s easy to make, but takes time for tenderizing and the flavor to seep through.

Today, a surprised delivery came in – from the Girls. I was so moved I teared up. Not sure why since I don’t cry very easily. Perhaps we were cooped up for so long, it was so nice to receive something from the “outside world.” (づ￣ ³￣)づ

I promise I will keep studying and assure you Girls your efforts won’t go to waste. Thanks for thinking of me during this time.

A shelter in place – week 4…

The week is going by slowly, but the days are zooming by…or is it the other way around? I find that I have to get up earlier each day to squeeze all my goals in. I’ve been reaching my daily 10k steps more so now than before, just to make sure I stay active. I also want to find the time to review what I learned (Spanish) in the half hour when I’m on the treadmill. Not to mention the 15-20 minutes of piano practice time.

This week – boys are getting the hang of their schedules now.

1. Ah Lo successfully built his own Minecraft server. He’s been reading up/googling and finally got the router to work so he can host the game. I think deep down, he feels good to have this control of power – when to turn on and off the server.
2. This is our 2nd week taking piano lessons from Dai Bee. He’s such a wonderful teacher and we’re learning at a snail pace…
3. When he has some free time, he helps prep lunches. Here he is making mac and cheese in the instant pot.
4. Seems like Dai Bee is busier now, he has piano and violin, for his school, and his private lesson. On top of that, his violin teacher hosts a group gig every week just to make sure the kids practice.
5. Ah Lo’s basketball team – coaching through zoom. I’m glad he’s getting some guided instructions on basketball skills.
6. One of Ah Lo’s chores – stacking dishwasher, a skill I’ve yet to learn. LOL
7. Every night, 5 nights a week, the boys work on strengthening.
8. and 9. Dai Bee is hosting an Algebra class two days starting this week. He wanted Ah Lo to prepare for high school math. Since Ah Lo’s class isn’t get much instructional time these days, Dai Bee volunteered to be his tutor. I thought to include their cousins in the class, who are also on the same boat. So he’s teaching 4 people via zoom.

A day with my niece and nephew…

Babysat my nieces and nephew today. I came up with selling baked goods last-minute, taking advantage of the foot traffic of the concert at the park. I had them worked on signs, baked cupcakes/cookies (from cake mix) and decide on the pricing.

I used to do this with my boys, and now they are grown so they probably don’t care as much. These two kiddos were so excited from the beginning! We made $24 that day. Wasn’t much, but the entire experience was much more valuable!

A valuable life skill…

This is the first summer boys are making dinner without any supervision – from meal planning to grocery shopping, from cooking to washing, they are on their own. From this chore, they learn budgeting (grocery shopping and looking for sales) and time management (dinner should be ready by 6pm).

Of course, there were screw-ups, we still eat it as is. How else will they learn? Nice that I get to take a break. I try my best to stay away from the kitchen. 😂

 

 

A simple dinner by the boys (again)…

It feels great to take a little break from cooking this week since the boys are taking over. One of the things I’m having them learn is to budget. I give them $20 every day for the meals, so they can shop wisely. Today, they picked up some drumsticks that were on sale and cabbage for our meal tonight. Again, all hands are off while they whip this up. 

A dinner by the boys…

This week the boys don’t have any camps this week. I anticipated a heavy workload, so I won’t be back on time to make dinner. Therefore, I’m happy to offload this important task for the boys! From meal planning to grocery shopping, budgeting to cooking, they did everything without my supervision. In fact, today, I came home a bit early and they were still scrambling, I just left the kitchen. Knowing how I am, I would probably take over as soon as I get back. Staying away from the kitchen was a smart move. This wasn’t bad at all. I can get used to this fairly quick!

A coaching debut…

So excited for Dai Bee last night as he took on a new role as the head coach for one of Ah Lo’s teams. The actual coach and most of his teammates were in Hawaii for vacation/tournament. Our team’s manager initially asked Mr. Piggy whether he was available to coach the team. I said “no way!” I suggested Dai Bee for the position. So tonight – his first coaching gig!

Though they took home the loss, he enjoyed it very much. It was difficult to begin with since he didn’t have a full roster and his experience (or lack thereof) didn’t help. After the game, he reflected on the things he should have or not have done. I can see his passion in this area and hope he has more opportunities to do it again in the future.

A heavy schedule…

Dai Bee’s schedule for his junior year came out: 9 Honors, 4 math classes, and orchestra all year round. Heavy load, but at least he has music (something he enjoys) to get him through it.

A moment – “stir fry”

A Friday ritual.

A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment I want to pause, savor and remember – {this moment}

A moment – “learning to shoot”

A Friday ritual.

A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment I want to pause, savor and remember – {this moment}