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# Mandarin Mama

Our love is defiance. Let us love extravagantly.

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://mandarinmama.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Blog](https://mandarinmama.com/blog/)
- [Talent Is Not Enough](https://mandarinmama.com/talent-enough/) - Today's post is REALLY long. Sorry. Here's the tl;dr version: Talent < hard work < Talent + hard work. Still with me? Alright then. Sometimes, when I look back upon my youth, I can only see my wasted potential. I see myself as a teenager, resentful and bitter that I was rarely recognized for
- [Fear and Loathing](https://mandarinmama.com/fear-and-loathing/) - Author's Note: Not sure how to preface today's post. For my friends who may worry about me, please know that I am ok for the most part. These thoughts are not the usual state of being for my brain. They do tend to run this way when I spiral into shame or when I despair. (As
- [We Are All Made of Stars](https://mandarinmama.com/made-stars/) - Author Note: Sorry the post today is so esoteric and navel-gazy. My thoughts are all in a jumble lately. A hazard of too much introspection, I suspect. Going to a new therapist is like dating. You look for chemistry, a general sense of whether the therapist "gets" you, and whether their observations resonate with you
- [Death By List](https://mandarinmama.com/death-by-list/) - I don't know about you, but I LOVE lists. To-Do Lists. Top Ten Lists. Avoid These Things Like The Plague Lists. You name it. I love it. I love to start lists and add to them. I love to write down things I've already done just for the pleasure of crossing them OFF. In fact,
- [Admitting You Have Privilege Doesn't Make You a Bad Person](https://mandarinmama.com/admitting-privilege-doesnt-make-bad-person/) - Nowadays, the worst thing to be called is "racist." After which, there is "sexist," "classist," etc. You get the idea. There is a huge misconception about what it means when minority groups of people (be it of color, class, religion, gender identity, etc.) say the majority people have privilege. Folks seem to think that if
- [Baby, I'm Back!](https://mandarinmama.com/baby-im-back/) - The hardest part about taking a hiatus from writing is getting back into it. I keep postponing writing and updating my blog, not because I have nothing to say, but because I've been a bit tired from the holidays and traveling. But now that I'm forcing myself to start up again because, hey, new year,
- [Synthesizing Disintegration](https://mandarinmama.com/synthesizing-disintegration/) - One of the first questions my therapist, Dr. T, ever asked me to consider revolved around my identity. Something about how my becoming a Stay At Home Mom after a decade of working and being an adult affected me. At the time, I dismissed it. The observation didn't ring true. But more and more, I'm thinking Dr. T might be onto
- [The Histories of Our People](https://mandarinmama.com/histories-people/) - I have always been envious of my friends who know their family histories and genealogies back hundreds of years. Whenever I see commercials for genealogy sites, I sigh, wishing it were available to me, but resignedly accept that it is mostly for white people and perhaps black people. American people. Or Europeans. You know, people
- [Will All This Mandarin Immersion Be For Naught?](https://mandarinmama.com/will-mandarin-immersion-be-for-naught/) - As many of you can surmise even from my blog title, I'm big on Mandarin learning for my children. Even though they are multi-racial, it is super important to me for my kids to be verbally fluent in Mandarin, as well as be literate. Mostly because I'm Taiwanese and speak fluent Mandarin despite being born
- [My Sleep Deprivation](https://mandarinmama.com/sleep-deprivation/) - It's my own fault. There were no babies crying in the middle of the night. No emergencies. No fire drills. None of that. Just me, an old friend, some books, Chinese learning materials, and a cache of DVR'd episodes. As a result, I've been staying up until at least 2:30am for the last week or
- [The Blame Game](https://mandarinmama.com/blame-game/) - If today's post is semi-incoherent, blame my virtually non-stop reading of The First Law series (starting with The Blade Itself) that I recommended on Monday. I'm about a quarter of the way through the last book and I am not going to let a trivial thing such as sleep deprivation and Hapa Papa being in NYC until Thursday
- [My Parenting Secret: Mediocrity](https://mandarinmama.com/my-parenting-secret-mediocrity/) - A lot of people ask me how I do it being a SAHM of three small children. I often reply that it is easy: I just ignore them. People think I'm joking. I assure you. I am not. Here's the thing though. Lately, I feel as if even my lowly standards of parenting have been
- [My Love Affair With Romance Novels](https://mandarinmama.com/love-affair-romance-novels/) - As many of you may have surmised, I am an avid reader. I often go through periods where I tear through a book a day (sometimes more). Then I crash and burn because I have ignored my children for too many days in a row or my DVR is near to bursting or Hapa Papa can
- [Denial Is A River](https://mandarinmama.com/denial-river/) - Lately, I've been trying out (again) Julia Cameron's suggestion to write three pages a day first thing upon waking. The idea is to just write and brain dump everything out of your head and that will kickstart creativity. Even if you have nothing to say, you write, "I have nothing to say" (or something similar)
- [Longing For Grace](https://mandarinmama.com/longing-grace/) - For those of you who know me in Real Life, you know that I freak the fuck out and go from 0 to 60 in a eye blink. One second, my MIL is asking Gamera if she has a boyfriend (FFS, she is three years old) and the next thing I know, Gamera will be a stripper who
- [Random Observations](https://mandarinmama.com/random-observations/) - Sometimes, I have snippets of thoughts that might not flesh out into full-fledged posts of their own and thus, I have nowhere to shelve them. Well, I"m shelving them here in a sort of catch-all for stunted ideas. Is it really the idea's fault though? Surely their stunted state of being is more the problem
- [How Did My Mother Do It?](https://mandarinmama.com/how-did-my-mother-do-it/) - I know I'm not unique in this feeling but can I just say that I often feel like a failure as a mother. I realize this is perhaps our generation's invention and that we clearly have too much free time or guilt on our hands because in the grand scheme of things, who cares as
- [Verboten Music](https://mandarinmama.com/verboten-music/) - One of the most regrettable parts of no longer constantly being depressed is the music. There are entire categories of music I love deeply but am afraid to re-listen to other than in passing on the radio due to an intense fear that if I start listening again, I will be dragged down into the
- [Letting Go of "Should"](https://mandarinmama.com/letting-go-of-should/) - Lately, I've felt so blah. As if I needed a Life Makeover. New clothes. New hair. New makeup. New body. New habits. New life. Nothing particularly wrong with my current life, yet still, I feel unsatisfied. The problem with any makeover or getaway, however, is that eventually, you go back to your life. Your real life. And even
- [Why I Am So Insistent On Mandarin Immersion](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-am-so-insistent-on-mandarin-immersion/) - As many of you know, I'm very gung-ho on raising my children bilingual in Mandarin and English. The English part is relatively easy since it's the majority language of the Bay Area. (Although sometimes, you'd be rightly surprised!) Plus, it's the language Hapa Papa speaks to the children, the language Hapa Papa and I speak to each other,
- [Teaching Kids Chinese: My Non-negotiables in Parenting](https://mandarinmama.com/non-negotiables-in-parenting/) - Every parent has a set of non-negotiables for their kids. Some more than others. I have very few because I am ultimately, a really lazy parent. It also helps me not to have an apoplexy every time my kids don't do something the way I want it. Here are my main non-negotiables (of course, I
- [Embarrassing Confession](https://mandarinmama.com/embarrassing-confession/) - As much as I would like to think I am a progressive person and would just naturally know injustice when I see it, I really don't think that is so. Since Trayvon Martin and the Zimmerman case have been in the news recently, I'll use that as an example. Here's my horrible confession: the MAIN
- [Naming Babies "Ethnic" Names](https://mandarinmama.com/naming-babies-ethnic-names/) - You know what I find curious? Why do Asian families tend to name their kids mainstream "American" names while Indian/Pakistani (I use both because I can't tell just by looking at a person whether or not they're Indian or Pakistani) families tend to name their kids traditional "Indian/Pakistani" names? And not only do Asian families name
- [Where Are the Characters that Look Like My Kids?](https://mandarinmama.com/diversity-in-childrens-programs/) - Having been forced to watch HOURS of PBS and SPROUT programming, I have found there to be a lack of diversity on many children's programs. (I know. Amazing observation.) Also, I know I wouldn't have ended up watching so much of this if I were a better parent and never allowed my children to watch
- [Why I No Longer Read Celebrity Gossip](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-no-longer-read-celebrity-gossip-2/) - As much as it is possible, I try to avoid celebrity gossip in my daily life. Which, if you've ever tried to do, is getting increasingly difficult. I'll be driving along, listening to the radio or a morning show and then, BOOM! Some stupid story about some minor celebrity is teased before I have a
- [Nothing Brings Out Hulk Smash Like Bedtime](https://mandarinmama.com/nothing-brings-out-hulk-smash-like-bedtime/) - I used to think I was a reasonable person. (I'll pause here as pretty much every one who has ever known me cackles in laughter and shakes their head sadly at my delusions - especially Hapa Papa.) I mean, I knew I had a temper (but dammit, I was justified!!) so when I had Cookie
- [Why Are We So Afraid to Grow Old?](https://mandarinmama.com/why-are-we-so-afraid-to-grow-old/) - After all, people do know that the alternative to growing old is to die young, right? Personally, I'd prefer OLD, OLD, OLD to DEAD, DEAD, DEAD any day of the week. Now, of course, most people don't object to being alive - it's a host of old-related problems that we're worried about: health, money, our
- [The Best Advice Cosmo Ever Gave Me](https://mandarinmama.com/the-best-advice-cosmo-ever-gave-me/) - Like many young women, I used to have a Cosmopolitan magazine subscription. Why, I'm no longer sure since it's really just the same magazine every single month with a different half-naked woman on the cover. However, between the sex advice that was always the same and the make-up tips for white women (with an occasional
- [Creating the Family I Always Wanted](https://mandarinmama.com/creating-the-family-i-always-wanted/) - I can remember the exact moment when I decided I wanted four kids. Up until that moment, I had always assumed I'd have two kids, a girl then a boy, about four years apart. (Funny how that is exactly the order in my family. What can I say? I lack imagination.) It was June 2006
- [How Am I Going to Send 3+ Kids to College?: Money Series Pt 1](https://mandarinmama.com/how-am-i-going-to-send-3-kids-to-college/) - The thought is terrifying from a monetary standpoint. In about twenty years, I will have three children in college AT THE SAME TIME. Talk about poor family planning (from a paying for college standpoint). And if I do end up having four kids, I will have three kids in college for at least 2-3 years
- [Rainbows and Genocide](https://mandarinmama.com/rainbows-and-genocide/) - 'Cuz God is a killer from the start Why you think Noah had to build his ark? - Heaven, Ice Cube Everything I ever learned in Sunday School about Noah's Ark involved cute little animals marching up the plank onto a giant boat. Oh, and of course, 40 days of rain, rain, rain and crows
- [I'm Afraid of Twilight](https://mandarinmama.com/im-afraid-of-twilight/) - I have never read the Twilight or 50 Shades series - not because I think they're stupid (which from what I've gathered from Wikipedia and generally being alive, I do), but because I am afraid I will secretly like them. I pride myself in being able to detect good from bad writing and the thought
- [Why I Buy Used: Money Series Pt 2](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-buy-used-money-series-pt-2/) - Now, everyone knows I do my fair share to stimulate the economy. I can be quite the profligate spender - especially when it comes to buying fruit from Costco. I have often come back from a trip to Costco after throwing down a ton of money only to be asked by Hapa Papa, "Where is the
- [What Is Love?](https://mandarinmama.com/what-is-love/) - Every time I have a conversation with my mother-in-law about love and the nature of love, I come away astounded. For some reason, she thinks that she is not a loving person because she is not affectionate (eg: she doesn't hug, kiss, or whatever) and doesn't really think of the kids too much or worry
- [Wavering Between Choice and Life](https://mandarinmama.com/now-that-i-have-kids-i-waver/) - Trigger Warning: Abortion, rape, incest Comment Warning: My comment policy will be vigorously enforced. Any comment (on FB or otherwise) that smells even remotely of shaming, name-calling, abuse, general asshattery, (on either side of the discussion) will be swiftly and unapologetically deleted without regret. I am also completely uninterested in any type of propaganda for
- [Protecting Your Family: Money Series Pt 3](https://mandarinmama.com/protecting-your-family-money-series-pt-3/) - Sometimes, in the midst of nursing Baby3 or holding Gamera or staring at Cookie Monster, an insidious sliver of fear sneaks in and attempts mightily to dampen and ruin the joy of having my children. Sometimes, it is a nameless, general fear of suffering such as thoughts of my kids getting cancer, or getting hit
- [The Power of Unfriending](https://mandarinmama.com/the-power-of-unfriending/) - When I first joined Facebook, I fully admit I tried to get as many friends as possible. I liberally friended people - even if they were people I didn't know but somehow, were included on a mass Gmail mailing list once upon a time. In fact, there are a few of my friends on Facebook
- [Testing God: Money Series Pt 4](https://mandarinmama.com/testing-god-money-series-pt-4/) - Obviously, you don't have to believe in God to be a charitable person. (And many people are generous because they're just good people!) But the reason why I make our family give away Hapa Papa's hard-earned cash is because of a college Bible study on Malachi 3 (because I'm not good people!). Before that, it's not
- [I Don't Like You and It's OK](https://mandarinmama.com/i-dont-like-you-and-its-ok/) - When I was in college, I was very involved with an on-campus Christian group called InterVarsity. They were really big on this thing called "intentionality" (a totally made up word, but whatever) and used that as a basis for ministry. Basically, it was to intentionally befriend certain people who were open to being influenced and
- [Inappropriate Bible Stories FTW](https://mandarinmama.com/inappropriate-bible-stories-ftw-2/) - A few weeks ago, I complained about how Sunday Schools teach Bible stories that make either the Bible completely unappealing because everyone is a saint, or it sanitizes stories that are incredibly hard to digest and process. Well, today, I'd like to remind us of the stories I WISH Sunday Schools would teach - not
- [Wait, How Is This My Life?](https://mandarinmama.com/wait-how-is-this-my-life/) - When I was free and unencumbered with children, I would read articles by SAHMs about how they would have to do laundry every single day. I couldn't fathom it. I only did laundry when I ran out of socks or underwear (my two limiting reagents). As a result, I had at LEAST a month's worth
- [My Children Are Not Me](https://mandarinmama.com/my-children-are-not-me/) - Every now and then it hits me. My children are actual people. With their own thoughts and ideas and opinions and preferences. That are completely separate from me. Also, possibly, their thoughts might not be aligned with my own.They're only 3.75, 2, and 9 weeks old! How are they not thinking what I want them
- [Why I Have a Financial Advisor: Money Series Pt 5](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-have-a-financial-advisor-money-series-pt-5/) - Now, it may seem weird to you that I have a financial advisor - especially since I used to be one and own a financial advising firm with my mother. I'm sure it won't be any surprise to anyone that my mother is my financial advisor. What can I say? It saves on fees. Well, the
- [My Surprising Lack of Options](https://mandarinmama.com/564/) - I don't know why I bother clicking on baby dolls or kids' books. It just upsets me when all the dolls or characters are white and nary a one is anything else. It just makes me feel so sad and disappointed. At this point, it doesn't even matter if the doll isn't Asian or of
- [When Did *I* Become the Grown Up in the Room?](https://mandarinmama.com/when-did-i-become-the-grown-up-in-the-room/) - Ladies and gentleman, I am thirty-five years old, have three small children, am married, and own a business with my mother. Yet somehow, when I stop and think about it, I am completely baffled by this turn of events. How have I been entrusted with the daily responsibility of keeping alive three babies? More importantly,
- [About My Father](https://mandarinmama.com/about-my-father/) - It has been a over two years since I told my father he and his mother are dead to me. Since then, I have had two additional children, caved on letting my grandmother see Cookie Monster, and though my parents officially divorced in March of this year, have yet to contact my father. I don't think
- [Eat the Bacon First](https://mandarinmama.com/eat-the-bacon-first/) - Scroll to the bottom if you want to see me read it on video. Call it my cheap Asian genes, but I have a hard time actually using the things I buy especially if I got a good deal on it. After all, who knows when I'll get such a good deal again? So, I
- [I Was a Mean Girl](https://mandarinmama.com/i-was-a-mean-girl/) - On Saturday, I went to a high school choir reunion with a few friends. As we were checking out the new cafeteria (well, new since 2008 anyway), I saw all these anti-bullying posters on the wall and got super annoyed. Since when has a person ever stopped doing something because of a PSA poster on
- [Nagging an Inattentive God](https://mandarinmama.com/nagging-an-inattentive-god/) - According to this Huffington Post article, nagging is one of the top reasons people divorce. (Incidentally, I'm obsessed with the HuffPo Divorce section. I find that sometimes, you don't know what works until you see what's broken.) I can tell you absolutely that if nagging is the main reason, I'm screwed because goodness knows I
- [Do I Really Want My Child to be Unique?](https://mandarinmama.com/do-i-really-want-my-child-to-be-unique/) - We all say we want our kids to be special and unique and to be themselves. But is this really true? What if their true selves are jerks? Or rude little punks? Should we let them be "themselves" then? If I am honest with myself, what I really mean (other than "civilizing" the primitive cave-man
- [Not Ready to Make Nice](https://mandarinmama.com/not-ready-to-make-nice/) - Every so often, I wonder to myself, "Why am I still not talking to my father?" After all, my parents are divorced, he is free to do whatever he wants. Shouldn't I give him another chance? Shouldn't I give him an opportunity to start over? I mean, if all children of divorced parents didn't speak
- [How To Get Simplified Chinese eBooks From China](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-get-simplified-chinese-ebooks-from-china/) - A tip from a Mandarin Immersion school parent (taken originally from the Raising bilingual children in Chinese & English Facebook group) on how to purchase simplified Chinese ebooks from China using your US KINDLE or Kindle app. These may not be all the steps but should get you started. Chinese Kindle books cost about ￥ 2-6 (US $ 0.50 - $1.00) so the appeal is
- [That Even My Edges Are Loved](https://mandarinmama.com/that-even-my-edges-are-loved/) - So, the new John Legend song, All of Me, just destroys me. I haven't yet broken down sobbing while listening to it, but mostly, I think it's because I'm afraid that if I start, I won't be able to stop. My favorite part is the chorus with the lyrics (full lyrics here): 'Cause all of me
- [I am a Monster](https://mandarinmama.com/i-am-a-monster/) - Yesterday morning, I yelled at Cookie Monster and Gamera so much Cookie Monster asked me why I was screaming at him. I told him if he didn't want to listen he could live with someone else. Then Gamera told me, "Stop talking. Stop saying that. It's not nice." Schooled and shamed by a two year
- [Acting on Faith](https://mandarinmama.com/acting-on-faith/) - The other day, I briefly mentioned in my post about how I used to fake believing I was loved and lovable until I actually believed it. It occurs to me that perhaps I made it sound so much easier than it actually was. So, here is my advice to you if you find yourself in
- [How To Change Chinese Characters To Zhuyin](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-change-chinese-characters-to-zhuyin/) - H/T Oliver Tu for this Chinese hack. In case you use zhuyin (bopomofo) to teach your children Chinese, you should install Chinese font with zhuyin. Until your kids (or really, you) can read on their own, this will allow you to add phonetic assistance to anything you want to print out for them to read. You can find
- [Sometimes Love is Easy and Sometimes, Not So Much](https://mandarinmama.com/sometimes-love-is-easy-and-sometimes-not-so-much/) - The hardest part of love, for me anyway, isn't loving people in spite of their faults. In fact, it is the near constant reminder (especially when caring for small humans and listening to my own mother) that it is MY character flaws that prevent me from loving people well. Yes, some people make it hard
- [Can You Get PTSD from Taking Your Kid to the Dentist?](https://mandarinmama.com/can-you-get-ptsd-from-taking-your-kid-to-the-dentist/) - *This piece was a finalist for the 2014 We Still Blog Awards. You stand there, feet rooted to the tiles of the lobby floor. Your eyes are watching events unfold in all their insane glory. Time slows down and the whole while, your brain is stunned and stuttering, "What. The. Fuck. No. Wow. OMG. Is this happening?
- [Why I Am a SAHM](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-am-a-sahm/) - Sometimes, I think I am damaging my children's understanding of what women can do by being a SAHM. Are my boys going to look for wives who will only be homemakers? Will my daughter think her career options are limited? Am I reinforcing gender stereotypes?Of course, I know intellectually that the whole thrust of feminism
- [What I Learned On My Girls' Weekend Getaway](https://mandarinmama.com/what-i-learned-on-my-girls-weekend-getaway/) - This past weekend, a few fellow mommies and I went to SF for a Girls' Weekend out. We lolled about, walked without considering small children, ate a ton and drank in the day time! Heck, we even drank at night! Awesome! It was so enjoyable and relaxing and truly fun. Thanks, ladies and husbands! Here
- [Preparing My Kids for the Zombie Apocalypse](https://mandarinmama.com/preparing-my-kids-for-the-zombie-apocalypse/) - I don't think I truly understood fear until I had children. I mean, my life was full of fears before I had kids. In fact, I was hemmed in by them until I slowly started to dismantle them, one by one. (An on-going process, to be sure.) But the all-gripping, irrational terror and helpless type
- [Beauty Before Pain and Other Lies](https://mandarinmama.com/beauty-before-pain-and-other-lies/) - The other day, several of my friends and I were lamenting about our mothers (and to be fair, our fathers and society has certainly contributed to the conversation) and the fucked up things they say to our daughters about beauty (and I'm sure, our sons as well, but we are super sensitive about our daughters).
- [A Cure for Resentment](https://mandarinmama.com/a-cure-for-resentment/) - Some days, everything Hapa Papa does is golden. He takes the children out to the park, drops them off at school, plays with them, feeds them, does everything for them and all I have to do is kinda show up and breathe. He will do the dishes, wash the diapers, and on top of that, do
- [Why I Post So Many Articles About Privilege (Specifically, White)](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-post-so-many-articles-about-privilege-specifically-white/) - Disclaimer: Due to the nature of this post, I just want to remind people of my commenting policy (both here and on my Facebook wall). The tl;dr version is that I reserve the right to immediately mallet comments I consider to be trolling or offensive. Plan accordingly. Ever since I decided to "come out" (so
- [Flirting With Homeschooling](https://mandarinmama.com/flirting-with-homeschooling/) - So, many of you know that I'm a completely lazy parent. I can barely muster up the energy and desire to play with my children (that's why I gave them playmates in the handy form of siblings). How can I possibly think that I will be able to teach my children anything and homeschool them?
- [My Church Dilemma](https://mandarinmama.com/my-church-dilemma/) - So here's the thing. I consider myself a Christian and in theory, I think church is important. I love the idea of community and Bible studies and corporately worshiping with a bunch of other people who also love Jesus and strive to be more like Him. I grew up more or less in the church
- [The Lie of Being Strong](https://mandarinmama.com/the-lie-of-being-strong/) - These past few weeks or so, several of my friends have been hit with really hard news and family situations. Reading their status updates on Facebook is heartbreaking and at best, I can post an encouraging prayer or comment. (Not that my friends are actually looking to us to write the perfect comment that would
- [Reclaiming Our Lost Days](https://mandarinmama.com/reclaiming-our-lost-days/) - Hapa Papa and I went out for a rare and impromptu dinner last night. During our conversation, he mentioned how he would like our days to have more structure because he feels as if his days are getting lost. It seems to be a particular waste because right now is a unique time in our
- [Too Much Good Stuff](https://mandarinmama.com/too-much-good-stuff/) - I have a problem. I have too many things. Too many toys. Too many books. Too many clothes. Too many everything. I've given away bags and bags of stuff - and I'm sure I could give away more. But at some point, I don't particularly want to get rid of everything or become an ascetic.
- [Are You Really Going Out Looking Like That?](https://mandarinmama.com/are-you-really-going-out-looking-like-that/) - Before I had children, I never used to understand how the women on What Not to Wear devolved into such sad, frumpy people. I mean, I was by no means a fashionista, but by and large I was reasonably stylish and well-kept. How hard could it be to just have clothes that fit and weren't
- [Sometimes, My Day Needs a Delete Button](https://mandarinmama.com/sometimes-my-day-needs-a-delete-button/) - Today was horrible. It's not even over yet. I can only hope that with the last remaining 4.25 hours, nothing explodes. I might explode. I am so furious, I just may spontaneously combust. It's Mother's Day, too. Irony. I woke up in a spectacularly shitty mood. I've been doing that lately. I keep hoping it's
- [Why I Like Playdates at My House](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-like-playdates-at-my-house/) - I know lately I've been Debbie Downer and I do apologize for it. What has been a lifesaver for me during this time are playdates. I LOVE playdates. Even a lackluster one can restore my sanity and provide breathing room. My favorite playdates, however, usually happen at my house. Don't get me wrong. I do
- [Starving the Beast](https://mandarinmama.com/starving-the-beast/) - You guys, I really am an ass of monumental proportions. I really don't know what is my deal lately, but everything (and I mean everything) makes me angry or cranky or hypercritical or entitled or snipey or sarcastic (which, as much as it is funny to watch on television, is not really helpful to situations or
- [A Big Favor](https://mandarinmama.com/a-big-favor/) - Sorry for not posting on Monday. Glow Worm had an allergic reaction that required an Epi-Pen Jr. shot and Benadryl and Prednazone. I have no idea what he's allergic to this time so we'll be doing some more testing. Needless to say, I'm pretty gung-ho on the new CA bill many parents of children with food
- [This Seemed So Much More Fun In My Mind](https://mandarinmama.com/this-seemed-so-much-more-fun-in-my-mind/) - My father ruined many a family outing/vacation/road trip/whatever for me. To this day, I am not a huge fan of traveling due in part, because of my father's temper. However, in this one area, I find myself sympathizing with him now that I have children and plan events for us to attend as a family.
- [Ramblings of a Congested Mind](https://mandarinmama.com/ramblings-of-a-congested-mind/) - To quote Gamera, "My doze [nose] not working." Allergies and a bad cold have laid waste to my poor sinuses and I have a bad headache, can't breathe, and my entire body aches. Thank goodness Hapa Papa has been around to let me take naps during the day and take care of the kids. He is awesome.
- [Our Family Stories](https://mandarinmama.com/our-family-stories/) - I recently read a book called, When My Name Was Keoko (affiliate link). It's a YA book from the perspectives of two Korean siblings, a boy and a girl, and their experiences of growing up in Japanese occupied Korea during WWII. I loved it. Of course, I am biased because I do enjoy YA books and historical
- [But We Already Read an Asian Book](https://mandarinmama.com/but-we-already-read-an-asian-book/) - At our Book Club meeting tonight, a woman said something that I can't seem to shake off. Now, before I get into it, please understand that I'm not mad at this woman herself. I'm annoyed at the comment she made. Also - I don't think she is any more or less prejudiced than I am and people
- [Our Transcendent Bodies](https://mandarinmama.com/our-transcendent-bodies/) - So You Think You Can Dance is back on TV and once again, I am amazed, humbled, and in awe of what the human body can do. I am also treated to daily attempts by Gamera to do contemporary dance. It is a hilarious, sweet, and lovely thing to behold. What I love most, though, isn't so
- [The Gatekeepers of Heaven](https://mandarinmama.com/the-gatekeepers-of-heaven/) - As I've gotten older and more life experience (as well as met more people with different life experiences), I've become more and more liberal in my theology and thinking. (Oh gracious, I've become more and more hippie-like and this disturbs me.) I feel as if there are fewer and fewer lines of distinction on what
- [The Well Is Dry](https://mandarinmama.com/the-well-is-dry/) - Parenting requires patience and kindness and the willingness to put up with the same shit repeatedly, each hour, each minute. Add multiple children into the mix and the repetition isn't just additive, it's exponential. The repeated nagging will drive the parent insane first. The children will be next. They say that will-power is not a
- [Willful Remembrance](https://mandarinmama.com/willful-remembrance/) - Since my children have been driving me crazy lately, I think it is a good moment to pause and bear witness to how they are also hilarious, sweet, and wonderful. It is incredibly difficult to hold their lovable selves in mind as I'm dealing with kids who are screaming their brains out because REASONS, but
- [Brain Cycles](https://mandarinmama.com/brain-cycles/) - I don't know about you, but I have noticed that my brain works in cycles. Lately, I haven't felt as if I have much to say (or if I had anything to say, anything terribly interesting to say). I think part of it is that I've been busy filling my brain with books, shows, and friends.
- [Pants on Fire](https://mandarinmama.com/pants-on-fire/) - I have a general rule that I will not lie to my kids - even white lies, lies of convenience, or statements to make my life easier. I do teach my kids about God and Jesus, so depending on your philosophical bent, that may or may not count as a lie. But since I do believe
- [Did Our Parents Freak Out, Too?](https://mandarinmama.com/did-our-parents-freak-out-too/) - So, ever since I became a parent, it has amazed me that my parents - particularly my mother, did all the activities that they did with us. We went cherry-picking, went to Taiwan, went on tons of trips to national parks in CA and the western half of the US, had tons of lessons, etc.
- [Growing Up So Fast](https://mandarinmama.com/growing-up-so-fast/) - This past week has been quite a week for Cookie Monster. Now, before I go on, you must realize that Cookie Monster is not a fan of rides. Three years ago, he went on a kiddie ride at a local festival and screamed his brains out for the whole time. Ever since then, the only rides he
- [My Language Is Not A Cool "Picture" For Your Ass](https://mandarinmama.com/my-language-is-not-a-cool-picture-for-your-ass/) - Today's post is super short because I hate ranting for too long. And be assured, friends. I am doing you all a favor by cutting it short. So, I really should be used to Chinese characters being used all over the place, most often, incorrectly and full of gibberish - especially on people's bodies as
- [Counting Down](https://mandarinmama.com/counting-down/) - This morning I woke up and thought it was Saturday. I started to freak out until I realized that it was Friday. Whew. I have three days until my trip to Taiwan and despite my friends constantly asking, I have yet to start packing. Mostly because what is the point of packing things we use
- [We Made It!](https://mandarinmama.com/we-made-it/) - Greetings from the other side of the world! As expected, it is hot hot hot and humid. But hey, that's what hiding inside is for. Thank God for my mother because it would have been super difficult on the plane ride without her. My kids decided that despite the flight taking off at 1:40am, sleep
- [What I've Learned So Far](https://mandarinmama.com/what-ive-learned-so-far/) - It's only Day 5 of our crazy adventure and already, the lessons and new life experiences are piling on. Here are just a few: 1) Jet lag is no fun. Sleep deprived kids who are also starving because they refuse to eat anything other than white rice in a foreign country is about as awesome
- [The Best Laid Plans](https://mandarinmama.com/the-best-laid-plans/) - So tomorrow school starts and all our plans are already unravelling. The school emailed at 4:30pm today (a Sunday) telling us Gamera and Omi, the middle daughter of my friend, Fleur, are only going to be starting at an hour a day and then ramping up from there. It all depended on how the girls
- [Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.](https://mandarinmama.com/let-me-explain-no-there-is-too-much-let-me-sum-up/) - 1) I have become the stereotypical American abroad. There has been a bunch of miscommunication with the school and the first day was bad. Very bad. I was livid. In English, maybe I could have thought of a more diplomatic way to express my extreme displeasure, but my Chinese isn't good enough. I am blunt
- [Patients Zero and Other Sundries](https://mandarinmama.com/patients-zero-and-other-sundries/) - Our first week of school is almost over and I've been in Taiwan for almost two weeks already. The time is really zooming by fast! As usual, here is a list of stuff and observations because I am too lazy to put together a cohesive narrative. 1) Now that we're all settled in and into
- [Quick Post](https://mandarinmama.com/quick-post/) - Glow Worm is up from his nap earlier than usual (or perhaps this the new normal) so it will have to be a quick update today. Here we go! (Also, pics might be wonky due to Wordpress App not making pics easy. My html-fu is sadly pathetic and out of my need for expediency, I
- [My First Typhoon](https://mandarinmama.com/my-first-typhoon/) - Typhoon Matmo has cancelled school and closed offices and most businesses. The children are elated that school is cancelled. Fleur and I are less so. We're not worried. Just missing out on food! Also, we had a "date" with some of our best friends in CA. I found out an Ice Monster (awesome Taiwanese shaved
- [Two Weeks Left](https://mandarinmama.com/two-weeks-left/) - I can't believe we've been in Taiwan for three weeks already! Two weeks of school down; two more weeks to go. Fleur and I are planning to cram in as much eating as possible in the next week for "research" purposes. That way when Hapa Papa joins us next Friday, we can take him to
- [Eating Like A Hobbit](https://mandarinmama.com/eating-like-a-hobbit/) - It's my favorite day of the week! School has started up again and although Cookie Monster is super sad, I am relieved. It is hard to keep them entertained for a full day (Clearly we had too much fun this weekend because he thinks we are having loads of fun without him. We are, but
- [An Object of Envy](https://mandarinmama.com/an-object-of-envy/) - Every now and then, I see my friends' Facebook posts about visiting far away countries, climbing mountains, and delicious food porn pics, and I envy their lives, wishing I would have the balls or time and money to do those things. I just realized this morning that I am now one of those people. My
- [One Week Left!](https://mandarinmama.com/one-week-left/) - I can't believe we only have one week left! It seems too soon! Maybe the next time we do this, we'll stay the whole summer. Only eight more eating days left! 1) Hapa Papa flies in late tonight! Whoohooo! We haven't seen each other for about four weeks. The kids are excited. Lately, Gamera has
- [6 Eating Days Left!](https://mandarinmama.com/6-eating-days-left/) - SADNESS!! How can I just have six eating days left? Fleur and I are pretty much just dragging Hapa Papa around to our favorite places and forcing him to eat stuff and hold our bags as we spend way too much money on Taiwanese stationery, pens, and DVDs. Here we go! Off to the updates.
- [Killing the Sun and Other Bad-Assery](https://mandarinmama.com/killing-the-sun-and-other-bad-assery/) - Sigh. The kids are ecstatic that there are only three more days of school left. I, however, am mildly depressed. Now that Hapa Papa is here, the urgency and feeling that we're missing someone has abated. I eat guilt-free. Ah well, I better get to my updates! Here we go: 1) Hapa Papa was putting
- [The Last Day of School](https://mandarinmama.com/the-last-day-of-school/) - Gracious, how are we already here? I could've sworn that it was just yesterday I had Hulked Out and was about to commit murder due to poor school communication and rabid American entitlement. Now, I am pleased with the school and considering coming back in two years. (Or one year if I don't end up
- [Back To Reality](https://mandarinmama.com/back-to-reality/) - Well, we've been home for a few days and I'm exhausted. The kids are still in the throes of jet lag and have wonky sleep schedules. And maybe I've been out late two nights in a row at JT and Yo-Yo Ma concerts. I am also feeling pretty overwhelmed. I haven't finished unpacking, the house
- [Taiwan Withdrawal](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwan-withdrawal/) - It's been awhile since my last update. Many apologies! I've been trying to unstick my head from my ass. As great as it was to finally be home, Real Life is decidedly less fun than Holiday Life. I know, I know. Wah. Cry me a river et al. But it really has been quite an
- [WTH Happened, World?](https://mandarinmama.com/wth-happened-world/) - So, while I was in Taiwan, the world exploded. I mean, I was aware of it while it was happening - I am on the internet all day - but it seemed far off and far removed. After all, I was eating my way through Taipei. But then I got home, finally emerged from my
- [What Liam Neeson and Hapa Papa Have in Common](https://mandarinmama.com/what-liam-neeson-and-hapa-papa-have-in-common/) - Okokok. So perhaps this title is a bit misleading. But stick with me for a few more seconds. You see, lately, it's become ever more apparent that Hapa Papa and I are totally failing at our respective roles. We are totally half-assing things and while amusing for the short haul, it is somewhat alarming (in a
- [Temper, Temper](https://mandarinmama.com/temper-temper/) - It has been a rough morning. Not sure exactly why since it really is your basic morning where my kids refuse to eat breakfast, I worry they will be hungry, then I scream at them at new volumes and crush their little souls and see them slump into their chairs, zoning me out as a
- [Why I Stayed](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-stayed/) - (Trigger Warning: Physical and emotional violence.) I stayed because I was too young to leave. Because I didn't want to cause my mother any more pain than she was already suffering. Because someone had to protect my younger brother. I stayed because I loved him. I still do. I stayed because he was my father.
- [Snapshots of My Life](https://mandarinmama.com/snapshots-of-my-life/) - I have a few half-posts brewing in the back of my mind but none of them are quite gelling. (Ok, that is being generous. Maybe 20% posts.) So, to bring in the weekend, I have a few random snippets to share. Welcome back, Oh Handy Listicle! 1) I had my first caffeinated beverage in at
- [De-accumulating Pains](https://mandarinmama.com/de-accumulating-pains/) - So we had our first multi-family garage sale this past Saturday and it was an okay success. I mean, we got some money for some of our stuff. So that's good. But really, it was a lot of work for little return. It will likely be a long time before I do one on our
- [Taiwanese Eats](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwanese-eats/) - Ok. It has been about five weeks since we've been back from Taiwan and I am still dreaming of the food. Mmmm.... Many of you have asked for a list of the places we ate and I am FINALLY getting around to it. I have tried to arrange by neighborhood/area so you can hit up a bunch
- [Separation Anxiety](https://mandarinmama.com/separation-anxiety/) - Today is the first official day of Type A Con, a blogging conference for parents. I feel like it's the first day of school and I'm the new girl. Thank goodness I am rooming with a blogging rock star, Lizz Porter of Am I A Funny Girl. I know I briefly wrote about this a
- [A Crisis of Identity](https://mandarinmama.com/crisis-identity/) - One day last week, after walking my two older children to preschool, my youngest son and I walked past a house two doors down and saw a “For Sale” sign in the front yard. On a whim, I took a flyer from the box and when I finally got a chance to examine the specs, I immediately contacted my
- [Choosing To Be Content With Less](https://mandarinmama.com/choosing-to-be-content-with-less/) - We decided to pass on the bigger home. Turns out, Hapa Papa doesn't want to work until he dies. Slacker. Although part of me is disappointed and had already envisioned our family in the bigger house, (especially my books in that glorious built in bookshelf!!), mostly, I feel relief. As awesome as the house sounded (and it
- [Grieving The Living](https://mandarinmama.com/grieving-the-living/) - The trouble with grief is that it sidelines you at the oddest moments. You think you're having a normal Monday night decompressing after the children have gone to bed and you click on a friend's latest blog post about mourning the third anniversary of her father's passing. At most, you expect to tear up and
- [Eating Elephants and Other Unappetizing Things](https://mandarinmama.com/eating-elephants-unappetizing-things/) - One of the hardest things about being a Stay At Home Mom, for me, anyway, is that I seem to do a lot but get nowhere fast. I don't mean that I procrastinate a lot and pass that off as working. (Although, there is that, too.) It's just that, no matter what I do, it seems as
- [Have I Become a Cliché?](https://mandarinmama.com/become-cliche/) - Lately, when I wake up in the morning, I feel as if I'm gearing up for combat and my enemies are my children and my life. I feel as if I am a cliché, existing in some hack writer's mediocre opus to the banalities of being a cosseted, American housewife. My default state of being
- [What's New With The Mandarin Babies?](https://mandarinmama.com/whats-new-mandarin-babies/) - It's been awhile since I blathered on and on about my incredibly awesome children. I know. I apologize. There really is no excuse except that I've been lazy. So, for your benefit (and my pathetic memory), I give you an unspecified number of offspring anecdotes and observations to enjoy on your Monday morning. You're welcome.
- [Impressions of My First Type-A Parent Blogging Conference](https://mandarinmama.com/impressions-of-my-first-type-a-con/) - Okokok. It’s been a month and a half since I got back from my first Type-A Parent Blogging Conference in Atlanta and I am only NOW getting to writing about it. And only because Kelby Carr, the awesome organizer and woman extraordinaire, is having a final call for Type-A Conference posts. Hey, what can I
- [Time Is The Real Killer](https://mandarinmama.com/time-is-the-real-killer/) - Walking into Peet’s Coffee, inhaling the scent of coffee and seeing all these grown ups leisurely sipping coffee and tea and chatting aimlessly, reading books and newspapers, living grown up lives, I feel a sharp pang of nostalgia. A deep yearning. This life. I used to live this life. It reminds me most of college
- [Coveting Thy Neighbor's Life](https://mandarinmama.com/coveting-thy-neighbors-life/) - A few weeks ago, I posted on how I almost spent an additional thirty years of our lives while on a routine walk to my kids' preschool and our eventual decision to be content with our current home. (Yes, yes. No need to remind me of our first world problems. And not only that, our 1%
- [Hating On Mark Zuckerberg's Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/hating-on-mark-zuckerbergs-chinese/) - Last week, I posted an Atlantic article on Facebook about how Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, was getting a lot of flak for speaking Chinese like a seven year old with marbles in his mouth. I prefaced the post with the following: You know what this article makes me think of? White male privilege. Awww.
- [The Top Stupid Reasons Why I Am So Tired](https://mandarinmama.com/top-stupid-reasons-tired/) - I don't know about you but most mornings, I wake up tired. And when I'm tired, it's pretty much like shooting myself in the foot right before running a marathon. I am cranky, short tempered, and even more impatient than usual. Oh yeah. And I have to take care of three small humans when I
- [Despicable Me](https://mandarinmama.com/despicable-me/) - My thoughts are slippery, refusing to be pinned down. Every time I try to peer into myself head on, I catch my real feelings in my peripheral vision, already slinking back into the recesses of my secret, dark heart. When I still myself, a rising panic sits heavy in my chest; overwhelming. I twitch. It's that feeling
- [How An Article Confirmed My Worst Fears About Mandarin Immersion](https://mandarinmama.com/my-worst-fears-about-mandarin-immersion/) - Author's Note: As per usual when I have a controversial post, I direct you to my Comment Policies. I encourage discussion but trolling, flaming, and general bad behavior will be vigorously disappeared. Also, comments that attempt to Tone Police will not be tolerated. If you don't know what that is, figure it out. I don't
- [Who Made Me Gatekeeper?](https://mandarinmama.com/who-made-me-gatekeeper-anyway/) - It has occurred to me that based on my previous posts, it can seem that I have some sort of chip on my shoulder when it comes to Mandarin Immersion. (Perhaps "chip" seems inadequate. "Boulder," maybe?) And perhaps, at times, I do. But like I mentioned in my previous post, just because my delivery isn't
- [Paralyzed By Being The Best](https://mandarinmama.com/paralyzed-by-being-the-best/) - I don't know if it's just me, but all throughout my childhood, my parents drilled into me that I was supposed to be "The Best." Whatever that meant - I was supposed to be it. Examples of things at which I was supposed to be the best: - Being Chinese (of course, by default, being Chinese
- [Chinese Bookstores](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-bookstores/) - In an effort to clean up my site and make it more useful, this is a mega-compilation of all the online Chinese bookstores I wrote about over the years. It is woefully out of date so YMMV. I would edit and make it prettier and more cohesive, but honestly, I don’t want to. You’ll find
- [Too Damn Tired](https://mandarinmama.com/too-damn-tired/) - I have so many posts in partial form but I am too tired tonight to finish any of them into coherent form. Truthfully, I am exhausted every night but I stay up late anyway because I'm an idiot. However, the last few months, Glow Worm has stopped being the perfect child and has been almost
- [Mandarin Immersion Facebook Groups](https://mandarinmama.com/mandarin-immersion-facebook-groups/) - Like all things in my life, I pretty much get 80% of my information about Mandarin Immersion and Chinese language acquisition from Facebook. The cool thing is, since so many of my friends are also into Mandarin Immersion for our children, we've slowly infiltrated all these groups. I've also managed to meet new friends this
- [The Slow Crazy-Making Of Microaggressions](https://mandarinmama.com/microaggressions/) - Have you ever thought you smelled gas or a burning smell but couldn't find the source no matter how much you tore apart your home to find it? And because it's something that could be life threatening, you keep smelling it - long after you're mostly certain that you were imagining it? Only to later find out that
- [The Right Philosophy Won't Save You](https://mandarinmama.com/the-right-philosophy-wont-save-you/) - Ladies and Gentlemen, as I'm sure many of you have realized by now, I am a Control Freak. I know. It caught me unaware, too. (I kid, I kid!) And I am this way, a grasping, clamoring, rigid, inflexible, unreasonable person because I am afraid. I try to control everything because I am controlled by
- [More Chinese Language Facebook Groups](https://mandarinmama.com/more-chinese-language-facebook-groups/) - Last week's post seemed to be very popular so I thought I would follow up with a few more Chinese language Facebook groups. This time, I wanted to make sure that folks realized that the groups aren't Mandarin only. They are Chinese specific and dialect agnostic. Of course, there are more resources for Mandarin, but that
- [Chinese Reading Tips](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-reading-tips/) - Happy Monday, friends! Truthfully, I had a different post in mind for today, but I've been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work on the blog (mostly seeding and back-dating it with Chinese resources) so by the time it got to late Sunday night, I was too tired to finish a more "deep" post. It's just
- [How Does Sia Know Me?](https://mandarinmama.com/how-does-sia-know-me/) - Sometimes, there just aren't enough words to adequately describe how I feel inside. (This sentence, for one, is so trite. Sorry.) I just can't quite convey (and I suppose, I'm not really sure I want to) the actual physical changes my body goes through when I start freaking out. Mostly, I feel sweaty. But my
- [When Did I Cease to be a Person?](https://mandarinmama.com/when-did-i-cease-to-be-a-person/) - A few weeks ago, Dr. T asked me to think about what would nurture me as a person. I had no idea what she was talking about. Nurture? As a person? I said that I did plenty of things I enjoyed - Hapa Papa gave me plenty of free time (more so than he had for himself).
- [Mandonese](https://mandarinmama.com/mandonese/) - For my friends who are trying to teach both Mandarin and Cantonese to their children, you no longer have to choose! (Not that you ever did.) Mandonese is an online forum (remember those?) that according to their site, is designed to be a place where parents who want to teach their kids Mandarin and Cantonese can discuss,
- [Small Victories](https://mandarinmama.com/small-victories/) - I know my posts tend towards the ranty and doom and gloom. Or if not that, then something Chinese related. But this past week or so, I haven't been feeling quite so low or fragile and I thought I would celebrate that feeling of normalcy. 1) After a month and a half of carting all
- [The Books That Silently Judge Me](https://mandarinmama.com/the-books-that-silently-judge-me/) - Now I know it may seem that I read a ton of books (and I do). But what I don't often mention is that in addition to the large pile of books I plow through quickly, I have a separate, dustier pile that either sits on the wayside, ignored because I own it and thereby
- [Cantonese Language Facebook Groups](https://mandarinmama.com/cantonese-language-facebook-groups/) - As I mentioned a few weeks ago, due to many readers asking for Cantonese specific Facebook groups, I did some research into the topic. Here are my tl;dr findings: 1) Canadians and UK residents are representing! US residents, you gotta step up your game. 2) There is a dearth of Cantonese language parenting groups/forums other than this
- [Death By Sleeveless Shirt](https://mandarinmama.com/death-by-sleeveless-shirt/) - So, at what point do you stop asking your mom to stop buying you clothes? I sound really ungrateful, but ever since Cookie Monster was born (about 5-6 years ago), my mom will periodically buy me shirts. And because she never knows how to fit me, she buys the same basic shape over and over again.
- [Policing Our Daughters' Bodies](https://mandarinmama.com/policing-our-daughters-bodies/) - Content Warnings: mentions of rape, sexual assault, and incest. I remember we were in our church's bathroom, talking about our week. My friend casually mentioned how she had snuck out of her house to meet a boy at the park where he proceeded to rape her. We couldn't have been more than fifteen at the
- [Daily Noodles](https://mandarinmama.com/daily-noodles/) - It's funny how you can hear about a person through mutual friends for years but never actually meet them until later. I had heard about Andrea Chen and her company, Daily Noodles, off and on over the past few years because we have mutual friends, our kids have the same Chinese tutor (although Andrea's children are older
- [We Are Not Things](https://mandarinmama.com/we-are-not-things/) - A few weekends ago, my friend and I went to go see Mad Max: Fury Road and my brain exploded from the sheer spectacle, non-stop thrill, and unspoken weight of the movie. I admit, I only went because I was so intrigued from all the hype about it being a "feminist" movie. I hadn't seen the
- [When The One You Love Is The One Who Hurts You](https://mandarinmama.com/when-the-one-you-love-is-the-one-who-hurts-you/) - Today is my father's birthday. (Well, I suppose technically it was yesterday.) Honestly, I thought it would hit me more - the grief, I mean. I'm not sure why since I've never felt particularly sad on his birthday before. I guess I just thought that maybe since I'm going to counseling, I would be more
- [Ma LiPing Chinese Curriculum](https://mandarinmama.com/ma-liping-chinese-curriculum/) - Today's post focuses on Ma LiPing (马立平), a person as well as a type of Chinese language curriculum she created for the Chinese American children of Chinese immigrants from Mainland China. The MLP curriculum is best for children who are already fluent in Mandarin Chinese in that it is the heritage language of their family.
- [How To Make An Awesome Salad](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-make-an-awesome-salad/) - In general, I do not do food related posts. Mostly because I would rather eat the food than talk about it. Also, I lack the foodie vocabulary and resort to derivatives such as "OMGYUM!" to describe food. How a post can only consist of NOMS and DELISH, I don't know. Hence, other than the occasional
- [Even More Chinese Language Facebook Groups](https://mandarinmama.com/even-more-chinese-language-facebook-groups/) - Alright, after a few weeks' break, here we are again for some great Facebook groups that help support Chinese language learning for our kids. All the groups featured today are location specific, so please keep that in mind. Of course, if they inspire you to create your own group for your area, all the better! 1) Mandarin
- [Untethered](https://mandarinmama.com/untethered/) - The other day, I was flipping through my journal and ran across an old entry from almost seven years ago. (Hey, this journal has been neglected. What can I say?) Reading through it made me somewhat wistful, but nowhere near as sad as it used to. I think, quite possibly, it is because I finally
- [Quick Update](https://mandarinmama.com/quick-update/) - So much has happened since I last posted (I took most of July off because I'm tired) but I don't know if I'm back in the swing of things yet. So, we'll just practice posting with a quick update. Here are some of the things that have been on my mind the last month (in
- [More Random Thoughts](https://mandarinmama.com/more-random-thoughts/) - Again, too lazy to construct my thoughts into a single, coherent piece. You'll just have to deal with it until I can get my head out of my ass. (Or, alternately, when Glow Worm decides to go to bed earlier than 10:40pm. FFS, child. WHERE IS YOUR EXTRA BATTERY PACK? And can you hand that sucker
- [So You Want Your Kid To Learn Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/so-you-want-your-kid-to-learn-chinese/) - *This piece was originally the first in a series of posts. You can find the updated version, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. After spending the last five years obsessing over my kids' Chinese acquisition and surrounding myself 95% of the time with fellow
- [Fatty Babies and Other Stuff](https://mandarinmama.com/fatty-babies-and-other-stuff/) - Once again, a rambling post. Blame me devouring 3-5 books this weekend. I lost count. So without further ado, the workings of my degenerate mind: 1) What is it about babies (especially Fatty McFatterson babies) that turns me into a pervy person? I must have kisses and slobber and baby mouths and tongues and fat
- [Someone Get Me An Adult](https://mandarinmama.com/someone-get-me-an-adult/) - People, people, people. I just can't get my shit together. Seriously. I think I've somehow landed myself in a minor depression again. I care about stuff, but not enough to do anything about it. I kept telling myself I'd get it together after our LA/SD Trip. Now, I tell myself I have to get certain stuff
- [Nothing to See Here](https://mandarinmama.com/nothing-to-see-here/) - Sorry for the lack of posts this past week or two. We were visiting my brother and I didn't particularly want to write while we were away - nor did I want to advertise that we weren't home. But of course, my brain is still recovering - and Glow Worm thinks we're on the East Coast
- [The Costs of Learning Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/the-costs-of-learning-chinese/) - **This piece was originally part of a series of posts. You can find the updated version, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Previously in this series, I wrote about clarifying your goals and setting realistic expectations. Well, now that you've done that, you then need
- [Kondo-ing My Life](https://mandarinmama.com/kondoing-my-life/) - Last week, I finally decided that I was no longer going to grow out my hair. I had been growing out my hair because I thought that's what a woman does: She grows out her hair. Gets bored. Cuts hair. Gets annoyed. Grows out hair. Gets bored. Wash, rinse, repeat. But when I asked myself
- [How to Lower the Cost of Learning Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-lower-the-cost-of-learning-chinese/) - **This piece was originally part of a series of posts. You can find the updated version, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Last week, I wrote about The Costs of Learning Chinese and how depending on your personal goals for your children's Chinese fluency, your costs
- [Accepting Mediocrity](https://mandarinmama.com/accepting-mediocrity/) - Lately, it has come to my attention more and more that I am not what I was - and perhaps I was never even that to begin with. In my own mind, I pride myself on - in fact, hang my identity on - being a "successful" person. But truthfully, the last time I actually
- [Scatter Brain](https://mandarinmama.com/scatter-brain/) - As many long time readers know, my mind retains the dubious talent of going from A to Z in about half a second. As a result, my brain is always flitting from one thought to the next and sometimes all the incumbent possibilities of each idea. It is exhausting. Also, it makes it very difficult
- [How to Gauge Chinese Fluency](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-gauge-chinese-fluency/) - **This piece was originally part of a series of posts. You can find the updated version, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Before I continue, I recommend you read my post about setting realistic expectations to get the most out of this week's article. This is not because
- [Just Another Reminder That I Don't Belong](https://mandarinmama.com/another-reminder/) - Honestly, I should have seen it coming. I was at a homeschooling seminar last night and had mentioned I was homeschooling Cookie Monster in Chinese. People were impressed and then afterwards, the super nice, informative, lovely speaker (who I really liked) said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but..." And before she even finished her sentence,
- [How to Make an Awesome Sandwich](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-make-an-awesome-sandwich/) - Welp, it's been about three months since I last did a post on food so this time, instead of How to Make an Awesome Salad, I bring you: How to Make an Awesome Sandwich. Now, I know I am not the type of blog people turn to when it comes to recipes or crafts or anything
- [Barf, Barf, Barf Everwhere](https://mandarinmama.com/barf/) - Sorry for the small break in posting. Our household got hit with a stomach bug and I've been neck deep in barf, diarrhea, and laundry (because of the barf and diarrhea). Delightful. I don't think our house has EVER been hit with so much illness (thank goodness!!) and several of us got hit twice. And
- [Guest Post: Greenfield Review](https://mandarinmama.com/guest-post-greenfield-review/) - Once my kids are done with the Sagebooks series, I will be having them go through the Greenfield books that I'm still awaiting from Hong Kong. However, instrumental to my deciding to buy them was Guava Rama's fantastic Review of Greenfield I Can Read Series. She really breaks down the main series, includes pictures, and saves you the
- [Food Insecurity](https://mandarinmama.com/food-insecurity/) - At almost every meal time, I briefly think that our family is "food insecure." Not in the true sense of the word - by no means are we that at all. But if you asked me what we ate for the last week, I would have no idea. And if you asked me what we
- [On Loop](https://mandarinmama.com/on-loop/) - My mind is all over the place today (and these past few weeks). Today, it's because I'm flying out to Type-A Con in Atlanta tomorrow morning (I have to leave my house at 3am in order to avoid missing my flight like last year). I'm not really that excited yet because I kind of don't want to go
- [Embracing My Inner RBF and Other Lessons at Type-A Con](https://mandarinmama.com/embracing-my-inner-rbf-and-other-lessons-at-type-a-con/) - Welp, I'm back from Type-A Con in Atlanta and I have mostly recovered from lack of sleep (although, I'm screwing myself over again by staying up way too late tonight). I had a good time and really enjoyed having quality conversations with friends - especially my lovely roommates, Lizz and Jacqueline. Anyhow, here are a few of my thoughts
- [Excuses, Excuses](https://mandarinmama.com/excuses-excuses/) - I know. I know. I've been totally neglecting my blog. I have reasons. Well, more like excuses. But regardless of reasoning, it doesn't change the fact that I haven't posted much in the last few weeks. And like all things, the more I fall out of habit, the less I "feel" like doing it. And
- [Create Space](https://mandarinmama.com/create-space/) - Lately, I've begun to realize that I need to create space in my life for the things I want to do. If I want to blog, I need to create time to think and write. If I want to feel at peace in my home, I need to create literal space in my home by
- [Parenting Myself](https://mandarinmama.com/parenting-myself/) - Sometimes, I think the lessons I teach my children are really for myself. I don't know why I am always surprised at having to teach my children these lessons - even though I barely learned them through my own life experiences. Of course I would have to teach them to my children. How else would they learn
- [I Can't Get No Satisfaction](https://mandarinmama.com/i-cant-get-no-satisfaction/) - What is it about life that it just piles and piles and piles on top of everything and everywhere? I mean, I realize that entropy is the default state of being and the Second Law of Thermodynamics so why fight against The Universe? And yet. No matter how much (or let's be real, little) I do, it's
- [A Good, Swift Kick in the Ass](https://mandarinmama.com/swift-kick/) - After my last post whining about not having my shit together, I had complained about the same stuff to Dr. T wherein she promptly tore me a new one (albeit, nicely). She basically said that I had a vicious cycle of having high standards, being extreme and either doing everything at once or doing nothing at
- [BlackLivesMatter vs BlueLivesMatter](https://mandarinmama.com/blacklivesmatter-vs-bluelivesmatter/) - A/N: Due to the nature of this post, my commenting policy will be strictly enforced. This goes for comments on my Facebook page as well. I've been seeing a video by Nick Palmisciano called "Blacklivesmatter vs Bluelivesmatter" being spread around on Facebook and while I'm not surprised, I am irritated. I actually started to comment and reply on a friend's
- [Traditional vs Simplified Chinese - Which Should You Teach Your Children?](https://mandarinmama.com/traditional-or-simplified/) - I'm launching myself head first into a somewhat contentious and heated debate on Traditional vs Simplified Chinese Characters. (What can I say? I'm a giver.) For those of you without a personal stake in the matter, the issue may seem a bit silly and perhaps, unnecessarily muddies the water in Mandarin Immersion schools and curriculum
- [Radical Self-Care](https://mandarinmama.com/radical-self-care/) - So last week, after I cleaned my laundry room and cleared my kitchen table (I would post a pic but I fear jinxing the situation), and then doing and folding several loads of laundry, I was exhausted. I think I also cooked most of our meals. (Hapa Papa couldn't figure out whose house he was
- [Goldilocks Syndrome, Church, and Lazy Thinking](https://mandarinmama.com/goldilocks-church-lazy-thinking/) - So, my mother got mad at me the other day. She accused me of purposely adding Kung Fu for the kids on Sundays so that I could have an excuse for her not to take them to church with her. She's wrong. I don't want her to take the kids to church because I think
- [The Case for Zhuyin (Bopomofo)](https://mandarinmama.com/the-case-for-zhuyin-bopomofo/) - Before I go any further, I want to point out what this post is NOT. This is not a post pitting pinyin against Zhuyin (Bopomofo). I am not interested in some dogmatic discussion about how Zhuyin (Bopomofo) or pinyin is superior to the other. That is boring and stupid because it assumes that there can only
- [Some Random Thoughts for Today](https://mandarinmama.com/some-random-thoughts-for-today/) - It's been awhile since I've had a random post of my meandering thoughts. And while I usually have these posts because my brain has stalled and I can't think of anything to say but still want to blog because writing is a habit and if I fall off the wagon, who knows when I will
- [Sacking Up](https://mandarinmama.com/sacking-up/) - Ladies and Gentlemen: I am the Worst Fantasizer in the World (WFotW). (This is also why I think I have an incredibly difficult time with writing fiction.) Why would I say this? Because quite simply, it is true. I can ruin a fantasy in about 15 seconds. Any fantasy. This is also why I absolutely
- [Things That Make Me Laugh](https://mandarinmama.com/things-that-make-me-laugh/) - I know I often write about serious things on this blog which is fine and all, but I also am capable of writing about happy and silly things. So today, I would like you to know about two graphic novel series (with Amazon affiliate links). YMMV, of course. But if these things don't make you laugh,
- [How to Get Your Kid to Speak Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-get-your-kid-to-speak-chinese/) - **This piece was originally part of a series of posts. You can find the updated version, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. I confess: this is a somewhat misleading title since truthfully, you really can't force your child to speak Chinese if they really don't want
- [Being Invisible](https://mandarinmama.com/being-invisible/) - "So, what do you ladies do?" The hairy, overly tanned middle-aged white man asked. My friend, Laney, and I had been busy chatting in the hot tub on our last day together when Bob*, with the self-importance only a middle-aged white man can project, interjected and proceeded to monologue for the next 45 minutes wherein our sole purpose was
- [Top 10 Chinese Posts of 2015](https://mandarinmama.com/top-chinese-posts-of-2015/) - Merry Christmas and 聖誕快樂 to all those who celebrate! I know it's Christmas Day so hopefully, you had a great morning of basking in the glow of your grateful children. But if you are now begging to be educated on learning Chinese (oh, don't lie - you totally are!!), I've conveniently compiled my Top 10 Chinese
- [Top 10 Non-Chinese Posts of 2015](https://mandarinmama.com/top-10-posts-of-2015/) - Well, it's both the Monday after a holiday as well as a Monday of a holiday week so my guess is either you're at work with very little to do, or at home with a ton to do but you want to procrastinate. Thank goodness, I live to serve. Here, for your procrastinatey endeavors, are my
- [My Personal Favorite Posts of 2015](https://mandarinmama.com/my-personal-favorite-posts-of-2015/) - Welp. It's the end of 2015 and you have now suffered through my Top Chinese Posts of 2015 as well as my Top Non-Chinese Posts of 2015. And as much as I enjoyed them, my most popular posts weren't always the same as my personal favorites. Plus, you know you're bored at home so you
- [Back to Reality](https://mandarinmama.com/back-to-reality-2/) - It's been a good few weeks. Hapa Papa took it easy for the holidays and "worked" from home. Kids barely had any classes and had tons of park playdates. I went out a lot with my friends. Saw a lot of old friends visiting family up here. Threw a NYE party. Binge read several books.
- [My Favorite Reads of 2015 Part 2](https://mandarinmama.com/my-favorite-reads-of-2015-part-2/) - Since I have so many books I loved from 2015, I had to split the list in half. If you missed Part 1, don't worry! It's the internet and you can read that after! Here then are more of my favorite reads from 2015 in no particular order. As before, I consolidated series into a
- [My Favorite Reads of 2015 Part 1](https://mandarinmama.com/my-favorite-reads-of-2015-part-1/) - Apparently, I haven't posted about books (not including Chinese readers, obviously) since May 2015. May 2015!! (Ok, I did post about graphic novels a few weeks ago, but there were only two.) So, since I read 140 books last year (humblebrag), I think I read enough to give some qualified recommendations. So, here then are
- [Vegas, Baby, Vegas!](https://mandarinmama.com/vegas-baby-vegas/) - Has it already been a week since I went to Vegas for Type A Vegas? I know I had previously written that I was a bit anxious about the whole thing because that's the way I do things. In fact, the first night, I couldn't fall asleep. All I could think of was that I
- [I Broke My Brain. Again.](https://mandarinmama.com/i-broke-my-brain-again/) - Oh, my poor, perforated brain. That gurgling you hear is the remains of my skull dribbling to its ignominious end. The sad thing is, I've totally done this before. Maybe this is just a side effect of using my brain or trying out new things. Like, getting old or hurting myself just breathing. But the
- [Guestpost: Sagebook Character Study Sets on Quizlet](https://mandarinmama.com/guestpost-sagebook-character-study-sets-on-quizlet/) - A/N: For more information and a basic background about Sagebooks, please refer to my previous posts or GuavaRama’s previous posts. This post is part of a mini-series on Sagebooks and might not make as much sense without context. Since I've been posting so much about Sagebook lately, I thought it would benefit everyone who is using them (or thinking of using them)
- [Sex and Caffeine](https://mandarinmama.com/sex-and-caffeine/) - Alright. The title of this post is somewhat misleading. (sorrynotsorry) But I just thought the title sounded sexy and bad-ass and quite frankly, I wanted to sex up my blog a bit. (Something of mine should be sexy, right?) And I will talk about sexy people (and include pictures - you're welcome). So, it's kind of on
- [My Year of Risking Dangerously](https://mandarinmama.com/my-year-of-risking-dangerously/) - When I look back on my youth, I am always so puzzled as to why I had such a hard time asking my parents (especially my mother) for what I wanted or needed. I mean, we’re talking about basic needs like menstrual pads for when I was menstruating. And yet, instead of asking my mother
- [Finding Your Tribe](https://mandarinmama.com/finding-your-tribe/) - I love the internet. I know there is a seedy underbelly, but on the whole, I don't venture in those parts. Instead, I worship at the altars of Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Wikipedia. As an extrovert, one of the hardest things about being a SAHM is the isolation. It's not so much that I need
- [How to Find Your Tribe](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-find-your-tribe/) - My last post talked about finding your tribe and what that tribe might look like. However, while it can get you excited about belonging to a tribe, it's less helpful in the practicalities. After all, it's all well and good for me to say, "Find your tribe!" But it's an altogether different endeavor to actually find your tribe.
- [How I Finally Got Those Mandarin Posters Out of the Laundry Room](https://mandarinmama.com/how-i-finally-got-those-mandarin-posters-out-of-the-laundry-room/) - I admit it. I got carried away by the hype and the threat of Traditional character posters being out of print and discontinued. My friend, Sookie4, posted on the Raising Bilingual Kids in Chinese & English Facebook group that a set of posters covering up to 99% of the most common characters used in modern Chinese texts was converting
- [Buffalo Sauce is Awesome on Everything](https://mandarinmama.com/buffalo-sauce-awesome-everything/) - I have been tired lately - both from working on stuff for my Year of Risking Dangerously as well as just needing to let my brain run and consume things a bit so I have stuff to write about. Plus, Hapa Papa has been traveling a lot and that is a different type of tiring. So, as
- [Chinese Reading Challenge](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-reading-challenge/) - It's a universally accepted fact that the best way to increase literacy is to have your kids read, read often, and read widely. So, if you want your kids to learn Chinese and also have them literate, that holds equally true for Chinese literacy. It is especially true if the books are non-translated, "indigenous" books. Reading (in any
- [AAAH! So Excite!](https://mandarinmama.com/aaah-so-excite/) - You guys!! My article is featured on Post Partum Progress today! So excite! And thank you, Miranda Wicker, for asking me to try for it! You can find my article here: How to Get the Most Out of Your Therapist
- [The Old School Games I Miss](https://mandarinmama.com/the-old-school-games-i-miss/) - I very rarely play computer games now because once I start, I cannot stop. Next thing I know, it will be 2017 and the kids are grown and in college or something. So, I really couldn't tell you anything about the new games that are out there. But back in the day, I was KING
- [I've Been Profiled!](https://mandarinmama.com/ive-been-profiled/) - Friends, this week, my dreams of being internet famous are in full effect. Whoooo! Anyhow, if you have ever been curious about how I homeschool in Chinese (or at all), I'm featured on Guavarama's blog today. She has a new series profiling Chinese homeschoolers and I'm her inaugural profile. WHOOOOOO! So, please. Give me (and Guavarama) some
- [Stuff I Reluctantly Learned from Homeschooling, Vol 1](https://mandarinmama.com/things-i-reluctantly-learned-vol-1/) - Alright, friends. Because you know that I cannot resist turning my life into fodder for blog posts, I've decided to start a new monthly series about my homeschooling experiences. (Hey, it's hard to come up with topics sometimes - especially three times a week! I know. #bloggerproblems and other nonsense. Cry me a river, right?)
- [Stuff I Reluctantly Learned from Homeschooling, Vol 2](https://mandarinmama.com/things-i-reluctantly-learned-vol-2/) - This week, I talk about the lessons I learned from homeschooling my kids in January 2016. How's that for lack of a rambling introduction? Don't get used to it, people. I just happen to be tired and lazy today. 1) Rearranging a room makes a HUGE difference! Both to productivity as well as usage of things!
- [Hibernating](https://mandarinmama.com/hibernating/) - I'm not gonna lie to you, Marge. I almost didn't write a post tonight. All I want is to curl up in bed, finish the latest book I'm reading (Amazon affiliate link), maybe eat congee (which I am currently doing), and perhaps, watch last week's The Vampire Diaries and its crossover episode with The Originals. I'm a simple
- [How Teaching My Kids Chinese Completely Derailed My Life](https://mandarinmama.com/how-teaching-my-kids-chinese-completely-derailed-my-life/) - **You can find an updated version of this piece, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. If you told me seven years ago that I would be a Chinese homeschooling mom of three, that all our activities would be evaluated on the basis of whether
- [Now That I've Lost My Mind](https://mandarinmama.com/now-that-ive-lost-my-mind/) - So, I have been MIA these past two weeks because I am utterly exhausted. I have been going to bed with the kids and waking up with the kids. And since I usually write when they are sleeping, I haven't been writing. During the day, I am also tired. And though I used to go
- [Why Non-Speaker/Speaker Chinese Playdates Are Probably Not Going to Work](https://mandarinmama.com/non-speakerspeaker-chinese-playdates-probably-not-going-work/) - **You can find an updated version of this piece, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. I read a lot of articles on language and helping kids become bilingual. And over and over again, I see the same advice telling non-Chinese speaking parents to set
- [Election Fears](https://mandarinmama.com/election-fears/) - I cannot believe I have friends who are going to abstain from voting (Especially friends who are minorities.) You cannot fucking tell me that there is no difference between Trump and Clinton. A vote for no one is a vote for Trump. Because you can sure as fuck bet that the Trump supporters will be
- [Yup. Still Alive. ](https://mandarinmama.com/yup-still-alive/) - I know. Shouldn't I be out of my first trimester yet? Yes, yes, I am. But I'm still exhausted all the time. This 4th pregnancy is kicking my proverbial ass. Anyhow, here are a few things that have been floating around in my brain. 1) Now, it should come as no surprised to my long time
- [Have I Ruined My Life?](https://mandarinmama.com/have-i-ruined-my-life/) - A few weeks ago, Dr. T commented that she felt that lately, I was more and more high strung than I had been in a really long time. Since I started seeing her back in November 2014, in fact. I briefly acknowledged her point, but just chocked it to having a lot of shit to
- [The Ebbs and Flows of Chinese Learning](https://mandarinmama.com/ebbs-and-flows-of-chinese-learning/) - It's been awhile since I last wrote about Chinese or Chinese language acquisition. Mostly because though I have some new thoughts, my brain has been mush due to incubating Baby4 and I haven't been able to rub two thoughts together let alone write a post. However. A lot has also been because I've been feeling a bit
- [Top 20 Reasons Why I Actually Live in a Frat House](https://mandarinmama.com/top-reasons-actually-live-frat-house/) - If we're friends on Facebook and in Real Life, you'll likely notice a common theme regarding posts about my children. They're a pack of wild animals. No exaggeration. It's my fault, really. I don't particularly care if the kids beat the shit out of each other as long as they don't do it in public
- [Stuff I Reluctantly Learned from Homeschooling, Vol. 3](https://mandarinmama.com/stuff-reluctantly-learned-homeschooling-vol-3/) - Man, it's a good thing that I keep a notebook with notes on what I want to blog about. Otherwise, there is no way I could remember what I learned in February (however reluctantly). I mean, I can't really recall what I did yesterday so casting back to February 2016 would have been an exercise in
- [How to Plan a Trip to Taiwan with Your Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-plan-a-trip-to-taiwan-with-your-kids/) - Here's an incredibly stupid reason why I'm glad to be in Taiwan for most of the summer. It has nothing to do with Mandarin immersion or food. It is because I am already sick of Justin Timberlake's song, Can't Stop the Feeling, and I'm sure it will be on the radio nonstop over the summer. That
- [My First Summer Vacation in Decades](https://mandarinmama.com/first-summer-vacation-decades/) - You guys, you guys! In three weeks, I will be dragging my three ungrateful children to Taiwan for six weeks of mandatory Chinese life immersion! Hapa Papa will not be joining us for awhile so it should be "interesting" to say the least. (However, my mom did somehow bribe my eldest cousin to help me out
- [If You REALLY Wanted to Protect Your Daughters](https://mandarinmama.com/if-you-really-wanted-to-protect-your-daughters/) - Around the end of May, I was seeing a lot of hysteria on my FB feed from my religious friends (not all of them, mind you - nor even the majority of them - but ENOUGH of them) going out of their proverbial minds because OMG WE MUST PROTECT OUR DAUGHTERS FROM MEN WHO WILL PRETEND
- [Stuff I Reluctantly Learned from Homeschooling, Vol. 4](https://mandarinmama.com/stuff-reluctantly-learned-homeschooling-vol-4/) - Okie dokes! It's another edition of my reluctantly learned lessons and quite frankly, even though these were mostly for the month of March 2016, since I did nothing for April and May 2016, they get lumped into this group as well. Yay for efficiency! So, because I'm on a rare brevity roll, let's get straight to it! 1)
- [How I Prep for a Long Trip](https://mandarinmama.com/how-i-prep-for-a-long-trip/) - I can't believe I am leaving for Taiwan in less than two weeks! It's getting down to crunch time. Of course, Hapa Papa doesn't understand why I'm stressed (I say I'm not stressed about it but that's because I'm LYING) because he thinks that going on a trip just means to pack a few days
- [Joyfully Saying No and Goodbye](https://mandarinmama.com/joyfully-saying-no-and-goodbye/) - Every two years or in this case, three, my house gets purged from top to bottom and cleaned before each new baby appears. (It's pretty much the ONLY time my house gets cleaned so yes, we pretty much live in filth or half-assed "cleaning" the rest of the time.) I don't know what's going to
- [Where's My "Women's Work" Medal?](https://mandarinmama.com/womens-work-medal/) - There should be a special kind of swagger after you complete a shit ton of housework. Or a badge of honor. Whatever it is, it should be obvious, huge, and awesome. After all, I just spent two entire days doing several loads of laundry, folding it, and actually putting it away. (We all know that it's
- [The Hardest Part of Raising Your Kids Bilingual](https://mandarinmama.com/hardest-part-raising-kids-bilingual/) - **This piece was originally part of a series of posts. You can find the updated version, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Alright folks, super short post today. At least for me. Especially in regards to Chinese language learning. But truthfully, there isn't much to
- [Entry is Hard](https://mandarinmama.com/entry-is-hard/) - Ok. That sounds way more provocative than this post actually is. Also? That's what she said! I know. I'm twelve. But you all knew that already so really, it's your own fault for not expecting it. Anyhow, we made it to the Taiwan and are mostly settled into our apartment. It's very spacious and modern
- [Taiwanese Camp Update, Week 1](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwanese-camp-update-week-1/) - As many of you know, one of the primary reasons I homeschool my children is for them to retain their Chinese language when they hit Kindergarten age. It is common knowledge that most kids, though fluent in Chinese before starting preschool or any type of full time schooling, will immediately start to lose their fluency and
- [Sleep? Who Needs Sleep?](https://mandarinmama.com/sleep-needs-sleep/) - So, I spoke too soon in my last post. I thought that since my kids usually sleep 10 hours a night, I would be in the clear having them sleep at 7pm. Waking up at 5am was perfectly cromulent in my book. But, I forgot Gamera was still coughing a lot and she woke up
- [Chinese Progress, Update 1](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-progress-update-1/) - We have now been in Taiwan about 11 days (give or take depending on time change and traveling into the future via plane) and surprisingly, I've already seen signs of improvement in the kids' Chinese. Here then, are several of my meandering thoughts and observations (backed by zero science or discrete measurements and is merely
- [Notes and Nonsense](https://mandarinmama.com/notes-and-nonsense/) - Welp, it's been a few days since I last posted and honestly, I really only have a random collection of thoughts to write. My brain is mush due to the heat and also, all the blood rushes from my brain to my basketball sized stomach in order to process all the food I am eating
- [My Love is an Act of Will](https://mandarinmama.com/my-love-is-an-act-of-will/) - In case you missed my performance back in May, here is a video of my reading for Listen to Your Mother SF. I've included the transcript of my piece after. Also, please do check out the entire line up for Listen to Your Mother SF 2016. They are hilarious and moving and fantastic women with wonderful stories. You will not
- [Taiwanese Camp Update, Week 2](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwanese-camp-update-week-2/) - Welp, I'm a little late on last week's update but I have a good excuse. We went to visit family in Kaohsiung this past weekend and I had no intention of lugging around my laptop (no matter how light). If you missed last week's update, you can find it here. But anyhow, let's get into
- [Taiwanese Camp Update, Week 3](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwanese-camp-update-week-3/) - Sorry I have been slow with the updates. Between dealing with multiple barfy kids, tantrumming Glow Worm, and eating and napping, I have been sorely remiss. Anyhow, better late than never, right? Even though we are all finished with camp this summer, I hope I can still remember what happened last week. (This might not be
- [Chinese Progress, Update 2](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-progress-update-2/) - Only ten days left in Taiwan! I can't believe we have passed the halfway point in our trip here and are closing in on leaving. It makes me sad, but my kids are ecstatic. They keep begging to go back to America because Taiwan is "boring." (What they don't realize is that they are complaining
- [OMG, I'm PREGNANT!](https://mandarinmama.com/omg-im-pregnant/) - I'm slow, ok? I've barely thought about this pregnancy since I got pregnant and other than the constant reminder when I'm on public transportation (only because kind people keep offering me a seat - which I usually assume is for the kids until I remember that I'm huge), I usually forget that I'm pregnant. At
- [The Ending of My Fantasy Life](https://mandarinmama.com/ending-fantasy-life/) - One more eating day left, friends. ONE. Irish Twins summed up her grief nicely: here she was, living in a land where her kids are eating new things, finally getting into Chinese, and she doesn't have to cook or do anything and things are magically taken care of and obviously that is not sustainable for
- [This Cover of "Sex Is on Fire" Is a Crime Against Music](https://mandarinmama.com/this-cover-of-sex-is-on-fire-is-a-crime-against-music/) - On the slow creeping tyranny of blandification, and why I need us to start platforming the weird stuff before I lose my mind entirely.
- [I WANT I WANT I WANT (and What a Relief We Are Together)](https://mandarinmama.com/i-want-i-want-i-want-and-what-a-relief-we-are-together/) - On surviving difficult anniversaries, celebrating properly, and the moment prayer became “I WANT I WANT I WANT
- [Final Money Tally for Taiwan Trip 2016](https://mandarinmama.com/final-money-tally-taiwan-trip-2016/) - Ok. I am super reluctant to write this post because it reveals something about me that though I joke about with my closest friends, I don't mention too often because I personally think it makes me look bad. After all, no one likes a braggart or someone who is seemingly thoughtless with money. And honestly,
- [Guest Post: A Road Map to Early Chinese Literacy During Early Childhood](https://mandarinmama.com/guest-post-road-map-early-chinese-literacy-early-childhood/) - Today, we have another guest post by Alex Pang! He is a valued contributor to the Raising Bilingual Kids in Chinese & English Facebook group and has made several helpful posts in the past on MandarinMama on Sagebooks and Greenfield. This time, he wanted to address some questions he sees oft repeated on the Facebook group and thought
- [How to Get Your Kids to Play With Their Toys](https://mandarinmama.com/get-kids-play-toys/) - As many of you know, my house is a mecca of toys. Is it educational? Is it a logic puzzle? Does it involve building blocks or wood or MAGNETS? Is it a Lego? Or crafty? If so, I probably own it. I'm a sucker for anything with a magnet. Or logic. Or building. But the
- [Stuff I Reluctantly Learned from Homeschooling, Vol. 5](https://mandarinmama.com/stuff-reluctantly-learned-homeschooling-vol-5/) - Can you believe that it's almost September and that I've been back at homeschooling for three weeks already? And that I'm actually starting on a second year with TWO kids that I'm homeschooling as well as a new baby arriving in about a month's time? Sometimes, I think I have actually lost my proverbial mind. Who
- [What Our Homeschooling Looks Like](https://mandarinmama.com/homeschooling-looks-like/) - When I first started seriously considering homeschooling, I had a really hard time visualizing what the day to day life would be like. Did they all sit around a kitchen table and a white board and have a Little House on the Prairie type one-room classroom for all ages moment? (I really envisioned Mennonites with their
- [Things I Didn't Realize I Needed to Teach My Children](https://mandarinmama.com/things-i-didnt-realize-i-needed-to-teach-my-children/) - I have had quite a day full of mishaps with my children. I swear, they are smart kids, but also extremely dumb. If we were early on in the evolutionary chain, humankind would have died out. Our branch would have come to an immediate and abrupt end. And it would be deserved. Utterly and totally
- [Incoherent Ramblings of My Sleep Deprived Mind](https://mandarinmama.com/incoherent-ramblings-of-my-sleep-deprived-mind/) - I am a consummate idiot. Instead of going to bed at 9pm last night, and possibly sleeping through the night because Sasquatch seems to be sleeping longer when he is dry (so adding an insert to his cloth diaper was super helpful), I stayed up until 3-4am playing a new to me game called Two
- [What I've Been Doing Instead of Writing](https://mandarinmama.com/ive-instead-writing/) - Happy New Year, friends! Ok, ok. The new year started nine days ago. I'm a little late to the game. But you know what? Technically, a new year starts every single second so there. I decided to give myself a break from writing what with a two month old and the holidays and what not. But
- [How to Jumpstart Your Kid's Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/jumpstart-kids-chinese/) - **You can find an updated version of this piece, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. It's been awhile since I posted about Chinese language acquisition. I try not to post about this subject unless I actually have something either new to say - or
- [Runaway Brain](https://mandarinmama.com/runaway-brain/) - So, my third trimester insomnia has hit full on (likely aided by jetlag and shitty kids who are so jetlagged that they've gone insane) and even though I'm exhausted and sleep-deprived, I still don't go to sleep because I'm stupid. I know there are essential oils I could be using, but frankly, I kinda like
- [Checking In on My Year of Risking Dangerously](https://mandarinmama.com/checking-year-living-dangerously/) - I briefly mentioned it in Monday's blog, but a college friend recently approached me to ask me about blogging. He wanted to know how to make money with the blog, increasing visibility and readership, how to make his blog better, and general advice (like writing) for his blog. I had a really great time discussing
- [Subtraction Woes](https://mandarinmama.com/subtraction-woes/) - I'd like to think I'm pretty good at math. I did well on my AP exams and took Calculus for a few quarters at UCLA and in general, did a lot of math for chemistry and physics and my other science courses. I still remember a lot of useless geometric formulas for calculating the areas of
- [Taiwanese Camp Update, Week 4](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwanese-camp-update-week-4/) - I sincerely meant to post this update sooner than I have - however, I wanted to get back to a regular schedule and that meant that I really only post Chinese related stuff on Fridays. And I had two posts lined up for Fridays already so I figured, hey! We can wait for the Taiwan
- [Conversations about Greenfield](https://mandarinmama.com/conversations-about-greenfield/) - So, even though I've owned the Greenfield Series for at least a year, I've always been intimidated by them because there are SO MANY books. (Granted, it takes less than a minute to go through them, but because I am lazy and have never looked through the books before, I had no idea.) Well, for this
- [Greenfield "I Can Read" Series Review](https://mandarinmama.com/greenfield-i-can-read-series-review/) - So. Cookie Monster (6.75) and I have finally made it through the Greenfield I can Read Series and truthfully, I hate them. I know. I know. I have totally recommended them to folks and for younger children; perhaps it is actually good for them. I'm sure YMMV depending on how you learn and like to teach as well as
- [Scattershot](https://mandarinmama.com/scattershot/) - My mind is totally everywhere right now and while I'm sure each individual thought is snowflake-esque and definitely brilliant material enough to generate a post of its own because I am a font of hilarity, alas, it is not to be. And so you, Dear Reader, are forced to read only half germinated thoughts and be
- [The Discomfort Before Birth](https://mandarinmama.com/the-discomfort-before-birth/) - Before you freak out that I'm about to post another TMI pregnancy post, it's a metaphor, see? (Although, it being a metaphor doesn't necessarily preclude me from TMI sharing. But I think I did enough of that on Monday.) Anyhow, a lot of what has been occupying my mind is working on my So You Want Your Kid
- [Stuff I Reluctantly Learned from Homeschooling, Vol. 6](https://mandarinmama.com/stuff-reluctantly-learned-homeschooling-vol-6/) - I really cannot believe September is mostly over already. I mean, that is both good (because I'm closer to birth), and bad (because I'm closer to birth). Whichever it is (likely a mix of both), it's time for another round of what I reluctantly learned from homeschooling for September 2016. 1) Provide enough time and space
- [How to Pay for College](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-pay-for-college/) - Author's Note: Today's guest post is by my college buddy, JT, from the blog, Just Making Cents. Since I just had a baby, JT was kind enough to step in and write a post for my blog - and it is totally appropos since I have four kids to put through college. Anyhow, JT offered to add a post to my Money
- [I Am Afraid to Be Brave](https://mandarinmama.com/i-am-afraid/) - I am in shock. Whenever I actually think and let the truth sink in of a world where Trump is POTUS, I want to cry. I think, Is it wrong to pray for a well placed blood clot? But then we get Pence. Pence is a monumental prick who might be more terrifying than Trump.
- [I Can Still Be Surprised](https://mandarinmama.com/i-can-still-be-surprised/) - Hello friends! Thank you so much for your patience and forebearance with my spotty posting these past few months. The last trimester with Baby4 was rough. I pretty much put myself on self-imposed bedrest because being physically upright was painful and hard and awful. Thank goodness Hapa Papa has a flexible work schedule and job because
- [Suck It Up, Buttercup](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-up-buttercup/) - I can't believe 2016 is almost over. My Year of Risking Dangerously is almost at an end - and for the most part, unchanged since I last checked in at the end of August. (Well, with the exception of Sasquatch's appearance. However, he doesn't count exactly as a risk.) Anyhow, since it is practically Thanksgiving (HOW
- [The New Normal](https://mandarinmama.com/new-normal/) - People, it is hard to write lately. Not for lack of anything to say, mind you. But lack of free hands. Sasquatch is still in the phase where he prefers to be held or on a human. And because he is my last baby, I find myself reluctant to shunt him to his crib. Plus,
- [Shiny, Delicate, Lovely Things](https://mandarinmama.com/shiny-delicate-lovely-things/) - For those of you who didn't know me when I was working, it might strike you odd to hear that I love jewelry. After all, I rarely wear it, don't talk about it much, and in general, don't buy any. (In fact, the last piece of jewelry I bought was likely before Cookie Monster was
- [Adulting Like a Boss](https://mandarinmama.com/adulting-like-a-boss/) - People. I have been wearing my Big Girl Panties lately. Heck. It's really only been a week but come on! We take our wins when we can get them. And because I am twelve, I am hereby listing the things that I adulted even though technically, I don't need to start until January 1, 2017.
- [Adventures in Christmas Decorating](https://mandarinmama.com/adventures-in-christmas-decorating/) - Welp, it's that wonderful time of year again. You know, Christmas and holidays and trees and presents and magic. Which is great to witness in movies, but a PITA to experience. Ok. Fine. I have a somewhat squelchy heart made of coal. (How can coal squelch? Wouldn't that require more soggy material? Clearly mixed a
- [Random Thoughts](https://mandarinmama.com/random-thoughts/) - Friends, I am a little tipsy on fatigue and a day full of drinking prosecco at Cookie Monster's birthday party. So, if today's post is particularly punchy and random, blame the baby. Being tired hurts my brain cells more than the prosecco. Seriously, you need to check out my friend, Miranda Wicker's, Wine Shop at Home site
- [How Things are Different with the 4th Baby](https://mandarinmama.com/things-different-4th-baby/) - Everyone knows that your parenting changes from the first baby to the last baby. Even if it's not worn out as a topic on HuffPo Parents or ScaryMommy, it's something that I've been thinking about more and more. I've been very lucky. Not only did I have relatively easy, healthy pregnancies for all four children, I had relatively
- [Stuff I Reluctantly Learned from Homeschooling, Vol. 7](https://mandarinmama.com/stuff-i-reluctantly-learned-from-homeschooling-vol-7/) - Wow. Has it really been 3+ months since my last post about what lessons I've learned from homeschooling? Since most of it was a blur, I'm not sure how much I will have to say about 2016Q4. But since I'm a completist, I will give it a go. Here then, (with my shortest preamble yet!)
- [Top Financial Things You Should Do After Having a Baby](https://mandarinmama.com/top-financial-things-baby/) - As some of you know, prior to my life as a glorious SAHM, I was miserable as a financial advisor. Now, despite me not enjoying the actual work of a financial advisor, it was incredibly practical and useful in terms of preparing for my own personal future. (Also, I met some awesome people who started
- [Preparing for the Pending Zombie Apocalypse](https://mandarinmama.com/pending-zombie-apocalypse/) - At least once a year, (more so if I happen upon a traumatic headline or read a book based on the Holocaust or something), I mentally freak out and start going down the Prepper rabbit hole and worry about the zombie apocalypse and completely go nuts Googling for random survivor gear. I have posted about
- [How to Choose a Taiwanese Preschool](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-choose-a-taiwanese-preschool/) - The other day, a reader brought to my attention that perhaps my post on How to Plan a Trip to Taiwan was not as helpful in the choosing a Taiwanese preschool department. So, in the spirit of being helpful, I wrote another post about specifically, finding a preschool for the 6 years and under set.
- [Morbid Thoughts](https://mandarinmama.com/morbid-thoughts/) - Trigger warning: Some graphic descriptions of the Holocaust, accidents, and anxious thoughts. As many of you know, my brain is a jerk. Often times, I will be minding my own business, peacefully driving on the freeway or showering or reading or texting or WHATEVER, and then suddenly, my brain will flash a particularly horrifying vision
- [Brainwashing My Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/brainwashing-my-kids/) - "Papa, you look like a girl," laughed Cookie Monster. "Why?" replied Hapa Papa. "Is it because I have Sasquatch in an Ergo*?" "Yeah!" I had to interject. "Remember, Cookie Monster, there are no boy clothes or girl clothes. Just clothes. Just like there are no boy things or girl things. Just things." "Oh, yeah!" "Do you know what the
- [Suck It Up, January](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-up-january/) - How is January mostly over? Somehow, I have a feeling this is how I'm going to feel at the end of every single month. In fact, I might just decide to start with that sentence variation every time because stupid things like this amuse me. Anyhow, I thought I'd take a page from Wil Wheaton's Life Reboot
- [我要吃小孩: Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/我要吃小孩-book-review/) - Title: 我愛吃小孩 (wo3 yao4 chi xiao3 hai2)/I Want to Eat a Child ISBN: 9789865876135 Authors/Illustrations: 文/希薇安丶東尼歐，圖/多蘿特丶蒙弗列特，譯/蘇㦤禎 (translated from French) Publisher: 阿布拉教育文化 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Fiction Summary: Archie, the alligator, doesn't want to eat any more bananas. He wants to eat a child. Archie's parents are really worried and try to tempt him with
- [Raising an Advocate](https://mandarinmama.com/raising-an-advocate/) - I remember in my high school civics class, our teacher said that in general, children start off with their parents' political beliefs, become more liberal in college, and then finally, when they make more money and become parents themselves, circle back to conservative. After all, once you have more money, you are less sanguine about
- [小雞逛遊樂園: Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/小雞逛遊樂園-book-review/) - Title: 小雞逛遊樂園 (xiao3 ji guang4 you2 le4 yuan2)/Baby Chicks at the Forest Park ISBN: 9789862112793 Authors/Illustrations: Noriko Kudo (translated from Japanese) 文、圖/工藤紀子，翻譯/劉握瑜 Publisher: 小魯文化事業股份有限公司 (Xiao Lu Wen Hua/Tsai Fong Books) Published: 2012 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Fiction Pages: 36 Summary: The five little chicks go to the amusement park and have a lot of fun
- [How to Turn Your Car into a Mobile Chinese Learning Center](https://mandarinmama.com/turn-car-mobile-chinese-learning-center/) - **You can find an updated version of this piece, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. If you are anything like me, you likely spend 87% of your time in the car shuttling your kids to and from school, activities, and errands. That adds up
- [It Turns Out I Am Not a Great Judge of Character](https://mandarinmama.com/it-turns-out-i-am-not-a-great-judge-of-character/) - What I learned after ignoring every red flag, losing $32K, and attending a romance conference when I don't write romance—which is to say, not as much as you’d hope.
- [Visiting My Local Congressman](https://mandarinmama.com/visiting-local-congressman/) - This past weekend, I attended an open house of my local congressman, Congressman Eric Swalwell. Swalwell had consolidated two offices into one more centrally located office and I guess they were doing a ribbon cutting for the new place. It was not what I expected - but then quickly became what I expected. (After all,
- [品德教育閱讀每日10分鍾: Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/品德教育閱讀每日10分鍾-book-review/) - Title: 品德教育閱讀每日10分鍾 國小一年級 (ping3 de2 jiao4 yu4 yue4 due2 mei3 ri4 shi2 fen zhong guo2 xiao3 yi nian2 ji2)/Moral Character Education 10 Minute Daily Readings for 1st Grade ISBN: Not applicable Authors/Illustrations: 資優國語文教研會 Publisher: 光田出版社 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Non-Fiction, Textbook, Taiwanese 1st Grade Pages: 160 Summary: 74 short moral essays/stories that include 5 reading
- [10 Things You Might Not Know About Me](https://mandarinmama.com/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-me/) - Welp, it's a slow day here (in my brain anyway), and since it's been hard for me to be awake past 9pm, this is the best I can do for now. 1) I prefer action movies and comedies to drama. Bonus points if the action is kungfu or has lots of one on one fighting.
- [Stuff I Reluctantly Learned from Homeschooling, Vol. 8](https://mandarinmama.com/stuff-reluctantly-learned-homeschooling-vol-8/) - You know, I really don't know how I can keep doing this series without repeating the lessons I've learned in the past. Quite frankly, it's because I'm slow and require multiple reminders and lessons before things sink in. I suppose there is a greater lesson here about having more compassion and understanding for my children
- [四季好蔬菜: Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-book-review-四季好蔬菜/) - Title: 四季好蔬菜 (si4 ji4 hai3 su cai4)/Vegetables of the Four Seasons ISBN: 9789861615233 Authors/Photographs: 文/信誼基金出版社，照片/永豐餘生技丶達志影像 Publisher: 信宜 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Non-Fiction, Science Summary: Introduces some vegetables that grow in every season. Has lots of pictures. Sample Pages: Rating: 3/5 stars 5 Minute Review: Well, it is about vegetables. So I wouldn't say it was very
- [好吃的水果 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/好吃的水果-book-review/) - Title: 好吃的水果 (hao3 chi de5 shui3 guo3)/Tasty Fruit ISBN: 9789861614502 Authors/Photographs: 信誼基金出版社 Publisher: 信誼 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Non-Fiction, Science Summary: Introduces some fruits and discusses what they look like on the outside, the type of seeds they have, as well as what they taste like. They also ask kids to identify a fruit
- [Suck It Up, February](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-up-february/) - How is February mostly over? 2017 is 1/6th of the way done and I feel like all I did was blink and stare blankly at the page. Anyhow, here is my monthly check in to see how I'm doing with my yearly goals, aka: My Year of Sucking it Up. 1) Take family and personal
- [小黃點大冒險 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/小黃點大冒險-book-review/) - Title: 小黃點大冒險 (xiao3 huang2 dian3 da4 mao4 xian3)/Let's Play ISBN: 9789577625861 Author/Illustrator: Hervé Tullet Publisher: 上誼 Level: Chinese Picture Book, Fiction Summary: The Little Yellow Dot is bored and wants to play. Gives instructions to the reader (eg: trace the line, find the dot, press the dot, etc) and goes on an "adventure" with the reader
- [早起的一天 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/早起的一天-book-review/) - Title: 早起的一天 (zao3 qi3 de5 yi tian)/The Day We Woke Up Early ISBN: 9789867942012 Author/Illustrator: 賴馬 Publisher: 和英文化 Level: Chinese Picture Book, Beginning Reader, Fiction, Zhuyin, comes with CD Summary: A young pig gets up early in the morning to help his grandmother buy and prepare things for his grandfather's birthday. They go to the market, ride a
- [海豚 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/海豚-book-review/) - Title: 海豚 (hai3 tun2)/Dolphins ISBN: 9779861615189 Author/Photographer: 作者/信誼基金出版社丶黑潮海洋文教基金會 Publisher: 信誼 Level: Non-Fiction, Science, Chinese Picture Book, Beginning Reader, Zhuyin Summary: This book tells us all about dolphins. Where do they live? What kinds of dolphins are there? What do they eat? How do they communicate? Lots of pictures. Sample Pages: Rating: 5/5 stars 5 Minute
- [Brain Rattles](https://mandarinmama.com/brain-rattles/) - Folks, I know that the reason I'm tired is because I have a four month old as well as make poor sleeping choices. Them's the breaks, right? However, a sleepy, tired brain does not make for coherent pieces that document and logicize bilingual education or any of the things that I want to talk about
- [彩色點點 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/彩色點點-book-review/) - Title: 彩色點點 (cai3 se4 dian3 dian3)/Mix It Up! ISBN: 9789577625298 Author/Illustrator: Hervé Tullet Publisher: 上誼 Level: Chinese Picture Book, Fiction Summary: Gives instructions to the reader (eg: trace the line, find the dot, press the dot, etc) and goes on an "adventure" with the reader in tow. Very interactive. Sample Pages: Rating: 5/5 stars 5 Minute
- [Suck It Up, March](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-up-march/) - How is March mostly over? WTH, 2017? How is a quarter of the year over? I do not understand. Anyhow, here is my monthly check in to see how I’m doing with my yearly goals, aka: My Year of Sucking it Up. 1) Take family and personal health seriously. What does that look like? I want
- [蓮花 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/蓮花-book-review/) - Title: 蓮花 (lian2 hua)/Lotus Flower ISBN: 9789861614700 Authors: 信誼基金出版社 Publisher: 信誼 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Non-Fiction, Science Summary: This book discusses the lotus flower's life cycle and uses. Sample Pages: These were suggested by Cookie Monster (7yo) because they were his favorite pages of the book. He liked the seed pods (he thinks they're cool) and the lotus
- [Of Course](https://mandarinmama.com/of-course/) - Of course, now that I’m finally out with a friend to work, my internet on the laptop blitzes. It always blitzes at this particular place I’m at, but it’s so close to my house, it’s really hard to resist. Everything on the internet works except access to my blog. Talk about the OPPOSITE of what
- [Stuff I Reluctantly Learned from Homeschooling, Vol. 9](https://mandarinmama.com/stuff-reluctantly-learned-homeschooling-vol-9/) - Hello, all! It's been two months since my last Homeschooling update. (This makes me sound as if I'm at an AA meeting. Well, I guess I'm addicted to homeschooling so perhaps it is an apt comparison.) Anyhow, I have been remiss lately in both the writing and the homeschooling, but thankfully, the beauty of outsourcing
- [How to Use the Instant Pot if You Hate Recipes](https://mandarinmama.com/use-instant-pot-hate-recipes/) - Folks, I have a confession to make. I hate recipes. I mean, I see their utility, and I have even used them on occasion. But in general, if it requires a recipe, you can pretty much be assured that I will never cook said item. I’m always amused when I go to a friend’s house
- [好聽啟蒙故事 CD Review](https://mandarinmama.com/好聽啟蒙故事-cd-review/) - Title: 好聽啟蒙故事 (hao3 ting qi3 meng2 gu4 shi4)/The Best of Enlightenment Stories Producer: 台欣 (Tai Shin) Level: Non-Fiction, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Summary: 10 CD collection of bedtime stories; CDs 1-5 are fairytales, fables, and stories; CD 6 is biographies of famous composers; CD 7 is samples of the famous composers; CD 8 is stories of famous and great people
- [Instant Pot Hacks](https://mandarinmama.com/instant-pot-hacks/) - Everyone knows I am a super lazy person - especially when it comes to cooking (or doing anything, really). Last week I wrote about my Awesome Instant Pot Soup/Stew Templates instead of recipes (because I hate recipes). This week comes courtesy of my hatred of meal planning. No, seriously. I hate meal planning. The idea of
- [How the Instant Pot Changed My Life (and How I Use It)](https://mandarinmama.com/how-the-instant-pot-changed-my-life-and-how-i-use-it/) - This year, one of my resolutions was to eat healthier - but that is so vague. So I said that I would cook 5 meals a week and limit eating out to once a week. We used to be at McDonald's twice a week. TWICE A WEEK. I wasn't exactly proud of turning my children's blood
- [Slowly, Slowly](https://mandarinmama.com/slowly-slowly/) - Two weeks ago, I wrote about how I felt as if the "shine" on my "new" life had worn off already and we were back at my baseline of meh. Well, it's gotten a bit better. Now, I am under no illusion that this time, the shine will stay forever, but I do feel somewhat better. Mostly
- [Chinese Progress: 9 Months After Taiwan](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-progress-9-months-taiwan/) - Has it really been nine months since we got back from Taiwan? That's a PREGNANCY, people! Anyhow, I meant to do an update earlier and keep better track of when my children made the switch from Chinese default to English default, but that would have required me to pay far greater attention to my children
- [Miao Mi TV](https://mandarinmama.com/miao-mi-tv/) - ** Compensation for this post was provided on behalf of Miao Mi TV. A free code was also provided so I could review the app. Opinions expressed here are my own. People always say we should have our kids watch and listen to Chinese media in order to improve their Chinese, but you know, it can
- [The Simple Joys](https://mandarinmama.com/the-simple-joys/) - I don't know if it's the residual buzz from the bottomless mimosas I had today at lunch (whoooooooooo!), but I have been pretty happy lately. Nothing major has happened. Perhaps I am just noticing the good things a little more lately. Whatever the reason, there is no reason to assume that will last so it's best
- [Hiring an Au Pair for Chinese Fluency](https://mandarinmama.com/hiring-au-pair-chinese-fluency/) - One of the many great suggestions for helping our kids with Chinese fluency is to hire an au pair. Since I have never hired one, our guest poster, Hapalicious, offered up a fantastic write up of her experiences and advice for those of us who have thought about hiring an au pair to help with Chinese fluency. Please
- [So... I Made a Thing](https://mandarinmama.com/so-i-made-a-thing/) - So, remember how I've been talking about finishing my ebook and how I have been afraid and all sorts of stuff? Well... I finally finished. And it's on Amazon (affiliate link). Here's my new book, So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. I collected and updated my popular series by the same name, added a
- [Somehow, I Thought I Would Be Better](https://mandarinmama.com/somehow-thought-better/) - Here's the thing. I actually feel somewhat embarrassed admitting this, but it's where I'm at right now. I thought it would be different. I thought it would be better. I thought I would be different. I thought I would be better. But truthfully, although things got better briefly, better eventually just became the new normal. You see,
- [火車快跑 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/火車快跑-book-review/) - Title: 火車快跑 (huo3 che kuai4 pao3)/Freight Train ISBN: 9573212404 Authors: Donald Crews (著/唐諾 克魯斯，譯：劉思源) Publisher: 遠流出版事業股份有限公司 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Fiction Summary: This book is a Chinese translation of Freight Train by Donald Crews. First, we read about all the different types of railroad cars on the train. They are also listed by color. Then
- [兩隻老虎歡樂歌謠 Book/CD Review](https://mandarinmama.com/兩隻老虎歡樂歌謠-bookcd-review/) - Title: 兩隻老虎歡樂歌謠 (liang3 zhi lao2 hu3 huan le4 ge yao2)/Two Little Tigers Songs ISBN: 9867598903 Producer: 風車圖書出版 (Windmill) Level: Children's songs, zhuyin Summary: A collection of 40+ children's songs. Some are translations of English children's songs. Some are Chinese/Taiwanese children's songs. Sample Pictures: Rating: 5/5 stars 5 Minute Review: My kids love this CD set. In fact, most people I know own
- [小黃點 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/4612-2/) - Title: 小黃點 (xiao3 huang2 dian3)/Mix It Up! ISBN: 9789577625038 Author/Illustrator: Hervé Tullet Publisher: 上誼 Level: Chinese Picture Book, Fiction Summary: Follow the instructions and see what happens to the Little Yellow Dot! Press the dot, shake the book, and blow on the pages. Sample Pages: Rating: 5/5 stars 5 Minute Review: This book is hands down, my children's
- [Suck It Up, April](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-up-april/) - How is April mostly over? You know what this means, right? 1/3 of 2017 is over. That just sounds wrong. As usual, here is my monthly check in to see how I’m doing with my yearly goals, aka: My Year of Sucking it Up. 1) Take family and personal health seriously. What does that look
- [How a Chinese Boy Band Improved My Kids' Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/how-a-chinese-boy-band-improved-my-kids-chinese/) - Friends, it should come as no surprise that I am an unapologetic snob. Alright, occasionally, I am apologetic - but only because people expect it. Not because I am actually sorry. And thus, even though I knew that part of creating a Chinese Language Ecosystem (CLE) was having my kids listen to Chinese popular music,
- [同行 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/同行-book-review/) - Title: 同行 (tong2 xing2)/Travel Together ISBN: 9789861612164 Author: 林文玲 Publisher: 信誼 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Fiction Summary: A train and the sun are traveling together up and down a mountain. They are racing and seeing the sights together. They encounter a tunnel, fruit trees, and race the wind. At the end of the
- [Rambling Thoughts](https://mandarinmama.com/rambling-thoughts/) - I inadvertently took a break most of last week. I was just too tired. I fell asleep several times around 7pm with Sasquatch and just hoped and prayed the other three kids didn't kill each other. Somehow, I stumbled awake to put them to sleep. Anyhow, here's what I have on this fine, Wednesday morning. More
- [糖果姐姐說故事: CD Review](https://mandarinmama.com/糖果姐姐說故事-cd-review/) - Title: 糖果姐姐說故事 Set 1 (tang2 guo3 jie3 jie5 shuo gu4 shi4)/Candy Sister Telling Stories Publisher: Christian Cosmic Light Holistic Care Level: Children Includes: 16 CDs, 48 stories, no book Summary: This first (out of four) collection tells Old Testament stories from Adam and Eve through Samuel, covering 15 major Bible characters. (Eg: Cain and Abel, Noah, David,
- [Escaping My Life](https://mandarinmama.com/escaping-my-life/) - I have been feeling really scattered lately. I mean, I know I have four small children. I get that. But I was really rocking it a few weeks ago. Almost whelmed, even. And now? Now, I am decidedly tipping over whelmed. I can always tell when I'm about to lose it. I escape into TV shows.
- [小雞過生日: 5 Minute Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/小雞過生日-5-minute-book-review/) - Title: 小雞過生日 (xiao3 ji guo4 sheng ri4)/Baby Chicks' Birthday ISBN: 9789862113486 Authors/Illustrations: Noriko Kudo (translated from Japanese) 文、圖/工藤紀子，翻譯/劉握瑜 Publisher: 小魯文化事業股份有限公司 (Xiao Lu Wen Hua/Tsai Fong Books) Published: 2012 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Fiction Pages: 36 Summary: The five little chicks go with their mother to the bakery, the grocery store, and a toy
- [我的妹妹是跟屁蟲: Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/我的妹妹的跟屁蟲-book-review/) - Title: 我的妹妹是跟屁蟲 (wo3 de5 mei4 mei5 shi4 gen pi4 chong2)/My Little Sister Keeps Following Me ISBN: 9789861614663 Authors: 王秋香 Publisher: 信誼 Level: Beginning Reader, Zhuyin, Picture Book, Fiction Summary: A boy's little sister keeps copying everything he does, following everywhere he goes, and repeating everything he says. It is driving him crazy and he spends the majority of
- [Suck It Up, May](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-up-may/) - May's already over and once again, I am checking in on my 2017 resolutions. How are yours going?
- [Don't Believe What You Read on the Internet](https://mandarinmama.com/dont-believe-read-internet/) - I have a confession to make. I know I'm all RAH RAH about making my kids speak Chinese all their applicable waking hours. Shoot, I even wrote a book on the subject (affiliate link). And after the thousands of words I've written about my kids and our learning Chinese endeavors, etc. ad nauseam, my children still prefer
- [Reader Mail: Why Don't I Like KDramas?](https://mandarinmama.com/reader-mail-dont-like-kdramas/) - In an effort to be more engaging with my readers (and really, it's just a handy excuse to talk evermore of my favorite subject - MYSELF), I have opened up the inbox to take questions. So, NOW IS THE TIME TO ASK ME YOUR DEEP, BURNING QUESTIONS. (Yes, it is likely a UTI. Or an
- [熊貓先生，我願意等 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/熊貓先生，我願意等-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 熊貓先生，我願意等 (xiong2 mao xian sheng, wo3 yuan4 yi4 deng3)/Mr. Panda, I'm Willing
- [Commence Panic Mode](https://mandarinmama.com/commence-panic-mode/) - I am not excited. We are T-9 days from our Taiwan Trip 2017 and I am not excited. I mean, I am excited for all the yummy foods and hanging out with my mommy friends in Taiwan, but... I am not excited about packing or traveling at very fast speeds in a metal tube with
- [拜託，熊貓先生 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/拜託，熊貓先生-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 拜託，熊貓先生 (bai4 tuo, xiong2 mao xian sheng)/Please, Mr. Panda ISBN: 9789862742334 Author/Illustrator:
- [100層樓的家 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/100層樓的家-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 100層樓的家 (yi bai3 ceng2 lou2 de5 jia)/The 100 Story House ISBN: 9789862110850
- [地下100層樓 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/地下100層樓-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 地下100層樓的家 (di4 xia4 yi bai3 ceng2 lou2 de5 jia)/Underground 100 Stories ISBN: 9789862111642
- [Re-entry is Hard](https://mandarinmama.com/re-entry-hard/) - I know. I know. You thought I had abandoned this blog for the ease and instant gratification of Facebook Live Videos. As tempting as that is, I just can't be that unedited and unscripted on a regular basis. If I produced live videos on the same schedule as I write, no one would be seeing
- [奇先生妙小姐 (Mr. Men and Little Miss) CD and Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/奇先生妙小姐-mr-men-little-miss-cd-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 奇先生妙小姐 (qi2 xian sheng miao4 xiao3 jie3)/Mr. Men and Little Miss Stories ISBN: 4712834275481, 4712834275498, 4712834275528, 9789865984465, 4712834275504, 4712834275511 Author/Illustrator: Roger
- [Suck It Up, June and July](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-june-july/) - How did June and July pass by without me noticing? OVER HALF OF 2017 IS OVER. This is terrifying in the sense that I swear it just started and yet, it's almost over and I haven't done nearly as much as I thought I would. Or is it that I did more than I thought
- [Taiwan Trip 2017 Post Mortem](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwan-trip-2017-post-mortem/) - Now that we're back from our Taiwan Trip, it's time for the post mortem. (Note, I did not call it a vacation because let’s face it. No trip with small children is a vacation.) I totally thought I would have written more on this trip. I mean, last year, I seemed to be writing a
- [Sometimes Self Care is Really Just Adulting](https://mandarinmama.com/sometimes-self-care-really-just-adulting/) - I used to think that my environment did not affect me. I thought I was easy-going; a roll with punches type of person. You know, "low-maintenance." By now, any person who knows me in real life is dying of laughter because it is so obvious to anyone who spends more than five minutes with me
- [My 5 Favorite Posts of 2018](https://mandarinmama.com/my-5-favorite-posts-of-2018/) - It's the end of 2018 and of course, because I live to serve, I'm handy-dandying compiling a list of my personal favorites of the year. No lie - I have more than 5 but I also realize that folks may have a short attention span (and in that case, boy is my blog the wrong
- [Where Are My Middle-Aged Love Songs?](https://mandarinmama.com/middle-aged-love-songs/) - I tire of the flash and bang of the beginning. What I want is the ode to the middle - The steadfast 2nd book Before The well-earned end.
- [6 Things to Look for in a Planner](https://mandarinmama.com/6-things-to-look-for-in-a-planner/) - A few weeks ago, I mentioned on Facebook that my favorite ink+volt planner just came out with their 2018 version and as a result of a few comments, I thought it would be fun to discuss what I personally look for in a planner. Then, I thought it would be cool to see if ink+volt would be
- [Suck It Up, October](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-up-october/) - How is October over? This month has been super stretching for me - lots of sucking it up, so to speak. Which is good. It hasn't been comfortable and I haven't slept enough this last week or two so I've been super cranky. But I'm glad. Too often, the last quarter of a year seems
- [小紅嘴鳥的奇幻飛行 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/red-beak-bird-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 小紅嘴鳥的奇幻飛行 (xiao3 hong2 zui3 niao3 de5 qi2 huan4 fei hang2)/The Red Beak Bird's Imaginary
- [What Chinese Books Should I Read to My Baby?](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-books-read-baby/) - As many of you know, I receive a lot of reader mail as well as encounter a lot of questions on multiple Facebook groups/boards on the topic of Chinese for babies/kids. Recently, someone asked what Chinese books they should read to their four month old baby. Below is my video response. https://youtu.be/WNG2rL03ccM For the people
- [Can I Send My Kid to My Neighbor to Learn Chinese?](https://mandarinmama.com/neighbors-chinese/) - Hey Friends! It's Day 2 of November and my attempt to post/FB Live every day this month. Anyhow, today, I'm answering a question I hear a lot. The gist is, "Hey, my neighbor/friend/coworker speaks Chinese. Can't I just send my kids over to their house and then my kids can learn to speak Chinese?" Oh,
- [How Do I Get My Kid to Speak Chinese to Me?](https://mandarinmama.com/make-kid-speak-chinese/) - Day 3 of my FB Live every day in November! Today’s topic is one that I feel the pain of every day. How do I get my kids to speak Chinese to me? Find out my tips in the video. I’m still waiting for my video to upload to YouTube so you’ll have to bear
- [Top 3 Free Things I Do for Self-Care](https://mandarinmama.com/top-3-self-care/) - Today’s post is a quickie (TWSS!). I have often gone to do the stereotypical self-care things like massages or pedicures or MNOs only to come back and be bombarded with stress all over again. Here’s what I finally discovered. BONUS: they’re all free. (A quick summary after the video.) Again, I am away from the
- [Chineasy Tiles: 5 Minute Review](https://mandarinmama.com/chineasy-tiles/) - All of my kids loved the Chineasy Tiles. I can easily see this game being played with a Chinese tutor, a Chinese Immersion classroom, or family members - even family members who don't know any Chinese. **I received a review copy of Chineasy Tiles, as well as an accidental set of silverware, from the lovely staff at
- [Chinese Books for Babies](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-symbols-baby-brains/) - **This post was sponsored by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. I also received a review copy of Chinese Symbols for Baby Brains, as well as a review copy of Tai Ji Dancing for Kids. As usual, all opinions and thoughts are my own. This post includes Amazon affiliate links. People always ask me what books they should read to
- [Suck It Up, November](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-up-november/) - How is November over? No, seriously. I blinked and Thanksgiving happened and now it's almost December. It's been a blur. Anyhow, the penultimate month of sucking it up. Can't wait to write what I'm going to do for 2018. So, what was I up to this month? Here’s how I did on my goals: 1)
- [If Your Kids Know Chinese, Please Don’t Make the Rest of Us Feel Like Crap](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-crap/) - Author's Note: Yes, yes. I know I'm the super gungho Chinese lady. I mean, it's in my blog name. But I am aware that not everyone is like me - and that is ok. Today's Guest Post is by Tracey Gee, of Balance is Boring. I've known Tracey since my first year at UCLA and love her writing and
- [Feeling Like a Lame Duck](https://mandarinmama.com/feeling-like-lame-duck/) - Guys, I'm feeling so meh lately. I want to blame it on the weather but honestly, I think my brain is caught between the end of the year and anticipating the new year and feeling a bit overwhelmed. I want to do so many things next year. SO MANY! ALL THE THINGS! And I just
- [屁屁超人 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/pipichaoren-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 屁屁超人 (pi4 pi4 chao ren2)/The Fart Superhero ISBN: 9789866759116 Author: 林哲璋 Publisher: 親子天下 Level: Beginning Reader,
- [The Elephant in the Room](https://mandarinmama.com/the-elephant-in-the-room/) - Today's Guest Post is from my friend, SW Chica. When I read her first draft, she had included a line from her mother that seared straight into my soul. "I love you, but I don't like you." I didn't realize just how damaging a statement like that could be to a child and I am ashamed to
- [My Top Chinese Posts for 2017](https://mandarinmama.com/top-chinese-posts-2017/) - This year, I did not write too much about Chinese learning. Mostly, because I published my book, So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese (affiliate link), and I got a little burned out on writing about Chinese. Plus, I felt as if I had said all I had to say on the subject. However, I did
- [The Problem with Time](https://mandarinmama.com/the-problem-with-time/) - It's cliché by now. All those more experienced mommies wagging their figurative fingers at you, telling you to enjoy every moment because after all, "The days are long but the years are short." And it's totally true. IT TOTALLY IS. (But it doesn't make you feel better when you've already experienced a year's worth of
- [The Liminal People: Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/liminal-people-book-review/) - If you're a long time reader, you may remember me doing some posts on books in the past. I have wanted to do book reviews for a really long time, but always got intimidated by people who write lengthy reviews because honestly, as wordy as I am about other things, I am NOT wordy about
- [小胖小 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/小胖小-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 小胖小 (xiao3 pang4 xiao3)/Small Fat Small (nursery rhymes) ISBN: 9789861614861 Author: 潘人木 Publisher: 信誼 Level: Beginning Reader,
- [Suck It Up, August](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-up-august/) - Ok. I know I just posted for June/July, but I'm finally back on schedule for my posting and I don't want to get behind again just because I recently wrote about it already. SO TOO BAD. Anyhow, criminy, August is over. And despite being home for almost a month now, I STILL FEEL AS IF I
- [十兄弟 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/十兄弟-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 十兄弟 (shi2 xiong di4)/The Ten Brothers ISBN: 9789861614717 Author: 小翔 Publisher: 信誼 Level: Beginning Reader,
- [I Cut My Kids' Screen Time and This is What Happened](https://mandarinmama.com/cut-kids-screen-time-happened/) - Ok. I apologize for the click-baity title but honestly, I think we are all allowed one or two of these every year as a writer. Anyway. Look. We all know I'm a terribly mediocre parent. Despite the fact that I homeschool my two older children, I really don't do much with the kids and let
- [I Didn't Believe My Own Advice](https://mandarinmama.com/i-didnt-believe/) - *This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. I have a major confession to make. Even though I have written a book about teaching your kid Chinese and have written extensively on how to get your kids bilingual and bi-literate, I secretly was afraid it wasn't true. That I was full of crap. That maybe, what I was advocating
- [青蛙和蟾蜍快樂年年 (Frog and Toad All Year) Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/青蛙和蟾蜍快樂年年-frog-toad-year-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 青蛙和蟾蜍快樂年年 (qing wa han4 chan2 chu2 kuai4 le4 nian2 nian2)/Frog and Toad All Year
- [青蛙撲通跳 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/青蛙撲通跳-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 青蛙撲通跳 (qing wa pu tong tiao4)/The Frog Jumps ISBN: 9789861612430 Author: 李紫蓉 Publisher: 信誼
- [Hunger: Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/hunger-book-review/) - *This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Title: Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body Author: Roxane Gay Publisher: Harper Genre/Category: Memoir, POC Author, WOC Author Summary: Gay writes a brutally honest memoir of her body, of her eating, of her weight, of her inability to lose her weight, of why she gained the weight, and of so many other
- [Why I Homeschool](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-homeschool/) - This year marks the beginning of our third year homeschooling and looking back, it seems inevitable that I ended up choosing this for my children. However, until 3-4 years ago, I fully looked forward to (and expected to) walk my children to our local elementary school, then have them walk or bike to our local
- [What Do I Really Want?](https://mandarinmama.com/what-do-i-really-want/) - I know I say it a lot, but it bears repeating. How is time flying by so fast? And why does it always seem as if I am treading water and accomplishing nothing? I know it's not true. And yet, it always seems as if my ambition outpaces my willingness to work (and work hard).
- [How I Homeschool with 4 Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/how-i-homeschool-with-4-kids/) - *This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Homeschooling can be incredibly rewarding and fun and lovely, but sometimes (okok, OFTENTIMES,) it can be super overwhelming and frustrating. Even just homeschooling one child can be difficult and hard to find a groove - let alone two kids or more. Factor in age differences and spreads, subject matter, and
- [Is Me Saying Fuck Really What Most Offends You in 2017?](https://mandarinmama.com/saying-fuck/) - In the last week, I have been language policed twice. Now, many of you know that I am very liberal with the swears so perhaps you are surprised that it's only twice in the last week. However. Regardless of the quantity (nevermind the quality) of my swearing, it's really none of their business unless I am swearing
- [小蛇散步 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/小蛇散步-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 小蛇散步 (xiao3 she2 san4 bu4)/The Little Snake Takes a Walk ISBN: 9789867188243, 9789862116043 Author: 伊東寬 Publisher:
- [愛唱歌的青蛙 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/愛唱歌的青蛙/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 愛唱歌的青蛙 (Ai4 chang4 ge de5 qing wa)/The Frog Who Likes to Sing ISBN: 9789575709235
- [我是雞蛋哥哥 Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/我是雞蛋哥哥-book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 我是雞蛋哥哥 (Wo3 shi4 ji dan4 ge ge)/I am Big Brother Egg ISBN: 9789862114001 Author/Illustrator: 秋山匡
- [Suck It Up, September](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-it-september/) - How is September over? Every month, I am surprised that it's time for this post. And every month, I'm astonished at just how mediocre I am at keeping up on the things I want to do (except the cooking part). Can you imagine how bad I would be if I didn't make them a priority
- [Dreaming of Who I Could Be](https://mandarinmama.com/dreaming-of-who-i-could-be/) - Every now and then, when I escape to the world at large without my children, I get a brief moment of disconnect. A blurry few seconds of a bad ass life accompanied by the thumping bass of the radio. I imagine myself strutting. Usually in a cropped, black leather moto jacket. With epaulets. The epaulets
- [蠟筆小黑Book Review](https://mandarinmama.com/蠟筆小黑book-review/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 蠟筆小黑 (La4 bi3 xiao3 hei)/The Little Black Crayon ISBN: 9789862168820 Author/Illustrator: 中屋美和 Publisher: 小天下 Level: Beginning Reader,
- [How to Get the Most Out of Facebook Groups](https://mandarinmama.com/get-facebook-groups/) - If you're like me, you're likely in at least a few groups on Facebook. Some of them may be private groups formed by your friends, some are based on your hobbies and interests, and some of them are for more professional improvement and/or networking. Regardless of the purpose of the group, they all desire meaningful
- [LingoAce: The Affordable and Convenient Way to Teach Kids Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/lingoace-review/) - Are you looking for a good online Chinese school to teach your kids Chinese? Find out if LingoAce can be a great Chinese tutor for your child in my review.
- [Too Calm to Care: How SSRIs Made Me Fearless (and Possibly Dangerous)](https://mandarinmama.com/too-calm-to-care-how-ssris-made-me-fearless-and-possibly-dangerous/) - Finally understanding meditation thanks to SSRIs and the problem with removing your body's danger signals (hint: villain era incoming)
- [I Don't Need Permission](https://mandarinmama.com/i-dont-need-permission/) - I have been waiting for permission. Waiting for the universe to hand me what I want. I'm old enough to know better. I have been waiting for permission. I'm old enough to know better.
- [Review: 'American Born Chinese' Transcends the Original](https://mandarinmama.com/american-born-chinese-review/) - Disney+'s adaptation of the graphic novel "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang is perfect for the whole family. Like the best of stories, it highlights the universal through the specific, and in this 8 episode series, Jin Wang struggles with his identity and where he fits in the world with the specific background of
- [I’m Opting Out of Hustle Culture](https://mandarinmama.com/opting-out-hustle-culture/) - This is my reminder that I can just be. I don’t need to turn everything into a hustle. I don’t even want to turn everything into a hustle. This is my reminder that I can just be. I don’t need to turn everything into a hustle. I don’t even want to turn everything into a hustle.
- [We Spent 8 Weeks in Taipei: Here’s How Much It Cost](https://mandarinmama.com/we-spent-8-weeks-in-taipei-heres-how-much-it-cost/) - If you’re planning a summer trip back to Taiwan in the recent future (or just curious), here’s our expense breakdown on how much it cost our family to spend a summer in Taipei. How much does it cost a family of 7 to spend summer in Taiwan? Read on and find out.
- [I Am Terrible at Correspondence and I Have Zero Plans to Change That](https://mandarinmama.com/i-am-terrible-at-correspondence/) - Wherein I provide several really good reasons why I am bad at replying to emails (and comments).
- [I Am Lump](https://mandarinmama.com/i-am-lump/) - Today is a sad day. Today is a useless, lump fat day.
- [8 Reasons Why I No Longer Blog About Teaching Kids Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/8-reasons-why-i-no-longer-blog-about-teaching-kids-chinese/) - I am reluctant to write about Chinese anymore. The reasons why I chose to walk away range from the wildly mundane to the deeply rage-inducing. Here are a few.
- [Throwing All My Words Away](https://mandarinmama.com/throwing-all-my-words-away/) - Comparison is the thief of joy, and so, I think, is competition.
- [How Much of My Personality Is ADHD vs. Actually Me?](https://mandarinmama.com/how-much-of-my-personality-is-adhd-vs-actually-me/) - Untangling personality from undiagnosed ADHD, processing my grandmother's death, and an unordered list of tiny joys
- [Brazn Azn Ep 01: What Is a Brazen Asian?](https://mandarinmama.com/the-brazn-azn-podcast-ep-01-what-is-a-brazen-asian/) - In this pilot episode, hosts Virginia and Stella explore the concept of being "brazen Asians." Are you a brazen Asian?
- [Brazn Azn Ep 02: Full-Body Cringe and the Brazenness of Self-Promo](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-02-full-body-cringe-and-the-brazenness-of-self-promo/) - In this episode, the Brazn Azn podcast delves into the complexities of self-promotion, identity struggles, and creative aspirations.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 03: The Brazen Desire to Be Perceived](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-03-the-brazen-desire-to-be-perceived/) - In Episode 3 of the Brazn Azn Podcast, co-hosts Stella and Virginia explore the complexities of being perceived.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 04: RepresentAsian](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-04-representasian/) - Episode four of the Brazn Azn podcast delves deep into the nuanced and multifaceted issue of Asian representation in media and society.
- [Another 4 Years of Trump: What Now?](https://mandarinmama.com/another-4-years-of-trump-what-now/) - A raw, honest reflection on processing Trump's re-election, finding hope through authentic resistance, and choosing defiant joy in the face of political despair.
- [“Interior Chinatown” Wonders: Can We Subvert the Roles Society Prescribes](https://mandarinmama.com/interior-chinatown-wonders-can-we-subvert-the-roles-society-prescribes/) - Hulu's "Interior Chinatown" starring Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, and Chloe Bennet is a clever, funny, and intriguing commentary on the boxes society shoves us in, and if we have the agency to break through. Read on for our review below.
- [Spreading a Network of Joy](https://mandarinmama.com/spreading-a-network-of-joy/) - If you want more joy and connection in your life, join me as we build a network of joy together. Warning: contains one enthusiastic chaos goblin.
- [Drake Drama, Chicken Thanksgiving, and Other Completely Normal Things](https://mandarinmama.com/drake-drama-chicken-thanksgiving-and-other-completely-normal-things/) - Drake drama, novel launches, peppermint bark obsessions, and chaotic parenting moments—a week of unexpected joy, family, and creative hustle.
- [K-pop Jokes, Thanksgiving Chaos, and Why My Kid Thinks Friends Are Cousins](https://mandarinmama.com/k-pop-jokes-thanksgiving-chaos-and-why-my-kid-thinks-friends-are-cousins/) - Korean spa meetups, ADHD musings, Thanksgiving cooking, and a weekend full of friendship, family, and unexpected laughter.
- [My Week of Small Victories (and Medium-sized Feelings)](https://mandarinmama.com/my-week-of-small-victories-and-medium-sized-feelings/) - A week of birthday celebrations, podcast invites, and personal reflections on parenting, writing, and navigating life's challenges.
- [15-Year-Olds, Hotpot, and Potty Training Triumphs](https://mandarinmama.com/15-year-olds-hotpot-and-potty-training-triumphs/) - Battling cold weather, ADHD assessments, family milestones, and unexpected moments of joy in one wild week.
- [Breaking News: Woman vs Printer (Printer Wins)](https://mandarinmama.com/breaking-news-woman-vs-printer-printer-wins/) - One woman's epic 45-minute battle with a printer, Christmas Eve cooking plans, and why pants are the enemy.
- [The Great Family Stomach Bug of 2025](https://mandarinmama.com/the-great-family-stomach-bug-of-2025/) - Starting 2025 with a family-wide stomach bug, reflections on the word 'blessings,' celebrating indie book reviews, and updates on the ADHD assessment journey.
- [From NYE Party Host to Pizza Queen (+ My Big Dreams for 2025!)](https://mandarinmama.com/from-nye-party-host-to-pizza-queen-my-big-dreams-for-2025/) - From hosting NYE parties to cozy pizza nights—sharing personal lessons on asking for help, dreaming bigger, and growing deeper connections in the year ahead.
- [I Hope You Are Staying Safe](https://mandarinmama.com/i-hope-you-are-staying-safe/) - Reflecting on the LA fires, gathering mutual aid resources, and wrestling with deeper questions about luck, divine will, and finding joy amid devastation.
- [The Goal Is to Survive](https://mandarinmama.com/the-goal-is-to-survive/) - Processing Trump's second term, finding valid space for fear and grief, while seeking joy through connection and community as a form of resistance and survival.
- [How Angry K-pop Fans Accidentally Boosted My YouTube](https://mandarinmama.com/how-angry-k-pop-fans-accidentally-boosted-my-youtube/) - Viral K-pop drama, YouTube algorithms, ADHD diagnosis reflections, celebrating family milestones, and building local literary community connections
- [Surgery Recovery & Sheep Pottery: A Very February Update](https://mandarinmama.com/surgery-recovery-amp-sheep-pottery-a-very-february-update/) - From post-surgery exhaustion, Adderall adventures, to finding unexpected joy in glazing sheep
- [What Kind of Psychopath Watches Videos at 2x Speed? (Spoiler: Me)](https://mandarinmama.com/what-kind-of-psychopath-watches-videos-at-2x-speed-spoiler-me/) - Racing through podcasts at 3.1x, counting down to j-hope in Oakland, and surrendering to 4:30 AM wake-ups from a toddler who's allergic to clothing
- [Finding My Brain While Chasing j-hope](https://mandarinmama.com/finding-my-brain-while-chasing-j-hope/) - From ADHD medication revelations to landing j-hope concert tickets, navigating a week of emotional extremes while finding tiny moments of joy along the way.
- [When Your Marriage Can Vote & Your Suitcase Gets Unpacked](https://mandarinmama.com/when-your-marriage-can-vote-amp-your-suitcase-gets-unpacked/) - Celebrating an 18-year marriage milestone, surprising organizational wins, book sales success, and learning to support friends without fixing them
- [How Do You Even Start Asking for Help?](https://mandarinmama.com/how-do-you-even-start-asking-for-help/) - Hulu’s best new comedy “Deli Boys,” j-hope concert anticipation, and wrestling with the logistics of delegation and personal boundaries
- [Brazn Azn Ep 19: Feeling Stuck](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-19-feeling-stuck/) - Stella and Virginia discuss the complexities of parenting at different stages, career ambitions, and personal growth.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 21: Brazenly Anti-Evangelical](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-21-brazenly-anti-evangelical/) - Stella and Virginia delve into the nuances of religious language, including the use of the word "blessings," and discuss their experiences deconstructing Christianity.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 24: Between Belief and BS: Navigating Spirituality After Church](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-24-between-belief-and-bs-navigating-spirituality-after-church/) - An intimate conversation about Stella and Virginia's personal journeys with religion and spirituality, exploring how they've moved away from traditional Christian faith while still grappling with big existential questions.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 26: Confessions of Brazen Asians Playing It Safe](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-26-confessions-of-brazen-asians-playing-it-safe/) - In this episode of Brazn Azn, hosts Stella and Virginia dive deep into the complex world of risk-taking, exploring their personal experiences with calculated caution and unexpected leaps of faith.
- [Five Sick Kids and Post-Concert Depression: Send Help](https://mandarinmama.com/five-sick-kids-and-post-concert-depression-send-help/) - Surviving the chaos of spring break with a house full of sick children while battling the emotional crash after j-hope's concerts
- [I Was on BBC Radio This Weekend (Shocker: Managed to Be Diplomatic)](https://mandarinmama.com/i-was-on-bbc-radio-this-weekend-shocker-managed-to-be-diplomatic/) - Existential musings on goodness, dignity, and the value of people—plus my BBC Radio appearance and how my nemesis keeps killing my car battery.
- [I Banned My Children From The Internet For Jin Tickets](https://mandarinmama.com/i-banned-my-children-from-the-internet-for-jin-tickets/) - Succeeding in the BTS Jin ticketing bloodbath, connecting with my community, and celebrating my novella release next week.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 28: Does Guanyin Pusa Know Anthony Ma, Asian Jim Carrey?](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-28-does-guanyin-pusa-know-anthony-ma-asian-jim-carrey/) - Award-winning actor, writer, director, producer, and voiceover artist Anthony Ma discusses his new short film "God and Buddha Are Friends."
- [AP Chinese Exam Done, Book Out, Brain Still Empty](https://mandarinmama.com/ap-chinese-exam-done-book-out-brain-still-empty/) - Navigating creative rhythms, teen milestones, and the strange reality of watching your firstborn grow from 21 inches to almost 6 feet tall
- [Brain Has Senioritis, Toddler Swears, Husband Finally Closes Doors](https://mandarinmama.com/brain-has-senioritis-toddler-swears-husband-finally-closes-doors/) - This week: Embracing brain fog and the desire to be useless, celebrating toddler profanity, and discovering that love means fully closing doors
- [Funeral Season, Unrealistic Expectations, and j-hope Thirst Traps](https://mandarinmama.com/funeral-season-unrealistic-expectations-and-j-hope-thirst-traps/) - ADHD, periods, and the audacity of expecting productivity while parenting a toddler. Plus: j-hope's new single, and why I'm laughing at my own terrible puns.
- [Book Destroyed Me, Book Festival Exhausted Me, Still Can't Self-Promote](https://mandarinmama.com/book-destroyed-me-book-festival-exhausted-me-still-cant-self-promote/) - On being obsessed with expansive fantasy, the challenge of self-promotion for writers, and finding joy in intimate K-hop concerts
- [Min Yoongi Is Free and So Are 1600+ Romance Books](https://mandarinmama.com/min-yoongi-is-free-and-so-are-1600-romance-books/) - Celebrating Min Yoongi's return to civilian life by enabling your book hoarding habits with 1600+ free romance ebooks, including my own.
- [2 Meltdowns, 1 Book Event, and Why Timing Your ADHD Meds Matters](https://mandarinmama.com/2-meltdowns-1-book-event-and-why-timing-your-adhd-meds-matters/) - On weekend meltdowns, the magic of lysine patches, and why two more BTS members finishing military service has me ready to celebrate
- [j-hope's Adam's Apple vs. My Last Functioning Brain Cell](https://mandarinmama.com/j-hopes-adams-apple-vs-my-last-functioning-brain-cell/) - A BTS side profile has consumed my brain, Pedro Pascal propaganda is working, and my hormones are now my personality.
- [My 13-year-old Called Me Out, and She Wasn't Wrong](https://mandarinmama.com/my-13-year-old-called-me-out-and-she-wasnt-wrong/) - Parenting reality check: when your kid calls you out for being absent, you're too tired to be a better person, and you just want to hide upstairs forever.
- [4:30am Research Spirals and Idols Who Won't Stay in Their Timezone](https://mandarinmama.com/430am-research-spirals-and-idols-who-wont-stay-in-their-timezone/) - Staying up until 4:30am researching iconic performances (for book research, obviously), longing for the certainty of my Christian days, and wondering how I'm supposed to live my life when BTS won't stay in Korea.
- [I Got 5 Chairs for $15 and I Still Don't Know If I'm Okay](https://mandarinmama.com/i-got-5-chairs-for-15-and-i-still-dont-know-if-im-okay/) - Writing paralysis, the existential dread of approaching 50, and why I'm learning Korean (for the umpteenth time)
- [When Your K-pop Heart Writes Checks Your Body Can't Cash](https://mandarinmama.com/when-your-k-pop-heart-writes-checks-your-body-cant-cash/) - My heart was like, "JIN CONCERTS! ROAD TRIPS! ALL THE SOCIALIZING!" and my body was like, "Ma’am, we are not equipped for this level of enthusiasm."
- [I Missed a Week and My Brain Said, "Guess We're Done Forever"](https://mandarinmama.com/i-missed-a-week-and-my-brain-said-guess-were-done-forever/) - My ADHD brain thinks one missed newsletter means I should quit forever, and I celebrate the discovery of Melona bars in my freezer
- [Still Grumpy, But My Toddler Tries to Flip the Bird So At Least That’s a Win](https://mandarinmama.com/still-grumpy-but-my-toddler-tries-to-flip-the-bird-so-at-least-thats-a-win/) - My toddler is inappropriate, I ask if ADHD meds can deaden all sensation (they can't), and why I'm buying less junk despite chips being objectively delicious
- [My Book Is Here and My Brain Is... Somewhere Else](https://mandarinmama.com/my-book-is-here-and-my-brain-is-somewhere-else/) - This week: My novella launches, my meds betray me, and Bad Bunny proves pettiness is sexy
- [Brazn Azn Ep 27: Getting Cheeky With Romance Author Thien-Kim Lam](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-27-getting-cheeky-with-romance-author-thien-kim-lam/) - Join hosts Stella and Virginia as they chat with author Thien-Kim Lam about her latest novel "Something Cheeky" and Asian American romance.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 25: Ezra Justin Lee, 6 Feet, Pastor's Kid](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-25-ezra-justin-lee-6-feet-pastors-kid/) - Ezra Justin Lee shares his transformative journey from growing up as a pastor's kid to finding his authentic self in Hollywood.
- [Closer Than Ever: My j-hope Concert Experience at Oakland Arena](https://mandarinmama.com/closer-than-ever-my-j-hope-concert-experience-at-oakland-arena/) - An ARMY's unfiltered account of j-hope's electrifying Oakland performances, including soundcheck, and how his dancing changed her on a molecular level
- [Sleep Deprived for j-hope: My LA Concert Adventure](https://mandarinmama.com/sleep-deprived-for-j-hope-my-la-concert-adventure/) - From Airbnb booking mishaps to appearing in j-hope's Instagram stories four times, my whirlwind weekend of BTS concerts, fan connections, and toddler reunions.
- [The Toddler Locked Me Out of My Computer Again](https://mandarinmama.com/the-toddler-locked-me-out-of-my-computer-again/) - Balancing concert nights, book launches, and teenagers driving while a vengeful 2-year-old rules the household.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 23: No Sheet Music Required: GKO's Unscripted Journey](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-23-no-sheet-music-required-gkos-unscripted-journey/) - Improvisational pianist GKO talks about his unexpected path from tech to becoming a full-time musician.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 20: "The Magic of Knowing What You Want" With Tracey Gee](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-20-the-magic-of-knowing-what-you-want-with-tracey-gee/) - Author Tracey Gee discusses her book "The Magic of Knowing What You Want" and explores why our desires are good.
- [Brazn Azn Ep 22: Living With the Land: a Conversation With Olivia Hu Kinney](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn-ep-22-living-with-the-land-a-conversation-with-olivia-hu-kinney/) - Poet Ophelia Hu Kinney shares her experiences of moving to Maine, co-owning 20 acres of land, and building a community as a queer Asian American.
- [Cheesy Connections and Disney+ in Mandarin](https://mandarinmama.com/cheesy-connections-and-disney-in-mandarin/) - Discovering Disney+ language options, coping with physical limitations, new book announcements, and a shoutout to Thien-Kim Lam's “Something Cheeky”
- [Time Thieves, Tiny Humans, and Tax Season Trauma](https://mandarinmama.com/time-thieves-tiny-humans-and-tax-season-trauma/) - From early morning vaccine runs to tax reality checks, all while hate-reading fantasy novels—this week had it all.
- [Chaotic Joy](https://mandarinmama.com/chaotic-joy/) - Are you sick and mad of being sick and mad? Do you long for deeper, kinder connection with other humans?
- [The Terrible Fear In Tenderness](https://mandarinmama.com/the-terrible-fear-in-tenderness/) - "You know it's okay to love your husband, right?" Dr. T asked me. "Yeah, but you know, that would conflict with the image I've cultivated for myself," I replied, only half-joking. "It runs counter to my inner narrative." ... There are few Facebook posts that grate on me more than the ones of folks gushing and humble-bragging
- [Learning to See My Daughter](https://mandarinmama.com/learning-to-see-my-daughter/) - "I don't feel good, Mama. My head hurts. My chest hurts. Am I going to be sick until I'm seven?" Gamera (6) had been whining or crying or complaining about how awful she felt for at least 2-3 days. And like the excellent mother I am, I had been ignoring her and chocking all her complaining
- [It's Not About Me](https://mandarinmama.com/its-not-about-me/) - I have been hiding. I was on a good roll for a few weeks, posting almost daily, writing and typing to my heart's content and then, last Friday, my brain ground to a halt. I wanted to write about stuff. I even created time and space to write about stuff. But I didn't. I couldn't. I
- [Learning to Be Human](https://mandarinmama.com/learning-human/) - (Trigger Warning: Physical and emotional abuse.) Here's a video of me reading an excerpt of this piece for Moxie Road Productions. Below is the original piece in its entirety. I am afraid to talk about why I am angry with my mother. Well, I'm not currently angry with her. By that I mean I'm not actively mad at her. Like,
- [“Happy”: Jin’s Evolution From Satellite to Main Character](https://mandarinmama.com/happy-jins-evolution-from-satellite-to-main-character/) - Jin of BTS returns from military service with “Happy,” a rock-influenced album that showcases his silver voice while exploring themes of love, longing, and reconnection. Read more in our review.
- [From Rap Monster to Rebellious Poet: The Evolution of RM on "RPWP"](https://mandarinmama.com/from-rap-monster-to-rebellious-poet-the-evolution-of-rm-on-rpwp/) - #New album “Right Place, Wrong Person” by RM of BTS is the latest stop on a continually evolving sonic journey. Read on for our review of the brilliant record.
- [My Debut Novel "Illusive" Is Out Now!](https://mandarinmama.com/illusive/) - Author Virginia Duan's debut novel "Illusive" is out! Read on for more info.
- [The Whitewashing of BTS Fanfics](https://mandarinmama.com/whitewashing-bts-fanfic/) - We need authors of color to write BTS fanfics because accurate and nuanced representation always matters — even in fanfic.
- [The Memory of Fear](https://mandarinmama.com/the-memory-of-fear/) - To see a video of me reading, please scroll to the bottom or go here. Safe as houses, they say. I have never heard anything more ridiculous. Houses have never been safe. They are just doorways to deceit. ... Do you know that you can gaslight yourself? I often wonder, did it really happen? Was
- [Silence: A Love Story](https://mandarinmama.com/silence/) - In the end, there wasn’t any one or even multiple tipping points. Just a cavalcade of tiny irritants disguised as the business of keeping three - then four - tiny humans alive. There were signs. My voice a bludgeon; its sheer force fluttering my eldest son’s hair. He shrank, eyes wide. My voice a badger;
- [5 Minute Book Review: 糞金龜的成長日記](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese_chapter_book_fen_jin_gui/) - Like my reviews? Want more tips and advice on how to teach your kids Chinese? Want someone to just give you an Action Plan that you can follow? Check out my book (affiliate link), So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Title: 糞金龜的成長日記 (fen4 jin gui de5 cheng2 zhang3 ri4 ji4)/The Dung Beetle Growth Diaries ISBN: 9789861615158
- [Sagebooks Review](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-review/) - Disclosure: Though I am currently working with Sagebooks (they are a major sponsor of my site), I was not affiliated with Sagebooks in any way when I wrote this review. Now, many of you know that I not only want my kids to be fluent in Mandarin, but I also want them to be literate. (An
- [Sagebooks Update](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-update/) - *A/N: For more information and a basic background about Sagebooks, please refer to my previous posts or GuavaRama's previous posts. This post, as usual, is super long. In fact, it was even longer before I broke it up into multiple posts and created a mini-series of sorts. You've been warned. For those of you who are new and haven't
- [15 Tips for Using Sagebooks](https://mandarinmama.com/15-tips-for-sagebooks/) - *A/N: For more information and a basic background about Sagebooks, please refer to my previous posts or GuavaRama’s previous posts. This post is part of a mini-series on Sagebooks and might not make as much sense without context. So, now that you've purchased your Sagebooks set and are ready to go, what now? Well, the books are designed so well
- [Why Sagebooks Requires Chinese Fluency](https://mandarinmama.com/why-sagebooks-requires-chinese-fluency/) - *A/N: For more information and a basic background about Sagebooks, please refer to my previous posts or GuavaRama's previous posts. This post is part of a mini-series on Sagebooks and might not make as much sense without context. After last week's post, a non-zero number of people have asked me whether or not I was sure that Sagebooks is inappropriate for
- [I Was Interviewed on Moms and Biz](https://mandarinmama.com/interviewed-moms-biz/) - It's been a crazy week. Two of my friends, Daphne LeBlanc and Danielle Faust, who I met on the Type-A Blogging conferences asked me if I would be interested in talking on their Blab show this week. They are both interested in homeschooling and were curious about bilingual homeschooling, too. Of course I said, "Yes." After
- [Tips for Your Taiwan Trip (With Kids)](https://mandarinmama.com/tips-taiwan-trip-kids/) - Alright. Now that we only have 5 eating days left in Taiwan, I've been thinking about what I wish I had known (or remembered) prior to coming. (Seriously, I count down eating days because I do not care about touristy or sight-seeing things. I just want to shove as much yummy Taiwanese food in my
- [The Real Point of Learning Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/real-point-of-learning-chinese/) - **You can find an updated version of this piece, along with exclusive new chapters, in the ebook, (affiliate link) So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. No matter how hard I try, every now and then, I have to remind myself that learning Chinese is not a competition. This seems so obvious when it's written
- [Catch Me Live](https://mandarinmama.com/catch-me-live/) - So, we've been in Taiwan ten days and I have not written a word about our trip. However, that doesn't mean I haven't been doing stuff for my public! Thanks both to a challenge in a blogging group I'm part of, as well as great ideas and encouragement from my friend, Brittany Minor of Clumps of Mascara, I
- [Final Money Tally For Taiwan Trip 2017](https://mandarinmama.com/final-money-tally-taiwan-trip-2017/) - Alright, friends. Here's the annual nitty gritty of how much my trip cost for my family of 2 adults and 4 children. Now, obviously, YMMV and your costs will certainly be different, but this is just to give you an idea. I will have notes below my handy dandy chart so without further ado, here's how
- [Bilingual Chinese and English Storybooks](https://mandarinmama.com/tlseebooks/) - ** Today's post is sponsored by Travel, Learn and See Your Friends: Adventures in Mandarin Immersion by Edna Ma. I also received a review copy of the hardcover. As usual, all opinions and thoughts are my own. This post includes Amazon affiliate links (the price you pay is the same; Amazon shares a tiny bit of that with
- [Fun Chinese Worksheets for Preschoolers](https://mandarinmama.com/fortunecookiemom/) - For those of us who are intent on surrounding our kids in a Chinese Language Ecosystem (CLE), we want everything in Chinese - even Chinese worksheets. And that can be a pain in the butt. ** I received a review copy of the Body Parts Packet and the accompanying ebooks and poster by Fortune Cookie Mom. As
- [Top 5 Myths about Mandarin Immersion Schools](https://mandarinmama.com/myths-mandarin-immersion-schools/) - I would like to say that I'm a practical and reasonable person. (Well, except when I'm not. But then, aren't we all?) I totally understand that everyone who wants their kids to learn Chinese is NOT going to be homeschooling bilingually in Chinese and English. I get that for many folks, their best option for teaching
- [Why You Should Ignore Facebook Statuses about Chinese Fluency](https://mandarinmama.com/why-you-should-ignore-facebook-statuses-about-chinese-fluency/) - Today's post is short. Yes, you're in the right place. (Hmph.) Here's the gist in case even my short articles require a tl;dr: It doesn't matter how other people's kids are doing in Chinese. The Chinese levels of other people's children have no bearing on your own child's progress or abilities. That's not why your
- [Jamma Jango Review](https://mandarinmama.com/jammajango/) - **This post is sponsored by Jamma Jango. As usual, all opinions and thoughts are mine and mine alone. I know I predominantly review Chinese books and products geared towards native speakers or heritage families because that's what is the best fit for my family. However, I know that there are many families who have little to
- [Sagebooks Summer Reading: Week 1](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer-w1/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Can you believe that Glow Worm (4.5) and I have already made it through 18 weeks of (almost) daily Sagebooks reading? Despite having gone through the series with my older two children, it is STILL daunting to be confronted with the entire
- [Sagebooks Summer Reading: Week 2 & 3](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer-w2-w3/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. If you read my post from two weeks ago, you'll know that I got a little cocky about making it through 17 weeks of mostly consistent Sagebooks reading with Glow Worm (4.5) and as a result, I totally slacked off. I paid the
- [Sagebooks Summer Reading: Week 4 & 5](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer-w4-w5/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Friends, I should have seen it coming. I mean, I'd like to think that I have some sort of self-awareness, but apparently, I live in the Land of Denial. [socialpug_tweet tweet="If you're like me + only the fear of looking stupid modifies
- [Behind the Scenes at Sagebooks: June](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-qa1/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. By now, I'm sure you all know that I am a Sagebooks Super Fan. I mean, yes. I am a Sagebooks Partner, but I was a super fan first. (That's why I was so ecstatic to work with them on a professional basis!)
- [Sagebooks Summer Reading: Week 6 & 7](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer-w6-w7/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Even though I know Sagebooks suggests reviewing the previous 4 lessons before you teach a new one, I haven't been doing it. Mostly because we haven't needed to - and I also forgot. Sagebooks is engineered to teach your child the 500
- [Behind the Scenes at Sagebooks: July](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-qa2/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Last month, I peppered Lucia Lau, the creator and author of Sagebooks, my burning questions about the series (in particular - why the children in the illustrations don't have any hair). This month, I focused on some of the details regarding their publishing
- [Sagebooks Summer Reading: Weeks 8 & 9](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer-w8-w9/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I was super discouraged these two weeks. First, because I got a lot of pushback from Glow Worm (~5) about going through the lessons. Second, because I knew I was going to Taiwan with only my daughter for a week and I knew he
- [Sagebooks Summer Reading: Weeks 10 & 11](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer-w10-w11/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Friends, last you heard from me, I was preparing to go to Taiwan as a gift to myself for my upcoming 40th birthday and somehow got conned into taking my 6.5 year old daughter with me. Well, I suppose it's only a
- [Sagebooks Summer Reading: Weeks 12 & 13](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer-w12-w13/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Friends, this is the post you have been expecting because I haven't exactly been subtle dropping hints all over my previous posts. (It's called foreshadowing. I'm a genius!) Let's all just pause a moment and appreciate my excellent planning. Ok. It has
- [Sagebooks Fall Stretch: Weeks 1&2](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-fall-1/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Alright, friends. I have finally righted the Sagebooks Ship and just in time! We're starting a new stretch for fall and if you have been waiting on the sidelines for a good time to jump in with us, THAT TIME IS NOW. Truthfully,
- [Sagebooks Fall Stretch: Weeks 3&4](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-fall-3/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. If you've been following along all summer, you'll know that I've finally dragged myself out of our terrible low of doing nothing for weeks (okay, okay, months). All I had to do with force myself to start and then, it got marginally easier
- [Sagebooks Fall Stretch: Weeks 5&6](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-fall-5/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I'm not gonna lie to you, Marge. I am chuffed about these past two weeks. There's something invigorating about FINALLY getting shit done. (And by shit, I mean have your kid consistently go through a Chinese reader that teaches children the most frequent 500
- [Sagebooks Fall Stretch: Weeks 7&8](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-fall-7/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Of course, after a run of several good weeks of consistently reading Sagebooks with Glow Worm (5), I had to attend a conference for most of Week 7. But I wasn't worried. I knew that I was on a roll and would get
- [Sagebooks Fall Stretch: Weeks 9&10](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-fall-9/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. So, last time we hit a bit of a snag because I left for a week and though we bounced back somewhat nicely in the second week, I did not adequately prepare myself for the fact that reading an entire book was a
- [Sagebooks Fall Stretch: Weeks 11&12](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-fall-11/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Sometimes, I think I make my life difficult on purpose. But then, I remember that just because I am trying to teach my kids stuff, it doesn't mean that I have to put the rest of my life on hold. After all, if
- [Sagebooks Fall Stretch: Weeks 13&14](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-fall-13/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Friends, I have reached a wonderful realization. Glow Worm (5) and I hit the halfway point of Sagebooks at the end of Week 14 and it only took us 44 weeks. Granted, we are also doing the Treasure Box series so I guess, if we include those,
- [Sagebooks Fall Stretch: Weeks 15&16](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-fall-15/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Once again, I am very pleased with myself. Before you call me smug, please keep in mind that I spent all summer deep in my feelings and mid-life crisis and got very little Sagebooks time in with Glow Worm (5). So to be on
- [Sagebooks 2018: Year End Review](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-2018/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Holy cow. Today is the last day of 2018 and you're making the wise decision to close out the year by reading my Sagebooks Update. I'm honored. WHERE ARE WE? It's a little confusing for me to talk about both the last
- [Sagebooks Winter Session: Weeks 1&2](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-winter-1/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Ah, the start of a bright and shiny new year! It makes me feel all sorts of unwarranted and unsupported optimism. WHERE ARE WE? We ended Week 18 at Set 3 Book 4 Lesson 18 despite my goal being to finish Book 4. Since I knew Christmas
- [Sagebooks Winter Session: Weeks 3&4](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-winter-3/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Oh, friends. You know that bright and shiny feeling you get when the year is young and you have gone to the gym twice in a row or finally remembered to brush your teeth consistently for both the morning and night? I'm so
- [Sagebooks Winter Session: Weeks 5&6](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-winter-5/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Two weeks ago, I left you in suspense to see if a force stronger than my inability to Chinese during the first half of January swooped into miraculously rescue us from inertia. You'll be pleased to know that indeed, I overcame and I
- [Sagebooks Winter Session: Week 7&8](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-winter-7/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. We FINALLY finished Set 3 two weeks ago and moved onto Set 3's Treasure Box series. I don't know why I always forget that the books are harder than I anticipate. Of course, I did NOT take any responsibility for teaching Glow Worm
- [Sagebooks Winter Session: Week 9&10](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-winter-9/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. There is something invigorating about starting an entirely new set. It's similar to the feeling of starting a new book within a set, but bigger. It's all shiny and new and you resolve to yourself that this time, it'll be different and you'll
- [Sagebooks Winter Session: Weeks 11&12](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-winter-11/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. As much as I love progress, sometimes, the best choice we can sometimes make for our children is to slow down and review. None of my children enjoy this, but Glow Worm (5) particularly hates it. So, despite finishing Set 4 Book 1
- [Sagebooks Spring 2019 Session: Week 1&2](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-spring19-1/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I was so excited about finally, FINALLY finishing Book 4.1 that it never occurred to me that we would run into the same problem with Book 4.2. I'm a bit annoyed but not annoyed enough to do anything more drastic like personally sit with Glow
- [Sagebooks Spring 2019 Session: Week 3&4](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-spring19-3/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. It's going to be a repeat of Book 4.1. I know because I have already experienced the future of these two weeks (I write ahead because otherwise, you would never get anything on time). Did I just spoil it for everybody? Well, it's not
- [Sagebooks Spring 2019 Session: Week 5&6](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-spring19-5/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I swear we did stuff these last two weeks. It doesn't look like we made progress because I forced Glow Worm (5) to review Book 4.2 from the beginning and he hated it. (As to be expected.) But I'm getting ahead of myself. As I
- [Sagebooks Spring 2019 Session: Week 7&8](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-spring19-7/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Despite it taking over two months, the needle seems to have finally moved. Bonus: I wasn't even in town for half the time! WHOOOO!! WHERE ARE WE? We ended Spring Session Week 6 at Lesson 4.2:17 and we were SO CLOSE to finishing the book. This
- [Sagebooks Spring 2019 Session: Week 9&10](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-spring19-9/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. FRIENDSSSSSS!! We actually moved at a pace non-glacial! YAY ME!! I mean, ahem. YAY, Glow Worm (5). WHERE ARE WE? We ended Spring Session Week 8 at Lesson 4.3:11 and I was really nervous that our making steady pace was a fluke. But since life is
- [Sagebooks Spring 2019 Session: Week 11&12](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-spring19-11/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!! How is everyone doing? We're approaching the 7th Inning Stretch in Sagebooks and I confess, I'm feeling super antsy because I want us to be done already. Though it feels as if we're thisclose to the finish line, I know it's just a
- [Sagebooks Summer 2019 Session: Week 1&2](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer19-1/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I left the last update sort of freaking out about the impending Taiwan Trip and these two weeks was more of me cramming last minute. I wanted to make a big push these last three weeks before we left so that I would
- [Sagebooks Summer Session Update: Week 3&4](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer19-3/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I ended the last update on an unexpected roll because of my impending Taiwan Trip and I ended up ahead of the game. The question now becomes: did I continue that momentum or did I grind to a halt because I got cocky
- [Sagebooks Summer Session Update: Week 5&6](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer19-5/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. In the last update, we ended on a high note because despite being in Taiwan and all my lies (I mean, promises) to my children that we would do fun things, I still made them read Chinese books and Sagebooks every morning. Did
- [Sagebooks Summer Session Update: Week 7&8](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-summer19-7/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. During the last update, I was super awesome and actually made sure Glow Worm (~6) did his daily Sagebooks readings - even through travel to Kaohsiung and the start of summer camps. DID YOU PROPERLY PRAISE ME FOR THAT, YET? Ahem. I'm waiting. Ohohohohohoh
- [Sagebooks Challenge: Conclusion](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-conclusion/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. As I mentioned last time, this is my final post for Sagebooks after a year and half of a fantastic partnership. I am a lot sad that it's ending, but all good things eventually come to an end. But never fear! There may
- [The Key to Success with Sagebooks](https://mandarinmama.com/success-with-sagebooks/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Okokokokok. I lied. There isn't only ONE key to success with Sagebooks. Like all things in life, there are many ways to do well with Sagebooks and to master the 500 characters. (If you want to see how I'm doing with my
- [How a T-Rex and Accountability Will Help You Teach Your Kids Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/accountability-chinese/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. One of the perils of being a blogger is that by virtue of being in a public space and writing about a topic a lot, people think I've got it all together and have some special dispensation of will power, consistency, and patience.
- [Struggling is Normal](https://mandarinmama.com/struggling-is-normal/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. If you've been following me either on the blog in general, just through the Sagebooks Series, or on social media, you've likely gathered that I've been struggling. Mostly in life (because life) and it has crossed over (as life is wont to do
- [Behind the Scenes at Sagebooks: August](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-qa3/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. We're back this month with another quick peak into the inner workings of Sagebooks as well as some spoilers on their new products. Read on to see what Lucia Lau, author and creator of Sagebooks, has to say. 1) Now that you have
- [Sometimes, There Just Is No Substitution for Time Served](https://mandarinmama.com/time-served/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. This post also uses affiliate links. I am about to tell you something that perhaps gives you way too much of a glimpse into the sad, inner workings of my semi-delusional mind. I promise it has something to do with learning Chinese -
- [Review: Sagebooks Basic Chinese 500 Study Cards](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-flashcards/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I was also provided a review copy of the flashcards. Because I talk about Sagebooks all the time, people constantly message me or comment asking for where to buy Sagebooks flashcards. Since the cards didn't exist until now, I had to defer and
- [My Secret to Teaching Kids Chinese: Outsource It](https://mandarinmama.com/outsource-chinese/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Whenever people hear that I bilingual homeschool my four children in Chinese and English, they always respond that I am amazing and that they could never do what I do. While that is true, (both my amazingness and my enviable ability to yell
- [Top 5 Resources for Teaching Kids Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/top-5-chinese-resources/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I've been at this teaching my kids Chinese thing for about nine years now and pursuing Chinese literacy for about five of those years. And while I don't think I have the monopoly on good advice in this area, I do think I
- [Review: Sagebooks Treasure Box Game Cards](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-treasure-box-cards/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I was also provided a few review copies of the game cards. Before we continue, let's make it clear that these are NOT flashcards. If you're hoping to use them as flashcards, you'll be disappointed. Though the cards have the characters on one side,
- [Behind the Scenes at Sagebooks: November](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-qa4/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. We’ve been without sneak peaks into Sagebooks for a few months but we're back again. If you haven't checked out their supplemental products such as the Treasure Boxes or the Comic Book series, you totally should! And if you own them already, it's
- [Trust the Process](https://mandarinmama.com/trust-process/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. This post also contains affiliate links. It's been a long time since I've written anything about my older two children's Chinese progress because quite frankly, I feel as if there's nothing much to say. Not because we've stopped the Chinese thing with them. In
- [The Problem of Discernment](https://mandarinmama.com/discernment/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. This week, we will discuss the problem of discernment - or rather, its lack. What do I mean? And what does it have to do with teaching kids Chinese? As citizens of the internet age, we are bombarded on all sides with news,
- [Top 5 Chinese Posts of 2018](https://mandarinmama.com/top-5-chinese-posts-of-2018/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Folks, it's the second to last week of 2018. You know what this means. My brain is officially mush and we're going to do what everyone does on their websites and direct you to my personal Top 5 Chinese Articles of the year.
- [Behind the Scenes at Sagebooks: January](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-qa5/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Every so often, I send in a bunch of questions to Sagebooks because I'm nosey and they humor me and answer. This month, I wanted to know what was popular with other parents because I know I don't always like the same things
- [The Problem of Burn Out](https://mandarinmama.com/burn-out/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. There are also affiliate links. All opinions are mine and mine alone. When my oldest child was born nine years ago, I did not expect that my desire to teach him Chinese would take over our lives and drastically change my career, my education choices, and my friends. Honestly, I
- [The Loneliness of Teaching Tweens Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/teaching-tweens-chinese/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Everyone has disappeared. Ok, perhaps not everyone. But sometimes, it really feels that way. Where are all the parents teaching their tweens Chinese? When I first started this bilingual journey with my oldest child almost a decade ago, there were scores of us. Maybe
- [5 Minute Review: MiaoMiao TV and Apps](https://mandarinmama.com/miaomiao-tv-and-apps/) - This post was sponsored by Lofty Sky Entertainment. I was provided with review copies of Miaomiao’s Chinese for Kids and the Shuyan and Shuyan Comic apps. All opinions are mine and mine alone. FYI: Miaomiao provided me 10 Free Access Codes to give away. Please comment on this post why you want the Miaomiao app by Sunday,
- [When Your Kid Surpasses Your Chinese Abilities](https://mandarinmama.com/kids-surpass-your-chinese/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. In my lofty position as Blogger of Chinese Language Things (yes, that's the official title), people often ask me how they can teach their kids Chinese if their own Chinese abilities are mediocre or non-existent. I, being the flippant person that I am,
- [How to Prep Kids for Chinese Summer Camp](https://mandarinmama.com/prep-chinese-camp/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Before I continue, DO NOT ASK ME WHERE I SEND MY KIDS TO CAMP. I will not tell you. In fact, I will not acknowledge (and likely delete) all such queries. If you think it's a good idea to inform the internet where
- [Finding Your Core Reason](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-core-reason/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Last week, an acquaintance of mine told me she was so amazed at how I have persevered with my kids in Chinese all these years. That she couldn't seem to get her life together and do it for her own children. In fact,
- [5 Minute Review: Ocean Crisis 海洋危機](https://mandarinmama.com/oceancrisis/) - I was provided with review copies of Ocean Crisis 海洋危機 and the expansion set, Ocean Crisis: Catastrophe Expansion by Shepherd Kit. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Before I gave birth to four children and promptly lost all ability to follow complex instructions, I used to LOVE boardgames. The more strategery required the better! Bonus
- [Automating Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/automating-chinese/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. What's that famous infomercial line? "Set it and forget it!" The reason that rotisserie chicken cooker thingy infomercial sold SO MANY (including to my dad) is because of that memorable tagline and the promise it is selling. (Although, when Costco sells a whole
- [Teaching Kids Chinese FAQs](https://mandarinmama.com/teaching-chinese-faq/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I also include affiliate links. Sometimes, I get stuck in a rut with these articles because I've been writing about Chinese and Chinese-ing for so long that I forget not everyone has been following me from the beginning - and even if they
- [What to Do When Your Kids Only Want to Speak English](https://mandarinmama.com/when-your-kids-only-want-english/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. A year and a half ago, I did a super brief post on how to get your kids to speak Chinese. It was based on a Facebook Live I did and back in November of 2017, I was full of myself and how
- [Making Chinese Fun](https://mandarinmama.com/making-chinese-fun/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I know, I know. You took one look at this title and got confused because we all know that I don't really like to have fun. Or at least, no fun with my children. But you know, just because I have made my
- [7 Signs Your Child Is Ready for Sagebooks](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-ready/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. For those of you following along my Sagebooks journey with Glow Worm (5.75), you'll note that we're almost done. (Okokokokokokok. We still have 15+ books to go through if we count the Treasure Box set - but we're closer to the end than the
- [Life After Sagebooks](https://mandarinmama.com/after-sagebooks/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Friends, that long awaited day has finally come to pass. You're both relieved, excited, and ridiculously proud of yourself (as you should be). However, you're also a little bit worried. Why? Because we can never just let ourselves bask in our accomplishments for
- [Why I Take My Kids Back to Taiwan Every Summer](https://mandarinmama.com/why-taiwan/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. We've just finished two full days in Taiwan and no lie. I'm done with speaking, hearing, and reading Chinese all around me already. I haven't quite hit my limit yet (gimme a few days), but I already feel overwhelmed because I am constantly
- [How to Keep Up Chinese While Traveling](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-traveling/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. If you're like me and occasionally like leaving your home for extended periods of time in order to cram some culture and life experience into your children, then today's post is for you. Occasionally, readers ask me how to keep up teaching their
- [Chinese Language Articles on the Sagebooks Blog](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-sagebooks-articles/) - After so many years of writing about Chinese, you'd think that I would run out of things to say. You'd be WRONG though. (But I still love you.) This post sums up all the pieces on Chinese that I've written in the last year and half for Sagebooks on their blog. The topics run the
- [What a Typical Summer Day in Taiwan with Kids Looks Like](https://mandarinmama.com/typical-taiwan-summer-day/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Many people (including my husband) ask what I do in Taiwan all summer when the kids are in camp. And although I answered this two years ago on a Facebook Live, I suppose it's not realistic to expect people to remember. (Although, I
- [Taiwan Trip 2019 Recap](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwan2019-recap/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. If you are interested in my previous posts about learning Chinese in Taiwan, click here. Note: I will NOT disclose where my children attended summer camps and preschools in Taiwan. Due to internet safety for my four young children, I choose to keep
- [Final Money Tally for Taiwan Trip 2019](https://mandarinmama.com/final-money-tally-taiwan-trip-2019/) - FRIENDS!!! Normally, this is where I would give you all the nitty gritty details of how much my Taiwan Trip 2019 cost. But this year, due to the magic of pitching and the internet and me wanting to spread my wings a bit, I wrote the piece for Romper Magazine's Expense Report instead. So, go over there
- [Taiwan Summer Camps](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwan-summer-camps/) - Last Update: January 7, 2020. To make your life easier and make sure you don't miss any of my Taiwan related posts, click here. Read enough articles and advice about teaching your kids Chinese and inevitably, you'll be told to take your kids back to Taiwan or China for a few weeks in the summer
- [Lessons I Learned from Sagebooks](https://mandarinmama.com/lessons-learned/) - This post was sponsored by Sagebooks. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Friends, next week is my last post for Sagebooks because we are done! Glow Worm (6) is my third child to go through the curriculum and I wish it were easier the third time around, but it wasn't. The main thing going for me
- [Realistic Expectations for Learning Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/realistic-expectations-for-learning-chinese/) - **This article uses affiliate links and was originally part of a series of posts that became my book, So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Updated January 14, 2020. I started off my So You Want Your Kid To Learn Chinese Series by saying you need to clarify your goals. After all, there really is
- [How to Sabotage Your Kid's Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-sabotage-your-kids-chinese/) - This article uses affiliate links and was originally part of a series of posts that became my book, So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Updated February 7, 2020. I've been on this bilingual journey with my kids for at least ten years and actively pursuing bi-literacy for about seven. In that time period, I
- [Why I Sometimes Advise People to Give Up Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/sometimes-advise-people-give-chinese/) - This article uses affiliate links and was originally part of a series of posts that became my book, So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Updated January 27, 2020. A few days ago, I heard through the grapevine that a friend of mine, AAMilano, was considering sending her children to zhuyin classes. And because I
- [Should You Go to Taiwan If You Don’t Know Chinese?](https://mandarinmama.com/should-you-go-to-taiwan-if-you-dont-know-chinese/) - Today's article is a guest post by Rebecca Wong. I met her in Taipei in the Summer of 2019 and knew immediately we were each other's people. I hope you find her piece helpful! Maybe you’ve heard about all the benefits of Chinese immersion in Taiwan, but you don’t know Chinese at all. You might be really
- [The People Who Sabotage Your Kid's Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/the-people-who-sabotage-your-kids-chinese/) - This article uses affiliate links and was originally part of a series of posts that became my book, So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese. Updated February 11, 2020. Just like we ourselves can inadvertently undercut our children's efforts at learning Chinese, other people can also make it more difficult for us to pursue Chinese
- [43 Learn Chinese Activities for Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-activities/) - Updated as of: 3/15/2020 Note: For 18 months, I created activity posts for Sagebooks. I am no longer providing content for Sagebooks but I still admin their Facebook group. For those of us whose schools are now closed because world events and would like to use the time to bolster our children's Chinese, here are
- [Language Monkey Review](https://mandarinmama.com/language-monkey-review/) - **This post is sponsored by Language Monkey. As usual, all opinions and thoughts are mine and mine alone. Friends, I want to apologize. I have never checked out a single language learning pen ever in my entire life because I'm a snob. I just didn't see the need for it. We have actual Chinese books
- [I Luv Chinese: Ready-to-Go Chinese Lessons in a Box](https://mandarinmama.com/i-luv-chinese-subscription-box/) - Are you looking for teacher curated, fun, and engaging crafts and lessons to teach your kids Chinese? Check out this I Luv Chinese review.
- [How to Angry Toy Purge Your Home](https://mandarinmama.com/angry-toy-purge-home/) - Lately, I have gotten Hulk Smashy a lot more frequently than I have in the past year or so and quite frankly, it's because my house is a disaster. There are toys, with teeny tiny parts, all over the floor, in every room, and in every place. I don't even know how it happens. I
- [Xfinity Stores Are No Longer Like the DMV](https://mandarinmama.com/xfinity-san-francisco/) - *This post was sponsored by Comcast Xfinity. All opinions are my own. Despite being a long time customer, the last time I set foot into a Comcast store it was a glorified service center. There was a long line and we moved at a medium pace to pay bills, swap equipment, and sign up or
- [2 New Things I Learned about Xfinity](https://mandarinmama.com/xfinity-san-jose-brokaw/) - *This post was sponsored by Comcast Xfinity. All opinions are my own. Last week, I went to the San Francisco Xfinity Store located at 2186 Geary Blvd. San Francisco, CA 94115 for their Lunar New Year celebration without my kids because let's be real. I was not going to drag four kids from the suburbs, take BART, and
- [How to Throw an Easter Egg Hunt](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-throw-an-easter-egg-hunt/) - [Most Recent Update: March 20, 2018] For the last six years, I have hosted an Easter Egg hunt for my friends every spring and at the risk of tooting my own horn, it's one of my best events. I wish I could take credit for it, but honestly, I have attended quite a few egg hunts
- [The Happiness in My Days](https://mandarinmama.com/happiness-my-days/) - I've been complaining a lot lately and I want to stop for a moment and acknowledge the things in my life that are making me happy. This is not to discount the very real annoyances that pop up in my life. But I also know that whatever we focus on, we see more of. And quite
- [How to Raise Independent Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/how-to-raise-independent-kids/) - A few weeks ago, my friend, Brittany Minor of Clumps of Mascara asked me how to get kids less needy because she was sick of her kids needing her so much. She spends plenty of time cuddling and loving them, so it's not that she's a mean mommy. Brittany would just like her children to literally hang
- [Motherhood has Made Me Weak](https://mandarinmama.com/motherhood-has-made-me-weak/) - Motherhood has made me weak. Before I had children, I had zero problems watching disaster films, children in peril, or even parents abandoning their kids for reasons noble or otherwise. (Ok, that last one’s not entirely true, but I certainly could stomach it.) I could read books or articles or stories about sick kids, dying
- [Loving in the Present](https://mandarinmama.com/loving-present/) - You guys, I am really loathe to admit this, but I adore my children. Yes, yes. Captain Obvious here Captain Obviousing. But, it’s true. Lately, even though I am still on my phone 99% of the day, I have been attempting to be a smidge more present in my children’s lives. [socialpug_tweet tweet="Because here’s what
- [My Toddler, the Tyrant](https://mandarinmama.com/toddler-tyrant/) - I don’t know why I keep dragging out these 15 minute posts. If I just banged them out in the morning when my brain was awake instead of whatever the crap it is I’ve been doing, I would be done already. Except here I am, once again, starting when the dregs of my brain are
- [The Days Are So Long](https://mandarinmama.com/the-days-are-so-long/) - I’m exhausted. The thing of it is, I’m getting enough sleep. It’s that my 1.5 year old is going to wear me down. These last few weeks (it feels like months - maybe years), he’s gone from napping 2-3 hours to 45 minutes. He wakes up and gets out of bed and is super cranky
- [Why I Stopped Being a Tiger Mom](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-stopped-being-a-tiger-mom/) - Before I had kids, I imagined that I would somehow create these future super children who were well-rounded in every way possible. They would be forced into Chinese school, read and know their multiplication tables by the time they were 4, play every sport, know martial arts, and be versed (and talented) in music and
- [End of Toothpaste Brain](https://mandarinmama.com/toothpaste-brain/) - Maybe it's because it's near the end of the year and my brain is balking at the prospect of unnecessary work, but I am having difficulty writing longer, coherent pieces that are not work related. And thus, you get the dubious privilege of reading more of my finished thoughts that cannot be stretched into a
- [I Can’t Believe I Feel Lost Again](https://mandarinmama.com/lost-again/) - I used to think that if I could just be paid to read books, watch movies, and listen to music, I would be happy. Get paid for what you love, right? WRONG.
- [Why Picky Eaters Trigger Me: It's Not the Corn](https://mandarinmama.com/why-picky-eaters-trigger-me/) - [Content Warning: physical abuse] I am in a shitty mood. Part of it is that my period is going to start. Part of it is that I still feel raw. And part of it is that my children can be annoying. I yelled at Cookie Monster (8) a lot today at dinner. Gamera (6) spent
- [The Real Reason I Procrastinate](https://mandarinmama.com/why-do-i-procrastinate/) - I skipped yesterday. (I'm trying to shake loose some writer's block by writing 15 minutes a day - no limitations - and then POSTING it.) My excuse is that I fell asleep at 8:30pm with the baby, but I had opportunities throughout the day to do it. I just didn’t want to. I was afraid.
- [I Should Not Have to Be in Pain for You to Acknowledge I Am a Person](https://mandarinmama.com/racism-robs-my-personhood/) - A few weeks ago, I wrote a Facebook post about how I was having a hard time writing about racism and sexism. An old mentor of mine gave some good advice about personal stories and using our pain to draw people in. It bothered me. It really bothered me. [clickToTweet tweet="We aren't persons unless our
- [What Is the Goldilocks Zone of Expectations?](https://mandarinmama.com/goldilocks-zone-expectations/) - I’ve been doing pretty good with the Daily 15 minutes of writing. That is, until I got complimented on my writing and now, I’m feeling a lot of performance anxiety about this exercise. However, I know I’m being ridiculous. After all, the exercise is for me to unloose my creativity, push past fear, and add
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 10](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-10/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. This is our 10th week going through
- [The Myth of the Perfect First Draft](https://mandarinmama.com/perfect-first-draft/) - My brain is sputtering again. I know I wrote about this yesterday. I wish these “stuck” moments could be willed or magicked away just by identifying them alone, but no. Sometimes, the way out is seen, but it takes a long time before we can get there. I have to remind myself that no one
- [My Love for Kpop](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-love-kpop/) - I meant to only go to YouTube to play a particular KPop song and then, somehow, got sucked down the rabbit hole of watching classical musicians react to kpop. It is awesome. [clickToTweet tweet="I know the internet jokes about “thirst” but in my case, my eyes are #thirsty for Asians - and in particular, #Asianmen."
- [Afraid of Joy](https://mandarinmama.com/afraid-of-joy/) - My therapist wants me to try and write from a place of vulnerability in my Daily 15 where I write for 15 minutes regardless of content or editing. I don’t know how I feel about this. Well, I feel annoyed that I tend to follow directions, so there’s that, I guess. A friend left a
- [Swaggering Toward 40](https://mandarinmama.com/turning-40/) - I’m turning 40 this year. I’m going to close out my fourth decade (and sorry folks, 40 is actually the LAST year of your 30s and NOT the first year of your 40s - #fightme) and unlike many people, I’m happy to be older. After all, the only way to not grow old is to
- [How to Persuade a God?](https://mandarinmama.com/persuade-god/) - I skipped yesterday’s Daily 15 minute writing session. Partly because I was tired. Partly because I wanted to read. And partly, because I didn’t want to. Yeah, I’ll admit it. I have been dragging my feet because I really do not want to take my therapist’s advice on trying to write from a place of
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 11](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-11/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. Our 11th week learning Sagebooks HK Basic Chinese
- [Why I Broke Up with Batman](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-broke-up-with-batman/) - I used to love Batman. I wanted to have his tragic billionaire Bat-babies. #dontjudgeme Sometimes, I would imagine that Batman and Superman were both Asian to make them acceptable for me to date. (Hey, when I was in high school, I was only interested in Chinese American boys.) I mean, come on. Batman is a
- [Horrible People](https://mandarinmama.com/unfriend-horrible-people/) - I know this pegs me as starkly naive and I pride myself in being not a chump, but sometimes, I’m really shocked by how shitty people can be to each other. I mean, I know that people are shitty. I know that the world is full of awful people. People that can justify anything and
- [Fear of a Dystopian Future](https://mandarinmama.com/fear-dystopian-future/) - I don’t know whether it is a symptom of reading one too many dystopian novels, but more and more often, when I ponder our future, I am afraid. I hate that I am afraid. [clickToTweet tweet="Would my children resent me if I stood up for my beliefs but was taken away? Or would they resent
- [The Lie of My Dreams](https://mandarinmama.com/lie-dreams/) - It is scary stuff to admit what you want. It terrifies me to state what I want without any flippant remarks or deprecation. It seems wrong. Or arrogant. Or like tempting fate. I feel as if I’m setting myself up to fail. But in reality, not being able to say what I want actually sets
- [The Blame Game Fallacy](https://mandarinmama.com/the-blame-game-fallacy/) - One thing about myself that I’ve noticed a lot but have had a hard time doing anything about is my tendency to play the blame game. I know it’s a terrible habit. I know it sets a bad example. And though I catch it afterwards and then try to address it with my children and
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 12](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-12/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. Our 12th week learning Sagebooks HK Basic Chinese
- [Conference Jitters](https://mandarinmama.com/conference-jitters/) - I’m heading to my first Mom 2.0 blogging conference in exactly seven days. It will be the first time I have been away for longer than a day from my 18 month old and though I won’t worry when I’m at the actual conference, I will kinda stress about it up until I get in
- [How Can I Live Without My Phone?](https://mandarinmama.com/how-live-without-phone/) - My optometrist has outright told me I need to put my phone down. My eyes are deteriorating at a pace that will be rending my LASIK surgery useless soon. (LASIK was my first major purchase with my first job after college and I had a good run. Going from -920 to 20/20 was a revelation.
- [Why I'm Fangirling over Killing Eve](https://mandarinmama.com/why-im-fangirling-over-killing-eve/) - I have started and stopped my Daily 15 for today at least 5 times just now. My husband is waiting for me to finish so we can watch Killing Eve together. It’s nice when we actually watch something together. It’s a rare thing indeed. I’m obsessed with Killing Eve. [clickToTweet tweet="I wish my kids could
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 13](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-13/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. We hit our first major
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 14](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-14/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. For our 14th week, we
- [11 Things I Learned at Mom 2.018](https://mandarinmama.com/11-things-i-learned-at-mom-2/) - I can’t believe it’s been 5 days since I got back from Mom 2.0. Honestly, I’m a little underwhelmed at how I’ve performed since I’ve returned. I was expecting a little more from myself. Instead, I’ve been in a brain fog. (I guess I’ve been sick, bleeding from my vagina, and oh yeah, momming and
- [From Champagne Life to My Life](https://mandarinmama.com/champagne-life/) - I have been in a fog all week. I suppose it didn’t help that I was sick and having my period. Also, re-entry back from a conference is hard. And Mom 2.0 was particularly hard to come back from. I was in fancy fancy hotels for 5 days and 4 nights, drank champagne almost every
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 15](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-15/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. For our 15th week, we
- [Time Traveling Down the I-5](https://mandarinmama.com/time-traveling-down-the-i-5/) - Disclosure: Kia Motors provided me with a courtesy 2018 Kia Niro for my drive from the Bay Area to Pasadena, CA so that we could attend Mom 2.0. No compensation was provided. All thoughts and opinions are my own. There was a period of time where I could stop at any point along The 5
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 16](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-16/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. For our 16th week, I
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 17](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-17/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. For our 17th and final
- [Just Go! May](https://mandarinmama.com/just-go-may/) - How is May over? More importantly, how did I totally forget to post a Just Go! April? FAIL FAIL FAIL, that's how. This month, I think I was a bit written out due to writing and posting almost every day in April. Then, I was at Mom 2.0 and THEN, I was sick a few times
- [Soft Power: What Our Colonized Eyes Need to See](https://mandarinmama.com/soft-power-what-our-colonized-eyes-need-to-see/) - I was able to attend a soft-opening performance of Soft Power at the Ahmanson Theater as the +1 of a friend. I'm not going to lie. I found Soft Power to be incredibly discomfiting. It was also funny and absurd, but what I remember the most is how it made me feel and think. I ran a constant internal
- [Just Go! June](https://mandarinmama.com/just-go-june/) - Guys. YOU GUUUUUUUYYYYYSSSSSSS. The year is halfway over. THE YEAR IS HALFWAY OVER. How is that possible? I do not know what's been going on in June and why it was a continuation of May. I had a serious Case of the Mondays except it was ALL MONTH. As usual, it's time to check in
- [The Temptation of an Open Door](https://mandarinmama.com/open-door/) - Friends, I have not been in a good place. I have been tempted to open the front door, walk out of it, and then just keep walking. Except that I actually was abandoned by my father so I thought I would be better than this. [socialpug_tweet tweet="So many of my awesome women friends seem to be
- [A Crisis: My Mid-Life Manifesto](https://mandarinmama.com/midlife-crisis/) - Author's Note: This post has ample use of the F-word and if that offends your sensibilities, it's best to skip this in its entirety. Here's the obscenity free tl;dr. Wait. No. There is too much. I'm turning 40 in 5 days. I'm also in the midst of a mid-life crisis. I think. I mean, I can't
- [Yes, I Am Still Alive](https://mandarinmama.com/still-alive/) - I know. It's been a long minute. Quite frankly, I'm not even sure I know how to write anything that is not work related but no time like the present to try again. Don't get me wrong. I have been very grateful to write as my work this year. I've had the chance to try
- [Just Go! July-September](https://mandarinmama.com/just-go-september/) - Um, it's October. And not even the very start of October. We're like legit a week in. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? If you've been paying attention to me even remotely (and if you haven't, WHYEVER NOT YOU BARBARIAN?!?), you'll note that I have not updated my Word/Phrase of the Year series since June. It's not
- [Not Today](https://mandarinmama.com/not-today/) - [Content Warning: descriptions of physical abuse.] It's been 7 years since I excised my father from my life and the lives of my children. Lately, as I've been re-purposing some of my terrible memories of him, I have discovered that my body still physically reacts to even memories. Even now, as I am typing in public
- [Just Go! October](https://mandarinmama.com/just-go-october/) - Folks, I really need to get my life together. Here I am at 40 and my house is a disaster. My children's rooms make me sad because although the first floor looks as if it's a well-lived house and that adults live here, my kids' rooms make me think that they're neglected. It's shameful. Before
- [Random Thoughts](https://mandarinmama.com/random-thoughts-2/) - I've started and stopped this post at least 20 times already and it's not because it's deep or moving and hard to write. It's because I've been trying to force a form upon my disparate thoughts and tie a pretty bow on top but it's not that kind of post. But then - THEN I
- [My First Short Story](https://mandarinmama.com/my-first-short-story/) - Aaaaayyyyyyy! I don't know how to introduce this without a bit of self-conscious fluttering about. But, erm, I wrote a thing. And that thing is not published here because I write for other sites. If you read a lot of my narrative non-fiction (that's the fancy term for my writing in general), you'll note the
- [How to Curse Without Swearing](https://mandarinmama.com/curse-without-swearing/) - This post includes affiliate links. It also includes actual swears despite the title. Friends, you all know that I love a good screed composed entirely of the swears, but lately, it has occurred to me that so many of the truly excellent swears are gendered and misogynistic. I mean, it's not a new thought to
- [Top 5 Posts Published Elsewhere in 2018](https://mandarinmama.com/top-posts-elsewhere-2018/) - Hmmmm... this title is somewhat misleading because I barely published more than five times this year, but you know what? That's still more times than I did last year! WHOOOOO! Oh wait. I published 48 times at the Sagebooks Blog. Yeah, I'm gonna have to brag about that, too. I guess this means I will
- [2018 Year in Review](https://mandarinmama.com/2018-year-in-review/) - Happy New Year, friends! Though 2018 started off with great promise, by summer time, I did not think I would make it to the other side of 2018 intact and whole. And yet, here I am, on the first day of 2019, more hopeful than I was last year at this time. Despite the six
- [2019 Word of The Year](https://mandarinmama.com/2019-word-of-the-year/) - For those of you who are long time readers, you already know I’m the Go Big or Go Home type. (And thus, I often opt to go home. Isn’t that what my mid-life crisis last year was all about despite home being the last place on earth I wanted to be?) I either go all
- [My Official Throat Clearing Post of 2019](https://mandarinmama.com/throat-clearing-2019/) - You guuuuuuyyyyyyyssss! Why is it so cold?? Yes, yes, yes. So many of you live in actual cold climes. Don't @ me. But I truly believe this cold weather is keeping me from greatness. Only because it makes me want to stay in bed and think happy, BTS thoughts or consume happy, BTS contents. Hmmm...
- [The Melancholy of Being Part of the Asian Diaspora](https://mandarinmama.com/melancholy-asian-diaspora/) - I was doing research for a post the other night and as a result, wound up reading up on Chinese poetry (both modern and classical). Of course, because of the inevitable black hole internetting brings, I also read up on Chinese history, a bunch of wars, linguistics, and took a detour to reading up on
- [#OrdinaryStories Project](https://mandarinmama.com/ordinarystories/) - Look. I love the DC/Marvel Universes and superheros and classic shows and movies as much as the next person - but I am tired. I am tired of reading/watching/listening to the same stories about or told by the same people when so many of our stories - my story - are never told, never examined,
- [The Body of Memory](https://mandarinmama.com/body-of-memory/) - This post is part of my #ordinarystories project. Check out the other participants at the end of the post. Prompt 1: What's the most memorable thing that happened to you in a bathroom? Although many mothers bemoan the fact that they can't even poop in privacy, this has never bothered me. Quite possibly because even
- [Finally, I See Myself](https://mandarinmama.com/finally-i-see-myself/) - This is the first post of a series of blog posts sponsored by Comcast and can also be seen here. All opinions are mine and mine alone. When Comcast approached me to be their official digital content creator and guest blogger for the 2019 Chinese New Year Festival & Parade festivities, I didn’t even bother
- [When a Parade is More Than Just a Parade](https://mandarinmama.com/more-than-parade/) - This is the second post in a series of blog posts sponsored by Comcast and can also be seen here. All opinions are mine and mine alone. It’s just a parade, right? Then why was I getting choked up on the beautifully lit Comcast float, holding back tears while waving at the general public? Now, I’m under
- [Intro to BTS](https://mandarinmama.com/intro-to-bts/) - This post has been brought to you and sponsored by my undying love and thirst for all things BTS. You are thusly forewarned and forearmed. The rabbit hole is quick and deep and merciless. All BTS images courtesy of Big Hit Entertainment. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up
- [My 10 Best BTS Songs](https://mandarinmama.com/top-10-bts/) - Wherein I talk about kpop boyband extraordinaire, BTS, and link to all my quality contents about BTS. You’re welcome. May your thirst and unending quest for BTS be quenched. (Although, really. Is that possible? No. The answer is no.)
- [No More Hiding](https://mandarinmama.com/hiding/) - Friends, I don't know if it's apparent but careful long time readers probably already know. I hide. I hide a lot. I am an expert at deflection. I use humor to distract from pain and fear. And because I share a lot of raw stories, people think I am brave or vulnerable or open. It's
- [Why I Love BTS](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-love-bts/) - This post is part of my ongoing series about BTS. If you prefer not to constantly refresh my site for updates, sign up for my newsletter and I will send you a handy round up every week. People often ask me why I love BTS. Usually, I end up flailing about, gushing about their looks,
- [Hollow](https://mandarinmama.com/hollow/) - I am currently trying not to panic. A friend's father is dying and I am a mess. Obviously, not the same as her and her feelings. But nevertheless, I am reminded of when another friend was remembering her father's death and my ensuing panic. Grief sneaks up on a person. All I can think of
- [Why BTS Winning a Billboard Music Award Matters](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-bbma-win-2019/) - This piece is part of my on-going love letter to BTS. If you prefer not to constantly refresh my site for updates, sign up for my newsletter and I will send you a handy round up every week. Photos courtesy of Big Hit Entertainment. "Why are you crying, Mama?" "Because BTS won an award and they don't
- [Stepping Into the Spotlight](https://mandarinmama.com/spotlight/) - This is the third post in a series of blog posts sponsored by Comcast and can also be seen here. All opinions are mine and mine alone. I forgot what it felt like. I forgot what it meant to be seen and seen fully. As a person; not token. On the night of May 15, 2019, in
- [The Chronicles of My Ineptitude in Taiwan](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwan-chronicles/) - Ok, friends. I have a bunch of things on my mind about our Taiwan Trip thus far and I can't organize them well and it's super stressing me out. So, in the absence of any sort structure, I bring you Mental Flotsam: The Taiwan 2019 Edition. (I will also accept: The Chronicles of My Ineptitude
- [Chasing that Dream](https://mandarinmama.com/chasing-dreams/) - Y'all. Nothing like staring down the barrel of multiple writing deadlines to make all my words go POOF! and the only words that come out are ridiculous and off-topic and thus, here we are. So, my theory then is to vomit all my non-paid words out and then perhaps - per-fucking-haps - I can finally
- [There's Enough Space](https://mandarinmama.com/enough-space/) - I've been thinking about the internet and my role as an influencer on it for awhile now but could never articulate what I wanted to say. Though my example is with the Chinese niche aspect of my blog, the principles hold true to any industry you're in. In particular, I find that women - especially
- [100+ Things Only BTS Stans Know](https://mandarinmama.com/100-things-bts-stans-know/) - My 100+ Things Only BTS Stans Know is part of my neverending love letter to kpop boyband, BTS. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up for my newsletter. Ah, friends. This post is self-indulgent and likely won't be for you if you don't already stan the seven best humans in the
- [100+ Signs You May Be a BTS Stan](https://mandarinmama.com/100-signs-you-may-be-a-bts-stan/) - 100+ Signs You May Be a BTS Stan is part of my neverending love letter to kpop boyband, BTS. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up for my newsletter. In the same vein of my piece, 100+ Things Only BTS Stans Know, here's a mostly tongue-in-cheek article that may or may not just be
- [100+ Reasons to Love Park Jimin of BTS](https://mandarinmama.com/100-reasons-love-park-jimin-bts/) - 100+ Reasons to Love Park Jimin of BTS is part of my neverending love letter to kpop boyband, BTS. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up for my newsletter. Since my 100+ Things Only BTS Stans Know was such a hit, I realized that it's the perfect time for this article since today,
- [Into the Unknown: My Frozen 2 Red Carpet Experience](https://mandarinmama.com/frozen-2-red-carpet/) - With equal parts excitement, wonder, and terror, I walked the red carpet for the Frozen 2 World Premiere on Thursday, November 7, 2019. I watched Frozen 2 before 99% of the world (it's magnificent) and attended THE after party, eating near and chatting with celebrities. I didn't recognize myself. How could I when I'm normally
- [Playing with Fire is Exactly What You Expect](https://mandarinmama.com/playing-with-fire/) - Last week, I was lucky enough to watch a private screening of Playing with Fire on the Paramount Lot as part of The Geekly Retreat (an exclusive, invite-only retreat for aspiring entertainment writers). Below is my review. Playing with Fire delivers exactly as expected. Funny and full of heart, the movie's slapstick humor entertains enough
- [The Sequel We Needed: My Spoiler-Free Frozen 2 Review](https://mandarinmama.com/frozen-2-review/) - Last week, I attended the Frozen 2 red carpet premiere as part of The Geekly Retreat (an exclusive, invite-only retreat for aspiring entertainment writers). Below is my spoiler-free review. This post uses affiliate links. "That's how you address colonization and reparations," I thought as the credits for Frozen 2 rolled. Oh, wait. You want more than that
- [The Grammys Snub BTS: ARMY's Reaction Smacks of White Privilege](https://mandarinmama.com/grammy-snub-bts/) - The 2020 Grammy nominations came out this morning and ARMY (BTS's fandom) is pissed. BTS received a grand total of ZERO Grammy nominations and ARMY is screaming everywhere that The Grammys robbed BTS and used ARMY for clicks and BTS for clout. While I completely agree with this assessment, I'm more aggravated by the response
- [A Welcome Surprise: Lady and the Tramp Live Action Review](https://mandarinmama.com/lady-and-the-tramp-review/) - At the beginning of November, I visited the Disney Lot and screened Lady and the Tramp (live action) along with a lot of movies and shows as part of The Geekly Retreat (an exclusive, invite-only retreat for aspiring entertainment writers). This post contains affiliate links. I don't know about you, but I consider Lady and the
- [How You Save the World Matters: Spies in Disguise Review](https://mandarinmama.com/spies-in-disguise-review/) - Last month, I attended the first screening of Spies in Disguise to a non-employee audience as part of The Geekly Retreat (an exclusive, invite-only retreat for aspiring entertainment writers). Below is my spoiler-free review. This post uses affiliate links. Spies in Disguise (out everywhere December 25, 2019) is exactly what I hoped it would be: funny,
- [Your Guide to Being a Middle-Aged BTS Fan](https://mandarinmama.com/middle-aged-bts-fan-guide/) - "Your Guide to Being a Middle-Aged BTS Fan" is part of my neverending love letter to K-pop boyband BTS. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up for my newsletter. This post also uses affiliate links. Have you ever been told, "You're too old to like BTS"? Or asked yourself, "Am I
- [Favorite Posts of 2019](https://mandarinmama.com/favorite-posts-of-2019/) - I can't believe we're hitting the end of 2019 already! I've hit a huge goal to consistently write for other sites this year as well as write for myself. You may have been for all, part, or none of it - but I appreciate you for being here now. Here are, in no particular order,
- [What Does It Mean to Be Brave](https://mandarinmama.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-brave/) - Whenever people tell me I'm brave, I feel like a huge fraud. I don't feel brave. At all. Friends and strangers alike reference me sharing about my abusive childhood, my pain, and my journey as evidence of bravery, but these acts are not hard for me. I have zero qualms about sharing these stories because
- [Why Is BTS So Successful and How Can We Replicate It?](https://mandarinmama.com/why-is-bts-so-successful/) - "Why Is BTS So Successful and How Can We Replicate It?" is part of my neverending love letter to K-pop boyband BTS. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up for my newsletter. This post also uses affiliate links. It's no secret that I am a huge fan of global K-pop sensation
- [BTS MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 'Interlude: Shadow' Comeback Trailer Review](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-mots7-interlude-shadow-review/) - “Interlude: Shadow Comeback Trailer Reaction” is part of my neverending love letter to K-pop boyband BTS. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up for my newsletter. This post also uses affiliate links. The "Interlude: Shadow" comeback trailer by K-pop global sensation BTS destroyed my soul in the best way. You know
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 01: BTS ARMY Origin Stories](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-01-bts-army-origin-stories/) - How did the Noona Army Podcast come to be, how I find BTS, and how did a middle-aged stay at home mom become a BTS fan?
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 03: How to Make BTS ARMY Friends](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-03-how-to-make-bts-army-friends/) - Are you wanting to make older BTS ARMY friends? Here's where you can meet and make friends with other older female BTS fans (Noona ARMY).
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 02: SUGA, Interlude: Shadow, and BTS Lyrics](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-02-suga-interlude-shadow-and-bts-lyrics/) - Let's dive deep into SUGA, his background, and his lyrics in "Interlude: Shadow" and how they connect to his other songs.
- [Taking Our Pain Seriously](https://mandarinmama.com/taking-our-pain-seriously/) - It’s been ZERO days since we’ve been to the ER. If you follow me on social media or know me in real life, you know that we live at the ER. Last year, I think Glow Worm (6) had to go to the ER ten times due to adverse reactions from his food allergies and
- [BTS Black Swan Art Film and Song Review](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-black-swan-art-film-and-song-review/) - “BTS Black Swan Art Film and Song Review” is part of my neverending love letter to K-pop boyband BTS. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up for my newsletter. This post also uses affiliate links. "Black Swan" by worldwide K-pop sensation BTS is a solid emotional track that effectively uses autotune
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 05: First Deaths and BTS Black Swan](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-05-first-deaths-and-bts-black-swan/) - In the fifth episode hosted by writer and BTS stan Virginia Duan, she discusses the lyrics of BTS's Black Swan and first deaths. Noona ARMY Podcast discusses the particular challenges and aspects of being a middle aged female fan of K-pop global sensation BTS. Download Noona ARMY Podcast Watch Noona ARMY Podcast References Links for
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 04: Can You Be a Feminist and Still Like BTS?](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-04-can-you-be-a-feminist-and-still-like-bts/) - Can a person be both a feminist and a fan of BTS? What about some of their "problematic" songs? Check out the discussion.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 06: Am I Too Old to Like BTS?](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-06-am-i-too-old-to-like-bts/) - Do people ever make fun of you for stanning BTS at your age? Do you wonder if you're too old to like BTS? Here, we answer that question.
- [BTS MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 'Outro: Ego' Comeback Trailer Review](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-map-of-the-soul-7-outro-ego-comeback-trailer-review/) - BTS: “Outro: Ego" Comeback Trailer Review is part of my neverending love letter to K-pop boyband BTS. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up for my newsletter. This post also uses affiliate links. "Outro: Ego" rewards repeated listens; the bouncy song belying the more serious lyrics. I'm not gonna lie to
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 07: Sex and BTS](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-07-sex-and-bts/) - Let's talk about how sex, masculinity, and Asian male bodies all relate to BTS.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 08: Self Care for BTS Fans](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-08-self-care-for-bts-fans/) - Are you getting burned out as a BTS fan? Here are some ways to practice self-care as a fan.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 10: How to Be a BTS Fan](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-10-how-to-be-a-bts-fan/) - What does it mean to be a BTS fan and how can you be a good BTS fan?
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 09: j-hope, Outro: Ego, and Fate](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-09-j-hope-outro-ego-and-fate/) - Let's discuss what BTS j-hope, Outro: Ego and its lyrics, have to do with fate and time travel.
- [BTS 'ON' Kinetic Manifesto Film : Come Prima Review](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-on-kinetic-film-come-prima-review/) - The BTS "ON" Kinetic Manifesto Film: Come Prima delivers on every level. Definitely kinetic - in the music and the movement of bodies as well as loose sleeveless shirts (all praise physics and the stylist noonas) - "ON" is a rock hop song exploring the ups and downs BTS have experienced since their debut in June 13, 2013.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 11: BTS ON, N.O, and the Evolutionary Imperative to Mate](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-11-bts-on-no-evolutionary-imperative-mate/) - Discuss how the new BTS title track "ON," their old song "N.O," tap into the evolutionary imperative to mate.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 14: BTS and Love Yourself](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-14-bts-and-love-yourself/) - What do the concepts of Love Yourself, BTS, and loving yourself and knowing yourself have to do with each other.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 13: BTS and Expansiveness](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-13-bts-and-expansiveness/) - How BTS is expansive and inclusive in their art, secure in their position, and models how to do "competition."
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 12: How I Use BTS for Healing](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-12-how-i-use-bts-for-healing/) - How to use BTS for healing and comfort when you have anxiety.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 15: Racism, BTS, and the Model Minority Myth](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-15-racism-bts-and-the-model-minority-myth/) - What are the effects of racism and the Model Minority Myth on BTS and Asian Americans.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 16: Singularity, Masks, and Theology](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-16-singularity-masks-and-theology/) - Join us for a discussion on how Singularity by BTS, masks, and personas, relate to the Trinity, gods, and idols.
- [Because I Am Afraid](https://mandarinmama.com/because-i-am-afraid/) - People tell me all the time that I am brave. That they could never. That they would, but they would lose friends, family, or business. I understand that. I am familiar with fear. It is my constant companion. I do not begrudge people their reasons. I do not presume to know them, their experiences, their
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 17: BTS and Using Your Platform](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-17-bts-and-using-your-platforms/) - Find out how BTS use their platforms and how we can model ourselves after them to speak out against injustice.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 19: How to Protest Like BTS](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-19-how-to-protest-like-bts/) - Check out how has BTS protested in the past and present, the different ways we can protest, and how we can model our protesting after BTS.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 18: BTS, BLM, and Performative Activism](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-18-bts-blm-performative-activism/) - Find out how K-pop stans have disrupted hateful hashtags, have pressured idols like BTS to speak out for Black Lives Matter, and the dangers of performative activism.
- [Noona Army Podcast Ep 20: Why We Love Kim Seokjin](https://mandarinmama.com/ep-20-why-we-love-kim-seokjin/) - Do you love Jin of BTS? Listen as we discuss our love of Jin, his kindness, and how he breaks the mold of what it means to be a K-pop idol.
- [Protest Primer](https://mandarinmama.com/protest-primer/) - Today, we have a guest post by my friend, Edward Vere Walrod. Ed (he/him/they/them) is an avocado hating millennial Korean American originally from Seoul and is now in Chicago working in communications and digital media. He is an aggressive PCUSA Presbyterian with a low tolerance for BS, conservatism, and a sushi-kbbq-boba addiction that will most
- [Why I Took Down My Blackpink “How You Like That” Reaction](https://mandarinmama.com/why-i-took-down-my-blackpink-how-you-like-that-reaction/) - I took down my reaction video because when we know better, we do better.
- [My Journey Into Becoming a Progressive Asian American Christian](https://mandarinmama.com/my-journey-to-paac/) - Earlier this month, I applied to be part of the Progressive Asian American Christian Fellowship, a 10 month program educating progressive Asian American Christians about our history, intersectionalities, and activism. I found out two weeks ago that I'll be participating in the 2020-2021 cohort and I'm super excited about delving deeper into Asian American history,
- [BTS 'DYNAMITE' REVIEW](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-dynamite-review/) - Did I love BTS's "Dynamite" or hate? It's complicated. Read on for my review of the earworm of the summer.
- [Women Deserve Better: Blackpink "Ice Cream" With Selena Gomez Review](https://mandarinmama.com/blackpink-ice-cream-review/) - The single "Ice Cream" is disappointing, but the music video is disgusting. Read my full review to find out why.
- [100+ Reasons to Love Kim Namjoon of BTS](https://mandarinmama.com/reasons-to-love-kim-namjoon-of-bts/) - In honor of the birthday of Kim Namjoon, the leader of record shattering K-pop band BTS, I will be itemizing in detail the manifold reasons to love him.
- [R.F. Kuang: Projecting Trauma on Fictional Characters to Heal](https://mandarinmama.com/rf-kuang-projecting-trauma/) - Check out R.F. Kuang as she discusses her new book The Burning God, unreliable narrators, writing trauma and fight scenes, and K-pop band BTS.
- [BTS "Life Goes On" Review](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-life-goes-on-review/) - "Life Goes On" tenderly captures the grief, helplessness, and hope we collectively have undergone as a result of the pandemic, holding space for our sorrows and tentative tenacity to continue in the face of suffering. Read on for my full review.
- [BTS "BE" Album Review](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-be-album-review/) - BTS's "BE" is a solid entry in the BTS discography and a fitting cap to 2020. With more band participation than ever, this album has something for everybody — starting off melancholy and contemplative with attempts at cheer, and then post-skit, veering off into decidedly more upbeat territory. Read on for my full review.
- [BTS "Butter" Review](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-butter-review/) - BTS “Butter" Review is part of my never-ending love letter to K-pop boyband BTS. You can catch my ongoing series about BTS here or just sign up for my newsletter. This post also uses affiliate links. BTS's "Butter" is the smooth summer party hit of 2021. Sometimes, all you want is a good time and "Butter" definitely
- [BTS Fanfic Writers of Color You Need to Read ASAP](https://mandarinmama.com/bts-fanfic-writers-of-color-you-need-to-read-asap/) - Are you hunting for BTS fanfics written by writers of color? If so, here are a few authors of color in the BTS fandom that you should check out.
- [Guest Post: Sagebooks Review](https://mandarinmama.com/guest-post-sagebooks-review/) - Back in May, I wrote about Sagebooks and some of its philosophy. I hadn't really yet started Cookie Monster on the series, and mostly, just referenced, Guava Rama's blog and her thoughts. We've since gone through the first set of books and are starting on the second set, but until we finish the series, I likely won't give
- [Sagebooks](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks/) - Now, many of you know that I not only want my kids to be fluent in Mandarin, but I also want them to be literate. (An entirely different endeavor, to be sure!) As someone who is orally fluent, I am pathetic when it comes to literacy. I want my children to avoid that sense of inadequacy
- [How to Taiwan with Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwan-with-kids/) - Upon hearing that I took four kids 7 years old and under (including an 8 month old) by myself for a month, most people immediately say, "You're so brave!" This is usually immediately followed by, "How do you do it?" Well, the short answer is, "With a lot of yelling." The long answer takes a
- [How to Turn Jealousy into Life Change](https://mandarinmama.com/jealousy-life-change/) - I have a confession to make. Recently, I got bit by the Jealousy Bug when I heard from a friend that she got to work with a company that I have long wanted to work with. When she told me about the partnership, I immediately wondered why this company hadn't offered me this same deal.
- [Suck It Up, December and 2017 Recap](https://mandarinmama.com/suck-december-2017-recap/) - How is December over? And 2017? Every month and every year, I'm surprised when it's over. It seems as if I'm always WAITING for the day to end and make it to the kids' bedtime and I sneeze and now, THE YEAR IS OVER. I don't see this changing any time soon. In fact, I
- [My Official Throat Clearing Post of 2018](https://mandarinmama.com/throat-clearing/) - Happy New Year, friends!! I know. I've been a little scarce around these parts lately. The irony of me trying to get more writing work is that now I have more writing work, but less time to write for myself. Dilemma. It's silly because the reason I think people want to work with me or
- [My Word of the Year 2018](https://mandarinmama.com/word-year-2018/) - If your newsfeeds are anything like mine, you've likely been inundated with posts about choosing your Word of the Year (WotY), what was your WotY, what is your new WotY, etc. for at least since Thanksgiving. I think it's great because I LOVE the WotY trend and in case you can't tell, I'm super into
- [3 Things I'm Leaving Behind in 2018](https://mandarinmama.com/things-im-leaving-behind/) - Now that 2018 is almost a full month in, I'm realizing that on top of the things I want to add to my life, there are things I want to leave behind, too. I know. You're shocked. How could someone as awesome as me have behaviors that are holding me back? Well, table your disbelief. It's
- [Just Go! January](https://mandarinmama.com/2018-word-of-the-year-check-in-1/) - How is it that January is already over? That seems a bit too fast, if you ask me. As I did last year, I'm going to be doing monthly check ins for my Word of the Year because I find it helpful to keep track of how I'm doing. So, without much more preamble (hey,
- [Just Go! February](https://mandarinmama.com/2018-word-of-the-year-check-in-2/) - How is February over? I realize it's the shortest month of the year, but still. Seems rude. For once, I'm not feeling terribly blabby (but that might change by the time we hit the end of the post) so we'll just get started with my monthly check in on my Phrase of the Year. 1)
- [Just Go! March](https://mandarinmama.com/2018-word-of-the-year-check-in-3/) - How is March over? More importantly, how is the FIRST QUARTER of 2018 already over?? This month, I think I slowed down quite a bit. I might have burned myself out in February and thus, was having a difficult time getting writing done. Plus, I actually made the effort to read a few books as
- [Sagebooks Challenge](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebookschallenge/) - I'm so excited! I finally get to announce that Sagebooks HK and I are working together for the next four months. If you have been reading me for a long time, you'll know that I'm a super fan of Sagebooks HK and that I think they are without a doubt, the most effective way to teach Chinese characters
- [Sagebooks Challenge: Week 1](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-1/) - Author's Note: For those of you who are new to my site, Sagebooks HK is sponsoring the next four months as we start two new series: The Sagebooks Challenge that you're reading right now and a series starting tomorrow at Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and
- [Sagebooks Challenge: Week 2](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-2/) - Author's Note: For the next four months, Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through
- [Sagebooks Challenge: Week 3](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-3/) - Author's Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. Welcome to our
- [Sagebooks Challenge: Week 4](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-4/) - Author's Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. Welcome to
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 5](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-5/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. Welcome to our fifth week going through
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 6](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-6/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. Welcome to our 6th week going through
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 7](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-7/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. Welcome to our 7th week going
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 8](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-8/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. Welcome to our 8th week going
- [Sagebooks Challenge Week 9](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-week-9/) - Author’s Note: Sagebooks HK is sponsoring The Sagebooks Challenge as we chronicle Glow Worm (4) and I going through their series for the first time. I am also guest posting on their Sagebooks HK Blog where I will be providing a time tested tip and a fun activity to help support you and your child as you go through the sets. Can you believe it's our 9th
- [My Top Non-Chinese Posts for 2017](https://mandarinmama.com/top-non-chinese-posts-2017/) - As much as I'd like to think that everyone waits for my new posts with bated breath, it's possible that you may have missed one or two (or more but WHYYYYYYYY?) in the course of this year. Because I love you and am everything that is kind and helpful, I have compiled my top non-Chinese
- [Psssst... I'm Also at LYTM SF's Blog Today](https://mandarinmama.com/psssst-im-also-lytm-sfs-blog-today/) - You GUYS!! I'm at the Listen to Your Mother San Francisco blog today talking about the process for writing your submission to LTYM. One thing I noticed last year while participating in LTYM SF was that though there was diversity in the age and type of story performed, there weren't really that many people of color, people who were
- [Life in Piecemeal](https://mandarinmama.com/life-in-piecemeal/) - It should come as no surprise to long time readers that I am an extreme personality. There are no half-ways in my world. There is either all or nothing. Feast or famine. All in or all out. Perfection or Abject Failure. It shows up in all aspects of my life and makes it difficult for me
- [Waiting for My Life to Begin](https://mandarinmama.com/waiting-life-begin/) - I don’t know why I am hiding again. I thought I had turned a corner but nope. I have reverted to what I know best. A Wrinkle in Time cracked my chest open. I wouldn’t say the movie was amazing in and of itself, but the feeling it evoked in me. I can’t explain it.
- [That Time I Got "Ching Chang Chonged" At Mini Golf With My Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/that-time-i-got-ching-chang-chonged-at-mini-golf/) - This afternoon, my three children attended their good friend's birthday party at a mini golf course with a swarm of six year olds and a smattering of their younger siblings. They descended upon this poor mini golf course and since they are small, ran amuck. I was without Hapa Papa due to lack of thinking things

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- [Published Articles 2025](https://mandarinmama.com/published-2025/) - Having a hard time keeping track of all my content? For your convenience, here are all of my latest articles, videos, podcasts, and guest posts for 2025. elink.io | See Original
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- [About](https://mandarinmama.com/about/) - Mandarin Mama Mandarin Mama began as a personal blog exploring the intersection of parenting, Asian American identity, faith, Chinese language education, and pop culture through intimate storytelling and commentary. The site evolved to include media reviews and interviews, building a community around shared experiences, and cultural discussions. Currently, the platform has refined its focus to
- [Brazn Azn](https://mandarinmama.com/brazn-azn/) - Broadening what it means to be Asian American. In a world full of dude-bro podcasts where anyone with a mic and a bad take can record and call their collective ill-informed opinions a "podcast," the Brazn Azn podcast is the hero for our times. Started by two friends who really just wanted an excuse to
- [Favorites](https://mandarinmama.com/favorites/) - Here is a list of my personal favorite articles, videos, podcasts, and guest posts I've created over the years. You can find other years here: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | Favorites elink.io | See Original You can find other years here: 2025 | 2024
- [Social](https://mandarinmama.com/social/) - MANDARINMAMA.COMABOUT VIRGINIABRAZN AZN PODCASTEXPLORE MY BOOKSSUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTERLET'S WORK TOGETHERCONTACT US Our love is defiance. Let us love extravagantly. Latest Chaotic Joy This Cover of “Sex Is on Fire” Is a Crime Against MusicBy Virginia Duan March 4, 2026 9 Mins Read On the slow creeping tyranny of blandification, and why I need us
- [Contact Us](https://mandarinmama.com/about/contact/) - We get a lot of media requests. If you would like to reach me for Mandarin Mama for interviews, speaking engagements, panels, sponsorships, or just want to say "hello," please email me at virginia@mandarinmama.com. If you are reaching me for Mochi Magazine coverage, please email me at virginiaduan@mochimag.com.
- [Blog Magazine](https://mandarinmama.com/blog_magazine/) - BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube What challenged me As I mentioned above, I’ve started slacking on my kids’ academics because quite frankly, ONE CAN ONLY BE SO ATTENTIVE. But, this month, (omgerd, it’s MARCH HWY HWUT HWEN??) I am resolving to get back on the proverbial horse
- [Podcasts](https://mandarinmama.com/podcasts/) - Here are all of my latest podcast appearances. elink.io | See Original
- [Press & Features](https://mandarinmama.com/press/) - For your convenience, check out where I've been quoted, profiled, interviewed, or made guest appearances. elink.io | See Original
- [Sagebooks](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-all/) - Have you heard about the Sagebooks 500 Chinese learning curriculum and you're wondering what it is and whether it's right for you? 4 out of my 5 children have gone through the books and below are my Sagebooks related reviews and articles. I also have a few behind the scenes interviews with the creator. If
- [Privacy Policy](https://mandarinmama.com/about/privacy-policy/) - Effective as of 11/14/2023 We may change this Policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you are satisfied with any changes. By using this website, Mandarin Mama, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by this Privacy Policy and all other Policies and Disclosures. If you
- [Noona Army Podcast](https://mandarinmama.com/noona-army-podcast/) - Hosted by writer and BTS stan Virginia Duan of Mandarin Mama, this podcast discusses the particular challenges and aspects of being a middle aged female fan of K-pop global sensation BTS. elink.io | See Original
- [Chinese for Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-for-kids/) - This post uses affiliate links. Whether you're looking for personal essays about the process, advice on how children learn Chinese, or just someone to keep you accountable as you embark on this bilingual journey, I likely have something perfect (and irreverent) for your mood. For the tl;dr crowd, here you go: How to Teach Kids
- [Work with Mandarin Mama](https://mandarinmama.com/work-with-mandarinmama/) - Now that my children are older, my schedule is opening up and I have room to take on a few more clients and long-term partners. (For written work outside of my blog, please refer to my portfolio.) On my blog, I work with brands and partners. I am particularly interested in long-term/multi-post arcs like I've
- [BTS](https://mandarinmama.com/bts/) - Do you know BTS? BTS, the 7 member K-pop boy band with catchy songs, deep lyrics, knife-like choreography, stunning visuals, and genuine personalities, is taking over the world and I'm here for it! I stumbled upon BTS in January 2018 and though I am staunchly in my 40s, I fell swift and I fell hard
- [How to Apply Business Principles to Learning a Language](https://mandarinmama.com/ram2020/) - Hello Raising a Mogul friends!! Here are the links for my presentation, "How to Apply Business Principles to Learning a Language." Thank you so much for your attendance and You can view the slides here: How to Apply Business Principles to Learning a Language You can buy my book here (affiliate link): So You Want
- [How to Write A Sponsored Post That Doesn't Suck](https://mandarinmama.com/alt2020/) - Hello ALT Summit friends!! Here are the links for my presentation, "How to Write A Sponsored Post That Doesn't Suck." You can view the slides here: How to Write A Sponsored Post That Doesn't Suck These are the posts referenced in the Awesome Sponsored Post examples: 1)The Historical Significance of The Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant
- [Taiwan Summer Camps](https://mandarinmama.com/taiwan-summer-camps-page/) - Read enough articles and advice about teaching your kids Chinese and inevitably, you'll be told to take your kids back to Taiwan or China for a few weeks in the summer to experience full Chinese immersion. While I cannot help you with camps in China, I have taken 3-4 children (and once while pregnant) back
- [Chinese Books for Beginners](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-books-for-beginners/) - [pt_view id="ac2e0dfvdb"]
- [Parenting](https://mandarinmama.com/parenting/) - [pt_view id="4ae85cffrd"]
- [Tips to Teach Kids Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/tips-to-teach-kids-chinese/) - [pt_view id="95a08d30pw"]
- [Learn Chinese in Taiwan](https://mandarinmama.com/learn-chinese-in-taiwan/) - [pt_view id="2125e5f6uq"]
- [Chinese Learning Websites](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-learning-websites/) - [pt_view id="11b5c1c1i4"]
- [Chinese Chapter Book Reviews](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-chapter-book-reviews/) - [pt_view id="f6750a3xvq"]
- [Chinese Media for Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/chinese-media-for-kids/) - [pt_view id="69e6617uk0"]
- [Sagebooks Challenge](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge-all/) - [pt_view id="2c64e1c2ga"]
- [So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/want-kid-learn-chinese/) - The established method of teaching our children Chinese is woefully outdated. Now, there is a better way. This book is for every parent who wants their kid to learn Chinese and is willing to supplement and provide the necessary support that their child will need. Full of practical advice, detailed applications, and heavy amounts of
- [Terms & Conditions](https://mandarinmama.com/terms-conditions/) - These terms and conditions are effective date May 25, 2018. These terms and conditions outline the rules and regulations for the use of Mandarin Mama’s Website. Mandarin Mama is owned and operated by Mandarin Mama. By accessing this website we assume you accept these terms and conditions in full. Do not continue to use Mandarin
- [Sagebooks Challenge](https://mandarinmama.com/sagebooks-challenge/) - [catlist id=12 order=asc numberposts=5 morelink="Read more"]
- [Test](https://mandarinmama.com/test/) - Test Page. Numbered Bullets Test: Number One One.1 One.1.1 One.1.1.1 One.2 One.2.1 One.2.2 One.2.2.1 One.3 One.4 One.5 Number Two Number Three Number Four Number Five Bulletted List Number One 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.4.1 1.4.2 1.4.3 1.4.4 1.4.4.5 Number 2 Number 3 Number 4
- [Teach Kids Chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/teach-kids-chinese/) - Nowadays, it seems everyone wants their kids to learn Chinese. There are immersion schools, after school programs, apps, books, and educational toys galore. It's overwhelming. As a second generation Taiwanese American, I know all about the struggle to learn and retain Chinese in America - both as a child and now as a parent. While
- [Bilingual Homeschooling](https://mandarinmama.com/bilingual-homeschooling/) - I never thought I'd homeschool my kids let alone homeschool them in Mandarin. But here I am, several years later, still homeschooling mostly in Chinese. Below, I have collected several of my more informative posts on homeschooling, bilingual or otherwise. What I have found over the years is that homeschooling, like parenting, reveals your own
- [Product Rating System](https://mandarinmama.com/about/about-family/product-ratings-system/) - Since every reviewer has some system or method to their madness, I thought it would be helpful to explain mine (both for folks reading the reviews and for folks wanting reviews). In general, this will be my guideline and process. 1-5 Star Rating: 1 Star: I hated the product. I most likely am angry I
- [Site Disclaimer & Comment Policy](https://mandarinmama.com/about/about-family/site-disclaimer-comment-policy/) - Your being offended is not a reason for me to stop writing as I choose. - John Scalzi Read and do this. Please. That's the only time I'll ask nicely. SITE DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions and positions expressed by me are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of any
- [Money](https://mandarinmama.com/money/) - When I was younger, I naively thought money didn't matter. It certainly wasn't the key to happiness. What I didn't realize was that though money didn't guarantee happiness, not having enough money to cover basic needs as well as provide for some wants made happiness much harder to come by. Now that I'm several decades older and
- [Resources](https://mandarinmama.com/resources-2/) - I am currently too lazy to write up something clever and helpful and accurate. However, in the interest of not procrastinating and putting things off because I have perfectionist tendencies, please just pretend there was something magical here instead of placeholder copy. For now, the main resources I have are for Learning Chinese (especially for

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://mandarinmama.com/category/uncategorized/)
- [Parenting](https://mandarinmama.com/category/parenting/) - If you think you are going to get great advice on how to be a parent, you are in the wrong place. But if you are looking for the cold, hard, truth, then read on.
- [Learn Chinese for Kids](https://mandarinmama.com/category/learn-chinese-for-kids/) - So, you want to teach your kid Chinese? Despite the make-Google-happy, poorly worded title, I really do know what I’m doing.
- [BTS](https://mandarinmama.com/category/bts/) - BTS! BTS! BTS!
- [Arts & Entertainment](https://mandarinmama.com/category/entertainment/) - K-pop, movies, music, shows, books, and general entertainment.
- [Noona Army Podcast](https://mandarinmama.com/category/bts/noona-army-podcast/)
- [The Brazn Azn Podcast](https://mandarinmama.com/category/the-brazn-azn-podcast/)
- [Virginia's Projects](https://mandarinmama.com/category/virginias-projects/)
- [Chaotic Joy](https://mandarinmama.com/category/chaotic-joy/) - Spreading joy and reveling in the absurd hilarity and sorrow of being human.
- [Brazn Azn](https://mandarinmama.com/category/brazn-azn/) - Expanding what it means to be Asian American
- [Editor's Picks](https://mandarinmama.com/category/editors-picks/) - Don’t know where to start? Here are some of our most notable pieces.
- [Lifestyle](https://mandarinmama.com/category/lifestyle/)

## Tags

- [race](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/race/)
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- [chinese chapter book reviews](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/chinese-chapter-book-reviews/) - Read our reviews of Chinese chapter books for kids.
- [chinese learning websites](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/chinese-learning-websites/) - Chinese learning websites and online resources.
- [adult book reviews](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/book-reviews/) - Reviews of books for adults
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- [sagebooks challenge](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/sagebooks-challenge/) - Follow along with our progress as the kids learn Chinese with the Sagebooks curriculum.
- [sagebooks](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/sagebooks/) - Tips, tricks and everything you ever wanted to know about teaching your kids Chinese with the Sagebooks curriculum.
- [favorites](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/favorites/)
- [daily15](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/daily15/) - I have challenged myself to write with complete abandon for 15 minutes a day in the month of April 2018. I may continue this practice after.
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- [chinese media for kids](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/chinese-media-kids/) - Learn about Chinese media for kids such as television shows, music, etc.
- [gender & sexuality](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/gender-sexuality/)
- [so you want your kid to learn chinese](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/so-you-want-your-kid-to-learn-chinese/) - All posts related to my book, So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese.
- [kpop](https://mandarinmama.com/tag/kpop/)
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