As per our last post, we went to Sentosa for a 3D2N staycation for Mama Toh’s birthday celebration. I had a good corporate rate for the hotel so please do not automatically assume that I have money to throw around. 

Also, it is still more than 50% cheaper than buying Mama Toh and extravagant present which she only uses less than 5 times a year. Plus everyone in the family could have fun, so I was very okay with a 2 night staycation.

The notion of a staycation usually invokes feelings of serenity and relaxation, but this staycation was anything but that. Thanks to these 2 kiddos.

‘Can we go swimming?’ -repeated every hour

The kids were very much more excited than we were, obviously, but that also came with a few downsides. Such as:

– Waking up at 6.15 a.m everyday requesting to start the day’s activities.

Yup… this was at 6.20 a.m.

– Asking to go down to the pool every hour (see first photo)

– Refusing to come out of their nightly bubble bath in the bathtub even when their fingers have gone all crinkly. Obviously a photo of that will not be shared here.

– Only managing to sit down for a good 10 minutes everyday at breakfast before announcing that they are full and it’s time for a swim.

The rare good times during breakfast

But what took the cake was probably Mama Toh’s birthday dinner, at a semi-atas steakhouse.

Cranky from a a shorter than usual nap which was incidentally caused by… the kids wanting to swim in the afternoon (surprise!), they were already quite unwilling to go down to the restaurant for dinner.

But hey, it’s Mama Toh’s birthday right? And this was the restaurant of her choice so we all went there- 2 willingly, 2 not so.

And it was like what we expected- Zavier boy giving off random cranky screams, Summer requesting to be carried (at 4 years old and at a restaurant which provides comfortable seating). All in all, whilst the food was excellent, we were not 100% in the mood to enjoy it.

In fact, I was surprised we didn’t get any dirty looks from the fellow diners. Well at least we managed a half decent shot.

Told you it was half decent

After dinner, Mama Toh and me heaved a sigh of relief as we exited the restaurant and walked to the nearby supermarket where I grabbed a very deserved beer. And then we mutually agreed that such semi-atas meals will henceforth be enjoyed without kids, and only when we are on leave and only for lunch (we are still psycho parents who feel bad leaving kids at their grandparents’ in the evenings while we go out ourselves).

Miraculously the kids’ moods improved drastically when we went for our walk where they could roam freely.

Note the change in pose for Summer compared to the last photo

Ah well, that’s parenthood for you!

It’s the kids enjoyment which matters the most!