Kids' Day Out

I survived sentosa with the kids. When I first mentioned to KH that I was thinking of bringing all five kids by myself to sentosa, he looked at me sceptically and grinned. Sure or not? he asked. The man didn't think I can do it? Let me rise to the occasion!

Was I in my right mind? My mom clearly thought not. At least bring Lolita along to help, she suggested. But no, I insisted I was up for it. There's just something doggedly stubborn about me and this issue about bringing the helper along on outings. Everytime I see a couple with one kid, or two kids and they have a maid in tow, I sigh or I snigger. Usually the couple would end up walking ahead with the maid carrying the kid, feeding the kid etc. Or the couple would be happily walking with the kid and the maid a few paces behind carrying the baby bag, the shopping bags and whatever paraphernalia that came along. I dislike this. I can never understand or appreciate the reliance on a maid so much so that one cannot even go out without a maid tagging along - and these people have only one or two kids!

So I make it a point to NOT bring my helper out. I will take care of the kids and the helper gets a break at home. She prefers it too - peace and quiet. Yeah, she may take the opportunity to skive a bit - but that's ok. I think its only human. I would do that too if my boss took off for the day! Er, hope the boss is not reading this! OK, I have to be honest and qualify though - that the only time I will ask Lolita to come along is when we're having steamboat at Golden Mile! Let no child come between me and my steamboat!

So it is with this kind of twisted, perverse pride that I refuse to bring a helper along. I just believe that my kids are my responsibility and I am danged if I need help when I go out with my children for some mother-kid bonding!

But I digress.

So I decided to take the kids out for a day. Yes, without the helper.

We started out bright and early at 10am, took the NEL to Vivocity. Went up to the Sentosa Express, signed up for family membership - and that alone was a major production. Me filling out forms and giving the occasional hiss to the kids to behave, baby Trinity taking off her shoes, walking to the counter and demanding to press the touch screen failing which would set off wails like air-raid sirens, Gillian trying to head Trin off, Owain fighting with Isaac and running around the place, Caitlin trying to do her splits (yes in public!) with all her Barbie underwear showing! Cut to the nice counter lady trying to marshall my kids to take photographs for the membership cards. It was a bit of a madhouse.

Then while waiting for the cards, I (distracted by the fact that I needed the toilet badly) agreed to let the kids wade in the wading area. Big mistake. I came out from the loo to see Gillian and Trinity walking in the water - the water of course coming up to Trin's thigh and wetting everything in sight. I waved them to come back. By then Owain's shorts were dripping wet, Cait's skirt was wet and Trin's pink pants were soaked too. Damage control - hit the dryer in the loo.

After all that, we got our new cards, and went off to the sentosa express. I contemplated lying and asking my children to lie. Yes, the bad mummy in me had surfaced momentarily. The membership cards did not include Owain, who would have to pay for his ticket, but I didn't want to queue and KH's stinginess has obviously rubbed off on me after 16 years of marriage. So I toyed briefly with the idea of telling Owain that if the nice lady asked how old he was, he had to say TWO and not THREE. But that would have required some re-programming since the boy was quick on the draw these days and whenever asked his age, would whip out three fingers and announce: I'm STILL three! Also, any lying to be done meant that the other kids had to be roped in.

But luckily my conscience is made of sterner stuff - and the thought of the horrified and scandalised looks on my kids' faces if I ever asked them to lie - killed the idea.

Well, God didn't put us to the test after all! I tried to carry Owain but his pants were so wet and ickky I dropped him right at the turnstile. The nice lady didn't say a word and just let us pass. So I'm glad I never asked the kids to lie.

The kids were excited about the monorail. It was clean, smooth and a fast ride. We got to Palawan beach (the last station) in less than 5min. Whereupon we took the beach tram for one round, stopping at Koufu to have some lunch. Loved the kaya bun - soft and fluffy and warm. Let the kids hang around the water play area but with strict instructions NOT to get wet! Oh the temptation of it all! You could see them casting longing glances at the water, and asking me stuff like: can I please just walk on the rocks where its not so deep? Can we just do a leetle bit of splashing - I promise not to push anyone in... I felt bad - so near and yet so far eh? Bad mummy. So I guess I will bring the kids back - this time with a change of clothes and swimwear, so that they can muck about in the water and the sand.

After Sentosa, we took the monorail back to Vivo. No tickets for Happily Never After - which disappointed all of them except Gillian. But yes to tickets for Music and Lyrics - which Gillian had been bugging to watch. I'd seen the movie already and bought the soundtrack - which is now on repeat mode on the CD player at home thanks to Gillian. The movie was not half bad and who knew Hugh Grant could sing?? Its just the fluffy sort of romantic comedy which she's really in to right now. The younger kids enjoyed it too - since the songs are very poppish and Hi-5 in tone.

Had to bring Trin out half way through - she was happy to walk around the seats and stick her little hand through the gaps, giving the front occupants a shock. And when I stopped her, she started screaming. So I had to bring her out. She only stopped when I got her to the snack bar in front of the popcorn stand. I did toy with the idea of shutting her up with some popcorn. But the popcorn was heinously expensive and, not to mention, unhealthy to boot. So the bad mummy was sidelined in favour of the good mummy who tried distracting her - the lil devil who decided that rolling on the carpetted floor was a good idea. Failing which, climbing on and walking on the sofas to check out the handphones of strangers was a fun thing to do.

Yes, I was tired by the time the movie ended and the kids trailed out. We headed for the basement to try the Kuching Kolo mee - and yes, it was good. But at $5.90 a bowl, in a tiny serving, definitely not worth the money. Bad mummy made four kids share one bowl. Which of course was not enough for everyone, resulted in lots of longing glances and pleas for more. Which bad mummy of course ignored. Bad mummy thought it was a good exercise in WW2 awareness - you know, like those hunger/food deprivation exercises they do in primary school these days to give kids a taste of "what it was like" during the war etc...

Good mummy came to the rescue and bought them each a Beard Papa cream puff. And then we all piled into the NEL for the trip home. Man, it was a looonnng day. In the train, Trin refused to sit down, wanted to stand, walk around the poles, hang onto the straps etc. Being so tired, I did not find this cute. Gillian had to stand and watch her because Owain finally fell asleep on me.

Out of the train, Gillian carried Trin while I carried the sleeping Owain. We smelled ozone and true enough, the rain pelted down soon after we got out and we were stranded at the bus stop. Handphones were dead so we could not call for reinforcements (read: dad who lived nearby!). Finally flagged a cab down and, now of course I realise how reckless and dangerous it was, I ran with all five kids across one lane of traffic, with a bus bearing down on us, in the heavy rain and shoved them all into the cab before flinging myself in.

Yes, it was a long day. But I think the kids had fun. Thank God the school holidays only come four times a year. As for the mother-kid bonding sans helper mindset, well, I'm still glad I did it sans helper. But now I know how exhausted Superman must have felt after a day of saving the world.