September Staycation #kateturns6 (1)

Some months back, there was no window period where I could plan for a holiday. And I desperately wanted one, but given the circumstances, I made do with a staycation plan. Credit must be given to the sister, who so patiently listened to me whine and whine then also provided me with options of where to stay.

 

Months later, the stars had aligned and the dust had settled and it's time for our staycation. A good reminder that it is always more intense and grumpy in the heat of the moment, but it shall pass so always good to have a sounding board to toss the bad qi (I has special sister to share special moments. Lucky is me) and to always just breathe and let it pass cos it will always get better.

 

So anyhoo, Saturday morning rolled about and the kids were thrilled to know that "we get to stay in hotel? Got carpet?" (no prizes for guessing who made that second question/statement) and after a harried session of packing, my little girl and I headed off early on Saturday morning.

 

It's our usual routine of heading to town for her class, and it's always special because we get to do regular routine stuff like walking, catching a bus/train and just being together. I get to observe her in her silly/happy/grumpy moods and her confident strides as she is familiar with our route and routine (I want bread - and it's always a toss between two regular types - plus she loves to toss some coins to a regular basker at a regular spot).

 

 

Lunch

 

After a hearty lunch, we took a bus to the Marina area and headed to check in.

Their own luggage - perfect size for a one-two night stay

The BFF was invited to join us and it was basically a lazy afternoon of bouncing around in the room (the kids) until it was not too hot then we hit the pool.

 

Sunblock

1-2-3 - let's go!

Bang bang

More water fun, 3 kids in a tub

After many hours of water play, we headed to the mall to have dinner. It was a filling meal, followed by play at an indoor playground, then more play back in the room where the children indulged in silly games like hide-and-seek etc. By the time everyone hit the sack, it was past 11pm. It was a long day.

While the kids slept late and I had hoped for a bit of a lay-in, it was not meant to be. The kids awoke at their regular time and it was up-and-about like any other day.

 

Where they spent the night. The husband created a 'door' for them.
We got a huge bed to ourselves! Aaaahhhh... such comfort and space

This is the face you get when you insist on a pic.
I had wanted to take his dirty face (he'd just had some oreos).

And this is the face you get when you don't give her what she wants =.=
For the record, she wanted a packet of chips which I obviously said no to.
All further disasters were averted when I said she could have the packet in the afternoon.

 

Going for breakfast.

For the record, the mall has dismal breakfast options. No thanks to the kids' badgering, we ended up eating Maccas for breakfast - yuck. The mall was also very quiet in the morning, so really, nothing much at all. We had opted not to indulge in the hotel spread though, not this time.

After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to change and hit the pool. We spent the rest of Sunday morning in the sun, swimming, playing with water, reading the papers and getting nicely toasted.

Just because he so cute.

The room was a premier room at the Marina Mandarin and it was pretty spacious, with some furniture, a king-size bed and a very big bathroom with enough room for a tub. It was very comfortable and definitely was a steal at the promotion I got it for. To watch the kids make themselves comfortable in the room pretty much instantly was also amazingly cute - I hope they realise how fortunate they are! I'd also let K know that this stay was part of her birthday celebrations and I hope she enjoyed herself - I hope they both did.

Special memories are built upon such treats. Happy birthday to my sweet baby girl.