The Magic Island

Brought Asher to catch PLAYtime's The Magic Island at the Esplandae Theatres after school.  I thought that it was a good production in that the storyline was kept simple, the characters sufficiently engaging, and it was obvious the children enjoyed the programme.  Plus, the tickets aren't that expensive at $15.

The Recital Hall was set up with a platform in the middle (the island), four marked out areas for parents and children to sit, four more 'islands' in the outer perimeter, and a platform in front which, I suppose, was a hill. 

Basically the story is about a little girl who visits her big sister, and during her week-long visit tries to make friends with the animals she meets.  She eventually makes friends with Baby Monkey, Baby Tiger and Sally the vegetarian singing Snake.  It brings the children through a series of adventures such as a journey to Coconut Island, to Starfish Island, and learning how to swim. 

Asher was engaged throughout the performance, and I had to catch him back several times when he wanted to wander onto the stage, or didn't want to come back to my lap after an interactive portion where the children actually were allowed to go on stage :)  He particularly like Baby Tiger, and after the performance we walked around Esplanade looking for Baby Tiger to say hello.  I think he had fun, at least, he nodded his head when I asked him after if he did :)

Will definitely try to go for their other performances next time.

As usual, when we're at the Esplanade, we headed to the bayside to see the Merlion and watch the boats go by.  That day there were canoes, and even better, two eagles soaring above.  They even swooped down a couple of times to catch fish!  What a treat to watch.

Trying to be an eagle

 

We ended the outing with dinner at Ichiban Boshi.  The food there is always decent for the price, and I really like some of their sushi items.  I ordered an unagi-tofu-tempura set to share with Asher, and a side order of cha soba.  The set was hearty and I was happy with the variety of dishes it came with.  Besides the three mentioned above, it also came with miso soup, some pickles, chawanmushi, a bowl of rice and oranges.  The portion of unagi was generous and they gave an entire slab of tofu!  Asher eventually only wanted to munch some of my tempura, but walloped the soba, a mound of rice, the entire bowl of chawanmushi and the oranges.  Didn't realise he would like chawanmushi so much! 

Overall, a good outing :)

National Day Starts at Kith Cafe

Brunch excursions continue.  We met Joce, Clarence, Emma, Jian Ming, Jo, and Josiah at Kith Cafe @ Rodyk Street near Robertson Quay for breakfast on National Day.  Most of us came in red-and-white even though we didn't plan for it.  I guess having kids makes you do that to make the day more special.  Then again, I always do that anyway hahahaaa.  I like national day.  Majulah Singapura!  I love my country.  Just because.  I just do :)

Anyway, back to breakfast.  The food was not too bad.  I guess the big breakfast set was alright, nothing to shout about I thought.  But Jon thought the hot dog was great.  I didn't really try it so can't really comment there.  The place is small though, and not very kid friendly.  We ended up putting two small tables together, and still didn't have enough space for all of us.  And we had to kop chairs from here and there to get seats for 6, even though there were 9 of us.  The kids were running around most of the time, and a few of us were running after them, so it still worked out fine :) 

The kids had enjoyed watching the boats go by (the cafe is located along the river), running on the pavements, and trooping into a bicycle cum book and stationary store (yes, a rather unusual combination) which boasted a cute kitten and a friendly cockatoo.  I think the kitten was more afraid of the three of them then they were of it :)  It looked a little spooked and hid behind a table.

Clarence was definitely Uncle-of-the-day.  He single handedly managed all three kids at one point, and on more than one occasion carried two toddlers by himself :)  Definitely all ready of baby number 2.  Speaking of which it was good to chat with Joce and Jo who are also expecting, and like with our first kids, we are all due within months of each other.  We were exchanging info on our plans to make space at home for the second kid, how to handle the childcare situation, and all that.  It's reassuring to have friends who are at the same lifestage as you.  In particular, it was reassuring to find that we all didn't really have a plan we were completely satisfied with. I guess you just have to make do after a while. 

Later at night, we allowed Asher to stay up late to watch the NDP parade.  He had during his staycation with the grandies seen the aeroplanes, helicopters, and fireworks live from Fairmont Hotel, so he was quite eager to watch NDP when I told him that he could see all these things again.  Plus, he would get to see tanks, fire engines, soldiers, and people dancing. 

And, muahaha, I managed to get him to stand with  me for the pledge and national anthem, and he even enthusiastically joined me in dancing to "stand up for Singapore" :O)  Jon just rolled his eyes. 

After the parade came to an end around 10pm, I brought Asher to the bed and sang national day songs until he fell asleep :)  Brainwashing!!!  Hiah hiah hiah