Another Excursion

This time to the Children's Library at the Islamic Arts Museum. I wanted to take the boys and Cuz, but Adik was a little unwell the night before and didn't get a good rest so I left him at Atok's house and took Abang and Cuz. The plan was for Adik to have a nice, quiet time with Atok and Cikgai, then lunch, then nap.

I love having Cuz around, he's such a well-mannered boy, highly knowlegable and responsible to boot. Of course I have to remember that he's just 10 years old, so it's not fair to expect too much and as an active 10-year-old, I do have to restrain him sometimes. But it's ok, it's part and parcel of watching a boy of that age.

The other thing I really enjoy is hearing Abang chat with Cuz. Amongst others, Cuz asked Abang, "What is your favourite animal?"

And Abang replied, "Harun." So cute!

Anyway, the library is very nice. It has all sorts of children's books, not just Islamic-themed ones, lots of tables and chairs for the little ones to sit quietly and read or do drawing/ colouring (material can be borrowed from the librarian), a little stage presumably for plays, and a section displaying arts and crafts done by the children who attend the storytelling / arts and crafts session. In fact, there's a sign there that says something like "Dear Visitors, The arts and crafts pieces displayed here were made with pride by the children who attended the storytelling and arts and crafts session. Therefore, if you must handle it please do so with care." I thought that's pretty cool.

So the boys sat down and did some colouring and drawing, nice quiet time for me, after which we looked for lunch. The museum restaurant looked like "fine dining" type (with prices to match) and didn't seem very appropriate for us. Since we were in the Lake Gardens area, we just hopped into the car and headed to the restaurant at the Bird Park! The food is so-so, i.e. not bad for a touristy area but not great - but the restaurant is full; a mixture of locals and tourists.

As we were looking at the menu, Abang asked for a pen and piece of paper and asked me how to spell 'spaghetti' and 'fries'. After writing it, he passed me the paper and said, "Here you go, mom. You can give this to the Uncle Waiter. That's all I want for lunch." While waiting for the food, Cuz started making little origami pieces.

Amazing that I could have a nice peaceful lunch while having 2 boys with me, but it's true, both boys were very well behaved. It must be because that whole trip wasn't very stressful at all for me. And "stress level" after the excursion is usually a good way to know if the boys were well behaved or not. After we got home I shot off an sms to his mother to let her know how well behaved he was because I know a) she would appreciate it, and b) she would heap the praise on Cuz and so he would appreciate it too.

Next time I plan to take various grandparents so we can go and see the museum proper.

P/S. Speaking of grandparents, remember the plan was for Adik to "have a nice, quiet time with Atok and Cikgai, then lunch, then nap"? Well, it turns out he didn't nap and probably was more tired than if I had taken him with me. Ah well ...