coolest kids ever

The past couple of times I brought the kids to this playground at my mom’s place, Tru was the only one that got to run and play. Kirsten usually spent her time in the stroller or in my arms or stuck on the lousy bench next to me, watching on with envy because she’s too small and not allowed to do all that dangerous climbing. Recently her protests have been getting increasingly vehement and she tries to break free at every opportunity.

Now that she’s walking steadily  on her own, I finally cut off those apron strings and set her free in playgroundland.

The moment I put her down, she started running for the slide, which is now her most favorite thing to do in the whole world. To her credit, she tackles the slide like a trooper, with both hands in the air and her eyes tightly closed for that extra adrenaline kick. Then when she hits the bottom, she points to the top of the slide and says “MORE, MORE” for the next 30-40 times.

Truett was all like “Kirsten, this is my turf, follow me, I’ll show you how it’s done” and obviously, Kirsten wanted to do EVERYTHING that her daredevil brother was doing, including climbing back up the slide from the bottom.

Then there was this merry-go-round contraption where the kids were supposed to sit on this tiny little seat and cling on for dear life while it spins around, going up and down at the same time. Next to it was a sign that clearly says For children 6 years old and above but you know how I take these age recommendations with a pinch of salt because my 2-year-old can pretty much do anything a 6-year-old can when it comes to playgrounds. He’s been on it for ages (without ever falling) and now baby girl wanted to join in as well.

So yes, I let my 1-year-old ride the scary-go-round meant for 6-year-olds all by her lonesome.

Some of the other parents watched on in horror as I pushed them around in the deathtrap amidst hysterical giggles and shouts of “FASTER, MOMMY, FASTER!” and I was about to succumb to peer pressure when one of the other moms brought her 18-month-old to join in the ride, which was awesome because finally there was someone else who shared my unorthodox methods of parenting. I smiled politely but secretly, I was all like “Woot, come on fist bump, sista, I like your style!”

We’ve been bringing the kids to the pool a lot recently, thanks in no small part to our resolution to get in some exercise over the weekends. Ok, so I might have spent most of that pool time floating around without actually moving any muscles, but I like to think that a combination of the sunlight and water is helping to evaporate some of my pregnancy fats.

This is where I’m supposed to astound you with a very scientific explanation for it which involves words like osmosis or something but then I got most of my scientific knowledge through osmosis since I was rarely awake during Science classes and ok fine, you got me, I have no idea what osmosis is. Bottom line, you probably don’t want to take my word for it.

In any case, the kids really love being in the water. Ever since my traumatic drowning scare a while back, I’ve gotten a lot smarter. I bought Tru a complete anti-drowning set, comprising a secret agent jet pack, a pair of very buoyant arm floats and a long-sleeved rash guard to prevent hypothermia.

I am aware of how ridiculous this get up looks but it’s the kind of thing that can pass off as cute at 2-years-old and at least it keeps him safe. He can swim unaided in the deep end of the pool with his elaborate flotation devices and I don’t have to worry that he’ll disappear into the water if I turn my back for 5 seconds.

Now that Kirsten is walking confidently on her own, we got her a girlier set of arm floats and let her splash around in the wading pool. She’s got a lot more natural protection from the cold so she doesn’t mind parading in her teeny weeny itsy bitsy pink polka dot bikini.

On another note, all these outdoorsy activities have messed up baby girl’s ethnicity somewhat. While Tru doesn’t seem to be affected by all that suntanning, Kirsten has turned several shades darker and can pass off as a very small and also a little pudgy version of Shakira (just imagine her with a lot less hair).

Now if I can just get her to lay off those fries and shake those hips a little more vigorously, she’ll be ready for her next world tour.

I never used to pay much attention to the indoor playgrounds in shopping centres. I knew they were around, but it was not like I had a reason to hang out there. (I’m looking at you, weird old guy at the playground) These days, I know exactly where all the best indoor playgrounds are because I’m more likely to be allowed to shop at places the kids know have a good play area. I know, I’m turning out to be such a cliche. You will too, when you pop one of those deceptively cute-looking tyrants we call babies.

Shopping centres are recognizing that investing in quality kid-friendly facilities is good business sense. They’re all competing to come up with nicer play areas, better-equipped nursing rooms and diaper rooms. It’s good for parents too because we all win.

One of their favorites so far, the playground at Marina Square.

Compared with the big boys like Polliwogs or Explorer Kids, it’s modest at best but hey, it’s free so I’m not expecting a lot here. It was strangely not that crowded (we went on a weekday evening which probably explains why) so we weren’t worried that the kids would be trampled to death or anything.

And who would have thought that baby girl would turn out to be such a daredevil? I totally blame Tru’s influence because that’s the thing about having big brothers. You get inspired to express yourself in ways that they do. All the bad stuff I did as a kid, I learnt from my brother. Except the time I stuck a chewing gum in his hair and panicked that it got stuck and tried to yank it out but ended up making it worse by smearing it all over his hair and long story short, two words – buzz cut. That was like 70% my fault, but partly also because he asked me (although hypothetically) what would happen if gum got stuck in hair. So I was all like “hey let’s find out!”

Safe to say, the kids won’t be introduced to gum till they turn 12.

As with all playgrounds, we had to check with the shifu to see if it made the cut. Tru has given his stamp of approval so I guess that means we’ll be coming back here soon.