usually it's a eat-out affair and this time round we dined at a neighbourhood chinese restaurant serving hokkien dishes. my youngest aunt and her family joined us for the dinner and it was a relatively pleasant meal on a saturday night.
unfortunately, going out with 3 young kids can be a real hassle. it's a logistical nightmare packing a diaper bag with extra sets of clothes, disposable diapers, face-towels and baby-wipes. that's just for the baby. and she gave us the least trouble. the hub and i took turns to carry her while we ate.
wen was ill with an on-again, off-again fever, sensitive gums and mouth ulcers. i was worried that she'd contracted the dreaded hand, foot and mouth disease but the doctor said it wasn't the case. still, it’s horrible being sick and i couldn't’ really fault her for being super grumpy and moody throughout the night. she hardly ate and all my wheedling and coaxing came to naught.
as for xian, she was flat-out exhausted from her weekly saturday swimming lessons. what’s more, she had risen early to attend her piano class in the morning and so she was a subdued shadow of her usual perky self. the sleepy girl was dozing off midway through dinner.
actually, everyone had a tiring day. my parents and i had spent the afternoon clearing out our old home at nim park. midway through the packing, i had to rush home as my in-laws had to attend a friend's baby shower and there was no-one to mind the baby.
the hub accompanied his folks to the function and by the time he got home, it was already 7.30pm and we arrived at the restaurant at 8.00pm. thankfully the girls had already eaten a bowl of macaroni each and weren't starving.
with such a tight schedule, there wasn't time to buy dad a birthday cake! and birthday celebrations are never complete without the cake!
so the hub suggested that we invite my parents over for dinner the next day and we decided on a "mini-gourmet", cook-it-yourself meal. this was first introduced to us by my second aunt who's now residing in holland and she'd bought us these cute cooking sets. each set consists of a mini frying pan, a mini spatula, stove etc.
we set up the 3rd floor balcony for the fun cook-out session. xian even tried her hand at stir-frying some food. my little chef was so thrilled with the experience and she went around "taking orders" and serving her dishes!
the best part was that we could eat in the luxury of our own home and i could keep an eye on the kids, especially baby wei, while eating!
here are some "aftermeal" shots - dad had his fill and helped entertain wen and wei while i (finally) ate.
and, of course, the usual cake-cutting routine...
personally, i prefer a simple celebration at home like this. dining out at restaurants is a treat, but handling the 3 girls can be a real headache when we're outside.but i think grandpa's happy being surrounded by his 3 granddaughters. and that's infinitely more precious than feasting at a fancy eatery.
happy birthday dad!
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