Our 1st Run- My Little Pony Run 2016

For those who has been following my instagram, you would know that Lauren and I just completed our 1st run. My Little Pony Run at Palawan Beach, Sentosa.  There were 3 catergories, 6km Besties Run, 4km Fun Run and 1km Pony Run. Of course I signed up for the 1km. Lazy Mummy has not been exercising for a loooonnng time. 1km was the best I could do.

Lauren was counting down the moment I told her we were going for a Little Pony event. She did not understand what a 1km run would mean and all she was looking forward was an outing filled with Little Ponies.

 

Honestly a few days prior to the event, I kind of regretted signing up for the run. Firstly because I was too eager to sign up then and forgotten to look at the time. I got to be there at 8am on a Sunday. Weep… Sundays are my only days to sleep late. Secondly, many years ago I signed up for a 200m run and asked my hubby (then BF) to go and watched. That was a HUGE mistake because I came in last and till date I am still being mocked over this incident. I got a feel I might be last again and the history will repeat itself.  But then even with all these deterents, I went ahead because Lauren was so looking forward.

 

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We arrived at Palawan Beach carpark to see everyone in the Green Tshirt. It was quite a nice sight to see so many families bringing their kids for such an event.  I was very impressed with the turnout and many parents were like myself who were there just because their kids.  I saw Mummies and Daddies dressing up for the event, that was really heart warming. Like a mum and daughter pair who dressed up in Little Pony theme (Imagine the heat) to run a 4km race. Thumbs up to the pair.  Especially the mummy who went through so much effort for your girl. There were also many parents running with infants and toddlers in their strollers. We will do that the next time with Papa and Alexis.

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Our 1 km race was the last race so we had time to walk around the carnival. The event organiser had planned quite a fair bit of activities for everyone.

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Lauren was glued to the Little Pony’s cartoon being aired at one of the booth.. while Alexis walked around the carnival.

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Finally when it was our turn to run. I was filled emotions when the emcee said everyone has to hold their child’s hand and raised it up together when we crossed the finishing line. Lauren turned and looked at me and said “Never let go of my hands, Mummy. ” I dont know why I turned into a Emo Nemo but probably the thought of kinship and what Lauren said.  I held her hand throughout the run, once in awhile I let go of her hand, thinking of a selfie but Lauren would insist that hands were not supposed to be let go during the race. Thus I do not have photos during the run.

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I think because we did not prep for the run, Lauren was very nauseous after the run but she felt better after getting the medal. LOL.. It took her sick feeling away.  It was really a great experience and because of this we are looking forward to more runs and together as a family.

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I did some reserach and found some upcoming kids friendly run.

 

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Sunday, 10 April

NTUC Income RUN 350 2016
5:00 am at F1 Pit Building
Half Marathon, 10 km, 800 m Kids Dash

Run 350 info


 

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Sunday, 24 April
Snoopy Run 2016
7:15 am at Singapore Sports Hub
5 km

Snoopy Run website


 

mileage run

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, 8 May
Mileage Family Run 2016 (Part 1 – Mother’s Day)
7:30 am at West Coast Park
5 km, 2 km (Strollers race), 1 km (Kids)

Sunday,19 June
Mileage Family Run 2016 (Part 2 – Father’s Day)
7:30 am at Pasir Ris Park
5 km, 3 km (Strollers race), 1 km (Kids)

Mileage Website


 

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Saturday, 21 May
Bubble Glow 5K Run
06:00 pm at Gardens By The Bay
5 km

Bubbleglow5k Website


 

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Sunday, 22 May
Cold Storage Kids Run 2016
Flag-off TBC at The Meadow at Gardens by the Bay
1.6 km, 800 m
Cold Storage Kids Run website


 

Saturday, 28 May
ISCA Run 2016
6:30 am at OCBC Square
10 km, 5 km, 500 m (Kids Dash)
ISCA Run website

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Auspicious flowers for Chinese Lunar New Year

Chinese Lunar New Year is just round the corner. As a lover for flowers, visiting the nursery is a must-do every year. There will always be a few flowers or plants that I will pick for a significance purpose in the new year.

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Here are some of auspicious plants that are popular and their meaning.

  • Pussy Willows–  Symbolize growth and prosperity.  It will be good if your pussy willows have new shoots or leaves.image
  • Orchids- Symbolize innocence, luxury and refinment. It also boost family luck. Violet Orchids are consider most auspicious. In China, it is consider as a symbol of abundance and fertility.image
  • Peony- Flower of riches, honour, romance and beauty.
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    image credit: atlanticavenuegarden.com

  • Kumquat Tree/plant–  Symbolize Wealth, abundance and good luck.image
  • Chrysanthemums- A flower of perfection, joy, optimism and longevity.image
  • Jade Plant- Prosperity, wealth, growth and fortune.image
  • Lucky Bamboo- Prosperity, fortune and happiness.image

 

I read on a feng shui magazine on where to place these plants at home this year (2016) to boost our luck.  No harm trying. 🙂

Nowadays most of our smart phones are equipped with a compass. You will need to have the floor plan of your home to know where the different sectors are located.

Southeast– Place red or pink flowered plant to boost marriage luck.  Good for singles.

East– Place red, green or fruit bearing plants here to boost fertility luck.

Southwest– Lucky bamboo placed here will help with promotion or pay raise.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in fengshui thus the above are purely reference from a feng shui magazine that I chanced upon. It worked for me last year so I wish it is somewhat useful to you too. Good luck everyone. 🙂

 

 

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Erabrowlogy with Erabelle

Finally after 10 years, I plucked up my courage and went for eyebrow embroidery again… Again because I did it 10 years ago at Salon #1 at Bishan. I was pretty satisfied with the result then.  It lasted 10 years, probably longer if I have not decided to go for Erabrowlogy now.  I am ok with how I looked without makeup, just that nowadays with 2 kids and being a full time working mum, I want to save time getting ready every morning. Moreover, I hope to open my eyes every morning and look pretty for K. 🙂

After reading many many reviews and looking at my friend’s eyebrow. I decided on Erabelle.

Erabelle does not need alot of introduction. They are one of the hot favourites in town for eyebrow embroidery

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How my eyebrows look before embroidery (with eyebrow drawn)

My artist, Yuki, patiently explained the entire procedure to me before cleaning my eyebrow and applied a scrub to them to remove any dead skin and excess sebum.


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Without eyebrow makeup

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She took photos of me before and also after drawing with eyebrow pencil.

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She has excellent drawing skill! The moment she fininshed drawing, I told her that I would settle for this design. 🙂

 

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Numbing in process

I was then led into a room with a comfy looking dentist chair ( my way of describing, not really a dentist chair) where Yuki did a patch test on my neck to make sure I was not allergy to the pigments used. While waiting for the patch allergy test, I was given a numbing cream to make the whole procedure painless.

15 mins later, Yuki showed me a new set of needle and started the embroidery. Indeed it was painlessssss… I said so because 10 years ago, I was gritting my teeth while the artist was embroidering.  I did not even feel anything with this embroidery. In fact, I cant feel anything hours after I left the salon. Their numbing cream was really powerful!!

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The package came with a set of Browlogy care kit after each visit. I was instructed on how to care for my brow the next few days.

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Holding area where Yuki explained aftercare to me

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My skillful therapist, Yuki

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Here is how I look when I left the salon, the night (without makeup) and the following day.

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Same day of embroidery

 

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Day 1 of embroidery (without make up)

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Day 2 of embroidery

 

Because I had eyebrow embroidery done previously, I took up the Erabrowlogy Redesign & Intensive Change package.

The charges for their Brow services are as follow:

Erabrowlogy 90min x 4 sesssions @ $1314

 

For those who had eyebrow embroidery/ tattoo done

Erabrowlogy Redesign & Intensive Change 90min x 5 sessions @ $1690.60 (The one I did)

Erabrowlogy Restyling 90min x 7 sessions @ $2396.80

 

You can quote “Charlene Sim” or “ESM-S00009” to enjoy 10% off the package.

For more info on their outlets locations, please visit their website here

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8 places to donate your preloved items this Spring Cleaning


This is the time of the year when everyone is clearing unwanted stuffs at home.  As a mummy of two, I know how cluttered a house with kids will be. Toys, kids’ equipments/ furnitures, books and many more.

When we were clearing all the old toys of Lauren’s, we were so heartached  that we had to forgo the good toys that Lauren is not playing anymore. Most are also not age appropriate for Alexis thus the idea of waiting a few years before she can play was immediately ruled out.

 

After googling and also with information gathered from friends, we found a few options to hand down all Lauren’s preloved items.

 

Here are some of the places you can donate your preloved items to someone who will truly benefit from having them.

1. Sanctuary House

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A non-profit, grassroots organisation whose has been providing foster care to children deprived of family care for various social reasons.

Please arrange for an appointment with them to drop off any items in advance also that they may check if they need those items.

They are located at 159A Thomson Road Singapore 307612

Please see their contact information here

 

2. MINDS Shop

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MINDS runs 5 flagship thrift stores named MINDS Shop, where they provide pre-vocational training to their clients in retail and customer service. Each store carries a unique range of carefully selected furniture, clothes, collectibles and house wares that they think deserve a new lease of life. MINDS strive to create an enjoyable shopping experience for their customers by ensuring that their goods are value-for-money and constantly updated.

MINDS Shop serves as a valuable avenue for their intellectually disabled clients to learn how to interact with customers. It also provides a chance for members of the society to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by their clients. Besides the day-to-day operations of managing the store and sorting through the goods, their clients also learn how to be resourceful such as by making good out of recycled and unwanted items.

By shopping at MINDS Shop, you not only empower their clients through meaningful work engagement, you are also doing your part to save the environment! You can also help them by donating your pre-loved goods at the locations mentioned on their website

3. TOUCH- Thrift Mart

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TOUCH Ubi Hostel offers a stay-in residential programme for adults with mild intellectual disabilities.

The Thrift Mart was set up as a simulated training platform for the intellectually-challenged adult clients to prepare them for open employment and total integration into the society.

The Thrift Mart allows for experiential learning in a simulated retail environment where clients are allowed to make mistakes and learn in the process. Through it, they learn the value of money, appropriate social behaviours, customer service, work together as a team, etc. All of these prepare them for vocational life in the outside world.

At the Mart, they sell items such as clothes, books, electrical appliances, CDs, CD-roms, toys, household items, clothes, bags, ladies’ accessories, computers & peripherals – donated by kind sponsors. The  Thrift Mart’s operating hours are as follows:

Wednesdays & Fridays: 11.00am to 3.30pm
Thursdays: 11.00am to 2.30pm.
They are also in need of items that are still in good and working condition to fill their shelves at the Thrift Mart. If you have useable items to donate to them, you may drop them off at Blk 301, Ubi Avenue 1, #01-295 during these hours (except public holidays and during the hostel’s term break) –

Mondays to Thursdays: 9.00am to 7.30pm.
Fridays: 9.00am to 5.00pm.
Sundays: 6.00pm to 8.00pm.
You could also call them at 6744 9712 or email Kwok Li Mui at limui.kwok@touch.org.sg  or visit their website if you have any queries..

 

4. Toys From The Heart

Every year, corporations, schools and individuals pitch in by holding toy drives, assisting at special events, and helping with gift preparation and distribution. In 2014, Food from the Heart collected close to 8,000 toys that went to new homes, staying out of landfills and bringing smiles to young faces.

Toys donated by schools and corporations are given to needy pupils in neighbourhood schools during the annual Toys Buffet.

Visit their website for more information on how to donate your preloved toys.

5. Pass It On

A non-profit project started by Central Singapore CDC and managed by The Helping Hand. The project connects the general public to the needy via Voluntary Welfare Organizations VWOs. Anyone within Singapore can donate as long as the items are useful and of good working condition.

Kindly note that Pass It On do not take in your donations and give them to the needy on behalf of you.  Please find out how to liase with the organization from their website below.

Pass It On

The Helping hand

819 Upp Serangoon Road Singapore 534678

Mobile: 85119160 (Ms Gina Ang)

website

 

6. Salvation Army

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This needs no further introduction. Drop the items you intend to donate at one of their doantion booths location on this page

 

7. New2U

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In May 2000, the New2U Thrift Shop opened its doors. The Shop is managed entirely by volunteers, some of whom have been volunteering with New2U for many years. The shop sells pre-loved clothing, accessories, household items, ornaments, books and etc. All goods are donated, and prices start from as low as S$1.00.

Proceeds from the store go towards Star Shelter and the various SCWO Initiatives.
If you would like to donate your pre-loved items* (in good, clean, resalable condition), they welcome:
Clothes – Men, Women and Children
Books & Toys
Bags and Accessories
Shoes
Crockery & Utensils

Visit their site here for more information

 

8. Willing Hearts Orphanage

Willing Hearts Orphanage INC. is a 100% volunteer-based non-profit organization. They are a non-political and non-religious.

Your good old things that you clear from your closets will be well appreciated by them; clothes, shoes, bags, toys, books, kitchen-ware, household-ware, appliances, electrical. All the earnings of their sales go towards financing the operation of the Orphanages.

 

Among the places in the list above, we selected and donated the toys to Willing Hearts Orphanage. The collection centre is located at Serangoon North’s First Centre.  The reason we chose Willing Hearts was because it is located right next to Lauren’s school and also it is very near to our place. We intend to donate to the other centres the next round.  Willing Hearts Orphanage is run by Thomas and his wife, Alice.  We went there twice; the 1st time we were there, we passed the opening hours of the centre but we were told that we could leave the items outside the centre.

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I called again a few days later and managed to speak to Alice.  I went down and was greeted by a very humble lady probably in her late 50s.  I found out that Willing Hearts Orphanage was started because the couple’s previous domestic helper who went back to the Philippines kind of suggested the idea and from then they started this orphanage. Willing Hearts takes in everything (but please QC ok,  don’t take them like garang guni or a place to dump your unwanted stuffs), the centre will sort out the stuffs and send the non-bulky items to the “Thrift Shop” in the Phillipines. Of course those that are of use to the orphanage will be kept for the orphans while the rest will be left at the Thrift Shop for sale. All the proceeds will then be used for the daily neccessities of the orphanange. The revenue generated from the Thrift Shop in Singapore is to help fund their rental and some overheads cost. Alice told me that most of them time, the rental would have to come out from their own pockets.

 

Here are some of the items on sale at the Thrift Shop in Singapore

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Thomas also hoped that there would be good samaritans that can help to donate the shipping cost of the donated items to the Philippines. Each box costs S$175 to reach the orphanage. I could see from the centre that there were many boxes waiting to be sent but were sitting at the centre waiting for donors.

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Another way to help the orphans are to sponsor their education;

Primary students at S$250/year

Secondary student at $750/year

 

The orphanage is currently taking care of 26 children. Anyone who is keen to visit the orphanage to offer physical help can make a trip there at S$380 for a 5D4N stay inclusive of meals and homestay.

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More information about Willing Hearts Orphanage can be found at their website here

*Sources of images of Organizations’ logo: Courtesy of Organizations’ website.

 

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Staycation at Equarius Hotel Resort World Sentosa

Every December Kel and I will plan a family holiday. Unfortunately this year due to several reasons, we needed to be in Singapore. We know it is school holiday and Lauren will be busy with Primary 1 next year.  Thus we wanted to make her school holiday as exciting as possible even though we are just going to explore our own sunny island.

 

While planning, we realized that a staycation in Sentosa may do the trick. We booked a 3D2N stay at Equarius Hotel. The last 2 staycations we had in Sentosa were at Festive Hotel and Amara Sanctuary Resort. We were not pleased with our stay then.  A friend recommended Equarius Hotel and here we are..

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Equarius Hotel lobby

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The girls were so excited watching mummy brushing her teeth..

The standard at Equarius Hotel is wayyyy better than Amara Sanctuary Resort or Festive Hotel. The room was huge, clean (very important factor for me) and smell really nice..  The bathroom was big enough for the entire family to be inside. The girls in the tub, me cleaning their bottles and papa watching after them. OK the only not so good was the distance from the attractions. Equarius Hotel is supposed to be the SPA hotel so tranquillity is their business, away from the busy streets and attractions. If you really want to walk from Universal Studio back to the hotel,  it will probably take you 20 to 30 mins. There is a hotel shuttle bus every 15 mins that will bring you around the hotels and to the casino. You can drop at the casino and walk to the attractions. For us, it was not easy even with the shuttle bus arrangement as each time we had to unload all the stuffs from the stroller (the stroller was full of stuffs above and underneath) and load again.  Most of the time we just drove to the East carpark but you will incurred extra carpark charges as the hotels’ carpark (West) and attractions’ carpark (East) are not linked. You can get the complimentary parking from hotel but you are only entitled to one complimentary carpark pass a day for hotel guests so if you have to go in and out of the carpark then one complimentary carpark pass is definitely not enough.

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We spent Day 1 at the Adventure Cove and Alexis got to play on the water slides too!! There are many activities and you will really need 1 full day there, especially so if you plan to include Dolphin Island.  Lauren’s favourite activity in Adventure Cove was the Rainbow Reef.  Initially she was really scared because the staff told her the water at the Rainbow Reef is 3 metre deep. Upon hearing the 3 metre, Lauren came up with all sorts of excuses to not get into the water… eg. the goggle was too tight, the water was too cold (the water was indeed quite cold)… bla bla bla.. I was very upset with her as we queued for awhile.. So I used a little “Mummy’s angry”  tactic and soon Lauren was in the water. She was so engrossed that Papa had to keep pulling her back. When she was up, she told me the fishes were so colourful and beautiful.. This is definitely a must try even for adult.

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Papa and Lauren then went on to Dolphin Island. Of course Lauren loved this particular section of the visit.. She is an animal fanatic and dolphin is one of her favourite animals. The whole session took 90min.  Out of the 90min,  the actual dolphin interaction was only 30min while the rest were pre and post interaction briefings and choosing of photographs taken during the session.  The trainer briefed them on the hand signals to interact with the dolphin and the ways to stroke and handle the dolphin.

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Lauren was very much in love with WaWa, the dolphin she was interacting.  She kissed and kept giving WaWa the hand signal to talk to her.

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Alexis, Aunty and Mummy continued the water play while waiting for Papa and Lauren. For parents bringing young toddler, these are the attractions that are suitable for younger kids. Do note that an accompanied adult needs to be with them at all time.

  1. Adventure River

    Grab a tube and take a leisurely ride down Adventure River, floating through 14 stunning scenes including a lush jungle garden, a mysterious grotto and an underwater tunnel with a sea of marine life swimming above and around you.

     

  2. Big Bucket Treehouse

    Get wet and wild at the Big Bucket Treehouse! Share the rush of the giant bucket tipping over gallons of fun in an action-packed wonderland of interactive water plays. It’s the coolest place for kids to be.

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  3. Bluwater Bay

    You’re sure to catch a wave at Bluwater Bay where the surf’s always up! Come share the rush in this giant wave pool and have a swell of a time with the family

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Lauren was sulking when we told her it was time to leave..

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Our day 2 was kept for Universal Studio. Lauren was super excited about USS. She woke up very early and pestered us to get ready. She even proposed to skip breakfast and lunch. Honestly when you are out with a 6 years old and a 13 months old toddler, how fast can you be.. So by the time we were done with getting dressed and food, it was past 12noon. We bought the Universal Express passes on top of the regular tickets and those were our BEST INVESTMENT EVERRRRR!!!!!  Please… do yourself a favour, if time is an issue, please get the pass.  You can always check out the crowd inside the park before deciding if you want to get the express pass. There are many shops selling the express pass inside. Due to the fast track queues from the express passes, we completed all rides (except Battlestar and The Mummy due to Lauren’s height) within 4 hours.. In fact, we took a couple of rides twice or thrice.  We walked past the long snaking queues with all the envies of the others queuing.. FYI, most of the rides need 50-60min of queuing if you do not have express pass during peak season.

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Before you leave the park, if you do plan to come back soon, especially Singaporean. Please upgrade your ticket to the 6 months season pass. We did that to all our tickets and now I can just bring my girls as and when we want.

 

Day 3: Honestly to explore Sentosa properly and if you have the luxury of time, I will suggest a 4 days stay. Resort World Singapore will take you 3 days to fully enjoy all the attractions, not forgetting Sentosa Island also has tons of activities for you to explore. This time round we skipped S.E.A Aquarium and Trick Eye Museum as we were very worn out from the walking and Alexis was starting to get very cranky.  Papa and Mummy decided to go for a SPA session at ESPA to unwind. The ESPA is heavenly….. We do not have the time to stay and enjoy most of the facilities although we very much wanted to.

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We ended our staycation with  The Luge ride inside Sentosa Island, Lauren needed this before agreeing to go home. We saw the soon-to-open Kidzania Singapore next to the Beach Station.  Sentosa is going to be “The Place” to go the next school holiday.

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