Stella Sings the ABCs

Stella loves to sing her ABCs and what a better place than the bathtub.

Photog

The sample so far...

I had a really weird experience the other day that woke me up to the reality of how different we look and how cute my daughter is.

A lady I know came to me and asked if her friend could come and take pictures of me and Stella at my house. I was promised the negatives if I obliged and was under the impression that it would be a small photo shoot.

The day and time of the shoot come and I realized very quickly that this is no small photo shoot. A crew of three people, back-drops, floor covers, lights and a huge professional camera take over my living room and center around my blonde hair, blue eyed American toddler, not a huge white woman who is a month away from labor.

At first it was a staring contest with Stella winning. She sat there looking at the photographer, silently judging him with a stoic face. During this time the crew kept asking for our costumes.

At first I thought this meant like the Australian way of saying swimsuit (swim costume) and assumed it was a Filipino was of saying dressy clothes. Wrong. They meant costumes, they wanted Stella to be dressed as a strawberry or something tacky and Ann Geddes-eque. I informed them I did not have costumes that made my child edible.

Eventually they found Stella's American flag swimsuit and sand toys and that is when the show began. Stella woke up from her staring contest and started hamming it up. The flash went off, and Stella began a Flash Dance-esque dance voguing session.

The crew fished around some more and eventually found my blue raver looking wig from college and a sparkly disco beret. They couldn't have been more happy. Guaranteeing embarassment for life, they snapped shots of Stella in the ridiculous outfits.

When the shoot was finished I was drenched in sweat from the lights.

I did not consent to anything for publication of these photos but I feel like I am in the Wild West here and anything goes. If I see my daughter on the a billboard you will all be informed.

Hopefully some pictures to come when they deliver the aforementioned promised CD.

UPDATE: Here is a slideshow of the smiling pics

The Unspoken Subject

Since I have moved to the Philippines one of the best and weirdest things in my life has been having domestic help.  I always pictured myself before I came here as the benevolent boss who teaches her staff new skills and leaves them with higher paying jobs and a work ethic that will strengthen their country and generations to come.  In practice however, it is a lot harder than I ever imagined.

In my 10 months I have gone through 3 maids, 1 cook, and a driver.  And frankly, the old victorian mantra, "Good help is hard to find," has sadly been true.  The hardest and most frustrating part of this entire experience is that I have no one to call home to and talk to.  The second you complain to someone at home about how your maid is too slow or forgetful, that is when you are reminded of the recession, unemployment, and the 900 square foot apartment we lived in prior to coming to Manila.  So, I ask that you refrain from judging me just quite yet as I tell you of my domestic journey.

We came to Manila super excited and optimistic.  We interviewed several people for a helper position (basically my own house-wife: cook, cleans, helps with Stella, etc).  We settled on a lady who was older and very experienced.  She was a great cook and loved to cook, too a fault.  She would spend hours in the kitchen every day.  We appreciated the good food, but when it came to cleaning she was reluctant and very slow. She was unable to tidy our three bedroom condo in a day.  Not that I minded, at first, any help at all was a huge help.  But it got worse.  She started complaining about the size of her room (red flag) and then the final straw, she got angry at me for reorganizing my kitchen (claiming it was hers, even though we have two kitchens and one of them is exclusively for her use).  Now, I know how this sounds, and I come out sounding spoiled.  Admittedly, I feel very spoiled, but there is a dark and unspoken side about what comes with being spoiled.  I live in a place that requires so much help because it does not function to a point where livin' is easy.  

For me to get groceries every week I have to go to at least three stores to find everything.  The dust and dirt from Manila leaves a constant grime in your home and air filters.  You have to be extremely vigilant in keeping bugs out of your house.  One day of putting your guard down will find you the host of the next ant colony.  It is hard, and being pregnant, harder.

Our first helper left once I told her I was pregnant.  I am sure not a coincidence.

Our second helper has been with us since and has been great but a lot of work.  She has never worked for ex-pats before and our ways have been quite foreign to her.  Over the months she has caught on and make life a lot easier. It has been a lot of work with her limited English and my non-existent Tagalog to get ideas across but it is better now and we are glad to have her around.  She left for three weeks over Easter and we hired someone else temporarily.  It was exhausting and we missed her.

Most people here have live-in maids.  I admit I hated the idea at first but it makes a lot of sense.  The people you hire don't always have homes that are within commuting distance and the ease and accessibility of having them here is really convenient (especially when your toddler wakes up at 5 every day and you like to sleep in until 7).  It has worked out for us.

So here is the kicker, as we have a baby approaching, and I realize the reality of my situation here.  I find myself looking for another helper.  It is hard for me to justify what I could once do alone in a small apartment, now requires me to hire two adults in this beautiful home I live in.  But it isn't the same.  

No one understands what I say here, nothing is easy, nothing is quick.  The reality is I have a toddler and a newborn soon to come.  Not easy in any location, but especially not in a developing country.  After my 10 months of experience in managing help I realize the best asset is to find someone really smart.  For me, intelligence trumps experience. 

So, now is the time to judge.  It has been hard.  I miss having my home to myself, an ease of life, and the functionality of home; however, this experience has been so amazing and rich.  I have learned so much about the world and I feel so grateful for the people who have helped make my life so much easier here.  

Adventures in Marketing: Toilet Humor

This upcoming restaurant in our upscale Manila neighborhood appears to be a carefully constructed copy of P.F. Chang's.  We'll see if T.P. Choi's "cabbage wraps" measure up to Chang's lettuce wraps. But I wonder if the choice of name for this bistro could have been chosen more thoughtfully.

Adventures in Marketing

It might be time to rethink the name.

Smuckers Surprise

This is the last thing I wanted to see while waking up to waffles at 5 a.m.

Now, I know there could have been much worse things skulking in my Smuckers. And the leafy top of a strawberry is not going to win me millions in a product liability judgment. Nope, this kind of thing falls strictly within the "Defendant has no duty to provide the perfect enchilada" rule from Mexicali Rose v. Superior Court. If I found a rusty nail or the plague in my jar, I might have a case. But leaves in strawberry jam or a bone in a chicken enchilada may be reasonably expected.

Anyway, enough of the law lesson. Just wanted to share the goodness.