Bootylicious Family Fun Day

Stella started going to preschool. We attempted last August to send her but she was still really young and just had a hard time. We thought a few more months would do her good, and so it seems we were right.

She started at the beginning of January and has been doing great. She only goes part time. In the month that she has gone I have noticed that socially she has really grown. She no longer needs me on the playground. She loves to play with other kids and actually pretends with other kids. It is wonderful and a little sad, only a little.

Last Friday was Family Fun Day. They should have renamed it "Partial Family (or nanny) Kinda-Fun Day." It was a field day and the kids practiced all week for it. This would also explain how that week Stella started napping again.

The day of the field day the music was loud. Too loud, it was ear bleeding loud and inappropriate. Bootlicious, Single Ladies, Pina Colada, and other not-cool-for-toddler songs were played on blasting music to the point that the speakers were blown. Stella's toddler class all freaked out and started crying at the noise, the yelling to "go, go, go." The first hour I thought we weren't going to make it. Somehow the volume situation either deafened us so we didn't notice or was turned down and the kids chilled out and a good time was had by all.

Tagaytay Rashomon

Seth

This is what really happened on our trip:

I drove, and traffic was pretty good getting out of Manila. With the new Vampire Weekend blasting out of the dashboard ipod adapter, we were in good company. Down the SLEX, which is pretty close to being the most awesomely named freeway ever, and finally turning off to the smaller road toward the mountains. Hopeful and new business parks on the edge of Metro Manila (including a call center named "KGB" -- their employees are called "special agents"!) turn quickly into kilometer after kilometer of side-of-the-road fruit stands, with the occasional shack of ornately carved wood furniture.

Also, do not forget the buko pie pimped out by all the locals in the area as a speciality. I ate too much of this on my mission to ever want to again, but seeing the signs that tout it makes nostalgia rise up like the Cavite pineapple fields toward Tagaytay Ridge.

It is definitely cooler up there, and the promise of nearby escape from Manila's perpetual mugginess helps Tagaytay exist. Why else would one build a city that runs for 30-40 kilometers along the line of a mountain ridge, and about two buildings deep, if not for the slight change in weather and the beautiful views.

Tagaytay looks down on both sides -- a slow descent toward Manila and Laguna de Bay on the one side, and a breathtaking drop to volcanic Lake Taal on the other. The only item sold with more gusto than buko pie here is the view.

We drove all the way across the line of Tagaytay City to the rental. A quick lunch and it was back down the line again to see the sights. We stopped at one place because the sign was of a gorilla standing on a tiger's back. They both appeared happy about the situation.

The mini-zoo (overlooking the lake, of course), included a lion caged within a giant statue's hand, sheep in great need of shearing, and a midget dressed as a mime (he was lucky to spend most of his time outside of the cage, but was in bad need of actual mime classes).

We also decided to drive down the winding road to Lake Taal, braving the paparazzi-like men waving "BOAT RIDE" signs and banging on the car's hood. We did not take a boat ride, and after a few kilometers we lost our tails.

Back at our "resort community," we took advantage of all the amenities on offer, including an indoor swimming pool. Unfortunately, I forgot a swimsuit and was forced to buy what amounts to a speedo. Please expect to see me in this at your local pools in the future.

Stella

I sat next to Mommy and Tiger. Sometimes Tiger was sad. I played with the Hedgehog Family and the Ipod Touch.

We picked flowers, actually. And my favorite part was the mean monkey. Then we went to Play Park, and I fed the ducks some grasses. I put some of the grasses on the ground so they could eat them later. Mommy and Daddy let me watch Strawberry Shortcake. And I touched the magic leaves. I slept in my kitten bed all by myself.

Tiger

I passed the time like I usually do -- grabbing anything within reach, rhythmically pounding my hands on available surfaces, and learning how to walk. Hopefully the day will come that I can stop Stella from dragging me around the floor. Swimming was fun because of all the splashing.

The stomach thing was terrible, though. I don't want to go on about it, but it hurts when you don't poop for a while, doesn't it? Enough said. I'm feeling much better now.

Partay in Tagaytay

This past weekend we decided to get out of the Manila smog and go to the volcanic mountains of Tagaytay. It was nice to get into some cooler weather and see pine trees again. Since we have moved here there have been a lot of deals to be found. But so far I have not found hotels to be one of them. The rooms are not exactly cheap and they are small and UNCOMFORTABLE. So this time I decided to do something different, rent a house.

After living in Asia for a year and a half I have come to understand that price is a relative term. Price is not what the tag says, and in my case, what the web site says. The fact is many owners of vacation homes would prefer some money compared to no money.

I found a very large home in Tagaytay on www.vrbo.com and emailed the owner explaining we had a budget of $200 for a three day weekend and asked if he was willing to work with us. He was and we acquired an eight bedroom seven bathroom home overlooking Lake Taal. We brought some friends and that brought the price down to $100 bucks. Not bad for a huge house.

And anyone who has seen a child can understand that the standard Asian hotel room of 15'x10' just doesn't cut it.

I will say our bargain was not without its cost. You need to remember we are in the Philippines and Filipinos, even those who have eight bedroom homes, have different ideas of what is comfortable. Our beds were like stone tables and there was no hot water. Which is a major problem for me. It turned our trip into a camping feel. We had to boil water to wash dishes and use the awesome clubhouse to shower (if we wanted hot water). And then the other problems that come with houses in the Philippines: bugs and pests. We saw a roach or two and there was evidence of rodents (Seth claims he saw one, but we figured we shouldn't look cause none of us had the guts to deal with it if aforementioned rodent was discovered).

We brought our friends the Folkmans and had a great time. Canyon Woods had a great resort feel: indoor pool, indoor park, huge outdoor park, bowling ally, the works. It was gorgeous and chilly.

The first night there we woke up to an earthquake. Our second night there we were awoken to Tiger screaming in pain. The kind of scream that a child gives when they are being attacked by bees or mauled by bears. Horrifying. Nothing could calm him and after an hour of screaming I needed to help him stop this pain. We took him to the ER and $8 and a suppository later he was a much happier boy.

Our seven month Tiger took his first steps this past week. In a frightening and way too early move he took five steps to me at the a park. Since this time we have seen one or two steps but I am bit freaked out. >

Fa la la la la la la la

Christmas and New Years was celebrated quietly this year. We stayed in the city while everyone else seemed to empty out and go to the province. Christmas for Stella was like heaven on ecstasy. At two and a half everything about Christmas is magical. They don't really understand the wink, wink about Santa Clause. they definitely understand that there was a baby named Jesus and even more so understand that presents will be opened. How wonderful Christmas is to a toddler. Stella was delighted to wake up Christmas morning and find a dollhouse taller than herself. Tiger simply enjoyed getting into wrapping paper and eating boxes that he was told not to eat.

At Christmas my vision was still blurry from my PRK lasik so we just took it easy and had a great time as a family.

For New Years we sent our nanny home to the province so we stayed at home and watched the fireworks from our condo. We have one of the best views in the city. Seth and I wonder if our housing will ever be as awesome as it has been in Manila. We invited a few friends over and watched the fireworks. My eyes were still a bit wonky by New Years but the vision was clear.

As of today my eyes are mostly better. I am still really light sensitive and although I can see clearly, I feel like I am relearning how to use my eyes. When I talked to a doctor about this he told me that is exactly what is happening. People with a high prescription who get corrective surgery have to relearn how to use their eyes and MRIs have shown the brain is working really hard to reteach the eyes how to use the new lenses. Which may be why I get tired at 8 or 9 in the evening.

However, the doctor says I have almost completely healed and there is no scar any indication that I have had Lasik.

Disney! On! Ice! Exclamation Point!

Imagine my surprise to find that Disney on Ice was not the traveling show of Walt Disney's cryogenic corpse. Instead it is a public display of dozens of Disney characters who skate on an ice sheet through a loose, over-convenient narrative to explain why say, Cinderella and Stitch might be in the same room.

Stella gives the show five stars. Tiger was thumbs up as well, and that made our day too. That, and the fact that I get to make fun of it all right now through the magic of the Internet's tubes.

Thanks to some very good friends, we saw the show from the front row. And the light post-holiday traffic made the journey to Quezon City's Araneta Coliseum a quick one. All in all, a huge success for Disney and us. Let's do it again sometime.

To the photos!

The evil witch used these poor toddler Can-Can dancers to her evil ends. Child labor!

I don't even know what to say about this one.