if one's a singer then the other's a dancer

Addie loves dancing and singing. She walks around the house singing Twinkle twinkle little star or Mary had a little lamb. She's a serious dancer though. A lot of our evenings consist of Addie asking her Dad to put in the iPod so we can have a dance party. Even Yaya joins in on those nights. She likes pop and R&B (Kanye, Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce). We try playing Jack Johnson, Wilco, or Adele and she says she doesn't like it. It's essentially not fast enough for her to dance to.

Here she is at her own afternoon dance party dancing to Single Ladies. Yes, she is wearing her Minnie Mouse costume (two sizes too small for her) and she has pipe cleaners in her hair like Pippi Longstocking. She cracks me up.

not an adult house anymore

As much as we try to make our home an adult place the kid stuff just infests every aspect of it. It's hopeless. We can't hide it. We have kids.

rare

In a rare moment a few days ago, Justin picked up the camera and shot a few of my and Bella. I love that she's looking up at me while she eats. My heart is totally mushy for this little girl. Yesterday Addie and I had some alone time, while today Bella went shopping with me. I tried to navigate the immense shopping mall that is Glorietta to find some bedding for our guest bed. We are excited to have at least two guests (Auntie Brienne and Aunt Megan) come this year. We want them to be comfortable while they sleep off the jet lag.

back to playgroup

This afternoon was our first playgroup since returning to Manila. My friend Jina talked me into carpooling with her. Bella stayed home with Yaya so Addie and I had some time to play together. Jina's daughter, Lily, and Addie play really well together. The girls snuck pastries and shared them in the park. Both girls were fascinated by a group of older boys who were playing "Superhero" nearby. The ring leader of the group kept instructing the other boys to make up superhero names (Black Eagle and Transformer Man were a few examples he gave the other boys) The girls watched in awe as they play fought and flew from their superhero lair to go save people. I love the creativity of kids. The girls held hands while walking back into our apartment building. Lucky for us Jina and Lily live upstairs.

Bella sings with me

Bella loves to sing along with me. It's so cute. Please ignore my horrible singing voice and the terribly fuzzy picture quality.

a little embarrased

This past weekend, I discovered a side effect (good or bad-depending on how you look at it) of having a full-time yaya/housekeeper. I decided to confiscate Addie's lovies and wash them. Really wash them in hot water not hand wash them like yaya does. They get so nasty and stinky (Justin and I call the scent Addie Sweet and Sour). Anyway, I put the first one in the washer (have to do them separate-God forbid she doesn't have at least one to hold). When it was done, I went to put it in the dryer and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to turn on the dryer. I FORGOT! It had been so long since I'd seen the dryer, let alone use it. I couldn't stop laughing. Justin got a good laugh too after he came in to show me how to turn it on.

Ridiculous I know: ridiculously awesome or ridiculously sad depending on how you view it.

trip to the dentist

Adelaide went to the dentist for the first time today. Dr. Hernandez was excellent; giving us lots of instruction for healthy oral hygiene (no more crunching on ice). Addie was really good and didn't cry, mostly because the dentist was so gentle and caring. I prepped her with a few YouTube videos on going to the dentist which helped (I think), or maybe it was the sticker, balloon, and bubbles she got as a treat upon leaving. I'm constantly amazed at how affordable health care is in this country. We saw a very good Western trained dentist for 600 Philippine pesos ($12 USD)! Amazing. To put it in perspective, the majority of Filipinos still can't afford health care due to poverty.

On another note I had a delicious vanilla latte today. It is the first coffee shop caffeinated drink I've had since August 2008. It tasted so good I wanted to cry (and get another one).

random stuff

Bella's first time in the exersaucer! She loves it for about 5 minutes...then not so much.
Addie can hold a conversation on the phone now. She talks to her Daddy while he's at work all the time. She even offers-up a list of things she's done that day.

Potty humor is in full force for this two year old. Walter the farting dog-hilarious! Toots in the bathtub-hysterical! Brown Playdough that looks like Lucy poop-over the top funny! We can't help but laugh with her. Farts are just plain funny!

Go Hokies!

Aussie Rules re-match

After the MRI for Justin's busted knee came back showing no major tears of the ACL, MCL or meniscus, he took a three week hiatus from Aussie Rules Football before he was back on the field. There was a nice breeze blowing this evening and Bella fell asleep in my arms then stayed asleep when I put her in her car seat. Addie had a few little Aussie and Kiwi friends to play with while her Daddy ran around on the field. I'm proud to report that there were no injuries this match!

just when I thought...

I was getting on top of my life here in Manila, I find out I have an amoeba. Seriously disgusting and filthy. I feel like crap AND to get rid of this parasite I have to take a medication that forces me to pump-n-dump for the next week. I am praying that my frozen supply of breast milk will keep Bella satisfied this next week. To make matters worse, it seems as if she's on the verge of another growth spurt. I had to rush order a canister of baby formula from the States just in case my supply runs out. Oh and I have to go search out bottled water that is imported from the States because the bottled water we get here is STILL not clean enough to use for infant formula. It's times like these when I really question what I am doing in a third world country!

I'm trying to look on the bright side of this situation. That being; I can eat whatever I want this next week including: coffee, spicy Indian curry, wasabi with my sushi, all the dairy I want! I still can't drink alcohol because of the drugs but you better believe that I will be pushing the limits of my poor amoeba infested tummy with all the other things I have to give up while breastfeeding my baby girl.

Just because this post was so sad, here are some cute photos of my girls.

Bella speaks

I tried to capture on video how much of a talker Arabella is. She's cooing all day long (when she's awake). In this video I caught a few cute sounds but for the most part you hear Yaya in the background trying to coax her to make noise. I promise to capture a better example when I get my new camera.

Maybe two is enough

We've had some pretty tough long days with our two babies the past few weeks. Yesterday was one of them. For two short hours we got out of the house to High Street for some super yummy cupcakes, some dog watching, and a bit of a walk. The rest of the day was full of time-outs, temper tantrums, lost lovies, crying babies, a stomach virus, and very little rest or sleep. By the end of the day I was questioning whether our plan to have three kids was a good one. Even when Addie's being two and Bella's been three months, they are still adorable.
Bella laughed for the first time (not counting her laughs while dreaming) on Sunday. Justin got her to laugh...is anyone surprised by this?

Krispy Kreme

Addie and I had a date this morning at the Krispy Kreme on High Street with the CLO (Community Liason Office). They gave us a tour and we got to decorate a doughnut. Addie dropped two handfuls of sprinkles on her chocolate coated doughnut. Basically, we could have skipped the tour and just bought a doughnut. All she wanted to do was pound the sugary treat anyhow. It was fun to get out with my girly all by myself. We were able to get out because Bella has been an angel lately! She's such a lovely little jelly bean.

my new shoes worn by shaggy haired blondie

Very cute, only 1,995 pesos (almost $40) but my feet hurt. Perfect with my dress though. Addie claimed them this morning.

going shopping

Yesterday evening we packed the family up and headed to Greenbelt for some gelato. Then my sugar daddy bought me a new pair of shoes for our fancy shmancy dinner work event Sunday night (God it's good to shop un-pregnant again). Addie was exhausted, Bella was sleeping precariously in her car seat, so I quickly made an impulse buy (always the best purchases in my opinion). I guess Addie was paying more attention than I thought last night.

This morning Addie came over, shopping bag in hand, pushing her baby doll in her stroller and announced that she was going shopping. Funny that at this young age she can take on her mother's love of shoe shopping, or really shopping in general. Addie went to get her cell phone and purse and put on her high heels. From there we went into the store (her closet) and started trying on shoes to decide which she'd buy. That's my girl! I'm so proud.

small miracles

After a terrible, no good, very bad day, Bella fell sound asleep on my lap while I read a trashy paperback and my sweet husband took Addie for a walk. Thank God for small miracles.

Happy 4th of July

We aren't normally into red white and blue matchy matchy outfits as a family for the the 4th of July but since we are Americans overseas suddenly is utterly important that we all sport our great nation's colors on our day of Independence. I just searched through the drawers and drawers of clothing I have for my girls and sure enough Grammie supplied us with plenty to choose from!

big smiles

Arabella is getting cozy with her Daddy lately. She likes his big broad shoulders to rest on and his strong arms to lay in (who can blame her really). By now most people are telling us she resembles her father as a baby as well. If it's true she's destined to be a pretty girl. She has an adorable grin already. When she's happy and awake she smiles and coos at us for longer and longer every day. She is not unlike her sister who likes to be in on the action. If you leave Bella alone for even a minute she's wailing for attention.

The Snorkeling Incident

Sara has asked that I post this story because she wants me to illustrate what an absolute klutz I am when it comes to any type of physical activity.

12 June is Philippine Independence Day, and since none of the Filipinos are working that day neither do I. With one week left before the girls arrived, and a free day, I decided to join two friends for a road trip. We decided to head to Anilao, a beach near Batangas City. It was only a two hour drive, and all of our colleagues had said it was a good place for snorkeling.
We ended up at a nice little resort call Eagle Point. It had a decent little restaurant and a great view of the sea. The extremely rocky, rough, angry sea.

The photo above is of the little jetty that went out to the snorkeling spot. At the end of the jetty were small stone steps that you could walk (fall/slide) down to begin your afternoon of relaxing fish watching. To the left of the jetty is an area that's been cleared of rocks so that you can easily get yourself back up to the beach. My friend and I made our way down to the jetty, snorkels and masks on; he went in first. As I approached the steps, King Triton sent forth a strong wave that splashed the steps, perhaps warning me that what I was about to do might result in me becoming a deckhand on the Flying Dutchman. Regardless, I walked down the stairs and jumped into the water.


HA! nothing to fear here. I began swimming around (sans fins) looking for fish. Boy, was I disappointed. The coral was mostly dead and there were only a few fish around, all of which would have made Jacques Cousteau yawn (which is probably a bad idea under water). Although there weren't many fish, there sure was a strong current pulling me past that pink flag in the photo above. And then my mask started fogging up a bit. I came to the surface to wash off the fog and looked down past the flag, quickly realizing that the only thing past said flag was a rock wall as far as I could see. Huh. Well, that's disheartening I thought to myself, and began swimming back so that I was on the jetty side of the flag. There I am, swimming myself to relative safety when my wedding band begins sliding off my finger. What? How'd I forget to take that off? Oh well, make a fist, hold it on, and swim back so you can put it in your bag. Only now the current's even stronger and swimming with a closed fist isn't getting me any closer to the aforementioned rock-cleared beach path.


No problem. I'm close to those rock steps; I'll just swim my way to them and go back up the way I came in. I approach the steps, extending my feet to try and get a good footing. As soon as I make touchdown a wave comes from behind and surges me into the steps, knocking me down on my chest, and then dragging me down the stairs as it recedes. But I'm still holding on to the steps. I regain my footing, get hit by another wave, this one pushes me over the side of the stairs (the rock wall side), but I hold on and pull myself back over and walk up the jetty. "Whew, that was crazy", I think to myself. Then I look down and realize that blood is running down my hands, legs, and feet. It turns out stone steps hurt when one is flung upon them like a ragdoll by a raging sea. I had sliced myself up right good (a friend who saw the cuts said I looked like a cadaver). The below picture doesn't quite do it justice.


Eagle Point has a really nice nurse on staff who bandaged me up and treated my wounds with that red liquid that burns like the fires of hell in July. I tried to tell her that I wasn't a stupid American who went snorkelling without watershoes and a limited understanding of tidal currents, but that I had been attacked by a shark that took small bites. She didn't buy it.


The rest of the day was spent with cold San Miguel beer watching the sun set.



The moral of this story: Old Thomas Stearns Eliot might have been right when he said fear death by water.

Postscript: While I lost some skin and blood, I did save my wedding band. When I told my wife, all she could say was "you didn't bleed on our sheets, did you?".