Sightseeing

Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife
We got to see a lot of native animals at this wildlife park close to our house. It was fun to see some things we had never seen before but also a little sad. Some of the cages were really small and had a lot of animals in them. The best part for me was walking around the park area. There was a pond in the middle and everything was so green and quiet for the most part.

When we walked to the far side of the pond there were a few houses like this built out of bamboo.

World Peace Bell

Quezon Memorial

A memorial to Manuel Quezon (former president of the Philippines). His remains are inside a mausoleum under the monument. There is also a little museum inside.

Manila American Cemetery

August 20th we went to the American Cemetery in Manila. We were the only people there so it was nice and quiet to walk around on the perfectly manicured grounds (but we weren't allowed to walk on the grass) with the bell chiming.

In front of the chapel

Checking out the mosaic maps of WWII battles in the Philippines

Wall of names

Some pretty flowers we found on the ground

Chop Chop

I meant to get a hair cut before I left Australia but with everything else going on I never got around to it. I am so happy I waited because this hair cut cost me 280 pesos. That is under 7 US dollars! And that included a shampoo, blow dry and style! I am happy with the way it turned out (I hope so! Its the exact same hair cut I seem to get every time I get it cut no matter what I tell them). I told them I wanted it to my shoulders, with a little bit of layering and a little swoop bang but not too chunky. Its just a little past my shoulders. I guess maybe it was the language issue. Or maybe he thought I meant I wanted the shortest layer to my shoulders? Not that it really matters because as soon as we got home from the mall I pulled it back into the ponytail that it will be in for the next 3 months. I really just wanted a lighter ponytail. And lighter it is...

I'm Three!!

Our little Jonas turned 3 today! Nate had a meeting in the middle of the day today so we made yesterday our day to do something fun together. We took the boys to lunch first. We tried to get them to go to Taco Bell but what Jonas really wanted was chicken nuggets from McDonalds. Next we watched UP in 3D and they each got to fill up their own bag of candy from the bulk bins. We made him wait until today to open his presents though...


He got lots of great toys. Mostly Star Wars and Lego (thanks Grandmas and Grandpas!!).

Mom, is this for me?

Helping Dad put together his new Lego plane.

Birthday brownies

Mmmango

Nate has been telling me for as long as I can remember that he won't eat the mangoes you can get in the US because there is no way they can compare to the mangoes in the Philippines. I have had them in the US and they tasted fine. I couldn't understand how they could be so much better in the Philippines. Until now. I finally had my first Philippine mango and it was amazing! I don't know how else to describe it. We had it for dessert one night and when I went to bed that night all I could think about was how I wanted more.

The aftermath. I chewed on the seed until I couldn't get anymore off.

Terrible continues

Is it really the terrible twos or did I miss something and the threes are actually a whole lot worse? I don't remember this with Liam. Maybe I have just blocked it out of my memory. I guess Jonas is not 3 yet. This could be one last burst of terribleness to get it out of his system for the lovely threes or the well behaved, listen to your mother, eat all of your food threes. I wish.

I seriously don't know what is happening to Jonas but he is definitely testing his parents right now. I feel bad for our neighbors because as much as I try to calmly tell him to stay in his chair to finish his food, by the 15th time during the same meal I start to raise my voice a little bit. Okay, a lot! I could feed him chocolate cake for breakfast and he would still get down, turn sideways in his chair, turn his spoon into a gun, sword, light saber - anything but eat.

There is also the constant whining, fighting with his brother, doing the opposite of what I just told him to do and (trying to) ordering me around. I want water! Put this together! I want an airplane! Mom, put this on! I would think that he would have learned by now that we don't respond very well to whiny orders from our children.

Liam has been acting up too. The boy has a serious attitude. At least I can send him to his room until he has a better attitude and when he comes out he really will have a better attitude. Jonas would just start playing and forget why he was even in there!

I feel like it has all multiplied since we got to the Philippines. Or maybe I am noticing it more because I am not working anymore and I am home all day long. I guess it could all just be them trying to adjust to this new environment. As much as we go to malls we are also stuck in a small apartment a lot. All I know is I am going to go crazy if this is how the next 4 months are going to be. More venting. Sorry. He is lucky he is so cute!

Please leave lots of comments about how 3 is so much better (easier!) than 2. Thanks!

To Tip or Not To Tip

I have a problem with tipping. Every time someone does something nice for me I wonder if I am supposed to tip them.

1. Hold the door open for me to walk through.
2. Point me to an empty parking spot.
3. Help me change a flat tire.
4. Tell me where in the mall the supermarket is located.
5. Help me back out of a parking spot.
6. Wash my car windows in the pouring rain.
7. Say "Good afternoon marm" as I walk by.
8. Wait on me at a restaurant.
9. Point out a taxi for me to get into on a busy street full of taxis.
10. Give me no other choice and take my groceries to my car for me and load them into my trunk.
11. Put your face on my car window at a stop light and stare at me.

We had to go to the Immigration office in Manila last Friday to submit some paperwork and fingerprints. We drove in so we were looking for a place to park. We got to an area and could see that there were about 5 parking spots up ahead. There was a man standing out in front of these spots and he pointed for us to go into one of them. We pulled in and Nate gave him 5 pesos (a VERY small amount of money but what did he really do?!). The man looked at the money and told Nate the charge is actually 30 pesos (61 US cents). Does he own the parking spots? No, he doesn't. Nate told him we would give him more money when we got back. He asked if we wanted the car washed. No, we didn't. When we returned a couple of hours later the man was just finishing up washing our car. Nate got really mad and forcefully told him he did not want the car washed and gave him the rest of the money. Stuff like this really makes me mad.

When we first got here we were leaving the grocery store and needed to catch a taxi home. As we walked outside of the store the side of the street was packed full of taxis and jeepneys. All we had to do was walk in any direction and we would have run into a taxi that would have been happy to take us home. Instead some guy sees us coming and runs up to the nearest taxi and tells us we can have that one. I guess he is like the taxi pimp? Nate gave the guy 5 pesos that time too and he asked for more! Nate just told him that was all he had.

Every single day (if we leave the house at all) we are faced with situations like this and I am never sure what to do about a tip. And if we are supposed to tip, how much? I am sorry; I am not such a moron that I can't see when a parking spot is empty. I am perfectly capable of backing out of my own parking space. I will not pay you for washing my window (and doing a terrible job I might add) when I didn't ask you or even give you permission to do it. Staring at me through my car window like I am some kind of freak show or tapping on my pockets as I walk by to see if I have any change in them will not make me want to give you money.

I know we are more fortunate than a lot of other people are but can you imagine if every time you left the house people washed your windows, helped you find a parking space and then back out again, carried everything to your car for you, etc. You could easily give away $5 a day. That is a lot of money! I can understand giving money to people who are selling fruits and homemade goods on the streets. At least they are offering you something and giving you a choice of buying it or not. I cannot handle people who make up jobs for themselves, don't give you a choice and then expect to be paid.

Sorry, I just had to vent a bit there.

And FYI, I wish I knew for sure about the things I listed above. But I think it might be 1. no, 2. yes, 3. no, 4. no, 5. yes, 6. yes, 7. no, 8. no, 9. yes, 10. ?, 11. ?