Embracing Yourself

I am not a hip hop dancer. So when I went dancing last weekend with a couple of pros and some other friends who were also awesome, instead of trying to be who I wasn’t, I enjoyed watching those who can do it really well. I would try to mimic some moves and did a couple successfully.

Because I was embracing how poorly I can dance hip hop, and because I was just focusing on having fun…I really had fun!

I think I’d like to apply this principle to other areas of my life. I look forward to having more fun.

“A Peaceful Plant”

Malachi’s class had a field trip. They’re learning about plants in school, so they went to the local outdoor plant market at the mall across the street from their school. I went as a parent supervisor.

We walked to the market which took us about fifteen minutes. Right now it’s hot and sunny in Manila, so that fifteen minutes was pretty hard on most of us.

Once we were at the market their teacher gave them instructions on their assignment and told them to explore.

I had two boys with Malachi and me and they really liked the little cactuses at the very front. So they asked the woman who sells them their questions three and wrote their answers. Malachi kind of liked the cactuses, but he really wanted a “peaceful plant.”

One thing you may not know about Malachi is how sweet he is. He’s sensitive, loving, caring, kind, and so sweet. So I wasn’t surprised when he said he wanted the “peaceful plant”, it just endeared him to me even more.

The older I get the more peace I want in my life. Maybe it’s because I have three young boys. Maybe it’s because there’s a lot of stress in living abroad and in frequent moves. Whatever the reason, I very much treasure peace (and quiet). So I understood Malachi’s desire to have a “peaceful plant.”

He picked a very pretty, very peaceful plant…that he left in his cubby at school. It’s a good thing that it’s an indoor/low water plant!

Since it’s at school, I can’t take a picture of it for you. But here’s a picture of what it looks like.

Photo courtesy of My Gardin in Japan

It’s not a calla lily but it does look like one. His is this color, but it has a bright yellow and tall stamen or pistil, I don’t know which it is.

I hope Malachi has a greener thumb than his parents.

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

Disclaimer: All photos were taken by John. Also, my internet is wonky right now and I can’t get the resort’s website to work. I apologize for things like: “Filipino restaurant” and “Italian Restaurant” instead of giving the names. I’ve been sitting on this post for weeks, so I didn’t want to wait any longer.

John is amazing at planning trips. He has been since before we were married (at 20 years old). When his parents were coming into town we figured that we had to get out of the city for at least a couple of nights. They had a trip planned to Bangkok and Phuket so we didn’t feel that a beach trip was necessary. We thought about doing the typical Baguio trip, but I didn’t feel like being squished in the car for that drive, plus we thought there isn’t much to keep the children occupied.

So he researched different options. We thought about driving to Batangas and ferrying over to Puerta Galera. But, that’s a beach trip.

He found a resort in the city of Bagac in the province of Bataan called Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. It’s a resort that’s mostly colonial Spanish mansions that have been moved from other parts of the Philippines to this resort. He reserved two rooms. One was a suite with loft so there was one room big enough for kids.

We left our house just before 9:00 a.m. on a Wednesday and made it to the NLEX in 40 minutes. The drive going out of the city wasn’t bad, it was the poor souls going into the city on the NLEX that were moving at a snails pace. “How do we avoid that?!” I exclaimed “Don’t leave the city,” was my husband’s reply. It was quite discouraging. After driving North for a while I forgot the traffic and looked forward to a short vacation.

We stopped at Jollibee for lunch. We tried going to the golden arches, but couldn’t find parking. It was my first, and last, experience at Jollibee. The food is not good. The Filipinos really like it though, it’s quite popular here. Malachi and the kids eat it, so they can continue to order delivery when we’re out. Just as long as I don’t have to eat it.

We arrived at our resort about four hours after departure, making our driving time about 3 1/2 hours.

The building on the left is the registration building (this is the rear side)

Security was high, but we went through the outer gate and parked at reception after being given permission to pass through gate 2 (only driven through for pick up/drop off). After parking in front of the registration building the guys checked us in while the girls stretched their legs.

Gate 2 with the registration building on the right 

Two porters brought our things to our rooms. The building we were in was Paseo de Escolta. It’s a constructed building with new and old materials, but you wouldn’t know that to walk in the building and up the stairs. You would think the whole building was five hundred years old. You walk through your room’s door and are still amazed at how authentic it looks. Except for the flat screen T.V. and A/C (and electricity, obviously) the room feels very colonial Spanish. The bathroom is definitely modern. It melds well with the theme of the room, even though it’s obviously five hundred years different (Plus it has a bath tub! I don’t have a single tub in my house, so I was so excited to have a bath.).

Paseo de Escolta

We put our stuff down and changed to our swimming suits to head over to the beach. When we got to the beach we were unpleasantly surprised by how hot the sand was. It’s dark, volcanic sand since it’s right by a volcano. With the sun blaring down on it in the hot Filipino summer, the beach it hot, hot, hot. The water was nice, though. It’s calm, the ground is rock free and smooth, and there was no wild life. If you venture from the beach to the lagoon, be careful – there are dangerous tiny spikes off something (I can’t remember what). The husb had three in his feet. I had to use tweezers to get them out.

The walking bridge to the beach 

Dark sand beach

Coen and I went in the room to rest for a bit. While we did that everyone else went to the pools. The water is different, but doesn’t seem bad. Our kids loved the pools and we all went back the next day.

The deep pool (4 ft) 

The shallow pool, perfect for kiddies 

The resort had two restaurants open during our stay. We tried to go to the Italian restaurant, our first night, but we were too early. So we had dinner at the Filipino/Spanish restaurant. We all enjoyed our food, even though we had low expectations. The service wasn’t horrible, but I’ve had better…even in Manila. This restaurant is also where they served breakfast, which came with our rooms. We had the American breakfast (eggs, toast, bacon). It wasn’t great, the eggs and bacon were both undercooked, but I’ve had worse. The second morning I asked for my bacon to be cooked more and everyone’s came out darker. 

The second day we went on a shorter road trip up to Zoobic Safari (I can’t find pictures). The kids loved it. We paid for the guided tour and headed out on our two and a half hour guided safari. We were in a large-ish group with our awesome tour guide. She and Simon became great friends.

At one point we got into jeepneys with the windows barred up. We drove into the tiger enclosure and one of the safari employees shoved raw chicken through the holes in the bars. The tiger was inches away from us. After that, we went to the lion enclosure and did the same thing. The lions were so pretty, especially the lioness. She was my favorite animal in the whole park.

After two and a half hours at Zoobic we were dirty, hot, and tired. But we all had a really good time.

After the road trip back, it was time for the other pool visit that I previously mentioned. After the pool, and some rest, we had dinner at the Italian restaurant. Funny tangent…the hotel called the room earlier in the day to see if I wanted a reservation in one of the restaurants for dinner. When I made the 6:00 dinner reservation at the Italian restaurant I was happy knowing that we’d have a place. For most of the dinner, we were the only ones there. Apparently I didn’t need to be worried.

New construction on the left. Old Mansion on the right which houses the Italian Restaurant. 

The food there got mixed reviews in our group. I enjoyed it, John thought it was ok. The kids all ate their fill, and to have all three kids eat successfully at one meal is awesome. It’s a win in my book.

After dinner it was bed time! The beds in the hotel are hard, and not in a bad way. I have a memory foam mattress, so I’m used to hard beds. But the pillows are hard too! Neither of us was happy with the pillows.

The next morning after breakfast, we walked around to take pictures and then headed out for our drive home.

We enjoyed our time there a lot and if there weren’t so many places to go in such a short amount of time, we’d probably go back. I’d recommend it for someone who likes a bit of isolation. The resort isn’t stroller friendly and if you’re in Escolta instead of a house you could be climbing three long flights of stairs to get to your room.

It’s a fun adventure and a unique place to stay.

Visitors

I’ve been busy with a visit from my in-laws. We’re having a good time. We went on a two night trip to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar which we all enjoyed. Today we brought them to S&R (like Costco) to show them what it’s like on our side of the world (very similar, actually). We’ve been in our pool almost every day. We’ve also been malling (going to a mall).

Everyone in the family is pretty much over the ickiness that was in the house. Coen’s turned into a double ear infection. After a day of antibiotic, mucolytic, and pain reliever he became much more happy. I seem to be going down hill again, but I guess these allergies are a rollercoaster ride for me.

The grandparents are babysitting tonight, giving John and I a chance to go on a date night. We love date nights, and are very thankful they’re doing this for us.

Cleaning and not Letting the Toddlers Kill Themselves

I hate housework! I hate trying to do housework when there are toddlers running around putting themselves in danger ever 35 seconds. It’s very difficult to get anything done. Somehow I was able to work for about an hour yesterday afternoon before John got home so he didn’t come home to a complete wreck. I even got two of three kids to help out.

Today is Holy Thursday and a Federal holiday which means that at 6:30 a.m. my husband is sleeping in instead of eating breakfast. So I plan on making him take care of children while I clean floors and bathrooms. I should think about changing sheets and washing them all. Who doesn’t love clean sheets?! [edit: I’ve already stripped the beds and started washing sheets. There’s been a break in writing due to people getting up.]

This week without helpers has had its ups and downs. I feel that I’ve grown closer to Coen, but I wonder if it’s too close. Last night at dinner, he wasn’t happy (read: crying) when John sat next to him, but when he got up and left the room, and I sat down he was fine. I understand that he was tired and hungry, but his daddy’s a better parent than I am, it was surprising.

Simon’s modeling session went really well. Coen went to a friend’s house and was unhappy about it and crying for mommy. Simon was a total ham, though, and ate up all the attention and gave the photographer a lot of good photos. The marketing manager from the department store was very pleased with him. That was great to see. She was the one he needed to impress the most. Filipinos love my kids and their blonde hair. Now, we’ve finally put it to work.

About an hour in a half into the shoot when they were doing another wardrobe change, Simon started to become difficult. They had a coach though, and after wardrobe got him changed, she got him to do the work. I left the room for a while to sit and rest because just watching him work was exhausting for me.

I can’t wait to see what comes out of the session. I imagine seeing him on a big billboard (there are some very large ones here). It would be awesome if it would happen while some guests are here, but I don’t think it will happen that fast.

Speaking of someone being here. We have four days left until our first guests arrive. We’re getting very excited about their arrival, and hope their travel is “quick” and safe.

I’m off to clean! Have a good holiday weekend, all!

Rambling

We have the house to ourselves for a week. We’ll probably have a gardner here tomorrow(he’ll need to make sure he gets paid). Oh, and our pool man will come on Monday and Wednesday morning for an hour.

Other than that…no helpers (It’s a good thing I don’t work yet. otherwise, what would I do with two little kids?!). No guests. No body but us. But that doesn’t last for long. Starting next weekend we’ll have guests for almost a month straight. And after a brief respite another guest for three weeks.

I’m quite excited for guests. We’ll have been here for eight months by the time our first guests arrive. I can’t remember the last time I went eight months without seeing someone from the States (from my past, mind you. of course I see plenty of people at the Embassy). It must be years.

But without helpers until after our first guests arrive, it means we’ll be cleaning. If you know me even a little bit, you’ll know that there isn’t much I hate more than cleaning. Strangely enough, I don’t mind going to a friends to help out if they’re unable to do it themselves. And I don’t mind the floors actually (I’ve liked doing floors since I got my Oreck vacuum as a wedding present.), but this is a large house full of toilets and showers and so many things that collect dust. Luckily I have two other able bodied people in the house to clean with me. I’m sure the guests will just be happy to be done with their 30-ish hours of travel, and to see their son and grand children.

Tomorrow, Simon has his first photo shoot. Oh, have we not told you? Simon’s doing a photo shoot tomorrow for the biggest retailer in the Philippines. He and Coen were scouted at Burger King on Simon’s birthday. Now Simon’s with a talent agency and will get paid and possibly be on billboards or something.

Then in October Malachi and Simon will be in a runway show. Coen isn’t being pursued yet. We think it’s because he doesn’t have much hair. It’s really too bad because he’s so cute.

Mint Cream Oreos

And Haribo gummy bears.

And Count Dracula cereal.

And half a pharmacy of cold/flu medicine.

And Easter candy.

And Easter eggs.

And clothes.

And shoes for kids.

Oh…and husband (the best one).

All those things came off a plane from Guam today. It was by far the best day of the week.