the canDIshhh tales

I think I expected it to happen naman , and it did - but it was sooner than I expected.  It actually just hit me that my Connor will be yaya-less (until I find a replacement) when we leave for Tokyo next month!  Stress levels!! *Warning - ranting Yaya Blues post.. So, be warned!! When I gave birth to Connor last year - I still hadn't found help yet.  So, for the first week or so - Connor slept with me.  It was such an enjoyable experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  After that time - I was able to find a Yaya for him.  When I interviewed Yaya Mae on the phone, she seemed eager to work.  She said she had experience because she has five kids (yes, you read it right - 5!)  So I believed her and hired her.  I honestly don't believe so much in interviews because some are good with interviews but are really bad when it comes to performance.  I told her I'd give her a try. *Warning - Loooong detailed post ahead!!

I am always amazed on what my two year old Kailee can do these days.  I have to thank Barney and Brainy Babies for the things that she knows. So last night on the way home - Kailee asked my Panget for a balloon, the ones being sold on Tomas Morato street.  My Panget then challenged her - 'count 1 to 20' he said.  We were surprised to hear her count out loud - one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!  Then she stopped, and after a few seconds - counted another set of 1 to 10!  We were impressed.  We didn't think she would understand our instructions, moreso - know how to count in the correct order!  Since I was seated in front I failed to 'record' that proud mommy moment. Before going to bed, Kailee was asking me to open my water bottle - so I told her to count 1 to 10 - after that, I would open the water bottle. And here she is ...  counting 1 to 10! I'm soooooo proud of her!! Good job Kailee!

The last time I was in Japan was.... 2001 I think and it was just a quick 3 day trip, I honestly don't remember it anymore.  What I remember more was - freaking falling in line under the sun for two hours or so just to apply for a tourist visa! But gone are those days!  Now, you won't need to wait under the sun - now, you'll just need to go to ANY of the accredited travel agency of the Japanese Embassy.  We picked Friendship Tours , they're located in Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati.  We were done in less than 40 minutes!  Oh, and now - only one (1) representative of the family is required to go to the travel agency to do all these (this is also the supposed 'appearance')  If you are bringing your nanny to Japan to accompany you, she will also need to be there for appearances sake. Here are what I brought: PASSPORTS - all of which SHOULD be still valid BIRTH CERTIFICATES* - all should be NSO copies with corresponding receipts valid within 1 year   In case

Apparently - THERE IS a price tag law in the the Philippines! And for some strange reason (thanks to repetitive radio ads) - their ads, specifically the DTI Consumer Act laws, stuck in my head like a bad case of LSS.  The voice over was done by Alvin Elchico, who is one of the hosts (the other being Usec Zenaida Maglayon) in DZMM's Consumer at iba pa segment every Saturday morning. He says in one of the voice overs that - there's a price tag law.  This law states that whatever price is written on the item's price tag - must be followed, and that the store cannot be sold at a higher price. I know for a fact (for the longest time) that it didn't exist, that it is only is applicable in the US.  And how I envy that!  But apparently, it does exist here in the Philippines!  Last weekend, my 'factual' assumption was proven wrong! We spent Holy Week in Subic - and since there's a new mall - Harbor Point, we went to take a look.  There I saw an M&am