A little of this & that...

Sydney has had another allergic reaction to something. We have no idea what caused it. Could be the new scent of Irish Spring soap that I bathed her with the night before she broke out. Could be something she ate. Could be something the condo washes their sheets with. Who knows ?? However, it's not the same reaction as when we discovered her egg allergy. That time, she had huge welps forming all over her body. This time, she has very small bumps (similar to goose bumps) all over her body & is red all the way down to her thighs. She's constantly scratching, which isn't helping. So, she's been doped up on Benadryl for the past few days. It's getting much better. But, I just wish I knew what caused it so I can avoid it in the future.

Last week, we bought an inexpensive umbrella stroller for Nicholas. Since we walk everywhere we go, I needed something to easily keep all 30+ lbs. of him contained. And, even though I liked my cheapy stroller that I had in the US, someone decided not to bring it with us. (I'm not naming names, but he starts with an "S" and ends with "ammy"!) So, we found one that was fairly cheap, but had all the features we liked. (And, we were in a HUGE hurry, since Nick was fast asleep on his Daddy's shoulder the evening we bought it.) However, after using it for a few days, I've realized how difficult it is to recline, to fold up & even to unfold. Basically, I HATE it!! So, this evening, Sammy took the stroller & the receipt back to the store to return it. But, they refused to take it back. They said since it had been used, they couldn't accept it. I was furious!! There is no stated return policy anywhere, so I figured with the receipt & a basically new stroller, we wouldn't have a problem. Sammy had to kindly remind me several times that this was not the US & they can pretty much make up their own rules day to day here. Lesson learned! (But, it still infuriates me!)

I discovered today that Nicholas loves Pad Thai! We went to a restaurant called Banana Leaf, where your plate is an actual banana leaf. The kids thought it was pretty cool. (However, Sydney did loudly pronounce that her banana leaf was "very stinky"!) I wasn't sure what to order for them, so I stuck with a simple Pad Thai dish. Samuel was more tired than hungry, so he laid down on the bench to rest. Sydney pretty much ate only fried rice. (Which, by the way, does have bits of scrambled egg in it. So, we'll see if she has outgrown her egg allergy or not...) But, Nicholas scarfed down the noodles! He loved them! And, I realized how much I loved it also. I've had Pad Thai several times before, but not anytime recently. It was delicious!! Nicholas also ate an entire plate of dried mangoes this morning. I got a plate of dried mangoes & dried banana slices, set it down on the table, then went back to get some bacon for Sydney & Samuel. I had to wait for a little bit while they cooked up more bacon. So, by the time I got back to our table, I saw that all the mangoes were gone. And, he was asking for more! Good thing they're plentiful here!

Sammy finally bought me a new cell phone & I think I've gotten the texting stuff down! Apparently, the Philippines is the texting capital of the world. Or, so I'm told. It's much cheaper to text here than it is to make a phone call, so that's what everyone does!! And, I mean EVERYONE!! People walk down the mall, typing on their phones. In America, people are constantly talking on their cell phones. Here, they type on them! It's about 8 pesos/minute to place a phone call, but only 1 peso per text. On the back of taxis, it will say, "How's my driving? Text to 12345". When I bought my contacts here last month, they asked me for my cell phone so they could text me when my contacts arrived at the store. You text your driver when you need to be picked up. It's very different!

It's Saturday evening & you can hear the music from the dance club around the corner. Thankfully, it doesn't bother the kids. They're good & asleep & I'm heading that direction. I think I might lose my night owl status! I tire very early lately.

Have a great weekend!

** As a side note... just so you don't think I'm an irresponsible parent... Sydney's allergy doctor did tell us to go ahead & introduce eggs again just to see if she has outgrown her allergy. So, we did it today!