What can you do for less than $250 a month...

Okay everyone, say "Hi Miss Lucy". She's sitting by Brayden. Miss Lucy is the kids' yaya (nanny). She's been working for us for a week. She doesn't live with us though. She works from 8 to 5 Monday - Friday and is available other times if needed.

What does she do? Glad you asked. Her primary responsibility is to assist me in caring for the kids. She prepares lunch for all of us and sometimes dinner too. She irons our clothes (including undies) which is Dwayne's favorite thing. Basically she does anything needed around the house. In my opinion, she babies Brayden too much. He is very independent and doesn't really want to be held and protected but she does it anyway. So, he's somewhat annoyed with her most of the time. She's learning to leave him alone though. She's also somewhat of a tour guide for us in this area of Metro Manila. She's introduced us to very nice, and not very crowded, parks. She also clues me in on where to buy the best veggies, fruit, etc.
**Sidenote: We actually live in Makati City, not Manila but it's considered Metro Manila.

Do the kids like her? Yes, actually. She does (and lets them do) whatever they want. I'm trying to change this attribute but Filipinos love small children and tend to seriously spoil them.

How much do we pay her? 9,000 pesos a month. That's just over US$200. Most yaya's are paid roughly 3000-4000 pesos so she's getting paid well. She has worked for other expatriates and comes highly recommended. And, so far she's worth every penny.