Android - tabs as part of activity

I am trying to write an action with a RelativeLayout on top with options, and then tabhost below this layout, which contains 2 tabs.

Unfortunately, when I add tabhost to my layout, it gets on top of its activity, regardless of where it is defined in the layout. According to the docs, "TabHost must be the root of the node for the layout , does this mean that I cannot be part of the layout, unlike the topmost element?

I tried different heights for TabHost, from fill_parent to wrap_content to 50dip, but nothing affected the placement and it just was painted on top of all the other elements.

thank