(Prada Mama's NOTE: The word for the day is androgynous: "giving an impression of ambiguous sexual identity". Think David Bowie. Annie Lennox. Boy George. Troy Sereno?


(Pretty Boy: Troy in ponytails.)


By the time I gave birth to my daughter Reanna, my son Troy was beginning to resemble a girl himself. It was MY fault, actually. Troy was born with such beautiful baby hair in a delicious light shade of brown. I didn't want to cut it, so I kept putting it off until I couldn't rationalize much longer. With Troy's third birthday coming soon, we knew the time had come. And so, with a heavy heart, I present to you the latest offering in "THE BOYS OF SUMMER" series...)


BOYS DON'T CRY...

(Even though MOMS sometimes do!)

Such was the scene on July 8, 2004.

THE SETTING: Kidz Club, Milpitas, CA. (specialty: kids cuts.)
THE CHARACTERS: The Sereno family, starring TROY.
THE PLOT: Lorenzo and Renee travel 80 miles for Troy's first haircut.
THE MOOD: Happy, in general. Daddy's standing by with hankies for Mommy, JUST IN CASE...

After all, this was officially Troy's LAST day with his baby hair. We waited long enough for this event, just nine days shy of three years, to be exact. But we knew it had to be done eventually. And so, on that beautiful summer day, we found ourselves back in our old neighborhood, to the place where Lance also had his first haircut: Kidz Club. I wouldn't trust Troy's tresses with anyone else.

Now Kidz Club isn't your everyday, run-of-the-mill chop-shop. They're a little more expensive, but I guess all the extra bucks go to maintaining the unusual barber's chairs, shaped like airplanes, tractors and even a Batmobile!

Aside from the props, my kids love the playhouse and toys in the waiting area, which features toys for the BIG BOYS too. It wasn't long before Daddy busied himself with the vintage 80's "Space Invaders" video console, a blast from the not-so-distant past.

And so we settled in for the wait, Mommy nursing Reanna while the three Lorenzos played. A little boy was scheduled before us. As soon as he was aboard his airplane, however, all chaos broke loose. The poor kid was hysterical, and his haircut hadn't even started yet!

I was afraid this was having a negative effect on my son, so I silently willed these people away. Imagine me, smiling indulgently at the tantrum-throwing toddler, while the inner me was saying "Go away. You're spooking Troy!"

Finally, the boy's mother and grandmother gave up on their willful charge. All too soon, it seemed, for now the wait was over and it was Troy's turn at the barber's err...tractor!


(Troy in his John Deere tractor.)


And so, after almost three years of waiting, we finally had our baby's hair cut.


(Just a clippety-clip...)


Troy tolerated it quite well.


(And a snippety-snip...)


Aside from the toys, which Sue (the resident hair wizard) handed over as a distraction, the playful atmosphere also went a long way to calm the jitters.


(And a little bit off the top!)


And when things got rough, Daddy was there to extend a soothing hand...


(Daddy lends a hand as Sue snips away!)


With such awesome moral support, Troy sailed through the whole experience with a smile on his face. Actually, in this case, it was MOMMY, not Troy, who was holding back the tears.


(Gee...this isn't so bad after all!)


This is why we traveled 80 miles one-way just for a haircut. We wanted to make sure that Troy's first experience was a pleasant one. Of course, we caught it all on videotape, aside from almost filling an entire memory card with pictures.


(Just keep it rolling, Daddy!)


And since this is MY family we're talking about, we ended up making this another Sereno Family Event. By the end of the day, Sue and her assistant had cut everybody else's hair except for Reanna's. In solidarity with Troy, Lance, Mommy and Daddy had their hair trimmed as well!


(Hey, Lance got a haircut too!)


And when it was done, Lance and Troy chose lollipops from the treat jar. Sue also gave us extra ones for the long trip back home. She swept Troy's precious hair off the floor and placed it in an envelope for Mommy. Before sealing it, however, she chose a little lock of hair. This she placed in a tiny little baggie, which she stuck to Troy's "First Haircut Certificate", which read:


"This is to certify that TROY SERENO
SURVIVED THE EXPERIENCE OF A FIRST HAIRCUT
on the 8th day of July in the year 2004."


This is one instance where Harry Potter can just step aside. Because on THAT particular day, July 8, 2004, Troy Sereno WAS "The Boy Who Lived".

And he got a certificate to prove it!


(Troy's Proof of Valor.)

(Prada Mama's NOTE: It's a little known fact that Harry Potter's first name is Lorenzo. Yes, that famous boy actually hails from the Syquijor side of my family. His parents, Jaime and Lilia, met at the local babaylan school in their sophomore year and have been inseparable ever since. When they got accepted at Hogwarts, Jaime changed his last name, "Magbabanga", to the Anglicized "Potter", and the rest is history.

You can ask J.K. Rowling. She and I go back a long way...)



(Harry Potter.)


(Harry Potter 2.)


THE BOY WHO LIVED

Movie night.

It's a sacred Sereno family tradition.

One night, usually on a weekend, the whole brood gathers around the family room. Mommy makes popcorn, Daddy sets up the queen-size sofa bed and Lance and Troy bring down their favorite pillows. We choose a DVD from our collection and everybody piles up on the sofa bed. When the popcorn is done, we turn off the lights and settle in for the show.

These pictures were taken last July. Troy was just about to turn three and was undergoing a growth spurt, which was wreaking havoc on my furniture, and on his noggin. (If you look closely at his picture, you'll see a barely discernible mark on his forehead.)

See, my poor baby was still getting used to his new stature. In the meantime, he kept bumping his head on things. One of his favorite targets was our dining table. Troy used to run into the corner of that table at least once a day, often enough that he had a semi-permanent scar on his forehead.

Two weeks before his birthday, I was putting some ointment on my son's "owie", admonishing him for the thousandth time to be careful. I planted a kiss on his brow and was about to send him off when he looked at me seriously and said "I'm Harry Potter", pointing to his scar as proof.

Needless to say, this prompted another kissing fit on my part. Troy weathered the onslaught like a pro. He patiently sat through my love attack until it was over and I was spent. Then he asked, "where are my glasses?" in such a matter-of-fact tone that all I could do was laugh and give him a final squeeze.

Later that day, Lorenzo and the kids dropped me off at Party City to get invitations and party favors for Troy's 3rd birthday bash. Troy wanted a "Harry Potter" movie party, but had to settle for "Spiderman 2" because "Harry Potter" wasn't showing anymore. Lucky for me, all the "Spiderman 2" merchandise was 25% off so I loaded up on loot for Troy's goodie-bags.

Of course, being me, I couldn't resist taking a peek at the Harry Potter section. Good thing too, because I found myself staring at the very thing Troy was looking for: Harry Potter glasses! I couldn't believe my luck.

The glasses were packaged in pre-packed loot bags, made to look like pouches of "Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans". I picked up a bag and looked more closely. Aside from the glasses, there were stickers, a Gryffindor door hanger, a keychain and some candy. Thankfully, there were NO "Every Flavor Beans" in sight. I once bought a box, and regretted tasting the "dirt", "sardine" and "vomit" varieties.

I picked up a couple of bags for Lance and Troy, along with a pack of wizard hats. I wanted to make it up to my boys, knowing they were a bit disappointed that Troy's "Harry Potter" party was cancelled. I couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they saw their surprise. Even though the "Harry Potter" movie party was off, we could still have a "Harry Potter" movie night!

And so we went home, Mommy and Daddy announcing that we had a surprise for Lance and Troy. The two kept asking us for clues. We told them we were having a Movie Night. That was enough for them. Our bumblebees LOVE Movie Night. By the time we got home, they were beside themselves, trying to be patient, but not entirely succeeding.

I put on the popcorn and Lorenzo unfolded the sofa bed. We told the boys to close their eyes. Daddy put the DVD in the player and the "Harry Potter" theme came on. We could see the smiles forming on their faces. You can imagine their delight when they opened their eyes to discover their Harry Potter loot bags...


(Capturing the moment their eyes light up: PRICELESS!)


Mommy whipped out the wizard hats to complete the ensemble, and the smiles grew even bigger!


(Where's the party? RIGHT HERE!)


Lance and Troy couldn't wait to open their loot bags. They scattered the contents on the sofa bed, donning their glasses and filling their foreheads with lightning bolt stickers. They even wanted to eat the candy, but we told them it was too late for sweets. Good thing they were too excited to put up much of a complaint...



(Troy and Mommy.)


(Lance and Daddy.)


(Reanna, my Enchantress-in-Training.)


And so we turned off the lights and settled in to watch "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", everyone lying beside each other and craning their necks to see the movie. I LOVE Movie Night. It's a tight squeeze. It's uncomfortable. But it's a tradition.

As usual, Daddy fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Daddy ALWAYS falls asleep during the movie. I can't remember a single Movie Night where Daddy watched the ENTIRE movie without dozing off at some point.

I guess it's just as well. It would be too weird to have Daddy watching with us, WIDE AWAKE. We would definitely miss the snoring. Besides, if Daddy FINALLY succeeded in staying awake, he would be breaking tradition.

And we NEVER mess with tradition.



(Wake up, Daddy! You're missing the movie...AGAIN!)

(Prada Mama's NOTE: This is the first in my "BOYS OF SUMMER" series, featuring our first LORENZO, Lorenzo Christopher "Lance" Sereno, who will henceforth be known as...)


LOVER BOY

Summer in the Sereno residence officially began on June 25, the day after Lance's preschool graduation.


(Congratulations, Lance!)


Days before, I learned that some of the mothers were looking for a place to hold a graduation potluck. I quickly offered by backyard as a venue, telling them I would shoulder the sandwiches.

Lance's teacher, Mrs. Andrea, was quite impressed that I could throw a swimming party with a six-week-old baby at home. I could tell the sandwiches earned me even more brownie points. What she DIDN'T know was that I was my local deli's best customer. I quickly called in my order: a deli sandwich tray and a mini-croissant tray. When it comes to party preparations, I let my fingers do the walking.

Lorenzo, on the other hand, had a slightly bigger responsibility under his belt: our swimming pool, which had to be in tiptop party shape, and fast. But my husband was up to the task. "Anything for Lance!" he said, and between him and my stepson, Chris, the swimming pool was sparkling clean in no time.


(Lance's classmate Roberto, Troy and Daddy enjoying the fruit of his labors!)


Lance's classmates arrived in a trickle at first, but by the end of the day, my backyard was swarming with kids.


(Moms and kids in the pool...)


(And in the spa...)


Aside from my sandwiches, the other mothers brought sodas, chips, fresh fruit salad, tuna salad on tostadas (which are like giant tortilla chips shaped like flattened out taco shells) and doritos, Mexican versions of kropek shaped like wagon wheels, liberally sprinkled with chili sauce. One of the Moms even surprised me with piping hot tamales, freshly made earlier that day. YUM!

They also brought the rest of their children. Aside from Reanna, there were two other babies among the guests, one of them also a newborn who arrived just a week after my daughter. Two of the mothers who came were pregnant too. For some unexplained reason, there was a "baby boom" in Lance's preschool, with six of us Moms all pregnant at one point!


(Baby boomers in my backyard.)


I guess it wasn't just the Moms who were in the mood for love. As the boys horsed around in the pool, the girls congregated in my formal dining room, which I had converted into a playroom. It seemed innocent enough at the time. Later that evening, however, while tidying up the playroom, I found a folded piece of paper addressed to "Lorenzo". I opened it and read the note inside:


DEAR LORENZO,

HOW ARE YOU? I'M FINE. YOU WILL PROBILY GET THIS LETTER WHEN YOU ARE 5. YOU CAN GESS HOW I AM BUT LETS SEE IF YOU CAN. I A

I AM A GIRL. I HAVE BROWN EYES AND LONG BR HAIR. I HAVE BIG FEET. I AM MUCH TALLER AND OLDER THEN YOU.

P.S.
GESS HOW I AM!

I LOVE YOU!!!
(picture of a heart with an arrow through it)
XOXOXOXO


Hmm...now who among my guests would leave such a wanton love note?

I tried to recall all the female faces in the party. Some of them were Lance's classmates, and some were siblings of classmates. My sister-in-law, Anna, said she saw some girls huddled around Lance's desk earlier that day. Aha...my first clue! I remembered that I had taken a snapshot of the group before they left. I quickly retrieved the evidence in my camera:


(The Usual Suspects.)


And so I got my first breakthrough. I noticed that aside from Troy and Anna (who was carrying Reanna), and Lance's classmate Maria, the rest of the group were members of the same family, Lance's classmate, Leandro's. Leandro is one of his closest friends in preschool, and they would sometimes be mistaken for each other, given the similarity of their names, Leandro and Lorenzo.


(Bosom buddies: Leandro and Lorenzo.)


It didn't take much detective work to narrow down my list of suspects, using the clues supplied by my son's secret admirer. Using powers of deduction, I quickly ruled out two girls: Lance's classmate Maria and Leandro's youngest sister, Fernanda, since they were not "much taller and older" than him. This narrowed down the field somewhat. The only girls left were Leandro's older sisters, whom I will refer to as Suspect Number 1 and Suspect Number 2.

I looked at the picture again. Since the older girl, Suspect Number 1, was almost as tall as her mother, Maria, I seriously doubted that she would be smitten with my son, who was just four years old. However, I could definitely see her writing that note at the behest of her younger sister, Suspect Number 2.

And so I had my main suspect, Leandro's second sister, Iridiani, who, at six years old, was definitely older than Lance. I didn't agree about the "much taller" part, but who was I to burst her bubble?

I had the opportunity to confirm my suspicions the next day, when Leandro's mom, Maria, returned the favor by inviting my family to Leandro's fifth birthday party at their house.

I kept an eagle eye on my target the whole time. And sure enough, she was right beside my boys for the entire party.


Here she is, sandwiched between Lance and Troy at the bounce house:


(Exhibit Number 1.)


And here she is beside Troy when they were setting up the pinata:


(Exhibit Number 2.)


I was wondering why she was with the WRONG Lorenzo in the last picture. It soon became clear. She was just jockeying for position. After Troy took a swing at the pinata...


(Ready...swing!)


She was right there to assist, JUST WHEN IT WAS LANCE'S TURN!


(Lance's turn. Notice subject in the background.)


I guess I didn't mind. After all, she was being the perfect little hostess. She even walked us to our minivan when it was time for us to leave. It was quite touching to see her fluttering about my unsuspecting son, who did not have a CLUE what was going on.

Yes, to this day, we STILL haven't read the note to Lance. As parents, Lorenzo and I are both in agreement when it comes to puppy love. Our sons are still too young for such things, and we will try to preserve their innocence for as long as we can.

Still, we can't bury our heads in the sand. One of these days, we'll have to admit that we have good-looking boys, and girls will always be around them.

But not THIS early, please!



(AHA! Caught in the act!)


(Looks like Troy's starting early too!)

THE BOYS OF SUMMER



(Troy and Lance in our backyard oasis.) 


Meet Lance and Troy.

These pint-sized versions of my husband, Lorenzo, are, in fact, named Lorenzo themselves.

Yes, George Foreman and I share a common lack of imagination when it comes to naming our progeny. When both of our boys arrived, I insisted that both of them be christened Lorenzo: "Lorenzo Christopher" for Lance, and "Lorenzo Troy" for...well, you get the general picture.

Joey, Lorenzo's eldest son from his previous marriage, is also named Lorenzo. I think his younger brother, Christopher, is feeling a bit left out. Chris has also inquired about having his name changed. I won't even waste time to tell you which name he's chosen.


(The Non-Lorenzos: My stepson, Chris and my daughter, Reanna.)


Many people have asked me why I named both of my sons after my husband. After all, it IS a logistical nightmare, especially here in the States, where everyone is addressed by their first names. My husband's colleagues call him "Lorenzo" at work. Lance is known as "Lorenzo" in kindergarten. Guess what name Troy will be using when he starts preschool next year? That's right: LORENZO.

When people call at home asking for "Lorenzo", I have to ask "which one?" When we go out as a family, I've gotten used to seeing four heads turn at the same time upon hearing "Hey Lorenzo!" I'm not even going into detail when it comes to our Kaiser cards, which I now have to sort according to birth date, since I have four identical ones, all of them saying "Lorenzo Sereno".

I don't know why I inflicted this upon myself, and upon my family. After all it was MY bright idea to name both of my sons after their father, knowing full well that two Lorenzo Serenos already existed. When we found out we were having a daughter, I briefly considered naming her "Loren Zoe".

But then I decided that it was MY turn to have a junior. And so my baby came to be known as "Reanna", a derivative of my name, "Renee". But even then, I guess I still had to put my husband's stamp on our youngest child. Reanna's whole name is "Reanna Loren".

Through the years, people have asked me why I insisted on naming my kids after their father. And through the years, my answer has always been the same: "Because I love my husband."

Sometime ago, when we were walking Spot the Pit Bull, Lance asked me why there were so many Lorenzos in the family. I explained that they were all named after Daddy, who was, in turn, named after his Lolo. I also reminded Lance that even though everyone's first name WAS Lorenzo, their middle names were different. Daddy was Lorenzo Sr., Kuya Joey was Lorenzo J., he was Lorenzo Christopher and Troy was Lorenzo Troy.

"But Mom," he complained, "you forgot Lorenzo Spot!"



(My three Lorenzos: THE BOYS OF SUMMER.) 


(Prada Mama's NOTE: As we approach the end of summer, I am briefly putting my "Rehash, Reuse, Recycle" series on hold, the three "R"s to be replaced by the three "L"s: "Lorenzo, Lorenzo and Lorenzo"!

Yes, Prada Mama is embarking on another series. An ode to the summer that was, entitled "The Boys of Summer", and starring all the Lorenzos in my life, including the dog, whom Lance has already christened "Lorenzo Spot".

And yes, I DO love my husband that much.)

PROUD MAMA

On the day that you were born...


(Reanna's first bath, May 13, 2004) 


The angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true...


(Reanna Loren, 8 days old.) 


So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair
And gave you dimples, oh so fair!


(Reanna smiling at 1 1/2 months.) 


(Prada Mama's NOTE: Reanna is now three and a half months old. To view her latest picture, check out "The Love Bug", at Prada Mama's OTHER SITE,
87 GENTLE STREET.)