Don't you just love this birthday cake my family surprised me with?
Once again, the BIRTHDAY SEASON is upon us. It officially began last month, when my husband's family threw a party for the SERENO March/April celebrants. Actually, it was my mother-in-law's birthday, but they were nice enough to include everyone else, hence the two cakes in this picture.
I couldn't resist taking a shot of my little girl, hovering over our Winnie the Pooh cake in her kikay dress. Reanna loves dressing up. This early on, she's already exhibiting an unmistakeable penchant for shoes, the more the merrier! She also loves walking around with Mommy's purses, instinctively going for the more expensive ones, like the Prada limited edition you see here.
Like all warm-blooded females, I like shoes. Unfortunately, my feet have this irritating habit of changing sizes on me every few babies or so, and now my closet's upper shelf is devoted to boxes of Guccis, Pradas and Bruno Maglis, not to mention one lonely pair of Rodolphe Menudier stilettos, hermetically sealed in individual shoe bags, all of them two sizes too small. Believe me, opening my closet is an exercise in frustration. Nope, shoes simply don't do it for me anymore.
But purses? Now that's a different story. On the other side of my closet is a more welcome sight: my handbag collection, housed in individual cloth bags, neatly arranged in a row. Here lie my Pradas, starting with the little black spazzolatto number I bought in Leeser at P.C. Hooftstraat in Amsterdam, the grandmere of them all.
Now I happen to be very particular in choosing my purses. I like them structured, and I don't mind paying for the engineering either. For this reason, I never got any of Miuccia's nylon creatons. I did, however, stock up on her leather goods, with two more spazzolatto numbers, in black and chocolate, and two in nappa (cream and navy), rubbing seams with my baby blue bamboo Gucci and my trusty Louis Vuitton bucket. All of these are close to a decade in age, but believe me, these babies are well-preserved.
When Lorenzo and I moved to the States to raise our family, I was introduced to the sturdy practicality of American leather goods. In 2001, Lorenzo bought me a black Dooney & Bourke cabrioleather pyramid bag with a matching wallet, checkbook and make-up case for my birthday/ Mother's Day/ our anniversary. I ended up losing the make-up bag during a Chuck E. Cheese junket, but the rest of the set is still in use and I tell you, the bag alone is so sturdy, my husband swears you can use it as a pail to carry water. "Pwedeng ipang-igib 'yan!" he jokes.
This bag has been with me for over five years now, and it's served me well, day after day. Too well, in fact, that I never really had reason to use any of the other bags in my collection.
Until now.
First things first. I can't tell you the story of my latest baby without at least giving a brief history of her birth.
Picture this. Monday, March 27. The day before my 38th birthday. After giving Reanna her evening bath, I come down to discover an empty house. For some unknown reason, Lorenzo and my two boys had flown the coop. The reason for their mysterious disappearance would later surface, looking exactly like this:
Yes, the THREE LORENZOs surprised me with mini-roses, chocolates, presents and an adorable Hello Kitty birthday cake. Oh, and let's not forget the balloons: Lance chose the pink one, Troy chose the lavender, and Lorenzo chose the huge mylar one which happens to be so me: a giant handbag with the words "Stylin' Mom", proving without a shadow of doubt that the best husbands do know the way to their women's hearts.
...
That balloon woke up something primal within me. My inner primadonna, long kept dormant, was silently unleashed, instinctively going on the prowl again, as if on autopilot. And now, with my husband's blessings, my baby got a new bag. (Well...to hold, anyway!)
Presenting my new church bag: a Coach signature demi. This one actually sports a matching signature trifold wallet inside that costs even more than the purse itself. Go figure!
After a glorious debut, it now sits quietly in a favored part of my closet, getting acquainted with the European side of the family. But she won't have to suffer claustrophobia too long. Next week she is scheduled for another spin, when we go back to church, this time to celebrate my mother's birthday.
Yes, my MOM is flying in from New York for a visit. She has chosen to celebrate April 14, the Big Six-O, with me, for which I feel truly honored. Even as I type this, she is getting ready to board a plane headed for California. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see her.
But for now, as I anticipate her arrival, I would like to send a few last-minute words of thanks, to JAY and JET, for the lovely e-card, to Ms. Dina, for the birthday greeting, to my wonderful KIDS, for my birthday surprise, and to my husband, LORENZO, for making every day brighter with his special brand of thoughtfulness.
Thank you so much. I love you guys!
