PREHISTORIC PAYBACK




Today is Lorenzo's birthday. His 38th, to be exact. But as far as I'm concerned, it's payback time.

I happen to be a little older than my husband. Nothing major, just a matter of fourteen and a half months. Since I celebrated my 39th BIRTHDAY, however, last March, someone (and I won't mention names) has been teasing me about my age and the whole "pushing 40" thing.

Of course it wasn't long before my kids jumped on the bandwagon, making jokes about Mommy walking with cavemen and graduating from Prehistoric University. Ask them how old their Dad is, however, and the answer's always the same. Twenty-seven.

Yep. Daddy's got 'em trained well. Cheeky little things.

For the past few months, Mommy just grinned and bore it. After all, there was no going around it: He was 37, she was 39.

Until today, when someone else's birthday comes one notch closer to the four-zero mark. And to commemorate this happiest of occasions, Mommy found the perfect CAKE online. An exquisitely executed chocolate prehistoric landscape dotted with a volcano, a T-Rex and a triceratops, all deliciously blended together with vanilla custard filling and butter cream icing.

Happy Birthday, Babe. Consider it even.

Love, R.

(Prada Mama's NOTE: Before everything else, I would like to greet my husband, Lorenzo, "Happy Anniversary" , and to thank him for seven years of wedded bliss. I would also like to thank the Lord for arranging our meeting exactly ten years ago. Little did we know back then that we would still be together, ten years hence.

Happy anniversary, Babe. Here's to the next decade...and the next...and the next...

Oh well, might as well go for broke: Here's to forever! Even though the Bible says there are no marriages in heaven, at least we'll still be together! I love you! R.)
A IS FOR al'-pha-bet.



This is one of my favorite photos of my daughter, Reanna.

I call it "Helping Hands", and although it is not my picture, per se, I am using it as my main photo on my FRIENDSTER profile. After all, that is my hand you see, attached to the Rolex on the left.

I have to admit I am a relative late-bloomer as far as Friendster is concerned. But now that I've jumped on the bandwagon, I am discovering the joys of revisiting old friends and making new ones, many of whom are my fellow bloggers themselves: ATE SIENNA, CHRISTINE, RUTH and JUSTICE to name a few. And if you think my Friendster picture is unconventional, you should see MEEYAGIRL's!

But I digress from the point of this post, which is to officially introduce my Friendster BLOG, "al'pha-bet".

Now, this blog differs from my other blogs because it has short posts. Period. In fact, the following post, written today, is probably the longest of the lot, but that's because I wanted this introduction to be extra-special.

And so, without further ado, I now present the latest entry in "AL'-PHA-BET", the ABC's of Prada Mama's life:

A is for ANNIVERSARY

Today is my seventh wedding anniversary.

Today also happens to be Harry Potter's birthday. And today is the second wedding anniversary I have spent with my nose buried in a book with that familiar diamond Harlequin pattern.

Exactly two years ago, I was celebrating my fifth anniversary at the Crowne Plaza in Milpitas, learning about Horcruxes while my family frolicked in the pool. Later in the day, I would be in the car with my sleeping baby, reading under the sun's fading light while the boys (my husband and sons) played in the beach at Santa Cruz. I would've even brought the tome along as we rode Thomas the Tank Engine at Roaring Camp Railroad, but alas, it was too big and unwieldy.

Yup, July 31 is special for me and The Boy Who Lived, who should have turned 17 a few hours ago at the stroke of midnight, which means he can now do magic without a Trace.

And since we're on the subject, may I also mention that today also happens to be Neville Longbottom's birthday. Yes, this Muggle was paying attention.
By now it should be obvious that this Muggle is eagerly devouring the last book in the Harry Potter series, wondering how much Neville Longbottom and their shared birthday plays into the most anticipated conclusion of all time. And yes, I think Snape is loyal.

So allow me to now take my leave, with a quick French lesson from one on my favorite characters, Fleur Delacour:

A is for adieu,
A is for anniversaire, and
A is for 'Arry.

SUMMER PEACH




My daughter, Reanna, makes a luscious summer peach.

Climb two branches up the family tree to my older son, Lance, and you'll find a summer squash. At least HE did, yesterday, when he fell off his horse at SUMMER CAMP.

But I'm getting ahead of my story here. First, let me tell you about summer in the Sereno household, which began with...


Troy's Kindergarten Graduation

...

...

I find it hard to believe I'm now writing about my younger son's graduation from kindergarten. Wasn't it just yesterday when I wrote about Lance's HULA NUMBER during his kindergarten graduation? And now he's busy flying off horses somewhere in Yosemite National Park. But again, I digress.

Troy has always been my baby. His whole class had been practicing hard for their graduation program, and I was curious to see their grand finale. Needless to say, being the Mom that I was, I started crying during their very first number, "What a Wonderful World", which the class sang and signed. By the time they got to the Power Point presentation of the kids' pictures with my favorite Christian music in the background, the floodgates were opened and there was no stopping the torrent of tears. But I knew I wasn't the only emotional parent in the audience. I couldn't help it, of course. I was so proud of my baby.

Oh, and I must say his Barong Tagalog stole the show!




Shortly after graduation, we received the boys' report cards in the mail. Both of them did so well, they received a prize for their stellar performance.




That marked the official end of the school year. I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Summer was here! For months I'd been looking forward to those long, lazy, langorous days. Ahh...sweet indolence.

NOT!

Indeed, since summer began, I've been accosted with requests of walks to the park, swimming, bike riding and trips to covered bridges. My beautiful babies, all fair and beatific looking last winter, have put on the season's colors!

From this...


...to this!


Like my husband always says: "Just add water..."




Even as I type this, my Lance is continuing to brown under the broad expanse of Yosemite's skies. He is now 7, the youngest age that can go to Adventurer's Camp.

Now, Lorenzo and I would have probably balked at sending him away from us for the first time, but since we had just gone to Camp Wawona for FAMILY CAMP last Easter, we felt comfortable that he would be in good hands.

Indeed, the atmosphere at Camp Wawona is so wholesome. The camp is run by the Central California Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, and it has been around since even before Yosemite was declared a National Park. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there last Spring. The cabins were comfortable, the food was awesomely good, and the scenery was matchless.






Now Lance gets another turn to experience Yosemite's many pleasures and treasures. I miss my son. We dropped him off at Camp Wawona last Sunday and the house hasn't been the same since. I marvel at how much he's grown. My former preemie, who came into this world six weeks early at 5 lbs. 3 oz., is now a big boy with so much independence in him. He was totally ready for this summer camp experience.

In fine camp tradition, I baked him his favorite Zucchini Nut Bread and sent it to him through the Post Office. Lance first discovered Zucchini Nut Bread at Starbuck's, where we used to go as a family, Lorenzo and I foregoing our usual Caramel Macchiatos for the more wholesome Strawberries and Cream. I knew it would be the perfect thing to send, standing up to more Postal Service abuse than the traditional cookies or fudge. As an added bonus, I also sent him a sheet of the new STAR WARS stamps for him to start a new stamp collection with. And finally, attached to the hand-written card Troy and I made for him was a couple of postcard stamps, in case he wanted to write us back.

I guess the package got to my son just at the right time, after dinner and just before he was taken to the hospital for X-rays. It seems that my son fell off when his horse suddenly bolted at the end of their horseback-riding session. Lorenzo spoke with him yesterday, and he seemed okay, but today he had some bit of bruising and tenderness in his left elbow and hip so the medical staff thought it best to have him checked.

I spoke to Lance before they left, and he told me he would share his Zucchini Nut Bread with his cabinmates and Matt, their couselor. He also told me there were two Daves and two Austins in his cabin, which he found quite amusing. I forgot to ask him if he kept the bunk right by the bathroom, which we chose for him when he went to Line Call on his first day, just before dinner. It was hard for us to leave him then, and his Daddy and I found so many excuses to linger at the cafeteria while they were eating. I guess we were both reluctant to let our son go so far away from us for such a long time.





And now the week is almost over. Lance asked us to pick him up as early as possible. He said he was having a lot of fun, but he also didn't like being away from us too much. It warmed my heart to hear this. He also requested to speak with his brother and sister, who were with me in...


Vacation Bible School

This year, our church did "AVALANCHE RANCH", which promised to be "a wild ride through God's Word". From Monday to Friday this week, our Fellowship Hall was brightened by the sound of children singing songs, participating in Bible stories, and making clever crafts. It's a great way to bring children closer to the Lord.

I was also happy that Vacation Bible School happened just when Lance went to summer camp, because it made his absence a bit more bearable for his brother and sister. Troy, in particular, has suffered through the separation, coming to me in tears on a couple of occasions, saying "I miss Lancey...". He consoled himself by lying on his Kuya's bed. It was enough to break any mother's heart.

But everyday this week, my children's spirits would brighten in anticipation of VBS. Come early evening, loneliness would be temporarily forgotten as they joined other children singing in front, praying, memorizing Bible verses, ignoring dinner and wolfing down dessert. Troy even made me proud by refusing help in writing down Bible verses, carefully doing it himself.






Troy and Reanna had such a wonderful time at VBS, I'm almost sorry it's come to an end. But this just brings us one day closer to seeing Lance again, so I guess I don't mind. Besides, with the number of churches around us, I'm sure there will be other Vacation Bible Schools my kids can attend this summer.

The best part of it all? Their Kuya Lance will be with them next time around!




We miss you, Lance! We're so happy you're coming back soon.

Love, Mom

WHY I LOVE HAVING A DAUGHTER, #11*



pink Chinese slippers, child size: $0.99

matching blue Chinese slippers, adult size: $0.99

gas to and from the dollar store: about $0.99

another Mother-Daughter moment: priceless!


(* Click HERE for Reasons #1-10, a.k.a. "THANK GOD FOR LITTLE GIRLS")

CLOUD THIRTY-NINE




These happy grins are the best birthday present any Mom could ever get.

This year, my birthday came right in the middle of Spring Break. And, if you ask any of my kids what they did for Spring Break, chances are you'll get just one word out of them: picnic. Indeed, that's all we seemed to do for two weeks: 1) Find a park, 2) Eat, and 3) Play.

And, with the advent of today's mega-one-stop-shop supermarkets, picnics couldn't be easier to plan. In fact, I came out with four easy steps for a foolproof picnic HERE, just based on our recent Spring Break jaunts.

For my birthday, however, we mixed things up a bit. The kids and I were in the mood for something hot this time, so we drove through Taco Bell for a 10-pack of bean burritos prepared just the way we want it: with green salsa and onions. YUM!

Now, this would normally be an issue right in the dead of winter, with five gas-making factories in our family, but since we were headed for the park, with its wide-open spaces, I figured we were in safe territory.

So we went to the park, stopping at home first to leave a note for Dad. I knew Lorenzo would try to take off early from work so he could join us for my birthday. Sure enough, I was thrilled to see my husband's familiar blue sportscar pull up just as the kids made a beeline for the playset.

Now my birthday was complete!




When the sun finally set, we headed home to light the candles on my gourmet cheesecake brownie. Don't let the size fool you. That thing was so rich, a tiny wedge was enough to satisfy my cravings for both brownies and cheesecake!



And then we retired for the night. The very first night I was 39. Thirty-nine.

Sigh!

  

I guess I can now resign myself to the fact that I'm officially pushing 40. But that's okay.

Running after them keeps me young!

SWEETS FROM MY SWEETS




This year, Valentine's came one day early for me.

I was home, fighting the flu. My temperature reached 105 the day before. I also had pink eye on both of my eyes, earache on both of my ears, and a very sore throat which would later be diagnosed as tonsillitis.

Yes, I clearly needed some emergency lovin', and my family was only too happy to step in.

Lance and Daddy were the ringleaders, by virtue of being the only ones who were well. Reanna, who kicked off our big family flu love-in, was still checking in at the 100s, and Troy, who was home from school for almost a week, still ran 104 the day before. Unbeknownst to us sick folk, the two conspirators had already cased nearby supermarkets the day before for chocolate-covered strawberries, Mommy's favorite Valentine treat. Since none were being offered this year, they found the next best thing:




Just to let you know, I didn't mind sharing top-billing, as long as it was clear those strawberries on top were mine.

I guess I'd better explain. See, now that Reanna's big enough to understand, the boys decided that Valentines would be all about the girls in our family, not just Mommy. So aside from us sharing the cake, both of us got balloons too. Mine had a personal message from Daddy, while Reanna's displayed her new title, "Valentine Princess". I also got a handmade Valentine, especially designed by all of my boys, which was my most treasured present of all.

Finally, the tea was ready. We sang "Happy Valentine's Day" and blew the candles. Yes, candles. By now, you should know that no cake would ever be complete without candles in our home.

And then we attacked that picture-perfect cake. Yum.




We spent the rest of the evening making homemade Valentines to be given to Lance and Troy's classmates, but the biggest and best Valentines got to stay home with me.



Indeed, what could be sweeter?