Krista: Sexiest Mom Alive

CANYON COUNTRY, California — Sunset at this part of California, some two hours drive (inclusive of mild traffic) came a little late. From the elevated part of the place, immigration lawyer Jemela Nettles and I were awed by the panoramic view of the sun slowly turning from blinding yellow to a delicious orange and then to a mix of yellow and orange against the light-grey sky. To paraphrase the popular song, heavenly shades of night were falling, it was twilight time. The dying day left a certain sadness in your heart even as you look forward to the promise of a moonlit night.

It was way past seven o’clock. Jemela and I retreated to the waiting area of the Piccolo Trattoria as customers started arriving. Must be a favorite high-end Italian restaurant because, soon, the reserved tables were filling up. Ours was nestled at a more private corner. A few minutes away from where the Lims  live (Valencia), Piccolo Trattoria was where Mr. and Mrs. Niño Jefferson Lim (nee Krista Ranillo) were treating us to a leisurely dinner, the same place where Niño hosted a recent birthday get-together with friends.

It’s always a pleasure meeting the Lims whenever I am in California. The other “regulars” had begged off. Tim Evans (of the US Immigration) couldn’t extract himself from his post at the L.A. Tom Bradley Airport because, he said, “the line of arriving passengers are getting longer and longer;” while STAR’s L.A. correspondent Raymond Lo was tied up at the accounting company where he works. Raoul Tidalgo was on extended vacation in Texas. Oh well, there’s always a next time.

It wasn’t hard to spot Krista when she walked in, tugging along Nate Jacob (named after Krista’s favorite actor in Gossip Girl), the eldest (aged four) of the couple’s three children including Nolan (three years old) and Natalie (one year old). She looked the same, as fit and as fabulous and as sexy as she was when she graced the cover of FHM. (If Jennylyn Mercado is considered The Sexiest Mom Alive in the Philippines, no doubt Krista Ranillo is her counterpart in the States.) The eternal smile on her face seemed to underline her current state of being — yes, happy ever after far, far from maddening showbiz which she quit sans regret (“Niño finds it so magulo,” Krista told The STAR earlier in their marriage, sealed at a very private Jewish-interfaith wedding in Long Beach on Aug. 8, 2010; they scrapped their plan to get married in Christian rites in the Philippines.)

“I’m pregnant again,” Krista happily announced as we settled at our table (Niño was coming shortly). “I’m on my third month,” that was in early February, “and I might give birth in August.”

Except for Nolan who was born on July 19, the rest of the Lims are April-born: Niño, April 25; Krista, April 27; Nate, April 5; and Natalie, April 24. The children’s names all start with the letter “N” (as Niño wanted them to be) and the name of the fourth one will definitely follow “tradition.”

That night, Nolan was left with his yaya at home while Natalie was being taken care of by her grandparents, Mat Ranillo III and Lynda Tupaz, who live two minutes away. (Trivia: Mat is scheduled to play Christ at a Lenten presentation in San Francisco during the Holy Week end of this month. He has played Christ back home so many times that, even if he has played landmark roles in movies directed by Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal, people remember him for “being Christ.”)

“This is my hardest pregnancy; I keep throwing up every morning,” said Krista who delivered the first three the natural way. “I’m not infanticipating (naglilihi), though. I think okey na sa amin ang apat. Actually, we planned to have only three, kasi may girl na,” adding with a laugh, “pero lumalampas na kami sa quota.”

“You are blooming,” Jemela told Krista, “so the fourth one could be another girl.”

A summa cum laude Business graduate from the University of Southern California (USC), Niño heads Island Pacific Supermarket, the family business which had just opened its 15th outlet (in Seattle, Washington), adding to the others mostly in Northern/Southern California. More are opening, adding up to 20 outlets by end of the year.

“I was teasing Niño,” said Krista after she ordered dinner (steak which she shared with Nate, same for Niño, and pasta for Jemela and me). “You should open more stores kasi dumarami ang mga anak natin. Soon, they will be in college. It’s expensive to study in the States,” adding still joking, “Niño is hands-on in minding our business and he’s also hands-on in making babies.” Kidding aside, “Niño is never too busy for the children. I’m a hands-on mom, busy with the kids although I do help at the stores every now and then. I raise our children on Filipino values. In fact, Nate speaks good Tagalog. I try to be strict, but not too strict. They like to be with their lolo and lola kasi ini-spoil sila.”

New offerings at their stores include food-to-go and prepared food.

Krista asked Nate, who is now in pre-school, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The boy said chef. “Okay, you will be in-charge of the stores’ food section. Nolan and Natalie are showing signs of being showbiz. Mahilig kumanta at sumayaw.”

It was Nate who suffered a seizure while the family was on the way to Las Vegas, a horrifying experience for any mother.

“He was just quiet, not talking at all, just staring blankly,” related Krista. “Nakatingin lang, he wasn’t shaking, tulala lang, and we had to call 911. We rushed him to a children’s hospital and the doctors found nothing wrong with him. Siguro daw pagod lang. He has been seizure-free for one year already.”

Asked if she missed showbiz, Krista admitted, “Minsan, but not too much. Nakaka-miss pero hindi masyado. Before we got married, Niño asked me if I still wanted to be in showbiz kasi kung gusto ko pa daw, baka hindi mag-work ang marriage namin. He doesn’t understand showbiz, eh. I made a choice, the right choice, and I haven’t regretted it.”

A day in Krista’s life: She wakes up early to prepare the two older kids for school. Then, she does Pilates. Soon, she’s fetching the kids from school. Evenings at home, she helps the boys with their homework before tucking them in bed.

“Their dad speaks fluent Chinese,” said Krista, “so we will let them study Chinese.”

As soon as Niño arrived, still in business attire because he just came from the opening of the store’s Seattle outlet, he broke the good news that he was among the 40 Under 40 entrepreneur awardees, the only Filipino in the batch.

“I checked on the (two other) kids at home on my way here,” he said.

Does he agree with Krista that, so far, four are enough?

Niño smiled between bites of his steak.

“Palagay ko masusundan pa.”

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