It's not that we didn't know it was coming. I'm talking about my mom, Luza. She was, after all, 102 years old - going on 103, mind you. My sisters and I had often discussed things like, "this might be her last - *Birthday, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas." *(__________) fill in the blank* We started throwing her birthday parties when ...
My Big, Fat, Cuban Family
Family is everything to me. I love them more than words can describe.
“Veinte años no es nada.”
When I started writing online, I was homeschooling my 2 youngest kids, Lucy and Jonathan. So I wrote about that.Writing a “web log” or “blog,” was all the rage in 2006, so I started keeping that online diary and called it, “My Big Fat Cuban Family.” (With much gratitude to my funny and clever daughter, Amy.) I wrote about my life and my ...
Welcoming Grand #6
I know what you’re thinking: Surely those Darbys have enough grandchildren by now. But you would be wrong. I’m a Cuban grandmother, after all. (I know. Shut up.) Today I’d like to introduce you to Miss Elizabeth Nicole Darby.Born on August 1st, 2026 to Jon and Ariana. Weighing in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. of pure adorableness.She’s already a ...
Rocking Miss Molly
A year and a half ago, (has it really been that long??) Lucy asked us to please move in with them to help with the baby that would soon be coming. (Well, with all 3 kids, but that’s not important right now.)Of course, we agreedI wrote about that here - "Downsizing or Upgrading?" Lucy handled her pregnancy beautfully and ...
Welcome to Casa de la Loma
If you read my last post, I explained that we needed to move out of our home and turn it into an AirBnB. Let me start with the full disclosure: I did NOT want to leave my home and (holds nose) RENT IT OUT. EW!We had moved the big stuff into storage and moved ourselves and our most pertinent items into the Jackson’s home. All this happened ...
Downsizing? Or Upgrading?
A year ago - last March to be exact - Eric accepted an invitation from Lucy to accompany her on a business trip to Seattle. Meanwhile, I invited Amy and Sebastian (you may call him Bash) to come and keep me company. I feel compelled to share this part of the backstory because somehow it seems to explain the interestingly ...
19 Stories I’m Excited to Tell
As I dip my toe back into the world of OverSharing, I have some Really Big Thoughts, but that’s not important right now. It all began the other day when I was talking to Lucy and she began filming my frustration without my knowledge. She basically inspired me to go ahead and fearlessly write about my own extraordinarily ordinary life. Don't ...
I’m Loving It
As you probably know by now, my son Jonathan is an actor. He also works for Eric (day job), but he's been slowly and steadily building up his IMDb resume, and we're quite proud of what a hard worker he is. He gets auditions all the time. Gratefully, they're self-tapes, which means he is able to just send them in to casting when they ask. He's ...
The Desires of My Heart – A Birthday Story
There’s a little park we go to often on weekends. 🪴 It’s hidden in a residential neighborhood in Laguna Beach and overlooks one of our favorite beaches, Crescent Bay. ⛱We’ve been going to Crescent Bay for years. In fact, when I was homeschooling Lucy & Jon, we were there at least once a week. It was always so great. 😊 If the waves were ...
The Lily – A Luza Story
The Lily: A Luza Story Years ago when my mom, Luza was still with us, she gifted me a beautiful lily. The same type that she carried in her wedding bouquet. ❤️💕❤️The lily faithfully grows every year and blooms on her birthday at the end of February. That’s just like her to give me a beautiful way to remember her. We put bricks down in this ...
Hogwarts Halloween
I always say that "Halloween is the friendliest holiday." (You may quote me.) It's the one time of the year when everyone opens their doors and greets their neighbors. I think it's a beautiful thing to see the parade of tiny princesses and superheroes coming up the sidewalk. Makes me totally happy. Since we became grandparents, and the boys have ...
