When my husband, Eric proposed to me back in 1992, the first thing I did was go out and buy a couple of those big, fat bridal magazines. I pored over the perfection of the gowns that promised to fulfill every blushing bride's dream. *sigh* The styles back then were both the poufy ballgown type and the closer fitting "mermaid" look. Fitted through ...
My Kids
Mami Always Knows
For years - many more years than I'd care to admit to - I would call my mom with cooking questions. I remember my first attempt at Arroz con Pollo. "Do I have to use the pressure cooker?" (I got over my fear of pressure cooking pretty quickly, but that's not important right now.) "Canned asparagus. Really?" and "Is the beer at the end really ...
The Mandatory “Things I’m Grateful For” Post
Okay, so it's not really mandatory to do this, but I can't help but want to share all the things I'm grateful for as we approach Thanksgiving Day. I have to start with my family. Because, pretty much my life begins and ends with them. From their smiles to their crazy-making messes, they are the people who keep me engaged and moving forward. And ...
Hi Mom.
For those of you loyal readers, by know you've figured out that almost every Mother's Day, we (the children of MBFCF) have proudly hijacked our mom's blog with some adorable photos and commentary about how much we love and adore our mom. The first year, we wrote THIS. The following, THIS. You get the idea. This year, ...
And…they’re off!
This is not the way I pictured it. I'm talking about my life as Eric and I approach our Twilight Years. Which are really more of a pale yellow at this point, but that's not important right now. Here's how I pictured it: My kids would all be grown and gone. I have never had any illusions that they'd stay home forever. That ...
Missing the Mess
I was having a conversation with my mom (Luza, who, by the way, is 100 years old) and I was telling her how weird it was to only have 1 of my kids left at home. Technically, even Jonathan is not here, because he's gone most of the time with school and auditions and driving to LA and rehearsals for the play he's in. So I find myself ...
Finding Her Place
Have you ever seen those photos that people take of their kids in the exact same spot or with the exact same toy over lots of years? It's a wonderful way to mark the passage of time and show the child's growth and how they've changed and grown. You know I'm a big fan of then and now photos. I think they make me much more ...
From the Set to the Red Carpet – NOT A Very Bad Day at All
Sit back. Get some popcorn. I have a wonderful "full circle" type story for you today. Jonathan worked on the film, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day last summer as a featued background actor. It started almost exactly a year ago when Jonathan decided he might like to give acting a shot. He signed up with a ...
The Best Graduation Party of The Year
My son, Jonathan, graduated from high school a few weeks ago. As I've done with each one of my four kids, I asked what type of celebration he'd enjoy. The four of them have asked for completely different types of parties and I have tried my best to comply. in 2001, Amy wanted an All-Cuban theme, with all the family and her friends, ...
The End of an Era
I've been struggling to find words to capture this day. Jonathan is graduating from high school tomorrow. And as you may or may not know, he's been homeschooled all these years. Starting from first grade, he's been home with me and Eric and truthfully, we did a whole lot of un-schooling. That is, we let the kids find the ...
The Haircut
When I was a kid, as you know, I spent an extraodinary amount of time fighting The Battle of the Do, trying to tame my naturally curly locks into something more "comforming" to the cultural norm. Read all about that here... I Have Naturally Curly Hair. Of my four kids, Jonathan is the only one who has been stuck blessed with ...
The LEGO Movie Experience at Legoland. Yes, we did.
My son, Jonathan is 18 years old. He's not your typical high school senior in that he's been homeschooled since the first grade. He's got a ton of friends and pretty much does your typical teen guy stuff. It was my delight to take Jon with me when I was invited to Legoland® for the day to preview The LEGO® Movie Experience. I was ...
Guayaberas and Cubanity
{Disclosure: I received the shirts as described below in order to review them. I did not otherwise receive any compensation for writing this post.} A "guayabera," for the uninformed, is a beautiful linen shirt with two stripes of tiny pin-tucks and four large pockets. It has decorative buttons and a straight bottom as it was designed to ...
The days are long, but the years are short.
Today in our home, we've hit a milestone. There are no longer any children here. Jonathan, my youngest is 18 years old and officially an adult. I'm so grateful that because I've been blogging for the past 7 years our lives are pretty well documented. I know everyone has a shoebox or ten full of photos. And I am actually pretty ...
Give Thanks. I mean it.
I'm preparing to host Thanksgiving again this year. Of course, everyone's invited. I love traditions. But what I love more is making them my own. I had a vision. I wanted to hang a giant banner that read, "Give Thanks" that would be the first thing you saw when you walked into our freakishly small cottage-like home. I tried to ...
