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 ...
My Kids
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 ...
Saying Yes To the Dress
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 ...
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 ...
