I'm bossy.I won't deny it.But I think I have some good ideas and being bossy helps get my people to cooperate. ;-) And I'm cognizant most of the year that we will eventually be putting together a video to entertain the family at Christmas. So when there's any kind of reunion (like this one in Miami this year), I ...
My Big, Fat, Cuban Family
Family is everything to me. I love them more than words can describe.
“Open me first!”
Back in the day, Kodak had a genius ad campaign for their sweetly priced Instamatic cameras. From around the early 60's and into the 70's their pre-Christmas ads would say something about marking the wrapped camera with a tag that said "Open me first!" Serious genius. So, you're probably thinking that this ...
The Christmas Video
One of the gifts we give our family for Christmas each year is a movie. My daughter, Amy Kikita studied film for years and is brilliant when it comes to movie-making and film-editing. The process is neither quick nor easy. We spend hours, days, and weeks listening to music and looking at pictures and watching video footage of old home ...
Because we are an equal-opportunity family…
My nephew's wife is Jewish. Which I think makes their kids Jubans. =D And so they celebrate this season (quite cleverly) with both a Christmas tree and a Menorah. We will be going to the home of Jewish friends tonight to celebrate the first night of Hanukah. (Or is it spelled Chanukah? Or Hanukkah? Not really sure, but ...
Cubans wear TOGAS at Christmastime??
Like so many other families, we like to send out a photo greeting card each year at Christmastime. Unlike so many other families, there's never really any danger of us taking ourselves too seriously, but that's not important right now. =D The photo is from Adam's birthday celebration earlier this year. I made good on my threat to use ...
“El que tiene hijas…”
My dad was an engineer. He was, I could argue, pretty brilliant. (as engineers usually are) He was also uncomfortable around a lot of people. (as engineers usually are) He was always known as "Verdés" - as if calling him by his first name would have been sacrilegious. No one called him by his first name. Not even my mom. My dad was a quiet ...
Character building exercises
All four of my kids tend toward the dramatic. I won't take credit for their abilities, but I think their tendency towards drama comes from their (ahem) Cuban genes. =D Both Lucy and Jonathan have leads in their respective upcoming productions. Lucy is going to be "Puck" in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and ...
Contrast & compare
There are people who, when you see pictures of them as kids, you go, "Hmmm.... I just can't see it."You know what I'm talking about. I always think this when I see some child actors who have grown up and I think to myself, "Really?? They were so adorable once... but I just can't see it anymore." And ...
Law & order
Lucy, who is now a sophomore in high school (yes, we still homeschool and she is enrolled in an independent study program and most of her classes are online, even though she does go on campus for drama each week, but that's not important right now) has been involved in something called the Mock Trial Program. It's kind of a cool ...
Happy Birthday to You! And you!
The following is a "dual-post." Meaning simply that Kikita did the first half while Marta did the second half. A lovely example of mother-daughter teamwork. ;-) Kikita: Today is a very special day. I want to tell you about my favorite Tia, Carmen. She is the Quintessential Cuban Woman. She does it all and does it with class. It's ...
