My Big Fat Cuban Family is a Cuban-American lifestyle and food blog by Marta Verdes Darby.
My big, FAT, Cuban weekend:
It began on Friday.
With fifteen people.
And our lovely French friends.
And small fry in the house.
We had a feast.
Then the family arrived.
With more food.
And fresh flowers everywhere.
And of course, lots of CaFEcito.
Que Felicidad!
It just doesn't get any better than this. =D
It is now "after school," which is not a real concept here, because learning takes place all the time.
But they have finished their assigned work for today and are free to do whatever they like.
Lucy is working on making Valentine gifts for her friends.
Yes, of course we could have purchased pre-printed Valentine's cards.
But she is the daughter of her mother (sigh) and has opted to decorate and fill miniature Chinese takeout boxes with assorted chocolates and create gift tags for each one.
Jonathan is re-designing his robot and is working on programming it to launch a ball on command. It didn't work the first time, but still he plows on. He is tenacious when it comes to completing something he has started. Did I mention he is the son of his father? =D
It's kind of a quiet day around here.
Eric is on a business trip.
He is up in Mountainview, California being wined and dined by Google. Yes, THAT Google. (can't wait to see his pictures and I'm hoping he brings home some geeky Google gifts. =D)
I am busy preparing Cuba to Go! orders for shipping.
NOTE: Yes, Amanda, that means the tshirts for your boys are on their way! ;-)
I love the rhythm of our days sometimes. I love the creativity that just seems to happen when we are unhurried.
And today (since dad's not here)...
I especially love that our local pizza place delivers. =D
I'm still finding blue feathers all over the house.
And it's funny, but they make me think of my dad (who passed away 7 years ago).
He was an engineer. And he used to tell me that engineering, like design, was just a matter of "problem-solving."
I remember having this discussion with him when I was fresh out of design school and was hired to design a logo for a gal who was selling costume jewelry out of her Hollywood apartment.
He would reassure me with: "It's just a problem to solve. Even rocket science or brain surgery is just about solving a problem. You can do it." That thought still helps me to this day.
I did end up doing the logo for the jewelry designer and she paid me my $75. On a side note: She is a multi-millionaire today, but it is still my own handwriting that ended up being her logo. (small comfort, but I still get a kick out of it whenever I see it. =D)
Back to blue feathers and engineering...
I had to design a tail for Lucy that would grow ON STAGE. And although I knew I could do it, I was wringing my hands trying to figure it out. I would sort of chant the mantra: "it's just problem solving. I can do this." (actually, I chanted it in Spanish =D)
I am out-of-my-skin proud of my daughter and her performance.
But I have to say, I'm really proud of engineering that growing tail.
(Thanks for your help, Papi.)
NOTE: The other "Amazing" girl in the video is also Cuban-American - does this surprise anyone? And I also (blush, blush) designed her pink & feathered dress. ;-)
So you see, Cookie, I am pretty rich myself. =D
Okay, so if you've been following my blog at all, you know we have been at the playhouse all week.
And you know we have been having dress rehearsals for "Seussical."
And that today was their first performance. (It was truly FABULOUS, BTW)
What about school?
I'll let the kids give their answers.
Let's start with History.
The Camino Real Playhouse is situated on historic El Camino Real (The King's Highway - Also known as Highway 101) which links all of the California Missions. Across the street is Mission San Juan Capistrano (this is where the swallows return every year in the spring on St. Joseph's Day, March 19th).
Vocabulary:
Pseudonym. "Dr. Seuss was the pseudonym used by Theodore Geisel."
Synopsis. "You can find a synopsis of "Seussical" here."
Writing:
Rhyming Poetry & Lyrics.
"But I hope you're prepared
To be scareder than scared!
'Cause this ain't Mother Goose.
Think right over the brink
When you think about Seuss."
Character Growth:
Gertrude McFuzz (played by Miss Lucy Darby) realizes that her desire for the biggest tail is vanity and that she is ok just the way she is. So she ditches the tail and finds she's truly amazing the way she is.
Natural Science:
Colorful birds - Some with one droopy droop feather. Some amazingly colorful.
I think we'll add a field trip to the San Diego Zoo and that way we'll get to see the elephants too.
Electric Science:
How a black light works. And why only the white gloves of the Hunches show up on stage when it's lit.
The speed of light. Or how you can do a costume change in no time at all.
Math & Home Economics. Lucy helped me design and sew all the costumes. We made them to measure for each character, and learned to cut, mark and adjust patterns. And of course, keep the seams straight. Organizational Skills: We bagged and tagged each costume and delivered it to its owner.
English:
Biography of the man known as Dr. Seuss.
Basic Life Skills:How to work as a team. Following directions. Here's the director, Barry Koff, signing the programs for the kids.
Programs!
Word Processing and Graphic Design. Using a Mac G4 with dual processor.
This is just the beginning.
I've just demonstrated how I pull together a unit study that's of interest to my kids and it keeps them motivated to learn.
I could also add Photography.
Lucy has taken hundreds of pictures backstage and during rehearsals. She has learned how to crank up the ISO to 1600 so she doesn't need to use the flash.
Journaling.
The cast has been passing around a "Circle Journal" for the past 5 months. Each has contributed thoughts and drawings. Because Lucy started it we are the ones who will be keeping it.
Film Editing.
We are also videotaping the show and editing it on the G4 using Final Cut Pro.
We will probably dedicate an entire Scrapbook to this project. I believe that falls under Design Skills.
And I hope to add Family History to it...
I distinctly remember the first time I decoded the English language. I was reading a book called The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins, of course, by Dr. Seuss. (I designed the hats for the cadets in this play as a tribute to that amazing moment in my young life.)
(Those poor losery homeschooled Darby kids. They have had to be involved in a life impacting event and actually learn stuff from it.)
Poor Jonathan got sick and so we learned some things about The Human Body. He was literally turning green. ;-)
They also learned how to Take a Bow. I think I might start practicing that with them. =D
(I am nothing, if not creative.)
Welcome to our "school of life."
Amy here. I get to post again. (buahaha...)
The show must go on! And thanks to the Amazing Marta, it will. Day one of dress rehearsals went fabulous and day two promises to go just as well, and if day two goes well, then the show should go well and if the show goes well the student's will have more self-esteem and if they have more self-esteem they will do better in life and become well-adjusted adults. See? Who needs pre-school?
Here is a taste of the long awaited cast pictures! All done by the Amazing Marta. (meaning that not only did she make the costumes, she photographed them too!)
There she is! The Amazing Marta's beautiful and talented daughter Lucy as Ms. Gertrude McFuzz.
This is one of the last scenes, where the egg in the nest in the tree that Horton the Elephant has been sitting on hatches.
Obviously seeing these pictures would make anyone want to hire the Amazing Marta to do their costumes. I know I would. Maybe for my upcoming dance showcase which has a 50's them she will make me a poodle skirt . . . and then I will do better in life and become a well-adjusted adult too!
grav-i-ty (grav-i-tee) noun.
1. the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth.
2. serious or dignified behavior; dignity; solemnity; to preserve one's gravity.
The Darbys appear to have lost all gravity.
So what else is new? ;-)
We've been all about "the scope" lately.
Eric got it just a couple of weeks ago and being such a novelty, we took it to L.A. with us and set it up on the balcony of our hotel room in Marina del Rey.
We had a great view of Venice Beach and the ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier and even the Hollywood sign.
I didn't realize that things were upside down in the viewer until this particular trip into L.A. iconography - but I'm learning....
Although, you know the hotel staff was buzzing about the family in 703 bringing a high powered telescope with them for the weekend. (not going there.)
But I digress... it has now become a nightly ritual to find Venus (just above the western horizon - just under the moon) and Mars (in the southern sky). (ooh, look how she knows stuff!)
This is homeschooling at its finest and most effortless. (that sound you hear is our champagne glasses clinking in a parental congratulatory toast)
The kids are doing astronomical (=D) research because... (please take note-) THEY JUST WANT TO KNOW MORE. We're already making plans for a field trip to the Griffith Park Observatory. This pretty much takes care of our science requirements for the next 5 years! (I'm sooo loving it!)
But I have to admit, some part of this telescopic fun is a bit tainted for me, because somewhere inside, I can still hear my brother's voice taunting me and my big round cheeks.
So, when I hear them ask, "Is the moon out early?" I keep waiting for the rest of the line....
"... or is that your face?"
(sigh)
ADDED 1/22/07 10:30 PST:
Picture of the waxing moon taken through our telescope. How cool is this?
When I tell someone that I homeschool my kids, they inevitably say they could never do that.
I know it's not for everyone, but I wish everyone did it.
But the more I think about it, I guess a lot depends on the kids, too.
To be honest, I don't really have to do much. Both Lucy and Jonathan are pretty much self-starters. We work together to figure out what they have to do and they just do it.
Without complaining. I know. It is a little surreal to me too. But they are pretty easy that way. Very respectful.
Jonathan wants to be an engineer. So he builds. And has a vivid imagination. And he reads. And creates. (It's a good thing these poor Lego people surrendered or they might be in for a fate worse than death.)
Lucy wants to be a published author. So she writes. Every day. 
So, really, I don't have much to do but sit around eating bon-bons all day, wearing my tiara as I wave my scepter and say, "Heads will roll. Heads will roll." ;-)
Ok. I knew the minute I posted this picture, we would be so busted.
So I am coming clean.
Yes. We ditched school yesterday.
(even homeschoolers have the urge to ditch at times)
But we had a great reason...
Our friends, Gene & Pam were visiting from Hanford
and we HAD to go to Disneyland together!
So happy to be with our friends.
Then Amy joined us. And Helen & Daisy.
It was a PERFECT So Cal Disneyland day.
Well, it was an almost perfect So Cal Disneyland day. Except for the high winds.
It was 50 degrees and super windy.
Windy and cold.
Which made it practically freezing for us.
Jonathan bought some gloves.
Pam bought a scarf, hat & jacket.
We clung to each other.
Sooo stinking cold. And those gusty winds!
I know those of you who know "real" weather are mocking us.
That wind went right through our "we-don't-even-own-coats-because-we-live-in-So-Cal" light sweatshirts.
We had an amazingly fun day with our friends, (I'll post pictures later)
but we were sooo chilled. (Cuban blood, remember?)
I felt a little guilty about skipping school.
Until I realized that we had just done the science lab before the lesson.
Guess what our science lesson was about today...
I received an email earlier today. The subject line read as follows:
THE BENSONS HAVE MARACAS FOR ALL BIRD GIRLS
I'm a little embarrassed to report that I didn't bat an eye when I read it. It makes perfect sense in the weird world I inhabit. I'm in charge of costumes for the spring musical the kids are performing, Seussical the Musical.
As I re-read that subject line, I laughed out loud at how it would read to the casual observer.
Enter Eric, my Casual Observer.
Being a tech guy, he immediately questions the efficiency of my spam filter.
I had to explain that the maracas in question were indeed the Cuban percussion device. And the Bensons are a creative and generous family. (Thanks, Kristen for those maracas!)
The look on his face was priceless. "Bird Girls with Maracas??" He immediately assumed it was just some Cubanism.
Then he just... Let. It. Go. He is used to his wife getting involved in all sorts of bizarre creative endeavors.
If he were Cuban, he would probably be saying in his best Ricky Ricardo voice:
"Mira que tiene cosas esta mujer!"
My Big Fat Cuban Family is all about my Cuban American life. Enjoy my ramblings on my blog about my Cuban family, Cuban heritage, Cuban culture, Cuban life. And some decent Cuban recipes with pictures, too.
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