I Miss That Face

My son, Adam lives in Northern California and I miss him terribly.

But he calls a few times a week and we text each other all the time, which makes me totally happy. (Reason #634 Why I love technology.)

Adam is busy working and going to school, and he's also coaching a junior lacrosse team.

When he was in junior high middle school he used to play lacrosse. I confess I only went to a couple of his games because I could barely stand to watch young boys running full speed at each other with poles. (I know. Bad Cuban mother. He's scarred for life. Blah, blah. Shut up.) 

Anyway, so Adam is coaching the young Red Hawks and he works very hard to get them fired up for their games each week....

And of course, I appreciate that Stephanie is being supportive, too....

The Red Hawks are 5-1.

Nice going, Coach. I miss you!!

(Amy Kikita thinks they should be called The Banana Singing Changos, but that's not important right now.)  =D

Murder at the Deadwood Saloon

The town of Deadwood, specifically the Deadwood Saloon was the place to be on New Year's Eve.

After weeks of play, the biggest poker tournament west of the Mississippi had concluded and it was time to celebrate and the prize money was going to be awarded at a party at the famed Deadwood Saloon.

In attendance were all sorts of visitors to Deadwood, including bankers, gamblers, gunslingers and saloon girls.

It was a wonderfully rowdy celebration.

And the festivities were hosted by Harry Highstakes himself.

But when it was time for the prize money to be awarded, a terrible thing happened. The lights went out and someone turned up dead.

It's a good thing local law enforcement was on hand.

Because each one of these innocent looking visitors definitely had a motive for murder.

Time to round up the usual suspects....

****************************************************

NOTE: It's quite fun to host a murder.

This one, called Murder at the Deadwood Saloon was from an online company that I think provides particularly good materials. It's called Night of Mystery and they provide everything you need to host a really good murder. (No, they're not paying me to endorse them, they just are really that good, but that's not important right now.)

The materials are all provided in a download-able format and you also get detailed instructions and great party ideas.

The kids all got into their characters and as you can see, were dressed to kill.

It was a great way to celebrate New Year's Eve and Jonathan's birthday (which is on December 30th).

I'll admit to you that I was actually glad when it was all over. Because hosting multiple Nochebuena and Christmas and New Year's/Birthday parties in less than a week, was....well....murder. ;-)

Happy New Year! (Now it's time for my nap....)

The Best of MBFCF in 2010

I started this tradition last year.

I reviewed my posts for the entire year (which was kind of interesting in a wow-is-that-a-train-wreck? kinda way, but that's not important right now) and picked a mix of some of my favorites.

These links are a pretty good representation of what it's like Living the Vida Loca, MBFCF-style.

If you've been a regular reader, I thank you for your time and attention and your cyber-love. You may enjoy going into my cyber-time machine and re-living this past year via the following blog posts.

If you're new to my blog, make yourself at home and enjoy this slice of my Cuban-American life in the O.C.

Besos,

Marta

1. The Writing is On the Wall - The one where I take you on a tour of the walls of my freakishly small cottage-like home.

2. A Living Legacy - The one where my mom turned 96 and had her photo taken with (almost) everyone in my big, fat, Cuban family.

3. Amy's Trip to Cuba - The one where Amy Kikita (my daughter) goes to Cuba and shares how she experienced the island and the people and how she ended up meeting Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez of Generacion Y. This link is to all the posts from her trip.

4.  How Google Works - A Very Cuban Explanation - The one where my 96 year old mom explains how the internet search engines work. She calls them Cuco and Yayo (Google and Yahoo) and becomes an instant Youtube hit among Cubans everywhere.

5. How to Turn 55 While in Miami - In which I drag out my birthday celebration for days and enjoy a wonderful party and my husband's sweet surprise.

6. How to Throw a Virtual Birthday Party - In which I surprise and amaze my daughter by having everyone she knows post a birthday greeting. (*takes bow*)

7.  Hasta La Vista, Baby! - In which my son, Adam, moves far away and leaves me sad. (*wipes away a tear*)

8. Baking With Betty - Brownieliciousness - In which I get to bake in the Betty Crocker Kitchens in Minneapolis and am overwhelmed by my own nerdiness.

9. When is a Pitbull NOT a pitbull? - In which I am introduced to Cuban rapper, Pitbull and I may or may not have called him a muñecón. Here's the video version. ;-)

10. El Palacio and me. (It was love at first sight.) - In which I visit El Palacio de Los Jugos (with my partner in Tiki Tiki blog-crime, Carrie) in Miami and document the entire comelata.

11. The Mother Ring - In which I tell about how I received a family heirloom.

12. Nochebuena. Cubans. Photobooth. (Pachanga!) - In which I manage to capture the silliness and beauty that is my big, fat, Cuban family.

It's a nice compilation, isn't it?

I'll just keep writing in 2011. I hope you come back. My blog-casa is your blog-casa. =D

Happy New Year!

The Look

When he was little, he would give me a Look.

The Look could melt my heart in an instant.

The Look would wonder, "Am I in trouble?"

Or the Look would happily say, "Yes!" in answer to my silent offer of food or a gift.

He had a Look of Absolute Joy.

And a Look of Abject Terror.

The Look began the day he was born. I remember the doctor commenting, "You can tell this one is really smart. Check out that Look he's giving you."

It's taken 15 years, and he's completely perfected the I-can-totally-pull-this-off-and-lucky-for-me-I'm-so-cute Look.

Now he's begun to work on "The Smoulder...."

Jonathan Darby is 15 today. LOOK OUT, WORLD!

Happy Birthday, my son.  *sigh*

Nochebuena. Cubans. Photo Booth. (Pachanga!)

My home, as I've told you before, is freakishly small cottage-like.

Accomodating my big, fat, Cuban family for Nochebuena takes quite a bit of planning and hard work and a little bit of creativity. Actually, a LOT of creativity.

My family is full of extroverted, noisy people. (Hello? Cubans!) They are easy conversationalists and will most always cooperate with whatever creative suggestions get thrown their way. (This quality is what makes our yearly Christmas videos so compelling.)

But to be honest, hosting a big party like this in our freakishly small cottage-like home requires that we also do some "crowd control." (AKA: have some activities planned.)

This year, we had a Photo Booth. (I know. Genius, right?) I'd gotten the idea from a few blog events I've attended this year. The Photo Booths were always a hit.

Me to my (very creative) kids: "We need to do a Photo Booth for Nochebuena."

Lucy: "Let's ask Mr. G (our favorite professional photographer and awesome neighbor) for help."

Our Awesome Professional Photographer Neighbor, Raphael, let us borrow a backdrop and a remote flash and lights and the whole set-up for The Great Nochebuena Photo Booth of 2010.

We moved all the furniture out of the way in Jonathan's room and voila! Instant Photo Booth!

I wanted to make sure that everyone had their photos taken with my mom, Luza.

And that each family would be well represented.

I insisted that the couples jump in.

"Yes, of course you can bring the dog."

I suggested generational pictures.

And Lucy had the great eye for the crazy kid pics. (Do not miss Ben's Clip-on Tie of Awesomeness.)

We made sure to get the parents with each individual child. (This is probably because of some deep, psychological wounding I received because I was the youngest and there are no pictures of just me with my parents, but that's really a conversation I'll have to save for my therapist.)

And of course, there were the siblings.

And my men. (Missed you, Adam!)

The cousins got a little crazy.

And of course, we had to take the Classic Sister Picture of 2010. (Suitable for framing, no?)

Some of the photos were out of focus and a little goofy.....which made them absolutely Picture Perfect.

Yes, that's me. Right up front. With the smug self-satisfied grin on my face. (And gift wrapping ribbon in my hair, but that's not important right now.) =D

My Two Favorite Dolls

As a child, I played with dolls. A lot. In fact, constantly.

I had two that were my favorites. I had a Chatty Cathy doll. The kind with the pull string in the back that made her talk. And talk. And talk.

And a Skipper doll. Barbie's little sister. She had the coolest wardrobe ever.

I loved these two beauties so much that one day, I decided in my childish imagination, I'd have two daughters and they would each look just like my two favorite dolls...

Chatty Cathy:

And Skipper:

Maybe it was a prayer, because obviously, I got my wish. ;-)

[Read all about the story of the Christmas when I first got Skipper over at the Tiki Tiki.]

The Kids Are Alright

My kids are all gone this Thanksgiving weekend. And I'm okay with that. No, really. I am O-KAY.

I don't know when this cataclysmic change happened inside of me. But I know that it did.

Adam, whom I haven't seen for months because he moved to Northern California, was here for a few days and took Lucy and Jonathan back with him and Stephanie to Redding. They are spending Thanksgiving there and flying home on Monday.

And I'm okay with that.

Amy is spending Thanksgiving with her aging grandparents (the biological's folks) and is cooking an entire Thanksgiving feast at their home.

And I'm okay with that. In fact, I love it. I love that she wanted to bless her grandparents and do for them what they can't easily do for themselves anymore. I am quite proud of her.

I'm delighted that Adam wanted to have Lucy and Jon with him and that he took the week off to spend time with them and show them off to his new friends and introduce them to his new town. And I love that they were so happy to get to spend time with their big brother.

"This is sooo not Cuban,"  I thought to myself. I should be guilt-tripping them into being with Mami on This Most Glorious of All Holidays.

But instead I am happy. And proud. (WHO AM I??)

I got to have all four of them with me for breakfast on Wednesday before they all took off and commenced with their Thanksgiving plans that do not include Eric and me.

And it was enough.

Amy, Lucy & Jon.

Me, Adam, and Stephanie.

Weird, right? It was quite a surprise to me, too. I think that what I'm feeling might be peace. It's a new and unusual (and not very Cuban) feeling and I'm still sorting it out.

Eric and I will be spending Thanksgiving with his family and I will miss the fabulous comelata (loosely translated: eat-a-thon) that will be happening with the rest of my big, fat, Cuban family.

And I'm okay with that, too.

Of course, this may be just a passing phase. It may be seasonal. Or it may just be because I'm just tired. I don't know. And frankly, it doesn't matter.

So what if we won't be sharing a turkey one day of one year?  My worth as their mother doesn't come from the photo-op around the table. (Don't get me wrong....you know I love a beautifully set and bountiful table and I love when my house is full and noisy, but that's not important right now.)

I will definitely miss them, but I'm quite pleased with the people they have become and are becoming.

And for that I am truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.

"Cubanism can strike at any age."

Me: "I made 'fanguito.'" (FAHN-GEE-TOH)

Amy Kikita: "Fanguito? Really, Mom? Wait! Is that another Cubanism? Isn't 'fango' the Spanish word for 'mud?' Where exactly are you??"

She sounds puzzled, and I picture her tilting her head to one side (kind of like a German shepherd).

Me: "In the kitchen. 'Fanguito,' yes. It's really dulce de leche. But I made it in the crockpot. Isn't that cool?"

Silence. (I'm guessing she's processing and translating and praying for her mother's sanity.)

Amy Kikita: "You freaked me out just a little..." (under her breath): "I guess Cubanism can strike at any age."

Mooove it!

One of Lucy's creative writing classes involves creating a literary magazine. In fact, I think the name of the class is actually "Literary Magazine" or Lit Mag for short. (<--That's cool & hip student jargon in case you were wondering.)

The title of this fledgling Lit Mag is The Invisible Cow.*

[*The Invisible Cow refers to cows that graze in the fields on the climb up to the Mauna Kea Observatories in Hawaii. It gets very foggy up there and the road is not lit at night. The cows in the surrounding pastures sometimes lay down on the warm pavement and BLAMMO! some unsuspecting driver invariably hits a poor cow, and then wonders, "Whoa! What did I just hit?"]

 

But that's not important right now.

Meanwhile back to the original story here; Lucy and The Invisible Cow Lit Mag.

To illustrate some of the articles, she was asking everyone she knew to draw a cow. Everyone she knew includes her parents.

One of Lucy's parents is analytical, realistic, and extremely literal.  

The other parent is childlike, prone to silliness, and a bit whimsical.

So, today's question is: Which cow was drawn by Eric and which one was drawn by Marta?

(I know. Shut up.)

Home Alone

For years now, Eric and I have been home.

He works here at home. I have been homeschooling for years.

Our house is always full of noisy, happy, busy people. Whether they are our own kids or their friends, we've always had a full house.

 

But now, Adam is gone. And Amy, who has spent the summer here with us, is leaving, too.

Lucy and Jonathan are in school. Their school day goes from 8 am to 5 pm, so they get home just in time for dinner. 

All that to say this: It's quiet around here. Too quiet.

Of course, when the kids get home from school and we're at the dinner table, they are chatty and excited and telling us about their fun days in great detail. Jonathan goes right to his room and starts playing his guitar and Lucy turns up her iTunes and it's noisy and fun and it makes me happy.

But during the day....quiet.

Don't get me wrong. I like quiet. But I don't exactly know what to do with myself. Or how to act. Because, my goodness, it's so quiet around here!

I've gotten into a groove now. I write, I clean out drawers and closets (long, long! overdue), I bake and cook and go to the gym and still have hours left to create and paint and craft and tackle organizing and scrapbooking and telling the stories that go with the bizillions of photographs I've taken of my family and kids over these many years. (<--Big, time-intensive project. But hey....I've got time now. =D)

I do lunch. A lot.

I am getting used to the quiet. (In fact, I kind of like the quiet, but that's not important right now.)

I find I'm liking having days that are my own.

But I miss the noise. The laughter. The silliness.

I miss this...

My Kids from Marta Darby on Vimeo.

I suppose I could always jump up and down on the beds, order large cheese pizzas "just for me," set booby-traps for the stupid bad guys, and watch movies all day while eating junk food.  (<-- Yes, that's a nod to the silly Home Alone movies by John Hughes.)

Or I could just embrace the fact that they are all doing so well and give myself a break.

And maybe do lunch? ;-)