Vacationing with the family on the beach in Destin

DESTIN, Fla. – As the Cassreino family continues its week-long vacation in this resort town, I finally batteries to power my digital camera.

With as tropical storm churning in the Gulf of Mexico, waves and dangerous undertow currents have increased along the beach. We were warned not to venture deeper than our knees.

So, click below to enjoy as photo slide show from this morning on the beach.

Another day in Madison County

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

GLUCKSTADT, Miss. (Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010) -- The children are long asleep and I'm back in my office in our house updating our family blog for the first time in a long, long time.

My family and I have been on a whirlwind these past few months, wrapping up life in our rental home in Pearl River, La.; packing up our house in June for the move back to Gluckstadt; actually moving in July and then settling in.

We've been back here in our house since early July -- and it's still kind of difficult to believe it. In one sense, it's like we never left; in another, I still feel sad that things didn't work out in Southeast Louisiana.

Unmistakable odor of oil fills the Mississippi Gulf Coast air

By Terry R. Cassreino

GULFPORT (Sunday, May 23, 2010) – A steady, late afternoon breeze from the south cooled the beach across from the Courtyard Inn near downtown – and with it came the unmistakable, strong odor of oil.

This was not the odor of gasoline or a lawn mower.

This was no doubt oil, part of the thousands of barrels of crude that have continued to spew for more than a month from a leak at an underwater well some 5,000 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana Coast.

But save for the strong stench of oil, you wouldn’t have known the biggest ecological disaster was taking place miles south of here. It was business as usual along the Mississippi Coast on Saturday as visitors and residents relaxed on the beach unfazed by the oil spill.

Yazoo City Tornado: Photos from the Storm

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

YAZOO CITY (Sunday, April 25, 2010) -- I just filed my story for The New York Times, uploaded my personal photos and am ready to share the pictures with my blog and readers. I'll file written text and few more photos later.

But for now, the following slide show must do.

I will say this: The damage was devastating throughout Yazoo City. Many people lost everything they had, including their homes. Many homes will have to be bulldozed. Many victims are staying with family and friends.

The destruction reminded me of Katrina's wind damage -- certainly not the tidal surge. And, of course, the response by the state, the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross appearaed to be impressive.

Here are the photos:

Mardi Gras 2010 sadly draws to a close

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

NEW ORLEANS, La. (Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010) – Weeks of balls and parades come to an end tonight at midnight when Mardi Gras gives way to Ash Wednesday.

I’m exhausted. From parading Saturday night in Endymion to taking my wife and children to parades in New Orleans and suburban Metairie, I find myself drained from all the driving, the toting around of the parade ladder and this year’s unusually cold weather.

Oh, and by the way, it was COLD. When I staked a spot at 7:30 a.m. this morning in Metairie for today’s parades, the temperature was a cold 35 degrees. It warmed to 45 today – but was still one of the colder Mardi Gras in memory.

Hey, but we all still had a great time.

And because pictures speak louder – and better – than words, I am sharing below a slide show from Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras. As always, click the photo for a larger version. Enjoy.


Copyright 2010 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Lundi Gras 2010


Mardi Gras 2010

Happy Mardi Gras 2010

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

NEW ORLEANS (Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010) -- I'm still exhausted.

After a full day of activities with the Krewe of Endymion on Saturday -- including the parade that night and the Endymion Extravaganza following in the Superdome -- Pam and I didn't get home until 2:30 a.m.

This year's event was spectacular. The crowds were simply amazing, literally wall-to-wall all along the parade route that took the procession through Mid-City and into downtown New Orleans.

In my six years of riding in Endymion, I have never seem the crowds that large.

While I don't have a nice representation of photos showing the floats, I am posting a slideshow giving you an idea of the enormity of the crowds. And they were huge. I hope you enjoy this -- and have a great Mardi Gras in 2010.


Copyright 2010 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Christmas 2009 with the Cassreinos

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, LA. (Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009) -- No sleeping late for Matthew, Camryn, Pam and I.

Matthew was up bright and early at 6:30 a.m., playing with his train table and eating bowl of oatmeal and bananas. Camryn followed shortly, playing with her toys before joining Matthew for cereal.

Christmas was a long, quick, exhausting day -- one capped by a nice evening at my sister's house for dinner and a last-minute visit by Santa himself. The menu included beef brisket, ham, oyster dressing and sweet potato.

After that, it was back home to put two incredibly tired kids to bed while Pam and I watched the season finale of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" we taped last month but never got around to watch (the verdict -- very funny).

Below is a short slide show of photos from our Christmas. Enjoy. And don't forget: Click the closed-caption box in the bottom of the window to eliminate the captions -- and click the photo itself for a larger version of the picture.

Copyright 2009 Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Cassreinos celebrate Matthew’s baptism

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

SLIDELL, La. (Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009) – Just a few days before we celebrate the first anniversary of "Gotcha Day" with our son, we joined with family members at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church to celebrate Matthew's baptism.

The service began at 1:30 p.m. and lasted about 45 minutes. It was incredibly uplifting and moving. And a great way for us as adults to welcome our son into the Catholic Church, share our Catholic faith with our son and remind all of us the meaning and importance of baptism, faith and family.

After the service, we headed to my sister's home to watch the New Orleans Saints continue their amazing season and enjoy an afternoon of fellowship with family.

As I sit and think back over the past year – from our trip to China exactly a year ago to Matthew's baptism – I am reminded how eventful this year has been for me and my family. We added a new member to our family, moved to a new city, took new jobs and faced major upheaval.

As stressed out as we all are and have been, we are still together growing in love and faith. I married late in life in 1999 at age 38; my wife and I started late in our own lives creating a family. But you know what? I wouldn't change any of it.

My wife, Pam; my daughter, Camryn; and my son Matthew mean the world to me. They make me happy. They give me a purpose. They renew my faith in God. And they are the reason I do what I do every day in my life.

Next up: Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 – the first anniversary of "Gotcha Day," the day we met Matthew in Zhengzhou, China. My wife and I have decided to make this a special day for Matthew, just like we do for Camryn on her "Gotcha Day" in April. We'll probably head out for some great Chinese food.

And, once again, we'll realize how lucky all of us are.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

 

Relive our adoption journey to get Matthew by visiting our archives on the left and start with Dec. 2, 2008. Then read forward. You can do the same with our adoption trip to get Camryn. Visit the archives, start with March 27, 2006 and read forward.

Cassreinos return from successful cruise

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Sunday, Nov. 29) -- Well, we made it. We survived seven days at sea in the Western Caribbean with two children -- and lived to tell about it. Actually, it was a great vacation, one of the best cruises my wife and I have taken.

The chief reason: We really enjoyed spending a full week with our children and watching them have a great time on the Norwegian Spirit and at the beach in Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.

They loved every minute of it. And I hope to post a collection of photos from our travels. First up is this brief glimpse at Day 1 of the cruise. I also will offer a critical review of the trip and the NCL service (which was good, but not on par with previous NCL cruises).


Copyright 2009 Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

The First Official Cassreino Family Vacation begins

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009) – The First Official Cassreino Family Cruise Vacation Adventure to the Western Caribbean begins today at about 9 a.m. when Pam and I leave with Camryn and Matthew for the cruise ship terminal in New Orleans.

Hmmmm. Let’s see. Traveling with a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old on Norwegian Cruise Lines. This is either going to be a major disaster on the scale of Pompei or Hurricane Katrina – or it will be a huge success the likes of which our generation has never experienced.

Actually, I the optimist and think this will be a success. The kids are excited about traveling on a Big Boat. And Pam and I are looking forward to leaving behind the day-to-day stress of life for a seven-day cruise.

Pam and I are cruise veterans, having sailed on Carnival or NCL out of New Orleans on seven separate times during the 10 years we have been married. We love it. The trips were casual, relaxing, enjoyable; the ports were fascinating.

We’ve lowered our expectations traveling with two children. But I still think we will have fun.

And one thing is certain no matter what: Ole Miss defeated LSU in Oxford in one of the most spectacular, exciting Ole Miss-LSU games I have ever seen. Too bad I was there for what had to be an incredibly humiliating loss.

Take that, LSU.

Copyright 2009, Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

An oyster festival without the oysters: 'We ran out'

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

METAIRIE, La. (Saturday, Nov. 15, 2009) – The giant nutria, about 6-and-a-half feet tall, was within a few feet of Matthew when his face turned to pure terror and he was on the verge of a blood-curdling scream.

So much for a photo with the kids and the Zephyrs baseball team mascot.

At least Matthew and Camryn enjoyed the sights and rode a few of the puny kiddie rides at the annual St. Clement of Rome Catholic Church Oyster Festival tonight in Metairie. That was about the only thing worthwhile at the event.

What, you say? Did you go there to see The Producers? The band you remember seeing on the S.S. President when it offered nightly concert cruises on the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans? The same ship that now sits idle on the Mississippi in St. Louis as a floating casino?

Didn’t you go to the oyster festival to eat char-broiled oysters prepared and sold by Drago’s? Didn’t you go to enjoy the entertainment and fellowship afford by annual Catholic Church events like this one that happens nearly every week in metro New Orleans?

Well, yes and no.

The Producers sucked. They looked like a bunch of middle-age men trying to recapture the youth of the past. The keyboard player was paunchy and overweight. The others looked like they were 35 years older than the last time I saw them. And they sounded badly off key.

And the oysters – they were out. Yes, folks, you read it right: The oyster festival was out of oysters despite having another day to go. Hmmm. Sounds kind of like Popeyes being out of chicken. Or Burger King running out of ground meat for burgers.

At least we spent time together as a family.

Here are a few pictures.

And hey – it’s one week until our Thanksgiving cruise with the kids aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. Now that should be a trip to remember.


Copyright 2009 Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Watching football, catching a parade

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Monday, Oct. 26, 2009) – These weekends just seem to fly by – especially ones that have been as nice as the just-ended Saturday and Sunday stretch.

How nice was the weekend? Well, let’s look at these facts:

Ole Miss Football

I couldn’t be in Oxford this weekend – alas, it’s almost impossible for me to make the trip there now that my family is in Southeast Louisiana – but I did catch the Ole Miss-Arkansas game on the SEC Network.

The Rebels looked much better than the last outing I caught against Alabama. This great win against Arkansas sets yup the remaining games of this year’s schedule beginning Saturday at Auburn.

Win-out, and the Rebs will likely find themselves in the Top 10 once again. This is probably the toughest game on our schedule. Auburn is winnable, although no certain pushover.

Krewe of Boo


Around 3 p.m. Saturday, I packed my wife and children into the car, picked up my niece, switched to my sister’s SUV, packed the parade ladder and headed for the French Quarter and the 2nd annual Krewe of Boo Halloween parade.

This certainly wasn’t an Endymion or Orpheus. The Krewe of Boo is what it is: a nice, small-scaled, parade not unlike the small-scaled early season Carnival parades that usually pop up in January.

The kids loved it – and that’s all that mattered. They enjoyed watching the bands, the dance groups, the horses and the generous riders on Blain Kerne’s small, Halloween-styled floats. Nothing spectacular, but nice.

The night ended with a $40 parking ticket slapped on the SUV. The New Orleans police greedily ticketed what looked like 100 or so cars on South Peters, just beyond Elysian Fields. They cited us for parking on the sidewalk.

But one thing is wrong: THERE IS NO SIDEWALK.

Another case of misplaced priorities. While folks are out in the city killing and murdering others, while drug dealers are out there getting our kids addicted, the New Orleans police are ticketing peoples’ cars for no apparent reason other than to screw the people who parked there.

Nevertheless, I have included a slide show here for your enjoyment. Click a photo and you’ll see a larger version. Enjoy.

Saints football

The New Orleans Saints won – improbably – Sunday at Miami in a strange, exciting game. I gave up on them at the half, but was incredibly impressed with the character of the team.

I’m not much of a pro football fan, but the Saints are a fun team to watch.

All photos and text copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Great weekend highlighted by trip to French Quarter

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009) -- Can you think of a better weekend?

Partly cloudy skies. Temperatures in the 60s. Great fall weather. The Saints win in an impressive game. Ole Miss wins at homecoming. And the Cassreinos visited the French Quarter on Saturday.

Yep. We packed the kids in the car, drove to the city, took the Canal Street streetcar to the Quarter and walked for a few hours. We ended the night with an unmemorable dinner at Mandina's in Mandeville, but it was still a great, relaxing weekend.

We even took Camryn and Matthew on a horse-and-buggy ride through the French Quarter -- something we promised Camryn weeks ago that we would do. We took a few photos and I am posting a slide show below.

As always, click the photo for a larger version. Enjoy.


Text and photos Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Saturday at the St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church fair

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, LA. (Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009) -- As I watch Ole Miss play rather pathetically for the first half of its game against Alabama -- and with little hope they can pull off a win in the second -- I decided to update my Blog with some new photos.

Today is Pam's birthday (everyone join me in wishing her a happy birthday)and the St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church fair in Slidell. In case you have never been to the fair, let's just say it is huge -- one gigantic event.

With the chance of rain set for 90 percent, we decided to hang around the fair this afternoon after our daughter, Camryn, performed for the crowd as part of her pre-K class. We walked and walked and walked. And Camryn and our son, Matthew, had a blast.

They especially enjoyed the carnival rides on the Midway. While I personally prefer a real amusement park like Six Flags or the now-defunct JazzLand, the kids nevertheless had a great time.

And I snapped away, taking photo after photo. Below is a slide show from the day.

Before I go, I'd like to add this extra note: You should be able to tell from the photos that Matthew's right leg is fine after spending much of the summer in a series of casts to correct his club foot.

Matthew now sleeps in a large plastic brace and, hopefully, will not require surgery in the future. We will have to monitor his condition over the next few months and years; he has to go back to his doctor sometime in the next month.

Enjoy the slideshow. As always, if you want to see a larger version of a photo, click it and you will automatically see one.


Photos and text copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

'Unconditional Love' commemorates Gotcha Day for our daughter

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, 5:30 a.m.) - I have been wanting to post this video for a while, but have never been able to find a good program to convert my video file tyo a flash video.

Tonight, however, I downloaded the free Riva FLV Encoder 2.0 and successfully converted my video to flash and then uploaded it to my channel at You Tube. Then I posted it here at my blog.

A little background: I made this video slide show in April 2007, in time to mark the first anniversary of the day we got Camryn, our daughter, in China. Since we got her two days before she turned 1, this also commemorates her second birthday.

I haven't yet created a similar video for our son, Matthew. I plan to start work on something similar in the next few weeks and have it ready in time for the first anniversary of his Gotcha Day in December 2009.

At any rate, I hope you enjoy this video. Let me know what you think.

Matthew’s cast comes off on Wednesday

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Monday, Aug. 24, 2009, 6 a.m.) – Wednesday is the big day – Matthew has his full leg cast removed.

As you may remember, I took a day off from work two weeks ago to take Matthew to the Children's Hospital in New Orleans to have his first cast removed. After our doctor examined Matthew, he decided to try a second cast to further help my son's club foot.

I wasn't particularly excited about it. And I know Matthew wasn't, either. But he has been an incredibly good sport. And now, hopefully, he will be able to trade in the cast for a brace to wear at night. We'll see. And I'll post a follow up on Wednesday night.

This time, Pam is taking Matthew. I might try to meet them at the doctor, but I may not be able to.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Cooling off with a New Orleans snowball

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

NEW ORLEANS (Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009, 10:30 p.m.) – The line snaked through the small store, out the double doors and around the corner from Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown New Orleans, with some folks waiting 30 minutes or longer – all for a snowball.

Well, let me rephrase that: A snowball from Hansen's Sno-Bliz, probably the best snowball stand in metro New Orleans. This isn't just shaved ice. This is a snowball made with fine ice the texture of powdery snow, perfect for use with Hansen's homemade syrups.

I remember visiting Hansen's as a child when my family lived a few blocks away on Jena Street, just off Magazine Street and Napoleon Avenue. My mother used to take me and my sister for a snowball during New Orleans' often cruel, stiflingly hot summers.

On Sunday, I did the same thing for my two children. With my mother joining me on the trip – Pam wasn't feeling very well and stayed home in Pearl River – I packed Camryn and Matthew into my car and trekked across the lake to New Orleans.

Our original plan was to visit the Audubon Zoological Gardens. But after getting off to a late start (we left home about 1:30 p.m.) and seeing the vast crowds at the zoo, we decided to wait until later in the year despite incredibly nice weather for August (temps in the mid-80s and humidity at 50 percent.

So we drove through Uptown, stopped at Hansen's and bought a snowball. I had Cream of Nectar, my mother had Cream of Chocolate and Camryn had Cream of Strawberry. They were very good. Camryn made it through half of hers, letting Matthew take the rest. Matthew also ate most of mine.

After the Hansen's visit, we headed down to the French Quarter and the Flea Market. After finding a parking spot for $5, we unpacked the two strollers, transferred the children from the car to the strollers and then spent a couple of hours walking through the Quarter.

All in all – a nice Sunday.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

One cast comes off, another one goes on

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, 6:44 p.m.) – Mathew and I are back home this evening facing another two weeks in a full leg cast – part of the Ponseti Method our orthopedic specialist prescribed to help avoid surgery to correct our son’s club foot.

Matthew’s new fiberglass cast is, like the last one, a full leg cast. But besides being Rebel Red (the first cast was blue), this one he received today at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans is not bent as severely at the knee and Matthew likely will be able to walk with it.

The cast slightly turns Matthew’s foot to the right and stretches the tendon in his heel. His doctor said results from the first cast were good, possibly enough for Matthew to avoid tendon surgery that is sometimes needed to correct a club foot.

Let me pause for a minute to say this: Pam and I are fortunate that Matthew’s adoption agency in Xingxang, China, were able to send him to Beijing for treatment of his club foot. Without that early intervention, there’s no telling how much more work Matthew would need.

At any rate, Matthew faces two more weeks in a cast.

After that – and assuming there are no more casts – Matthew probably will have a foot brace to wear at night. Our doctor says new braces are available that area easier to wear, more comfortable for children and will make it tougher for them to remove in the middle of the night.

We’ll see how this works out. Meanwhile, below is a slide show of photos from today’s cast removal and new casting. While you won’t hear the blood curdling screams I heard, you will be able to imagine how traumatic something like this is for a 2-year-old.


Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Camryn marks first day at new school

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, 8:40 p.m.) -- Camryn enjoyed her first day at school today at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School in Slidell. I'd call it Big Girl School, but that sounds so corny. I will say it was her first time at pre-kindergarten.

Pam has a job at St. Margaret Mary teaching kindergarten, so she was nearby for support.

Anyway, I stopped by first thing this morning and snapped a few photos to document the occasion. I also threw in a few extras of Matthew, including one of him in his cast (which will be removed on Wednesday). Below is a slide show of the photos. Don't forget: Click the photos and you'll jump to a larger version.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Weekends, like the one just ended, are entirely too short to spend enough time with your family

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, LA. (Monday, Aug. 10, 2009, 6 a.m.) – Another weekend has ended and once again it was way too short.

My weekend saw my wife and I attend a new parents social at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School in Slidell where Pam met some of the parents whose children will be in her pre-K class and I met Camryn's pre-K teacher and other parents.

Despite my initial misgivings and concerns, I thought the event was nice and went over well. And I thought I did fairly well controlling my appetite – I ate a little of the pasta salad, ate some fruit, ate some cheese and drank a couple of Diet Cokes.

No beer or mixed drinks for me. I'm three weeks into a Weight Watchers diet, I've lost about seven pounds so far (well on my way to a goal of losing 50 pounds) and wasn't about to screw that up. My mother graciously offered to watch Camryn and Matthew at our house while we attended the social.

We were home by 10 p.m. – that was Friday.

On Saturday, I piled Pam, Camryn and Matthew into my Ford Fusion, took a ride in torrential rain, ate lunch at a so-so Mexican/Cuban restaurant in Covington, visited Pontchatoula and then returned home. It was a nice, uneventful outing – well, until I took Camryn with me to Best Buy and she insisted I buy her a Dora the Explorer movie (the one where she rescues a mermaid, I think).

Sunday was even less eventful: A trip to Rouses to buy groceries (no more Wal-Mart on Saturday for me) and a trip to my mother's house to fix her computer (a bad modem).

And now onto the new week. The big news: Matthew will have his full-leg cast removed on Wednesday. I have arranged to take a personal day from work on Wednesday and will take Matthew from Pearl River to the Children's Hospital in New Orleans for his cast removal.

This is an important procedure. If his casting went well, then it's possible he won't require surgery to permanently correct his club foot. It's also possible that Matthew may require a second cast on his leg, more than likely after he gets a short reprieve.

I hope and pray that the casting negates the need for surgery.

Matthew has weathered the cast amazingly well. While obviously uncomfortable for much of the past two weeks – and desperately wanting to get in the tub for a bath each night – our son has been a great sport. He obviously doesn't understand what's happening – hopefully he will appreciate it years down the road.

We took some great photos of the folks at Children's Hospital putting the cast on Matthew's leg. I plan to take more photos on Wednesday to document the removal. And then – if everything works out – I'll post a complete photo gallery-slide show of the entire process here at my blog.

Until then … have a great week.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.