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.

The Cassreinos have officially moved to Southeast Louisiana

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Tuesday, July 28, 2009) – Friends and family,

As many of you may know, Pam, Camryn, Matthew and I left Madison, Miss., earlier this month for a new start in Pearl River, La., and Southeast Louisiana after I took a new job in New Orleans. It was tough and not something we really wanted to do. But when my job with the Mississippi Democratic Party ended on Jan. 31 and my efforts to find work in Mississippi went nowhere, we were forced once again to relocate. Our 2½ years in Madison were great and memorable.

But our nation's and our state's economy took its toll. And after weeks of unsuccessful attempts to find work in Mississippi, we were forced to expand our search. Luckily, that led me to my new job as director of communications for the Housing Authority of New Orleans. With my hometown still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this seemed like a good way to help people help themselves.

So on July 2, movers packed our belongings into two trucks, headed South to Pearl River, La., and delivered it to our rental home the following day. Pam and I placed our Madison home on the market, hoping to sell it as quickly as possible so we can turn our attention in Southeast Louisiana to finding a more permanent home next year.

Meanwhile, Pam has landed a job as kindergarten teacher at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School – an elementary school that teaches children from pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade. Camryn, 4, our oldest, will attend pre-K there beginning this fall. Matthew, 2, our youngest, will attend day care near the school. And I will make the 30-minute commute to and from work in New Orleans every day.

The past few months have been incredibly stressful on our family as I looked long and hard for a permanent job. I had a brief gig in March and April as campaign manager for Democrat Brenda Scott's Jackson mayoral race. We weren't successful, but I had the distinct privilege of working with one of the best people I have ever known. Brenda is a warm hearted, hard-nosed, hard-working person who would have served Jackson well. Despite her loss, I hope she considers running for office again the future; she has a lot to offer. Together, Brenda and I gained an awful lot of political experience.

I also started my own media and political consulting company, Cassreino Consulting LLC, www.cassreino.net. Even though I'm now living in Southeast Louisiana, I still have a lot of great friends and political contacts in Mississippi; I intend to maintain those ties and my business remains active and available to work with political candidates at anytime throughout Mississippi. Note, please, that I'm only focusing my consulting business on Mississippi.

Matthew, whom we adopted from China in December 2008, continues to adjust well to his new home. You may remember that he suffered from a club foot that was repaired; he goes to see a specialist in New Orleans and may require minor surgery later this year to permanently correct his problem. Other than that, he is your typical 2-year-old boy: He's incredibly active, loves Thomas the Tank Engine, has a great sense of humor and loves to eat.

Camryn may be 4, but she is still our baby. She is growing up fast and has become a beautiful 4-year-old girl who loves the water (like her brother) and seems to be incredibly smart and perceptive. Camryn has played a major role in helping Matthew adjust – she and Matthew play well together and she continues to help him with his vocabulary and other skills. Without Camryn around, I doubt Matthew would have progressed as fast and as much as he has since we brought him home in December. Matthew couldn't have had a better big sister.

Now that Pam and I live in Southeast Louisiana, prospects look slim that we'll be able to attend any Ole Miss games this fall in Oxford. We'll have to hope they appear a lot of TV this fall and, possibly, snag a spot in the Sugar Bowl (I don't think that's too far off because Houston Nutt's team should be pretty good this year). Unfortunately, we will have tolerate more LSU fans than ever before. But that's OK – Pam and I both have jobs in a pretty lousy economy.

For those of you who make it to New Orleans or Southeast Louisiana, please drop us a line or give us a call. We would love to meet up with you. Please note our new address, phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Thank you all and God bless.

TERRY R. CASSREINO

1109 Forest Ridge Loop

Pearl River, LA 70452

Phone: (985) 250-9466

Terry's E-mail: cassreino@gmail.com, terry@cassreino.com

Pam's E-mail: pcassreino@gmail.com

Cassreino Consulting LLC E-mail: terry@cassreino.net

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