Romeo was born with the heart of an entrepreneur.  He started his first business at the age of 8 when he began selling yarn kites at the local shrimp festival.  At age 12, his best friend’s dad opened a sporting goods store.  This really excited him!  He decided that it was brilliant and found clearance sporting goods all over town, took them to school, and a sold them to his friends and classmates (with an upcharge, of course).  Unfortunately, he bought into the idea of the “American Dream” and went into the IT industry.  Although he’s been a computer programmer for the past 16 years, his heart has never given up on his entrepreneurial dreams.  In the early 2000s he had some success as a real estate investor.  But the bubble burst and we sold the last property by the skin of our teeth in January 2006.  In 2008, he decided to take the leap and open his own business, a mobile computer repair company.  The business moved us away from our homebase, family and his oldest daughter.  While we really enjoyed the challenge of the business and freedom from “the man,” ultimately, family and our last few years with the big teen brought us back home.

MamaSita is the co-pilot and co-conspirator.  She’s the nurturer, the wife and mama.  She’s been a birth professional since 2003.  It’s a job that takes her away from the family in the middle of the night for an indeterminate amount of time.  But it’s one that is deeply fulfilling, to see how many hundreds of families she has helped over the years.  It’s also a job that can be done from anywhere, because making and having babies is a universal experience.  More recently, MamaSita has discovered her passion for writing.  What she once considered to be a hobby, turned into more of a dream and is working its way towards becoming a reality now.  She is currently revising her fourth novel and plans to query agents and editors in pursuit of publication in 2015.

The Kids

KK is our college student.  She’s in Florida pursuing her dream towards a doctorate in psychology.  She’s a dedicated friend, always willing to lend a hand or give advice.  She loves to volunteer.  She’s a total hipster when it comes to music and she loves spicy food.

Goose is a middle-schooler who has the mind of a philosopher and the debate skills of an attorney.  She was the first one to jump in the homeschool pool without water wings.  After a grade-skip and a struggle to find a good academic fit, we pulled the plug on traditionalism and brought her home.  It’s been the best possible solution for her.  While she can take pre-Algebra on grade-level, she also has the ability to explore her favorite subject, science, by taking classes like A&P and Epidemiology.  She loves to read and paint.  It seems like everything she does is brilliantly chaotic.

Cielo (see-ello) is the quintessential middle-child.  She’s the only one with Romeo’s Dominican skin.  She loves to tell people that she is Dominican but her sisters are not.  She’s sensitive and kind-hearted, just like KK.  She’ll give a friend the shirt off her back.  She loves people, but gets nervous in crowds.  She always has her arms open for a hug or snuggle.  She loves knitting, sewing and anything crafty.  She’s in her first year of semi-homeschooling with a hybrid homeschool/Montessori program.

Chichi is the baby of the family…and she knows it.  She’s the stereotypical fiery red-head.  She’s the most independent and stubborn person we know (and that’s quite a feat up against the Goose).  She frequently says, “No, I don’t need your help.”  And “You are not in charge of me.”