The Elder & The Young

Jack has been very tolerant of the newest member of the family. He does not mind when Toby stands under him while he drinks and eats. He will share his den bed but not his cookies nor his nighttime bed. He does not mind when he shares his walk, he is not too crazy about sharing his Daddy. At times you can see him roll his eyes when Toby is acting like the crazy dog. All in all Toby has been a good fit in the Ryan household.


Peace Out

Blogging from 30,000 feet

I am currently at 30,000 feet.on the way to Cali. The flight has wi-fi. Totally cool!!!! Take off very bumpy but we have smoothed out. Enjoying a cocktail, chatting with Erinn and Randy. I am happy.


Peace Out

Off to Cali

At 5:25 pm I am off to Cali. I have necks to kiss, cheeks to pinch (face & bottoms), smiles to kiss, bottoms to wipe, tears to dry, toddlers to chase, dump truck songs to sing and I will love every second of it. If only the flying part was not happening. Is 8 am too early to begin medicating? I hate anxiety, such a useless emotion. I mean really what is it good for? Every other emotion has a purpose and it's purpose is what? Oh well at the end of 6 hours and 23 minutes I get to see Carey's beautiful face. The kiddos will have to wait until morning unless...do you think she will wake the Trio up for the airport run?

Peace Out

Sisters

As most of you know I am one of 4 sisters. Yikes!! The sister relationship is complicated, if you are not one you just don't get it. This last weekend I was fortunate to be in the company of all my sisters, now did we get a picture, not a one. Shame on us. The oldest of the gang also happens to be our mother's primary caregiver. Mother's health has not been good the last couple of years and she has had a doozy of a summer. Chris is her health care champion. She takes her to numerous doctor's appointments, tries to make sure she eats well, sits through the operations, keeps her up to date with the family, spends countless hours at the assisted living facility. Chris does have her own health issues and she takes care of her precious grandson on a daily basis. Is she perfect, of course not, she is human and is doing what family does. I salute her. We should all take a lesson. Thank you, Chris

Dresses, Family & Friends

Last Friday a caravan headed to Winter Park, destination: Solutio.ns Bridal. We were strictly on a fact finding mission. Checking out the bridesmaid dresses and gazing a bit towards the bridal gowns. We had all the bridesmaid minus 2 so we wanted to get a feel for what they wanted. We found the perfect dress for them. Tall, short, curvy, straight, bosomy or not. This was the dress. They happened to have one in the right color, stunning! Oh yeah we found this dress after 4 hours of Erinn trying on gowns, fact finding only. Until.....she tried on "the one" it was magic. She walked, sat, danced, kneeled and it was perfect. Like her future MIL, Beth, said when she walked out you saw the whole picture, not just Erinn, not just the dress but the bride. And the headpiece? Started out as a little comic relief but yet..no veil for my sassy modern southern bride. Did I mention we had to sedate Erinn to remove the dress? This is how much she loved it.
We had our dear friends, the Styrons in from Alabama for the weekend. It never matters how long we go without seeing them we are back on Bristol Place (where we met) 21 years ago. The girls (Erinn & Elizabeth) were just 6 months old, our families clicked. I treasure this family.
We also had the Virginia part of the family in plus Aunt Mary from south Florida. Jackson had a blast with Toby even though Toby tried to get fancy with him the last morning. Such a sweet baby. (both of them!) It made Erinn's day that so many of her family came to share in her happiness.
The Browns threw a fabulous party. What a great family Erinn is joining. How did all the kids grow up? It seems like yesterday when I met some of them in kindergarten. Does this mean I am older?

Peace Out

The Big Party

We are gearing up for the big party next week honoring Erinn & Andrew's engagement. The VA part of the fam are coming to Otown. The Brown's are hosting. Erinn and I have to choose a picture of the 2 of them. Carey took some great shots of them at the beach. A friend of Erinn's is coming today and taking some more. The Brown's backyard is the background for today's photo shoot. Now many of you remember their backyard, so beautiful. Beth & Pat did an outstanding job when they made it over a few years back. I wonder if Toby will make it in a shot or two. Erinn also wants some professional pictures of her for her work. The hard part will be making a choice. The camera does love Erinn. Some people just know how to hold their head, smile and not blink. Carey also has that gift. I do not. We also have been looking at different vendors this past week. Erinn does know what she wants so this does help in selecting the vendors. The photographer will be the biggie. She found one the other day they have packages from $3500 to $12,000!!! Yikes! Sign them up, NOT. We still have a few more venues to check out. Since all the girls (minus the MoH Brenna :-( ) will be in town we are planning a trip to check out styles of dresses on Friday. Erinn has also been looking into converting to Catholicism. It is a huge decision, one that Randy and I support. The other big decision we have to make for the party is do we go with just beer & wine, an open bar or a signature cocktail with the beer & wine. While in Charleston a few months back I had a martini made with FireFl.y Sweet Tea Vodka. It was yummy. I have since learned you can mix it with lemonade. I think served in mason jars with an apple green ribbon tied around (the jar) would be pretty. Now if if only it was my choice. :-)

Peace Out

Erinn & Andrew

From the Outside

Since I have been a part-time invalid (thank you, Rocko)I have logged in mega hours on MJ (those of his closest peeps call him that). Now I LOVE Michael. From the first time I heard "I'll Be There" I was hooked. How could all of "that" come from such a little kid?!? The sweetest voice and the precious smile. Who knew his Daddy was beating the crap out of him? When he left the Jackson 5 to go out on his own he totally blew us away. The singing, dancing, the videos, a great entertainer. Of course with all the fame out came the media dogging his every move. Sure he was a little odd, what extremely gifted artist is not off just a little? All the plastic surgery was a bit much. His Dad and brothers (by their own words) made fun of him as a child about that very nose. Words do cause lasting effects. And then the accusations, did he or didn't he? I get what he meant about co-sleeping. I did that with one of my children. Americans have a real issue with this. I do think you should stick to your kids in this practice. I do know if one of my girls had been molested there is not enough money in the world to buy me off. In the second case, he chose not to pay. People say he got off because of who he is, perhaps who he is, is why charges were filed in the first place. I mean look how he looks, look at all his bizarre behavior, he must be guilty of some greater crime. When you hear from the people who really knew him and loved him, you step back and say wait a minute.... Are all these people wrong? The media wrong? Who to believe? I think love wins.
After all when we look from the outside we think we know...

Peace Out