At home with the Ryans . . . three generations worth of 'em!

The pocket phone rang at about 4:45 . . . it was Mommie. I was just finishing up my Friday afternoon at the jewelry store. "Hey, do you want to come over and help feed the babies and visit with Nana and PopPop? I'm painting Tim's office and we're going to have take out for dinner." Now really, is there another answer other than yes? So, after putting away the tools for stringing and knotting those pearls, I was off to 107.

Daddy and PopPop had taken my Darlings for a stroll (and, big sis Abi went along for what she thought would be fun! YIKES!!! note to dog self, never again!) while Mommie was painting Daddy's new office upstairs with Nana . . . and then, I arrived.

With a brand spanking new canvas tarp covering the brand spanking new wood floors installed earlier this week, Dearie walked across the soon-to-be Daddy's new office. Mommie was busy painting the back wall (darn near the same color as the brand spanking new canvas tarp) and had left the edge cutting pad (yes, soaked in paint) face up on the brand spanking new canvas tarp so that Dearie could step on it! One shoe's sole was coated in paint and immediately removed for cleaning! Okay, I get that tended but am not going to risk even a drop of paint tracking across the brand spanking new wood floors . . . air footed, like the darlings, for the rest of the night!

Finally, Nana and I got to catch up, from their flight struggles to Dearie's stringing story about the South Sea pearls (transforming a necklace and bracelet into just a necklace?) to Nana's recovery from surgery on her left thumb. Just about half way through catch up, the three generations of Ryans returned from the stroll. It was time for dinner . . . not ours, dinner for the Darlings! Darlings transferred from the stroller to the high chairs, Dearie prepped the dinner: rice cereal with macaroni and cheese casserole with vegetables (a la Gerber) and some kind of fruit something (who can really figure out the cryptic representations of names on the Gerber tubs? Is there a handbook for deciphering these names??). Nana took on Avery (remember, normally a good eater!) and Dearie took on Riggs (normally a little fussy eater)