Oscar Stew

When the weather gets crafty (read: crappy) and our outdoor plans are turned to squash, we get pretty bored staring at our colorful walls. When it’s cold outside, there’s nothing better than cooking up a great meal! All it takes is for someone to pull out a cutting board and the kitchen converts to a Keebler elf tree house.

This mischievous little nymph wanted to get her hands dirty and help make eggplant parmesan. Take it away Rowan; I’ve never been a fan of the egg wash! Slimy!

This little fairy’s wings must be clipped. Don’t look at me with that face! Yeah, yeah…you are so neglected!

Eggplant parm phase 2. Lookin’ good! Show that vegetable who’s boss…

Ah-ha! Your true identity has been revealed, little troll! Your hypnotic wailing won’t work on me this time! Can’t you find a cupboard or something to get into? I’m working here…

Make sure that eggplant gets evenly coated in bread crumbs Rowan, nobody likes a soggy eggplant! It’s got to be as crunchy as your tree huggin’ mama!

Brinley tried to remember what it was like to have the warm summer air blow through her hair while her side dish went round & round. That’s not a tumor; it’s a double-chin!

Chef Drew, would you care to enlighten us? “This is how I dice olives. I don’t make the horizontal cuts in toward the pit after making the downward cuts.  So I make the vertical slices, and then just start the dicing. It naturally falls apart. Then I run the knife through the pile of dice just for good measure.” What did he say? 

No touchy touchy Rowan, we’ve got to save those olives for dinner. And that spatula is lookin’ pretty weird…

Rowan, caught red-handed! Check out the blur of intense focus on Drew’s face, I told you he takes his food seriously! Doesn’t look like our beloved spatula will live to see another taco Tuesday…

Good thing we have a backup spatula, otherwise Brinley would be a hand-flipping little tortilla girl, and that just sounds dangerous…

How’s that taco taste Nellie? Hey, if you don’t like it take it up with the captain, but don’t shoot the cooks!

Boohoo or woohoo? However you feel, it’s that time of year again. It’s the time when the kids are off to the salt mines…err..school again. Again for Drew anyway, who is in the 3rd year of his formal education. But what about Brinley?!

We’ll get to Brinley in just a second. We’ve got to verify that these nerds are qualified for the grades they’re in first. This is an old hat for Drew, who flashed through his assessment before Rowan even found the drinking fountain…

Ok Brinley, your turn. It’ll be no sweat for you to find the hypotenuse of the calculus cosine trigonometry while doing 1147.92 upside-down push-ups. Like I said: No sweat Binnie!

Don’t be jealous Brinley, them older kids done got to stays at school more longer to get learned all that hard stuffer they not teached in kindergräten.

First of the second for the Scoob. We got two thumbs way up from Mr. Confidence…

But then, the mob rolled in. How’s a kid to find his class lineup in a riot like this?

Looks like any lingering apprehension quickly faded into diesel fumes. Nice job Scoob!

Mother of Abraham Lincoln! Is today finally the day?

Alright Brinley, you will now be schooled in the art of “morning routine”. Let’s start off by having all the parts of a nutritious breakfast.

After you’re properly stuffed, make sure to stuff a juicy snack into the backpack.

Now get your hair did.

Not excited. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not even a little.

Here comes the mob again! Hold your ground!

No visible jitters today. Just love. Awwww…

And there she goes! Have fun Binnie!

On with our lives…this one was all broke up about being the oldest at home, and shared her thoughts on the subject at the PTO’s “Coffee & Cry”. More like “Lemonade and Woohoo!” (insert evil empire music here)

Sorry Roastie, your reign lasted only 3 hours. Brinley’s back…with extra credit!

Thanks for joining us on this momentus occasion. We are gathered here to inaugurate a glorious and exciting summer season ahead, which we are celebrating today (well, two days ago, before the rain monsoon arrived) with the traditional turning on of the sprinklers!

Rowan was very excited, and dressed appropriately for the occasion.

What she didn’t anticipate was the heat that would be generated in the backyard. The kind of heat that makes you sweat. Disco sweat. Sweatin’ to the oldies. Where is Richard Simmons? Go Brinley!

AirDrew is a seasoned veteran of this celebration. And in honor of his experience he made certain to wear his shoes on the wrong feet. Some habits die hard…

 Looks like we’ve caught this fair beauty by surprise! The idea is to get wet!

Not just wet, Brinley says. Completely soaked! Nice job! 

This soggy boy is going around for another lap. It was only after he stopped running that he got cold.

Meanwhile, Daddy was in the front and side yard attempting to contain the geysers that erupted without warning. Ah, the joys of home ownership!