Oscar Stew

If an overweight guy with reindeer and an egg-obsessed rabbit can bring gifts to children all around the world, why can’t a bunch of mischievious irish elves get in on the fun?

The leprechauns seemed to invade from all directions. First there was the little green footprints that led from D&B’s bedroom down to the fridge where their little milk jugs had been irish-a-fied, idea courtesy of the brilliant St. Kari.

Drew set up a leprechaun trap to see if this mythological character could be tamed. He managed to break loose of the trap, but not without leaving some of his “gold” behind.

Those persnickety pixies also left an all time favorite – sugar cookie dough. Shamrock shaped cookie cutters were the weapon of choice, of course! 

Did the kids enjoy the plain old sugar cookies? Nope! With the help of some St. Paddy’s inspired frosting from Grandma F the kids got right to work embellishing those behavior-altering flour chunks into masterpieces of mischief!

Critical sugar content level acquired, ready for the rush!

No this isn’t leprechaun genocide. I wanted to take a page out of Bakerella’s book and try some cake balls. Since my sister Kelsey is here, we thought with twice the luck we could pull it off, but alas… Bakerella we are not. They were still fun to make (and eat!).

O’Drew went off to kindergarten armed with yet another handmade leprechaun trap. If they doesn’t fall for the paper rainbow and the gold painted bottle caps, I don’t know what else the boy can try.

Alas, neither of the traps worked. Drew decided to take a more diplomatic approach and wrote a letter. “Leprechaun how come you didn’t let me catch you in my jail and my office one. Can I catch you today your leprechaun letters are silly man on the box. My name Drew.”

Drew wasn’t sure of the address to send it to. Just Ireland oughtta do right?On the envelope Drew is trying to appeal to the sprites’ softer side. I don’t know how that’s gonna work; they call them the Fighting Irish for a reason!

G&G F sent the kids a box of valentine makin’ fixins. The kids have been itching to dig in, but we waited until yesterday and went hog wild.

The kids are no strangers to glue & glitter so they jumped right in with both feet.

Drew said he ask Edgar if he wanted to help, and Edgar said yes. UmmmmHmmm…  Looks like Edgar’s intentions may have been different than Drew thought. Great, now we have a glue-sniffing pig on our hands.

(and yes, I know what you are thinking. There is a rodent on my kitchen table, but mind you – his is on his designated rug and the lysol was nearby just in case. Can we still be friends? Please?) 

Of course the gooey pink sparkly stuff was Brinley’s favorite.

This could either be really good or totally nasty. He’s just pig enough to find out. Curious little creature…

We eventually had to bribe Edgar away from the craft table. He was being way too helpful.

Who would have thought the first person to write Drew’s name in sparkly pink would be Drew himself? For what it’s worth, this was quite a challenge for him. Those glue bottles are pretty hard to squeeze and be precise at the same time.

Miss Binnie beaming with pride of her custom made creation. Her valentines were more like sandwiches. All the fun ribbons, hearts and sparkles are hidden beneath layers and layers of doilys. It’s a “surprise” she said.

Happy Heart Day!

Sick inside. Cold outside. Feeling icky during icky weather adds up to a double fever. I haven’t left the house in a week now, I’m starting to get that itch, or is it a twitch? twitch? twitch?

Brinley is finally on the mend. After some scary high temps she is back to her feisty self.  Remind me that’s a good thing, okay?

We discovered that “sick milk” comes in PINK. I didn’t have to beg her to drink it anymore. Because color is more important than flavor, right? mmmhmmmm. I was greatful for the pink sick milk and the peace of mind that even though she flat out refused to eat anything for two days, I knew she was getting some nutrition.

During our down time we took the opportunity to make the most of our abundant girl time.

Rowan made peace with being left on the floor. She’d much prefer to play with crinkly fruit snack bags over toys, so we did indulge her every once in a while.

Throw me a bone, will ya?!

Hey this bone tastes like apple! Thanks! How many licks does it take?

Last time we were at the library, Drew picked out THIS book. Ever since, he has been collecting any and all manner of junk that may or may not be craftable. Mad scientist Drew got busy building his robot while Brinley dozed and watched movie after movie. I’m proud to say that he mastered the glue gun with only the very minorest little burn on his finger.

That robot’s got some hairy eyebrows. Oh that’s right, those are optical lens cleaners. Sorry.

Observe! My creation is almost complete! That is a rare 16 cent pint of B&J’s folks! Hooray for coupons!

Uh oh, I’ve got extra parts. Did I miss any steps?

Behold: Junk*E! He’s already drawn up plans for Trash*E, if anyone wants to donate parts you know where to find us. ha!

It is wintertime, so rather than wish death to Hammy, he provides us daily entertainment. Opening the door this much is just enough to drive Cheddar and Hammy completely crazy.

Next time we have double the fever we will be triple-prepared: Grandma J sent us a sweet Play-Doh toy, a DQ gift card, and a designated “Feel Better Bear.” Thanks Grandma J!