Oscar Stew

I wanted to do something fun in honor of Earth Day. I wasn’t feeling crafty, so I left the decision up to D&B.  I tried to explain what Earth Day means, the best way to break it down was to tell them that today was the Earth’s birthday. Being the somewhat crunchy/granola freaks that we are, we talk a lot about being kind to the earth, so I was anxious to hear their responses.  Brinley decided on cupcakes (it’s always food with Binnie!), and Drew thought it would be nice to walk around the neighborhood and pick up trash like we did once last summer. So we donned the sweaty yellow gloves, and off we went.

Happy Birthday Earth!!!

This is the fastest way to pick up trash this side of the Mississippi!

Zooming around on his scooter filled his bag up pretty quick.

Brinley hit the jackpot with a big pile of junkmail laying in the street.

High or low, no shred of litter could escape the grippy grasp of the D&B cleanup crew.

Drew’s breakneck pace eventually was too much for Brinley, she and the asphalt made a bad trade. Oh the pain! The anguish! The agony! The drama!

One of the most shocking discoveries was finding Drew’s artwork in the street a block away. I don’t know if he was more offended that I had thrown away one of his masterpieces, or surprised to find a portrait of Edgar circling the neighborhood. In my defense, trash day was yesterday, so it must have blown out of the recycle bin. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it…

Rowan had a great time observing from her climate-controlled chariot.

Eagle Eye Drew spotted this sad little nest laying under a tree. He wanted to take it home and hatch the egg himself. When I ask him if he was willing to squeeze it between his cheeks for the next two weeks he quickly retracted that statement. We mourned the loss of this future bird, and moved along.

At some point Brinley stopped picking up trash, and started picking flowers. Pick as many as you like Brinley; they grow by the millions!

Dandelions, blue sky, puffy clouds, speckled eggs…all great reminders of the beauty of the Earth. I’m glad today was such a nice warm day so we were able to go outside and enjoy it!

First the KitchenAid mixer surrendered to a fatal case of arthritis while kneading a yummy batch of whole wheat rolls. Then the major networks switched to HDTV and in the process we lost all signal. Even with the handy dandy converter box from Uncle Sam we still couldn’t manage to get a single channel that we had before! And then (yes, there is an “and then!”) the dishwasher decided to give up the ghost. So, we’ve pretty much been “unplugged” for the last week. No television, no fresh baked bread or cookies, no effortlessly clean dishes. It’s been devastating and enlightening at the same time. I suppose I could use a wooden spoon to mix up some cookies, but really, I’m not that motivated.

Suddenly we find ourselves with lots of idle time on our hands, so we watched the snow fall…

…and marveled at the beautiful spring buds peeking through the ice, longing for the sunny days ahead.

The food processor is still running like a champ, so I put the kids to work sorting dry pinto beans for our homemade (unfried) refried beans.  Oh hush…show me someone who doesn’t love pureed bean dip?!

Behold the discerning eye of a master bean sorter!

This bean must not have passed inspection.

Or these… So dramatic!

Well, I can kinda tell why this one didn’t.

The kids quickly tired of this game and swore they would never eat beans. Just wait until they aren’t in solid bean form…they will lick them off their plates and beg for more!

After WW Pinto Bean the troops rallied in the kitchen. What took 15 minutes, a lift & a twist, will now take an hour and some sore knees.  Good times! On the bright side – good quality family time right here! ha…

Handwashing dishes is putting a serious cramp in my creative style,  but 15 minutes here, and 15 minutes there is enough time to put the needle to the fabric. 

This week is actually National Turn Off Your TV Week, so we have a reason not to bother with fixing the high-density dummy-maker. There are more things for us to do this week than we will have time to get to anyway. Onward to victory!

Could it be that Winter has finally released it’s death grip on Colorado? Bony cold fingers or not, it’s been kinda warm around here over the past week, and as true sun chasers we had to take advantage.

Hooray for sandals…even if they are last years’ model and your toes hang off the edge…

Brinley isn’t much for physical challenges. It was too much of a challenge to put her helmet on right. The slightest incline will send her into a fit of rage the moment her speed decreases by half a knot.

Fortunately when the going gets tough Brinley has a brother that’s more than willing to give her a shove. I see a two-wheeled vehicle in her near future. 

That’s enough calisthenics for one day, on to the fine arts department. At 6 years old Drew is what we call a “Driveway Muralist Expert,” shown here equipped with his fancy paint sprayer that he got for his birthday.

Sharing is caring. Even though it’s Drew’s toy Brinley is allowed to put her paws on it from time to time. If only it went both ways…

Woke up the next day expecting the worst. But much to our surprise it was another yesterday outside. Back to the streets!

It started to look like it would get chilly or windy before long, so I put Rowan in her snowsuit to keep her warm and block the wind. She ended up looking silly and sweaty instead.

Slipper-wearing CSI Brinley created more crime scenes in the driveway.

Drew took a break from scooting to remind the world of the order of letters.

Yet another day passed. But on this day there was a little chill in the air. No matter, we proceeded with haste directly to the park.

Brinley took some flying lessons.

Who’s driving this flying umbrella?! turn Turn TURN!!!

There’s no better way to finish out the day than by throwing balls over the fence with the neighbors. (It’s possible that Brinley is wearing Drew’s jeans in this picture. I can’t imagine why, I’m always on top of the laundry…always.)

Rowan would disagree however, as she enjoyed a nice hot soak in the sink.

Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Please shine down on me
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Hiding behind a tree
These little children are asking you
To please come out so we can play with you
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Please shine down on,
Please shine down on,
Please shine down on me…