Oscar Stew

It’s not all sunshine and roses around here. As I was scrolling through the pics from the last week, I realized that some of the truest moments of our household never get seen. So, here we go…the good, the bad, and the ugly…

Drew and Brinley are extremely independent.  Not such a bad thing for me, because I don’t have to do for them what they can do for themselves, it’s just a little risky at times.

The do use their independence to benefit others. I get “saprized” with a cup of water at least once a day. Sometimes Rowan gets juice, which Drew makes sure to dilute using his own scientific methods.

Upon wiping the table one night, I discovered chunks of Brinley’s hair. Lovely. I feared the worst, and went to further investigate.

At least she cut it in the back and it’s not noticeable at all. We call this ‘do the Kung-Fu Panda. As for the outfit…I think that qualifies as ugly. Spots, stripes, and solids, not to mention her shirt is on backwards?! Good effort Binnie!

A couple weeks ago Drew broke my prized butter dish. It wasn’t just any butter dish.

Drew confessed (as if the horrified screams coming from the kitchen weren’t enough), and wrote me a sorry letter.

The butter dish was part of a handmade set painted by my sister Jenna who is currently serving a mission in Hotlanta, GA. At least I have a few months before I have to break the news to her.

Drew felt genuinely sorry and wrote another sorry letter. Instead of finger spaces we have | to break up the words. “I am soreye I em rile soreye to brack your glase.” awww…

Speaking of horrified screams, how does one accidentally drop her “cd player” in a washer full of suds and clothes? Judging from the howl she let out, it had to have been tragic. We let it dry for a few days, and it was good as new. Amazing!

I love that my kids enjoy cleaning. The kids clean with vinegar, that way they are actually disinfecting and I don’t have to worry about the money wasted (or the fumes inhaled) while they spray, spray and spray some more. Better spray one more time, just in case…

I wonder where all those crumbs went?

We’ll just make Drew sweep them up, and entertain the baby at the same time. Hey CinderScoob, when you are finished there, how about bathing the guinea pig?

Poor neglected Ro. Left on the kitchen floor to fend for herself. Watching everyone else run around her…she has become such a velcro baby lately.

She’s possibly (hopefully!?) teething, so a dose of tylenol and a nice long (looooong) nap will do wonders.

How about those dry, cracked, bleeding hands? Drew has the worst case. That is hydrogen peroxide bubbling on Brinley’s hands. ouch!

After the “fizzy water” has done it’s job, they get slathered with Eucerin cream and shoved into baggies. And then the kids get the next 2 hours to relax in front of a movie. Sweet freedom! Or is it?

Drew has a fantastic primary teacher. After a recent lesson on faith, Drew came home and relayed all of the information he had recently gleaned. He is famous for setting up impromptu Family Home Evenings where he gives us the watered down version.

And then there is the mystery items that come home from the grocery store. How this bad boy went unnoticed, I don’t know. I wonder who the culprit was?

No, we didn’t ban you from the blog for a week. We had to upgrade our WordPress software and it didn’t go well. Ryan tried to fix it, and that just made it worse. Bummer of a curse, dude. For a few days we wallowed in self pity thinking all was lost, and mourned the loss of our blog. Fortunately we were able to get some expert help from Susan, Ryan’s high school friend, Oscarstew subscriber, and WordPress guru! She swooped in this afternoon, helped us grease the gears and now we’re full steam ahead! We also talked, made pizza, talked some more, laughed, made ice-cream and talked until there was nothing left to say. We can’t thank you enough Suz for fixing our blog, and entertaining us all day! Let’s do it again soon, minus the whole broken blog thing.

So what’d we do all week? We had plenty to do, even though most of us were sick. Drew turned 6, Rowan hit 9 months, Brinley…I mean “Fancy Nancy” attended an exquisite tea party down south, we enjoyed a few days off of school, parent teacher conferences, taxes (oh yes, we enjoyed doing our taxes this year…cha-CHING!), and let’s not forget the beautiful weather which allowed for much outdoor goodness. It was a nice break from the internet, and the old ball and chain, I mean blog. You’ll be reading about our adventures soon enough. But if you’re only gonna spend five dollars…

Wouldn’t you rather get more meat?! We scored 2 free sandwiches at Quizno’s during their Million Sub Giveaway. The kids? Well, we packed them a lunch and they weren’t too thrilled about it. Their life is so hard. mmmm…tasty! 

Yesterday was a weird day. It was one of those days that reminds you to hug your kids extra tight, stop yelling, and just slow down and enjoy the moment. We spent lots of time playing on the floor, just hanging out and not worrying about the dishes, or the laundry.

We’ve been trying to get Rowan to enjoy time on her belly more. And that usually means throwing in some sort of bribery.

She still not interested in crawling. But she is pretty good at stretching and “scooching.”

Drew & Brinley have a habit of being the first to wake up in the morning (read: way too early) so last week I left a note on their door with ideas of things to do, all the while threatening their very lives if they woke Rowan. Yesterday I found a note on my door that stated there was a surprise for me to discover….

I didn’t have to look for too long before I found that all of Rowan’s shoes were lined up…

Her bed was made, and they added a nice spring touch to the room. A cute little (handmade) alphabet chart was taped to her crib. Rowan should be ready for kindergarten by the time she is 18 months old! They also put away her laundry and vacuumed her room. Now that is service!

Rowan made sure Drew knew how much she appreciated a clean room by giving him a big wet one.

Drew got his birthday box from G&G J, Grandma made sure to include some presents that could be played with immediately, while the birthday stuff waits for next week. The kids got some fun Potato head accessories to add to their collection. Drew and Brinley stayed true to their talents, with Drew’s as Chef Tater…

And Brinley’s as Princess of Tot. This is Brinley’s new “smile for the camera” face. Gotta love it. Notice the slight sunburn on her face after playing too long at the park. Is it really winter?

And what’s a day of Potato Head playin’ if the guinea pig doesn’t get in on the action? Homeboy Edgar was promised some lettuce if he stayed still for an official portrait. Definitely something to add to my portfolio, don’t you think?