Oscar Stew

…There lived a beautiful princess. She had four babies first, and then finally got to move into her very own castle. The place needed a little sprucing up, but this was an opportunity that she and her dragon had been dreaming of for 9 years. So off they went, enjoying their time with the little ones as they made plans for transforming this quaint quarters into a resplendent roost!

A year rolled by…was the princess pleased with the progress of her pad? Let’s ask the magic mirror! Lookin’ good!

Isn’t it a good thing that dragons aren’t afraid of heights? The previous inhabitants painted the walls to suit their fancy, but they weren’t all that cautious when it came to avoiding the ceiling. So, all has been made new!

What a precarious perch! Careful dragon, don’t forget you left your wings at work!

Descending to the dungeon…Alright enough with that princess mushy goo! The earth tones are out and the jewel tones are in! Out here in the man-cave we’re making space out of thin air! Oh yeah! Hey Mommy! Daddy says this is my new bunk bed! Haha!

Ok, back to work. Drew you hold up the shelf with your head while I put the screws in. Let me know if any poke through. Ai!

It’s been great to look back over the last year and see all the fun we’ve had making this place our own. We’ve definitely caught the home improvement bug, as we have big plans for this summer. Most of all it’s been great to have the help that we’ve received from the kids and all of you who have stopped by to lend a hand. Thanks for your help!

It’s that time of year again when kids all around the country eat their greens…and like it!

Check us out! We’re in a green kitchen! With green food! But no green in our pockets! Nice Mater teeth Drew!

I think at this point Brinley realized what she was eating today, and was doing her best to keep from turning green herself.

Green sandwich, broccoli, sour apple, and a couple of mystery containers…scary!

Us uneducated ones who don’t go to shewl shared the rest of the loaf at home…1000 bonus points if you know the “shewl” reference!

…c’mon Rowan sing it! There is beauty all around,when there’s loaf at home!

Yeah ok, it is tough to sing with your mouth full. I take it you like the sandwich?

Even Elea-crank is a fan. Maybe that spongy bread massaged those aching gums of hers? Can’t you see the tears of relief welling up in her eyes?

We went for a green dinner too. Why not go all out? The kids were just sure this dinner was going to disappoint, but they both went back for thirds.

I used a pretty fool-proof recipe. How could I go wrong with butter & parmesan? Oh I get it, you silly kids don’t like asparagus.

Not sure who this kid is. Maybe we’ll be able to tell once we peel off the anti-aging noodle mask. Happy St. Patty’s!

Christmas is still lingering over here, and not just around our waistlines! dough! Christmas 2010 was awesome! Having our own home made a huge difference. We had a place to hang stockings for the first time ever! Yes! It wasn’t a banner year for our Christmas tree, however. Rowan and Eleanor teamed up to ensure that the few ornaments that had survived years of toddler abuse were tortured to death…

When it came time to read & act out the Christmas story, Drew & Brinley took it upon themselves to look the part. This is a historically accurate remake of the first Christmas. A Chick-Fil-A cow in the stable? Sure why not…

When we bought the house it came with a trashbag of lights stuffed in a corner the basement. Our thanks go out to the previous owners for making it possible for us to hang lights this year. Before heading to bed D, B, & R made sure to liberally distribute sparkly reindeer food on the lawn to attract such pests.

Isn’t it weird how Santa comes right after the kids go to sleep? Ho Ho Ho…

Busted! This little Santa spy tried to get a peek at the goods. notsomuch. Eleanor had a tooth that was trying to peek through her gums, and she was sure to tell us allllll about it!

There were no children harmed immediately following this photo. Dig the gray paint dots on the wall?

Isn’t this what every kid should look like on Christmas morning?

Or this? (a collection of the world’s finest root beers, glug glug!)

Looks like Santa has also heard your cries Ellie! At long last, your own amber necklace! You & Rowan will blaze the trail for homeopathic remedies and look cute to boot!

To avoid overstimulation we took an intermission halfway through present opening. So while the clean-up of Hurricane Noel was in progress, Eleanor got pumped up for what might be in the next box…

The cinnamon rolls were made & left to rise, homemade eggnog chilling in the fridge. Dee-lish! Say, is my vision getting blurry?

Maybe the blur is the anger welling up inside! During the commotion this rogue stallion made a disaster of the blackberry pie that had been slated for dessert…

Maybe that sugar binge wasn’t such a great idea. Why is everything moving so fast?! All we know is that this lens has already said its first word…”MAMA!?”

Too much sugar, too much fun. The room is starting to spin…in a good way!

Santa may not have given the kids rocks for Christmas, but we made sure not to let Drew & Brinley miss out. You can make these rocks shiny! The kids wasted no time getting the tumbler up & running.

Hey Drew, how long are you going to play with that toy? To infinity and beyond! That was really cheesy, but I couldn’t resist. Can you blame me? I come in peace!

The spirit of Christmas was alive with my Grandma’s nativity on display. She handmade it in ’86 and passed away in ’91. I love having a piece of her with us…

The day is almost done, the fire is warm, bellies are full…

Still haven’t had enough? We threw the remaining orphan photos into a handy dandy slideshow… [photospace]