Oscar Stew

Let’s play a bit of catch-up. Back when Brinley had her birthday Great Grandma F sent her a check. Moolah Moolah! Thanks Grandma! Now that Brinley has surveyed her vast financial empire, what mergers or acquisitions will she make?

First things first. Take care of the tithing. Way to go Binnie!

Now it’s time to shoptilyadrop! This is gonna be harder than she thought!

All the Princess movie songs on one CD! This is the perfect thing to spend her money on, right?

Nope. The CD would take a majority stake in Brinley Holdings LLC, so it’s best to stick with the smaller investors. 

Fancy Nancy is always a good performer. But which portfolio will she choose?

Flash the cash, then drink the mash. A tea party might be just the thing to shmooze the board of investors…

Product endorsements are a sure-fire way to ensure passive income in the years to come. Her future as an Olympic-class soccer player awaits!

Maybe steady & sure is the way to go. Stick with stocks that have performed well over many years. Cootie (NYSE: HAS) has been a great choice since 1949!

All this talk of numbers is getting confusing. Maybe she should work on becoming a CPA?

Sometimes it’s ok to invest with your heart. Just think of the loyalty you can receive by showing charity to the less fortunate?

Looks like the deal is done! Three Fancy Nancy books, the Cootie game, and some Fancy Feast for Cheddar. Signed on the dotted line! Don’t come looking for a debt-equity swap Fred; those toys have got to stand the test of time!

Game over, game on. Today was Drew’s first day of 1st grade. We’ve been preparing all week, getting pumped for the big day.

All hail, the king of school supplies! What a haul!

Our pencil sharpener is still smoking after Drew sharpened all those pencils. That’s right, all 50 of them!

Zero emission lunch, right down to the napkins…OK maybe not the boy, but everything else.

Drew says everyone was jealous of his whole-wheat zucchini muffin. I’m proud of him for being proud of his humble homemade lunch.

Before he left Drew got love from all sources, including some words of encouragement and a peck from the pig.

Aunt Jenna sent Drew text wishing him luck. Boy did he feel important!

His backpack was so stuffed he could barely waddle. I took pity on the pint and hefted his burden for him.

Although he might appear nervous, he is calm, cool and collected. And already has a stack of paper to push!

No one is better at shaking out the butterflies than the butterfly mama. Thanks Binnie!

A true sign of a good day. His lunch was decimated…that’s my boy!

It was reported that he had FOUR recesses today. The highlight of his day was discovering that there is a pocket under his desk to organize his books and pencils. Movin’ on up in the world Scoob!

We rallied the troops this past weekend and journeyed to Berry Patch farms to preserve that summer taste through the dead of winter. While our garden is doing quite well, we just aren’t getting the number of strawberries we need to make enough jam to last us until next summer. Too bad zucchini jam is no good; we are drowning in squash! (any takers?)

Left, left, left right left…

Brinley is a pro at spotting the juicy goodness.

Picking them is another story. She usually delegates that task to Drew, who eagerly sinks his hand deep into the plant to pluck the berries.

Drew was pretty selective with his choices…although I do blame him for the rotten or 1/2 eaten berries that somehow made it into our buckets! In his mind, if it’s Lightning McQueen red, it gets picked!

I can’t complain though, he is a pretty darn good berry picker. 3+ years of training have paid off!

Wait! Stop! Are these USDA certified organic?

Yup, they’re organic. How can I tell? They’re extra juicy!

Brinley hearts butterflies and strawberries.

1.5 flats of berries: $22. 1 hour at the farm: sweaty. Getting hands on experience: priceless. Now the jam for jam begins!