Top O' The Mornin' To Ya'

Aw yeah... St Patrick's Day happened.

And while, Mr F & I are not beer drinkers,

We can throw back some serious Lucky Charms...

So, when it comes to a holiday centered around

a giant Family Sized box of sugar cereal

It is on like Donkey Kong!

 Partly, because I forgot to get a full selection of rainbow colored streamers... and had to use last years scraps... we went for a different approach from last year.  Basically the Leprechauns tossed the joint leaving rolos, green balloons, and their hats in their wake.  

This was a pretty low stress holiday prep...

Knock over the furniture and sprinkle balloons 

and chocolate on the floor.  

Even a drunk person could do it.

 The remnants of streamers were just enough to drop out of the ceiling as the "end of the rainbow" and into the pot of rolos gold.  

 The Leprechauns also worked some crazy mischievous magic on the dining room chairs (because I had green masking tape and an entire package of green balloons (why?!) in the craft closet.

They also messed with the dish towels to show that real Leprechauns are doing this stuff... right?... why would we mess up our own dish towels?  (They totally fell for it... what are they?! Children?!!)

 

Dyed the milk green.  We've been doing this long enough to have learned the hard lesson that Kid will not drink milk that has been suspiciously tempered with (actually, a positive now that I think about it... hmm... what does that say about Baby?!) So we've been working two gallons.  Pulling the old dramatic "Ha Ha, we tricked those Leprechauns... they didn't even see our secret 2nd gallon!" when I open the fridge (again, the kids totally buy into it.... this is why you really should warn your kids about strangers with bags of candy or lost puppies... geez... they will fall for ANYTHING.)

 Oh, if you are wondering about the candle... that is a piece of our birthday ring.  I love that thing, and use it for pretty much every holiday imaginable.

 She's not afraid of drinking tainted milk or wearing mismatched quadruple green.  She also ate a rolo before she sat at the table for breakfast. When I caught her, I said "Who said you could have that?"  And she said "No one said I could; no one said I couldn't." Okay, then.  Case Dismissed.

 Please note that Baby still has to get all geared up like that for school.  Single digits, people.  

But check out that sunrise... not too shabby.  

It's too bad my eye balls were freezing into ice cubes while I was standing there.

And with that, I bid you goodnight.

Although, I suspect the party's just starting for a lot of you.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I've Got New Things (and Old) To Recommend

#1  I was listening to Diane Rehm the other day and heard this segment with Dr. Michael Mosley about his diet/longevity research and self experiment.  It's kinda a big deal in the UK.  Well, I'm on board.  The documentary will be airing on PBS in April, but I found a link to it HERE.  Fascinating.  It seems  that this diet is very successful with men, and maybe less so with women (there is not a lot of research) but I'm giving it a go.  I'll report back.  I did one fast day last Thursday and it was completely manageable... especially considering the fact that I was accidentally drinking decaf that day... so there is hope my end of the day bad mood was in part exasperated by the caffeine situation.  Today is my second fast day.  I really think I can do this.  Mr F is going to start soon, in large part for the overall health benefits, which with his family health history and his age, are IMPORTANT.


#2  How had I never heard of The Bath School Disaster.  Not only is this relatively close to where we live, but it is still the country's deadliest school massacre... and it happened in 1927.  Until the Oklahoma City bombing, it was the worst act of domestic terrorism.  I spent most of the weekend researching it.  The perp was a psychopath.  He plotted this act for at least a year and had intended to kill every child in the school and then drive up and take out all of the first responders.  The town had only 300 residents.  One woman lost three children in the school explosion and had two more injured by the car bomb.  I still can't believe that this has been forgotten - or - never known by the majority of us.  HERE is a short book written by a neighbor and first responder a few months after the disaster.


#3  We watched this AWESOME Little House on the Prairie mini-series with the girls this weekend.  Mr F and I watched this years ago when it was on TV, and it is such a great depiction.  We both loved it then, and loved it again.  It isn't sugar coated... and it is nothing like the original TV series.  Our kids are finally old enough to handle the intensity of it and it made for a great weekend.  At one point during the movie one of the girls said "Men had to do all the stuff back then, now women do it."  Hahahahahahahahaha.  I kind of think Mr F and I could have pulled off the whole pioneer, wagon train, homesteading thing.


#4  We got word that Baby did not get into the charter school this year.  I was pretty devastated since as her learning style becomes more apparent I really would like to get her in a more open/creative setting.  The charter school focuses on project based learning and I think that would be such a great fit for her.  No word on Kid... which could mean she did... which only makes this school decision harder!  Although, if Kid does get in, Baby will be bumped up the wait list and there is a remote chance she could still get in for the Fall.  I hope things line up in the next few months and I can make a decision I feel confident in.  I just know we need a situation that has a better life/school balance.  And I'd LOVE to eliminate this commute.  We have to travel on some of the most dangerous sections of highway many times a day... and I don't feel good about that.


#5  St. Patrick's Day happened.  In the late of night Mr F and I pulled this off:

A whole house rainbow leading from their bedrooms to a Pot of Gold (rolos and gold coins).

Lucky Charms and green milk for breakfast... always a hit.  

If there is one parenting tip I can impart it is: STREAMERS.  People, they cost a dollar.  You can get them in every grocery store, dollar store, and discount store.  They instantly make every holiday festive and special and all you need is some scotch tape, a dollar, and a couple of minutes.  I swag them around for birthdays, Valentine's Day... you name a small holiday and streamers will be there for you, people.  My favorite way to make a holiday feel special with just a  little effort (especially on school days) is to tape some up while they are sleeping.  Oh and for birthdays?  Just get a pack of regular blow up yourself balloons (less than 2 dollars) and tie them to your dining room chairs and hang them from your curtain rods.... that plus streams equals party time.  Three dollars, people... and I swear to God it looks fantastic.  Best part is, you can have this stuff on hand and always pull a holiday off with very little notice or effort.  Stock up.  When you are done with your party just roll the streamers back up and USE IT AGAIN.  Oh, I love streamers.  My mom even uses them as ribbon on gifts and it makes big impressive bows.  Go crazy.  

#6  Oh, wait, one more thing!  I forgot to mention that I just booked a trip to Williamsburg, VA for Spring Break with the girls.  We'll be doing the Busch Gardens/Colonial Williamsburg thing for 6 days.  I'm a little nervous about the amusement park since it will just be me and the girls and I don't know what the ride situation will be (can 3 people ride at once?)... so if you have experience/tips please share.