Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day fell on a Tuesday this year and I really wasn't planning on doing too much extra to celebrate.  Of course, there would be our traditional cinnamon rolls with green sprinkles and maybe some skittles left behind from one of those mischievous leprechauns. 

But ... with the impending school closures due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it meant that the kids would be home all day.  And this momma is not one to let a holiday go without a little extra celebration if we have time! 

I dug deep into my craft closet and pulled several things together.  (Steve sat on the couch and watched me work the night before, with minimal eye-rolling.  He knows that I live for this kind of stuff and obliges my creative whims for as long as the kids are little enough to still believe in the magic).

The kids helped me make a rainbow for our window the day before and then Jack set out the Leprechaun Hotel that we made last year.  He wasn't able to trick/catch a leprechaun back then, but patiently held onto the hotel in his closet until this year while making a few changes to his plan.  (The leprechauns left behind some rainbow-colored Trix cereal for the kids!).

Jack was more determined than ever to catch one of those pesky green guys, so he even set up a second trap:

It turns out ... that ... the leprechaun cut a hole in the side of the box and slid down the vent in the floor right next to the trap.

Jack wasn't too upset about it though because he left behind some skittles for each of the kids under the box.

There was a table set up for the kids when they woke up in the morning, all ready for cinnamon rolls.

Shamrock cinnamon rolls, either with or without green icing:

Everyone wore green, so no one got pinched!

But the best part came even later.  After breakfast, I asked Jack to please go in the bathroom and close the lid to the toilet.  I even muttered about how 'I don't like to have that lid left open and that everyone knows better ...' 

Imagine his surprise and shriek of laughter when he realized that one of the leprechauns must have used the toilet while they were in our house!  Oh, the kids could not stop laughing and immediately sent a picture to Steve and a few of their friends.

Sophia's 9th Birthday

Another birthday post ... what can I say?!  We celebrate birthdays HARD in our house! 

I know that a actual birthday is really only a single day, but it just doesn't seem like enough time to celebrate all that the last year brought -- how much they have grown, how much they have changed and how much they really are loved. 

We celebrate with family, we celebrate with friends, we celebrate the DAY OF with just our immediate family and we celebrate at school.

This year, Sophia's birthday was something to remember!  A big snowstorm blew into town the night before her birthday, canceling school for the next three days.  I anticipated this happening, just based on the weather reports, so I did not make her dirt brownies for her classmates until I was ABSOLUTELY SURE that school would be back in session!

She was able to sleep in on the morning of her birthday and then came downstairs to cinnamon rolls with candles.  Yes, it's a good start to the morning when you have nowhere to be right away and you can feast on breakfast while still wearing your bathrobe!

We spent most of the day enjoying the falling snow and the extra family time together.  The college even closed that night (which is rare!) and while I scrambled to email my students and make arrangements for a make-up chemistry lab at a later date, I really enjoyed eating dinner together as a family -- no dance classes and no college teaching that night.

Planning that I would be teaching that night, we showered Sophia with gifts the weekend before:

Officer James was more than willing to lend a helping hand, if Sophia needed him.

Birthdays make ALL of us smile!

Later, she posed for a quick picture outside while sporting a lot of her birthday gifts -- the sparkled headband was from Grammy, the flamingo t-shirt was from Grandpa, the leggings were from Aunt Chris, the shoes were from us and the hamburger squishee (I just don't understand the thrill of them?!) was from Sam.

Happy 9th birthday, Sophia Marie!

Sophia's Birthday Party with Friends

We celebrated Sophia's 9th birthday party with a flock of pink flamingos this year.  It seems that flamingos are everywhere and it was so easy to use them as a theme with a bunch of 3rd grade girls.

The main focus of the party was a painting project.  I did a sample painting of a flamingo ahead of time and then walked the girls through, step by step, so that they could create one of their own (that would be dry by the time the party was over).

I hired one of the neighbor girls and asked my mom to come and help too.  I wanted plenty of help when it came to mixing paint!  Oh what fun they all had!

Everyone was so focused and into details.  And I just loved seeing their creations come to life.

All lined up to dry -- each with their own little added details at the end.

After painting, the girls took a little break and enjoyed all of the goodies that I had put out by the chocolate fountain.  They gathered around and giggled with their faces full of chocolate.

We had pizza delivered -- it is so easy for me that way -- and then afterwards, the girls spent some time playing a ring toss game.  This is definitely going in the front yard this summer!

I decided on a "flamingo bingo" game early on and printed the bingo cards on my printer ahead of time.  The girls played until everyone won a prize each round (bathbombs, a flamingo bracelet and a flamingo change purse), covering their numbers with pink starbursts.  I love that idea (and they were on sale that week!) because the girls got to take all of the starbursts home with them that night.

(Her shirt was a present from Grandpa for her birthday the week before -- perfect for the occasion).

The gift bags: ready to fill with their prizes.

Afterwards, the girls headed into the living room so that they could shower Sophia with gifts.  This picture makes me chuckle because no matte how far back the girls sit from the Birthday Girl, they always end up moving closer and closer as they lean in to see all of the gifts.

These guests KNOW Sophia so well!  They gave her so many things that she loves -- just seeing that genuine look of love on her face in this picture makes me smile.

Finally, we ended the party with dessert!  Flamingo cookies, cupcakes and some starwberry glazed donuts.

The sign above the table, left over from Jimmy and Sophia's family party the weekend before, was modified by taking James' name off it.  I think that it fit just perfectly.

 Happy birthday again, Sophia!