It's All About The Little People

When I was a kid St. Patrick's Day was just about wearing green to school so you wouldn't get pinched.  Until I had kids I had never picked up that it has become so much more.  Luckily it hasn't been overly commercialized yet, and the additions to the standard wear green tradition are a lot of fun.  Now on St. Patrick's Day the Leprechaun actually visits your house and maybe even your class at school and plays tricks on you.  Unlike the Elf at Christmas you don't often see the Leprechaun while he's up to his tricks so the thing to do is to build a trap to catch the Leprechaun.

This was our first year building a trap but after last year when he came and peed green in our toilet and didn't flush we knew we had to change our game this year.  McKenzie was all about the trap and she spent most of a Sunday morning constructing what she thought was a foolproof trap.  She included all of his favorite things - rainbows, clovers, a feeling lucky sign and even helped bake green cookies to lure him in.

This trap involved a whole lot of colored paper, crayons, glue and imagination.  Love to see her putting all that creativity to use.

The proud owner of a Leprechaun trap!

Our trap the morning of St. Patty's Day - judging by the clues the Leprechaun left we think he had to leave his gold to escape using the candy rainbows.

Ben's face says it all.  He is so amazing that a Leprechaun came into our house while we were sleeping and left his gold in McKenzie's trap.  We're a few dollars closer to filling up our Mickey Mouse House jar!

We headed over to Gina's to visit Atticus on St. Patrick's Day and I couldn't resist creating some theme food to bring with us.  Who can resist a fruit rainbow especially when there's a pot of gold to dip it in?  As usual thanks goes out to Pinterest for the idea.

I am thankful for some new traditions with which to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  If I didn't have these two little people in my life it could so easily be just be another day of the year.   I might just have worn some green but instead it's a day to celebrate and provides us an excuse to get creative!

Painting The Town Red

On our latest girls night out we gave it our best shot.  We might not be quite as wild as we used to be but we still know how to have a good time.  I am so fortunate to have so many wonderful friends in my life for so long.  I love any chance I get to spend time with them.  We spent our last ladies night at a great place called Palettes and Pairings where we each painted a picture while drinking wine.  None of us came in feeling we were skilled painters but we all left with a work of art, a few more laugh lines and the general consensus that if you stand back far enough they all look pretty good!

It was so much fun to branch out and try something new together, while we were painting we made jokes about ending up together in a retirement home and doing similar activities.  We joked, but I hope that we do stick together as we continue our journey through life.  Thanks for all the fun ladies, looking forward to many more adventures ahead!  

A Place For Everything, And Everything In Its Place

Another big result from a small transformation on my journey to declutter my house.  In my typical fashion I identified my trouble area years ago and have been trying to figure out a solution ever since. I finally resolved to just try one of the solutions I had found and then try again if it didn't work. Luckily for me the art display rail that I settled on seems to be a perfect fit.

The kids bring home a lot of art work each week from school and while I love to see it all and I'm okay to enjoy it briefly I don't need it all over the entire house.  We have an awkward wall in our kitchen eating area that has always bothered me.  It sticks out into the eating area right past the kitchen and could be great for hanging a picture on.  I spent several years before we had kids looking for the perfect kitchen hutch to put there until I realized that anything that had any depth to it would narrow the walking space too much.  A major issue with this wall is the amount and placement of the utilities features in the wall.  It has a light switch and an outlet which are standard and not too much of an issue but the real trouble is the heater unit and its controls which really make it hard to use this wall effectively.  We don't even use the heater unit and we have talked about removing them but the thought of a drywall project or two along with baseboard replacement stop us from moving forward.  

I used to have a round candle holder that held tea lights on this wall but after the millionth time someone walked too close and knocked it off the wall I moved on.  We then went through a big Pictionary phase so the whiteboard took up permanent residence on the wall.  Then along came the kids and their art projects and before I knew it the wall was constantly covered in some sort of art.  Leading to a very cluttered look and one that didn't force removal of older art.  Time for a change!

Before - art randomly taped all over

After - art neatly displayed

I found a very easy tutorial online that walked me through this project.  Overall, it cost about $10 and took me about an hour of actual work time.  I sanded down a piece of cedar untreated decking so there were no slivers.  Then I painted it green, it took two coats to get full coverage.  After letting it dry I used the sandpaper again to distress the edges of the board and then Matt helped me mount it on the wall with two screws which I patched and painted over.  I then measured out where the clips should go and glued them on with liquid nails.  Lessons learned - glue the clips on before you mount on the wall so they won't slide off.  Overall, this has been a great success.  The kids have a place to display their art.  They each get three clips and they have to either recycle the old art or put it in a special box just for art in their closets.  

I've got a lot more project ideas in my head, I just need to decide on what's next and keep on decluttering. That is if I don't head outside to tend to my gardens... the yard is starting to call to me more than the clutter inside.  

Sneak Peak

I love to catch little moments of love between the kids.  Even on their worst days when they are driving each other (and us crazy) these two cuties are still good friends.  We have been working hard to instill in McKenzie that she is a leader and being older than Ben means she should set a good example.  Luckily Ben has a pretty easy going nature so he doesn't mind that she sometimes takes this role a bit to seriously and acts like a mother hen.  It's so nice to see her big sister role coming out naturally when they are together without us right there.

The kids are taking in the evening hula show at Queens Market during our Hawaii trip.  Apparently, Ben must not have been fully understanding the show and McKenzie was glad to fill him in.  They watched so nicely together and then gave into their inner urge to join the dancing.

Guess Who?

For Matt's birthday this year we didn't do anything too wild, we just had a couple of old friends over for dinner to share some good conversation and laughs.  That's what really happened, but if you ask the kids it was a much bigger event.  They knew it was Daddy's birthday and couldn't wait for him to come home so they could celebrate.  They decided to surprise him and started hiding long before he was even due home.  Every headlight or dog bark was cause for them to scurry back into their spots yelling with excitement.  When Matt finally did arrive home and came into the house to find the lights off and a candle burning on his birthday cupcakes they forgot to yell surprise and instead McKenzie ran out and yelled, "'It's just us Daddy!"  She was sure he wouldn't know who they were with their silly birthday masks on.

Kenzie also informed Daddy what his presents were before he opened them which was very helpful. Next time I will remember to wrap them alone so they stay a surprise.  It's so much fun to see the smallest things provide the kids such great fun and a lifetime of memories.  

Somethings Never Change...

and that's a good thing especially when you're talking about your favorite Girl Scout Cookies or your only sister.  My sister and I were in Brownies together when we were little girls and it's one of the many things I remember doing together as we grew up.  Growing up with a sister so close in age had its pluses and minuses.  At this point, now that we're grown and have kids of our own, I'd say it was definitely a good thing.  Each year when I enjoy my Girl Scout Cookies I am reminded of the time we shared as Brownies and how much fun we had together.

This picture is always what comes into my mind when I think of our time as Brownies.  I can see so much of our own kids in this picture it makes me laugh.  My niece, Kayla, has the same toothless smile and long hair as Kacey is displaying.  I wish I saw more of McKenzie in myself but I see Ben's dark brown eyes and little face peering back.  I also see where Ben gets his height... I am standing on a chair and I'm still not taller than Kacey who is only fourteen months older than me.