hunting for green

Today, we are in search of green all around.  The earthy color seems to magically appear in places we never notice.  All of the sudden, the Irish magic heightens our senses and that lucky color finds its way into all the nooks and cranny's of our day.  

Normal foods we eat everyday suddenly appear only green when paired together in a new arrangement.  A few drops of green food coloring makes our milk green too.

Bright green socks are dug out of the sock bin and proudly worn

 to avoid a dreadful pinch.

Little green bows and hair-clips adorn red Irish locks of hair.

We sit in the tiniest patch of green and hunt for signs of a four-leaf clover 

and perhaps a lucky Leprachaun prancing around.

They peered into a small pond, confident they could see a Leprechaun dashing about.

Snippets of spring green are spotted among the ruffles of a homemade spring dress.

Even green hangars are found amongst a pile of laundry.  They make great teething toys.

And all this hunting for green has pleasantly reminded us that Spring is just around the corner.  The trees are blossoming and grasses are waking up, eager to spread more green all around.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!

May the luck of the Irish be with you today and always!

homemade bath salts

My big girl recently received a book {The Girls' Spa Book by Mary and Jessica Wallace} about homemade spa and bath goodies.  She quickly marked several pages of relaxing bath goodies that she wanted to make over Spring Break.  After a quick trip to the store to gather some ingredients, we begun our little test kitchen.  

The first item on her list was Bath Salts.  I wondered just how complicated some of these recipes might get but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the recipes were to make.  The ingredients for the Bath Salts were simple.  My girls enjoyed picking out food flavorings to make their salts smell.  They picked lemon extract, mint extract and strawberry extract for their fragrances.  After some measuring, dumping, squeezing and mixing, the bath salts were complete.  After trying them out in their evening bath, the bath salts got 3 thumbs up from my girls.

Homemade Bath Salts Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Epsom salts

1/2 cup sea salt

1 cup baking soda

food color

food flavoring (extracts work perfectly) for fragrance

be sure to have a few jars with lids ready for layering and storing your bath salts

STEP 1: Mix Epsom and sea salts with baking soda in a bowl

STEP 2:  Divide the mixture into three equal portions.  Add a few drops of food coloring and scent to the  amounts of the mixture.  Mix and stir well.

STEP 3: Pour or spoon mixture into a jar (or jars).  Layer different colors for a colorful mixture.

USE IN THE BATH:

Add about 1/2 cup to your bath water or use 1/2 cup in a basin of warm water for a relaxing foot soak.

little snippets

exploring a new park - walking the baby dolls - Sunday dinner with the cousins - baking cookies

a big sand pit - going the the library with your sisters - lots of digging - fogging up the back door

giddy up!

Giddy up!  In our neck of the woods, this week was all about Texas and cowgirls.

Our big girl had her first speaking part, on stage, in front of an large audience during her class play.  Although she was nervous and asked to be absent on the day of the play, we were delighted to see her confront her fears and perform without a hitch.  She did great along with all her classmates.  It was such a treat for the parents to see how much our first graders have grown!

Meanwhile, over in PreK, we were all set to attend the annual Cowboy Breakfast at preschool but our plans were derailed by a pesky cold that kept our middle one home for the day.  She donned her cowgirl apparel for a few minutes this morning before she asked to get back in bed to rest.  Poor kid.  I guess sausage, gravy, grits and biscuits might need to make an appearance on our weekend breakfast menu.

Snow?

via B E Nelson Design

If it is going to be cold and icy, why can't we have something more like this winter wonderland?

We are desperate for some REAL winter weather to play in before the season ends.

old man winter

Old man winter is back!

We had a hairy drive home yesterday from the northern part of our state.  We spent the weekend at a lodge of sorts and hadn't anticipated the early arrival of wintry weather.  When we left at noon, the sleet was pelting us with sharp icy crystals that then stuck to the roads, making for an icy mess of a ride home.

Despite the swift arrival of an arctic front, the kids had a grand time at an indoor water-park and hotel. 

 What could be more fun in the middle of winter than strapping on a swimsuit and playing in the water with your siblings and cousins all day?  It was a fun little weekend getaway with family.

These little campers were captivated by bunk-beds in our room and the woodsy theme of the place.  A second TV in their little hideaway was the perfect touch.

Breakfast in the top bunk with your sister while watching cartoons was probably the best treat.  

This fairly new wave of hotel chains that have lots of activities for children and families within the confines of their property is pretty neat.  They won me over with a good cup of joe and a large fireplace overlooking the water-park madness.

cars

Ever since this kid could push a car around on her knees and make a "vroom" sound, she has loved playing with matchbox cars.  She particularly likes the cars with personalities and eyes that have become popular in the past few years.  Lining them up according to family, color, size or personality has always been a fun accomplishment.  I hadn't seen a line-up for a while but was delighted when I turned the corner into the kitchen to find them spread across the counter-top and my 4-year-old beaming with joy.  It seems some things never change.  In this case, I hope her fascination with this little toy continues long into the future.