Lucky Little Leprechauns

 Are you team "Irish I was Irish" or team "what's with all the green"? I grew up in a town with a very heavy Irish Catholic populations, so we celebrated St. Patrick's Day big time. We got out of school early for the St. Patrick's day parade, and main street was decorated in green for weeks. St. Patrick's Day Mass was the second largest Mass of the year, that's how important it was to my home town. So I was shocked when I graduated, went away to college and learned that it isn't huge everywhere! So obviously I'm team celebrate big! Wether you're Irish or not, it's still fun to get into the celebration.

And as previously discussed, celebrating things with kids is my jam, and it's way more fun than grown up celebrations! Our tradition is pretty simple. When the kids go to be the night before St. Pat's (St. Patrick's day is always March 17th) the leprechaun runs wild. He dyes the milk green (2 drops of food coloring), leaves rainbow candies, gold coins, and lucky charms cereal as their surprise. 

The leprechaun also "tattoos" the kids while they sleep. This is the hardest thing about our tradition! I get the temporary tattoos really wet and place them on their little arms while they sleep. I do my best to pat them on, but I have one light sleeper who makes it more of a challenge. The surprise on their faces when they notice them is the best! Even my non-believer still thinks it's cool.

For breakfast they get to have Lucky Charms, a fresh fruit rainbow, and green eggs. To make the green eggs I put a handful of spinach and 1/4 cup of milk in my Vitamix, blended until smooth and then added 6 eggs. Blend until smooth and make as normal scrambled eggs, I added some thick sliced ham and white cheddar.  The kids love having special breakfast, it really makes the day more fun.

And of course you've got to have Corned Beef for dinner! I make mine in the slow cooker, which is pretty fool-proof.  But my favorite thing to do with corned beef is to make corned beef hash breakfast for dinner the next day! Fine chop some potatoes, 1/2 an onion, and some corned beef, fry it in a cast iron pan until crispy.

 Top it with an over easy egg and it's pure perfection.

However you choose to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I hope the luck of the Irish is on your side. 

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Stocking Stuffers

One of my favorite things about Christmas are stockings. Santa only does stockings in our house, so the kids ask for one small gift - close to stocking size, and inexpensive. Finding fun, useful items for stockings can be super fun, or super challenging. Here are a few things Santa is loving this year.

For Boys

One of the things I'm most excited about for my son this year is this DIY Comic Book, he's really gotten into drawing this year and I think he's going to love it. Aaron's Thinking Putty is the only slime/putty allowed in my house, it really is the best and least messy option.  And he's getting a head lamp because they are so fun. The one thing he asked Santa for was a grabber. 

My son loves treasure rocks and all things science, these pocket science instruments are awesome. 




For Girls

Oh man, having a daughter is so fun!  Some fun stocking stuffers for girls include, play makeup kit, playfloam pals, water wow! books, and of course she's getting bows! I absolutely love Matilda and Grace, we bought our first bows from this sweet mama over 3 years ago and they stand the test of time.  

Art Gifts
We also love arts and crafts, so they are each getting a few fun things, like Wikki Stix, Kwik Stix, sketch pads, and stickers. 
 
For the Ladies

These are a few of my favorite things! This unicorn nail file is amazing, I got it 2 years ago and it is still perfect. The Alaska Bear silk pillow cases are just as good as my Slip ones and 1/3 of the price! If you know me, you know I love good skincare. I have tried every eye cream on the market, and every time I try something new, I always come back to this Shiseido Benefiance eye cream - it is unbelievably good. I am also obsessed with Sunday Riley skincare, it is so good! I switched to it last November and cannot believe how good my skin looks - a year later and it is still amazing, unlike other things that only seem to work for a few months. 

  

My favorite tweezers. The coolest, weirdest, grossest, most amazing foot peel - seriously, your feet will be so amazingly soft, the peeling is gross, but totally worth it.  Another odd, but amazing thing is this Bruder moisturizing eye mask, our optometrist recommended it and it's so good.  Love a good mani & pedi? Olive & June can't be beat! Their polish is the best.

  



For Guys

This BigFoot Seek and Find is hysterical and fun. These nail clippers are the best! I got my husband a set 2 years ago and he raves about them every single time he uses them! Here are the flat edged option.  Headlamps are always a fun to have around, and this digital tire pressure gauge is life changing! Seriously it's so amazing and on sale for $12! For a super funny, and totally practical gift, Ballwash is awesome! My husband loves fidget objects and has a tray of them on his desk - this original fidget cube is his favorite, I bought them during the kickstarter for far too much, but he loves them. 

Edibles

What's a stocking without some fun treats?  My kids love marshmallows and we are huge fans of Smashmallows. If you like sour gummies, these JellyBelly Sour Santas cannot be beat - seriously they are the best, I may have bout 24 bags of them to get me through the year... We also love Kinder Hippos and Kinder Eggs - these Kinder eggs are on sale for $1 an egg which is a great price. My kids love suckers so they will each get a few ZolliPops. The good peanutbutter cups, Tony's Chocolonely (this is one of my all time favorites!)

   

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