"It's too bad we don't have any alcohol in the house."

So began our leprechaun trap adventures this year.

Last year Hannah really got into catching leprechauns. The story started here and finished here. I was hoping that this year both girls would be excited about doing it again because it was so much fun. Hannah showed absolutely zero interest - she had me convinced that this year she wasn't interested - and Ainsley ... well a leprechaun isn't Batman, a pirate, or an X-Men character, so he's not that 'awesome'.

Then yesterday afternoon, out of the blue, Hannah said "It's too bad we don't have any alcohol in the house."

"Why do you say that?" After all, I'm not at all used to my six-year-old sounding like she's jonesing for a drink.

"Well, if tomorrow's St. Patrick's Day then we only have one more night to try to catch a leprechaun. Remember how leprechauns like to get drunk? If we had alcohol, we could catch him easier. All we have is this pretend wine," showing me the fancy soda we got on a killer deal at World Market, "and he can't get drunk on pretend wine."

Then the trap building started. As she put it together she kept asking things like "How far apart are leprechaun's legs again?" (she's making a ladder) and "How drunk do you think he'll have to be to not be able to get out of the jar?" She put a little wooden treasure chest in the glass jar to fool him into jumping in there.

Then she left him a big drink of soda in the smallest cup she could find - the door to the toy room got locked somehow and I haven't found the desire to take the knob off to open it yet, so the itty bitty cups were out of the question - and went to bed.

It definitely wasn't as involved as last year.

This morning - very early (she was very excited) - she found the cup tipped over and most of the soda gone. The leprechaun had gone too. The soda hadn't been powerful enough and he'd kept his wits about him enough to tie his rope to the ladder to lower himself in. When he found out that it was fake gold, he climbed back out, but popped his gold buttons off on the way and left them there.

We're all wearin' green over here today. Have a wonderful St. Pat's day!

ETA: Wanted to add one of our St. Paddy's Day treats to this post so I'd remember to do it next year. So much fun, soooo easy to do with little kids, very easy clean-up, and incredibly cute (and yummy).

Just get regular pretzels, stick pretzels, white chocolate, and green sprinkles. Spread out wax paper. Melt the chocolate. Turn your kids loose to make shamrocks.



Or lollipops.

I'm being attacked.

And my guardians are asleep on the job.

Luckily, I have a hose.

Foiled again.

Yesterday was a full day.

A little girl was reminded that spring does not equal summer.

And then there was dog walking.

Theater.

Bracelet making.

Guess Who.

Puzzles.

School. Our lesson today was on grasshoppers. Our teacher is strict.

More seed starting.

Chicken responsibilities.

Then to the library for a puppet show and reading.

And park play, where Gray finally decided that slides were fun and not scary.

Craft time with a cousin while the moms collaborated in the kitchen and checked on them occasionally.

The craft turned out cute, though it was a bit too much for even Hannah. They made it through the pot of gold, the shamrock, and a few lines of the rainbow before they ran off to play in another room and we finished the rainbows for them.

Then home again, home again for reading books with Daddy before he left on a business trip.

Now on to today.

To be an artist.

"He,
who works with his hands,
is a workman.

He,
who works with his hands and his head,
is a craftsman.

He,
who works with his hands and his head and his heart,
is an artist."

Francis of Assisi

Hannah has decided that she wants to be an artist when she grows up.

Painting, drawing, stitching, crafting, any type of 'art' will work. In talking about it, trying to find out what I could help her with, she mentioned that she wants to do "the art that needs eye goggles". Mkay.

So, this is a call for help.

What the heck is she talking about? Can you think of any art that requires eye goggles? Art that a six-year old can do?

Matt asked her if she was thinking of science experiments that used eye goggles and she said "Well, Father, I haven't ruled out being a scientist when I grow up, but mostly I want to be an artist. So I could do experiments, but it would be more like a hobby."

Spring is in the air.

Saturday we had cold but windy weather - good for the first bike ride of the spring.

(Don't recognize that dog? Go here for his story.)

On Monday, we got our first en plein air experience of the year, though it was sketching and not painting. Very satisfying for all of us. Hannah, as always, drew from her imagination. Her page was filled with images of her future chihuahua playing on the lawn, chasing birds, and running beside her bike.

(Matt's trying to fix our grill - hence the grill door on the porch beside them.)

On Monday, the kids did not come in the house for more than five or ten minutes at a time until nightfall, the warm weather was that enticing.

Tuesday morning we woke up to a half-inch of snow on the ground and lots of wind. The girls decided that it was a good day for popcorn.

And reading - lots of Calvin, Batman (Ains' new love), and animal fact books.

Max and Ruby dvd, Poisson Rouge website.

And the jumphouse.

And, instead of en plein air painting, it was 'at kitchen table' painting.

Or for Gray (who showed his first interest in actually painting), 'with bare butt' painting.

For those who have sharp eyes, you may be noticing that my girl's outfits aren't changing much from day to day. We've hit that stage where each has found a favorite outfit and rarely changes out of it. This does save on laundry, but it pushes laundry time to during the night while they're asleep, so it's a trade-off.

While the kids painted, I got a few more rows in on my hammock.

Last night we had a family meeting to discuss our next family vacation. Hannah wanted Hawaii, but she'll settle for dinosaur bones, Ainsley wanted lots of hotels, and she's not willing to settle for less, Matt's wanting the Oregon Coast, I'm aching to meet some wonderful friends that I've never met 'in real life', so I was wanting the East Coast during the time that they both meet there. Budget constraints did in Hawaii, lots of hotels, and the East Coast, so Matt's Oregon Coast looks like it's winning out. We're looking into dinosaur bones sites out there and I'm trying to figure out how to stretch our travel to meet some other fantastic, beautiful, lovely, wonderful online friends.

In the meantime, we're settling for using the map as a pirate 'scope (that can, surprisingly, only see other pirates).

Today's sunny but windy, and we've gotten an email from the library saying more of Ains' Batman books are waiting for us, so it looks like a trip to town is in the cards for today.

You know it's going to be a good day,

when the first thing you hear in the morning is "Are you going to be here all day again, Daddy?" and then squeals of joy when he answers in the affirmative. It doesn't hurt that it's a clear, springtime-feeling day.

So it's been pretend and bike-riding (the first of the season!) and admiring baby goats.

Dancing and piano playing.

Jumping in the jump house (a hand-me-down from my sister who has achieved goddess stature in my children's eyes).

Garden planning and egg collecting.

Crafting and organizing.

Dollhouses and computer games.

Scooby-doo (and the accompanying 'creeps').

Playing chess with the Simpsons (one of Hannah's birthday presents).


I've been able to get goat, chicken, and seed-starting chores done. It feels so good to be able to spend all day outside.

Tonight's family game night. Can't wait.

These posts are emotionally exhausting.

Two birthdays in three days. Yesterday I lived through two years of pictures. Today I relived six years of life with another one of the most amazing humans I know.

She's so proud of being six. It comes with some big accomplishments in her mind - a few more inches in height, two front teeth lost, a cartwheel almost perfected, a chihuahua fund being filled up (she told us that we didn't have to get her a cake if we just wanted to get her a chihuahua instead). It's hard to remember when she was a brand new life and her main goal was to eat as much and as frequently as possible.


It struck me when I was selecting these pictures how much they captured the essence of this child.

She has always had a mothering nature.

and an appreciation that borders on worship for the natural world.


She cannot contain her utter joy in dancing.

She is a mischievous little trouble-maker

with an unapologetic joie de vivre.

She is a protective, loving sibling,

who has an imagination that takes over all of our lives at times.

And she is my friend. What mother could ask for more?

Happy Birthday my precocious little girl. I so love being your mother.

It's been two years.

Two years exactly since this little 'supah-hewo' entered my life.

Two years since my heart expanded yet even farther than I thought possible.



He is so very loved by his siblings.



Sometimes too loved.

His goofy personality is so much fun.







He's conquered all of us.

Happy Birthday, little man. I can't imagine my life without you in it.

I don't know what a two-year-old wishes for, but I hope that whatever it is, you get it in spades.

On our way home.

We're leaving this...

and this...

and this...

Oh, and this.

The brief vacation in the sun was so rejuvenating.

The girls are ready to go home and see their daddy. When we stopped at a McDonald's Play Place yesterday, Ains saved a seat for her daddy at the table. Hannah's goat, Beauty, kidded out while we were gone and Hannah wants to get back to take care of her and her new baby, Diamond.

So this morning, when Daddy called our hotel room, I had some very happy children.

It will be good to be home.