A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

Knitted Easter Egg

This morning, we could hear birds singing outside our window for the first time in months. Hallelujah! There’s still plenty of snow on the ground, but the daffodils I bought at Trader Joe’s the other day are blooming and the sun is hanging around a little longer every day. Spring is in the air.

I stopped over at Purl Bee to see what’s new and found this adorable knitted Easter egg. Can you imagine a little Easter tree festooned with a dozen or so of these? Very sweet. But I’m not sure if this is the year to tackle a project like this. Maybe I’ll just make one egg to see if I can do it. Is anyone else thinking of spring projects of one kind or another?

  • I also saw this incredibly cute and festive DIY garland at Purl Bee.
  • Liesl at Oliver + S created this sweet questionnaire to give her daughter every year on her birthday. Wouldn’t this be a lovely tradition? It’s never too late to start. I think I’ll give one to Tim on his birthday in April. (It’ll be fun to guess his answers and see how well I know him.)
  • Are you for or against Crocs? (People seem to have an opinion one way or the other.) Either way, you might like these.
  • Day 77 of the 100 Push-Ups Challenge. I’m not actually doing all of these push-ups every day, you know. But I’m doing some push-ups, which is better than no push-ups.

The kids are off from school again today. We’re still looking for shoes for Lexie. They all seem to be covered in glitter and are—what’s the word?—bedazzled. Which is not Lexie’s thing. So we need to scour through a few more stores. And knowing us, we’ll end up at the bookstore, too. Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s another amazing creation from i am baker. Click here to see what’s inside.

Did you catch a leprechaun? Once again, we did not. The little rascal was naughtier than ever this year, leaving rice in the cereal box, turning the milk green, and dumping flour all over the counter. He even ate all our chocolate shamrocks and left the wrappers strewn everywhere. Next year, we’ll really have to get serious with our trap.

The kids don’t have school today, so we’re off to buy new shoes, get a haircut or two, and find some birthday presents. We’ll end the day with corned beef and cabbage with my parents. Lá Fhéile Pádraig!

Soul Mate

This quotation from Elizabeth Gilbert is too long to fit on a Mug of Wisdom, but I had to share it anyway. It’s feeling very true around here these days.

 

via Little Miss Momma

How to Make a Leprechaun Trap

First, find the old leprechaun trap from last year. Think of ways to improve the design so little Paddy O’Seamus won’t escape this time. Come up with the idea of a rainbow to lure him to a pot of chocolate coins wrapped in gold. Place the pot of gold carefully over the hole cut out of the top of the trap. Try to keep your brothers from eating the chocolate.

Make signs saying “Do not touch” and “Do not climb ladder,” knowing the leprechaun will of course do the exact opposite and fall into your trap.

Place a tiny vegetable patch near the trap. Apparently, this will lull Paddy O’Seamus into a false sense of security. He won’t expect trouble in a garden.

Last but not least, wait with anticipation until St. Patrick’s Day morning. Imagine all the things you’ll buy once you’ve captured the leprechaun and made him hand over his gold. Ask if you can keep him since it doesn’t seem very nice to take his gold and then kick him out. Go up to the playroom and make a leprechaun house for the newest family member.

Irish Soda Bread

Here’s a recipe for my aunt Joan’s Irish Soda Bread. I’ll be making it for breakfast on St. Patrick’s Day, minus the caraways seeds and with craisins instead of raisins.

Ingredients

3 cups flour
2 TBSP. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup dried currents or raisins
1 tsp. caraway seed
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir in currants or raisins and caraway seeds. Add buttermilk and stir until moistened. Turn into greased 8-inch round pan. Bake at 350 degrees until browned, about 35-40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

The kids are working on this year’s Leprechaun Trap. We started with Family Fun’s version a few years ago, but new twists are added every year. I overheard talk of using a rainbow this time to lure the leprechaun. I hope they catch him because he causes a lot of trouble. He’s dyed the milk green, left green footprints* all over the place, overturned chairs, and left rude notes.

* The footprints were suspiciously similar in size to a Ken doll’s shoes.