HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY FROM THE POTTER FAMILY.
Since St. Patty's Day was on a Sunday this year, I let the kids wear their "green" outfits to school on Friday. They opted to wear them again after church on Sunday as well. But they looked SO stinkin cute in their green. I love how Craiger never really knows what's going on, but smiles anyway for every photo I take. Such good kids.
Well, you know me & holidays. My kids have been asking me all week what I had up my sleeve for Green Day. And though I'm worn out from this last pregnancy, I was still able to put together a small, but fun St. Patty's Day for them.
Every year we do a Leprechaun treasure hunt so the first thing I did was put together a big treasure bowl & hid it in my big bathtub. It was hard trying to keep the kids out of my bathroom that morning when I was trying to get them all ready for the day. . . but none of them saw it so it was a great surprise at the end of the hunt.
For the actual hunt I always do a little rainbow with clues on it. Each piece of the rainbow instructs them what to do next. I stretch the activities out all day long so it becomes a full day experience for them.
I put our first rainbow piece outside the kids' rooms in the hallway right at Craiger's level so that he could find it as soon as he walked out his door.
"Roses are red, violets are blue. I'm hungry for breakfast. How about you?"
So we made our way downstairs to the breakfast table & found our table decorated with green balloons & a big box of "Lucky Charms" waiting for us. There was a note for each of the kids that said:
"I am CEREAL-sly LUCKY to be your mom."
(Thank you pintrest for all the great ideas.)
The kids loved their cereal, green punch, & suckers.
Hanging above the table was our next rainbow piece. Bladen spotted it right away.
He couldn't wait to climb up on Daddy's shoulders to get it from the light fixture. He was SO excited.
"Now that your're fed get dressed in your best. Go off to church before continuing your quest."
So then of course we got the kids ready for church & went to church.
When we got home from church, the yellow piece of the rainbow was waiting for us on the front door. Taya picked it up & I helped her read the next clue:
"Home once again & bellies are empty . . . sit down again for a lunch of green plenty."
For lunch we had green punch, green macaroni & cheese, green applesauce, & green jello parfaits.
However, this was the first time my boys have ever experienced jello. I think the texture got to them (in the wrong way.) They couldn't stand the feel of it in their mouths.
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| Craiger loved the TASTE of the Jello, but couldn't handle the jiggly texture. He kept asking for more, but then he'd gag on it & wind up spitting it out. Is it bad that I thought it was hilarious? |
After lunch, the girls started searching for the green piece of the rainbow. It was hidden very carefully underneath the table.
Lorien was SO PROUD she found such a hidden piece of the puzzle.
"Now that you're full you've found the next clue, go to the kitchen Mom has a surprise for you."
Off to the kitchen we went & I surprised them with freshly made sugar cookie dough (our family's secret recipe). We rolled it out & cut it into shamrocks, treasure cauldrons, & rainbows for St. Patrick's Day.
Then we baked them & decorated them with key lime frosting (green of course), green sparkle gel, & green sugar sprinkles.
Cadence had a "HARD" time finding the blue piece of the rainbow.
ha ha ha
"Who's feeling crafty this happy green day? To the living room we go without any delay."
In the living room I had a big box of Fruit Loops & some string for the kids to make
Lucky Rainbow Necklaces.
Who knew something so simple would be SO FUN?
Craiger found the purple piece of our rainbow on our fireplace.
"Hungry again? Let's go off to dinner, where you'll find your last clue & prove you're a winner."
Dinner was fun to put together too. I always make a fruit rainbow (because my family LOVES any & every kind of fruit we can get our hands on). Their favorite part are the Rolos though. I personally LOVE pineapple.
And for the actual dinner I made more green punch & spinach pasta shaped like little shamrocks with green alfredo sauce. And then we ate all our fruit rainbow too of course.
After we cleaned up dinner, Bladen stumbled upon one final clue in the shape of a white cloud:
"Your treasure awaits so follow this clue,
but read it carefully so you know what to do.
Your treasure is hidden where water must go
but which one you ask? You've got to know.
The clock is ticking so you better be quick,
or a Leprechaun will steal it & leave you a trick!"
We put our cloud on our rainbow & went searching for the Leprechaun's treasure. The kids looked everywhere there was water. . . the garage water heater, the sinks & bathroom downstairs, the washing machine. . .
They finally found it upstairs in my giant bathtub. They were SO EXCITED.
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| My little treasure hunters. |
After eating TONS of treats, we put the kids down to bed & I FINALLY got to lay down for the first time today. I was exhausted, but boy are holidays fun. I don't think there's another job out there that I'd rather have. Being a mom ROCKS. I wouldn't trade it for all the treasure in all the world.
