happy st. patrick's day

i'm sure the leprechaun will do some other sneaky things while we are asleep tonight :) 
in the morning the kids will wake up to this little surprise:

before you go to bed- turn your milk green and move some things around!
  wear your green to avoid getting pinched!  happy st. patrick's day!

st. patrick's tricks

i've seen lots of "you've been pinched" printables on pinterest.  we decided to do our little version while some people we know were on vacation.  we let the kids do all of the work on this little project!  they were so proud of all of their hard work :)  

here is what they did:

the soap label was a free printable found here!   we used these for the teacher gifts as well!

i'm guessing grammy and papa will forgive the mess these sneaky little leprechauns left!

rainbows

this weekend we made rainbows. 

and today we made some more:

perfect st. patrick's day decorations!

st. patty's day packages

i love north carolina.  it's the state i grew up in.  it holds many of my favorite childhood memories.  it's where i went to college and met my best friends.  it's where i was married and owned my first home.  for all of those reasons it will always hold a special place in my heart.  but the reason i love nc the most is because it's where 5 of my nieces and nephews call home.  if you have nieces and nephews who live far away you know how i feel.  i'm always so sad about the distance between us.  i would LOVE to be the kind of aunt who stops by during the week to cheer drew on as she learns to stand on her own.  the kind of aunt who surprises ty at his baseball game, or who stops by to watch addie attempt her newest flip at the gymnastic center.  i'm sure my eyes would be full of tears if i could watch my two favorite ballerinas in action.  (just writing about it has me crying over here!)  but, i can't do these things and it does make me sad.  one way i do like to keep connected to my favorite little folks is through care packages and cards. 

i decided we would "pinch" them for st. patrick's day!  i've seen some adorable printables online for people to do within their neighborhoods.  i'm sure i will get into that later in the month!  i used the same concept and put it into a box:

 

it doesn't really matter what you send.  kids love mail- especially packages!  i literally bought each kid a chap stick from target's dollar spot, divided a pack of stickers between us all, shared a pack of cupcake liners with each family and green dishtowels for my sisters.  i did add a few chocolate gold coins.  simple and fun.  for just a few bucks my nieces and nephew will get a fun, silly surprise.  and i hope they will think of us and smile- and know that if there were any way i could stop by for a snuggle......i would.  xo - happy st. patricks day you little leprechauns.