unforgotten holidays (unfortunately)

i've never cared much for valentine's day or st. patty's. in fact, in my perfect world i would hack most holidays off my calendar & leave the festivities to Christmas, 4th of july, & Easter. my dear 5 year old has a different opinion. he keeps me in check when it comes to each & every possible reason for a celebration. so celebrate we do. (the lack of pictures from these days testify of my lack of interest. next year, i vow to do better.)

(check out mighty's jammies. i bought those 5.5 years ago for coop. each of my boys wore them on valentine's. i wish i had the pictures to prove, unfortunately they are on my imac sitting in storage in california. the second picture is of the valentine's coop & i threw together.)

to be honest, i was pretty stoked for the opportunity to volunteer at Coop's valentine's day party at school. i just adore those kids & i love watching my sweet boy in every setting he encounters. prior to the big shin-dig i snuck that little boo out of school for our traditional valentine's date. every year i take my mini boyfriends to the lunch of their choosing. i also set up a scavenger hunt for my dears to discover their valentines. and every year my dear husband valentine treats me to flowers & my favorite homemade meal: steak, potatoes, bread, & frozen hot chocolate. who could ask for more.

coop insisted on celebrating dr. suess day thanks to all the commotion going on at his school. i really had no clue what to do, especially since he diceded the night prior that we needed to celebrate. fortunately for me, he is easy to please. our breakfast, lunch, snacks, & dessert were black, red, & white. we read a lot of books. and made a little craft. and he adored it all.

st. patty's, i was so looking forward to skipping st. patty's. i planned to dress my eldest two boys in green to avoid the possibility of a pinch & end the celebration there. (my dear mother always prepared corned beef & cabbage on st. patty's. mmmmm-mmmmm, mmmmmmm. i would gladly carry on this tradition, if my picky husband wasn't completely anti-corned beef (sad, i know)). so all my plans were squashed when at bed time st. patty's eve coop announced that he doesn't like st. patrick's day because it's boring. boring!? our life is anything but boring. so i took that as a challange to make the day memorable. out of bed we jumped & headed to the kitchen to whip up a (very sad looking) leprechaun trap. then as he slept i put together a scavengar hunt. with little to no supplies & even less energy i barely pulled it together with no help from pinterest. basically, i wrote a note from the leprachauns instructing my babes to take their rainbows & follow the clues (yes, another scavengar hunt). taped to each clue was a crayon. once they found all the clues & all the crayons their rainbow & their hunt was complete. the last clue directed them to their potted treasure (starburst jelly beans & plenty quarters). they loved it. coop is always down for a hunt.

*living near krispy kreme has resulted in donuts for breakfast for any possible reason. or no reason at all.