These Irish eyes are smilin'!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Making St. Patrick's Day Mud Balls

First, you start with one crazy Mamma -- one that thinks baking with a 3 year old and 5 year old is a good idea. One you've found a crazy Mamma, allow the 5 year old crack ALL THREE eggs. After each egg is cracked, spend the next 10 minutes trying to coax out all the shells. One you've recovered all egg shells, spend the next 5 minutes fighting over who gets to stir.

Next, you repeat 100 times: "Not too much! There's raw egg in there!"

Then, you sit back and smile about how cute and happy they look. (This only lasts a moment before rushing them to the sink as you intercept a crash landing on the couch.)

After stirring a baked and frosted cake with a little milk mixed in (seriously) you roll the globby cake into cute little balls and sprinkle them with green sugar. Mud Balls seemed like the perfect Kindergarten treat for Finnian's "special day" at school today. With a name like Finnian Falvey, it seems only right to celebrate St. Patrick's Day - even if it is a couple days early.

My niece is ONE!

My sweet, precious, adorable, smart, irresistible, funny, (did I say smart?) niece turned ONE year old on Tuesday. I sulked at home with a sore throat but was able to watch the party on Skype. As you can see by her crown, she is definitely the princess of the household - and quite deserving of that role.

My sister, my brother-in-law and my ONE YEAR old niece on her birthday!