The boys would indeed call themselves lucky today! It all started with finding this little plant on the shelf at Trader Joe’s: It’s an Irish Shamrock. I was surprised to see it had little white bell-shaped flowers and leaves that didn’t quite look like the clover growing rampant in our yard. I always thought shamrocks…
Years ago my Mom presented me with a red spiral bound notebook. On the front, she had written From Mom’s Recipes – Family Favorites Plus Some: Book 1. The notebook was nothing special, just one of my old high-school notebooks that only had a few pages out of it, but the contents were priceless: page…
For the past couple of years, Patrick has been on the opposite coast of the US for our anniversary, so we have had to celebrate at other times. Last year, we celebrated in April with a trip to Ireland three years in the planning (a 10th anniversary gift taken in the year of our 13th…
In looking for a way to celebrate Advent with the boys this year, I stumbled upon Arnold Ytreeide’s book, Jotham’s Journey. Well, truth be told, it was more like I ran into a brick wall of raves about Jotham’s Journey and its two sequels, Bartholomew’s Passage and Tabitha’s Travels (scheduled to be re-released in time…
Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without sweet potatoes, but you won’t find marshmallows sprinkled on top of the sweet potatoes at our table. Our family prefers a recipe with a history: one that’s been served for years at our family gatherings and that was served originally in the Kings Arms Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg, VA, one…
Every year, with those words, I’m sent scrambling to pull together the costumes of my boys’ imaginations… and let me tell you, they don’t make it easy. Over the years, with some help from my Mom, we’ve created Henry the Octopus (of Wiggles fame), Caillou and his cat Gilbert, Thomas the Tank Engine (and Percy),…
… and between brothers. Tonight we rode the Metro into DC to see the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse. While I’d like to say it was a joyous time of family togetherness and Christmas spirit, it truly wasn’t. Both boys whined and complained and fought, Patrick yelled, and I wondered why we bother. Hmmm……
Our day begins with the Fairfax City Parade, the largest in the area! Two hours of floats, antique cars, marching bands, balloons, Boy Scouts, politicians, and much, much more. Ryan, Sarah & Connor show off their Independence Day t-shirts Following the parade begins the highlight of our day… the Old Fashioned Fireman’s Relays! Members of…
Baking on Christmas Day Several years ago, our family started observing the tradition of the Christmas pickle: “The night before Christmas it’s hung on the tree; While everyone’s sleeping, it’s done secretly; And on Christmas morning when you arise, The first one to find it will get a surprise.” Some say this is a German…