Playful leprechaun or troublemaker?

Did you ever lay awake anticipating big plans, and then unexpectedly the plans fall through? It happens to all of us. If you are resilient you can find a way to survive and thrive. It is how we handle disappointment that really matters.

Sure, I was looking forward to taking our two youngest "leprechauns" to the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dogtown, a local neighborhood. The weather was perfect, and I had planned to leave really early with three-year-old Charlie and four-year-old Alex.

Then they arrived... with snotty noses and allergies acting up. It would be no fun with sneezy and wheezy, so instead of seeing the giant blow up leprechauns and Irish displays and Hibernian parade, we decided to stay home and play outdoors. 

I painted tiny green footprints on the driveway, which the boys followed onto the porch, patio, and right to their trikes, where they discovered mini choclate eggs wrapped in gold in the 'trunks" of their trikes. That silly leprechaun even played with their basketball hoop. The boys scampered all around laughing gleefully and tracking the sneaky little leprechaun, discovering his gold, green shiny shamrocks, and new pennies strewn all about. 

They had fun and showed their mama all their treasures and their rainbow artwork. On the way home she texted me, "Charlie swallowed a penny. Do I take him to the ER?"

I told her if he wasn't choking or complaining it would pass through his digestive track and to stuff him with oatmeal to bulk the colon and get it to pass. (I should have specified COOKED oatmeal.) She called Children's Hospital and they confirmed what old great grandma said. So the kid is back in diapers for a couple days, as I'm sure the prunes will do the trick with the cooked oatmeal.  

This morning Ashley posted a video clip of Charlie discovering her eye makeup pallete, painting his face. He gave himself a unibrow, black cheeks, purple nose. This little leprechaun is an active one. Thank goodness Alex is more low key. And poor Liam at 7 is the guardian, such a terrific big brother.

 Liam spent last Thursday overnight with us, and I played Leprechaun tricks on him. Put a dab of green food coloring on my finger and gave him a pan of water, then stirred it. Shocked, he asked how I did that!? It was fun see him having hands on fun instead of having screen time.

 Charlie chatters in full sentences from morning until night. When he got caught with the makeup, he said, "Hey Mom, Mom. See, I'm using the little brush. The big one is for grown ups, right Mommy?" 

Someone suggested he get his own You Tube Channel.