Anita Renfroe’s Mom Song from Total Momsense

If you like Jen’s parenting humor, you have to read some of her books:

• You’re a Good Mom (and Your Kids Aren’t So Bad Either): 14 Secrets to Finding Happiness Between Super Mom and Slacker Mom
• Stop Second-Guessing Yourself–The Toddler Years: A Field-Tested Guide to Confident Parenting (Momma Said)
• Stop Second-Guessing Yourself–The Preschool Years: A Field-Tested Guide to Confident Parenting (Momma Said)

I don’t think my little red Jetta is very happy and I don’t think it is going anywhere anytime soon. The 4 wheel drive vehicle got the luxury of going into the garage instead.

Anyhow, 48 hours of forced domestication is just not my thing! I have dusted ceiling fans, done laundry and dishes, vacuumed, played with the kids, wrapped Christmas gifts and a host of other domestic chores I normally avoid like the plague. Let’s hope we can get out tomorrow – I still have some last minute shopping to do, groceries to get and we still have (hopefully) gymnastics and swim practices this week.

If you are snowed in, what are you doing to stay sane? How about the kids? Last year I did a guest post for TotallyHer.com called Snow Day Sanity Savers – check it out – it might just come in handy!

Ireland is by far one my favorite places on earth! Lucky for me, my grandparents live there and we have made quite a few trips there over the years. When we go we usually stay at Oysterhaven which is a very family friendly resort near Kinsale (see my photo above) with one of the most breathtaking views ever.

Growing up, my Mom would make classic Irish dishes year round, but the week of St. Patrick’s Day was always guaranteed to be special. Six of my favorite Irish dishes are:

Potato Leek Soup – This smooth and creamy soup is absolutely perfect for cold, dreary days.  The leeks (from the onion family) are truly the secret ingredient.  Thin sliced and tender the leeks add so much flavor to the soup.

Colcannon sounds exotic but it isn’t. Basically Colcannon is mashed potatoes with cabbage and sausage, plenty of butter and a bit of milk. Comfort food at its finest! This is also known as Bubble and Squeak.

Shepherd’s Pie was one of my childhood favorites. It is the ultimate one dish meal consisting of layers of ground meat (beef, lamb, or a combination), mixed vegetables, tomatoes, and a topping made of mashed potatoes and cheese. Yummy!

Irish Lamb Stew is made from amazingly simple ingredients, yet tastes so rich. I think the reason is that it cooks for 8 hours and those flavors just meld so well. Serve with Irish Soda Bread and you will feel like you are dining on the Emerald Isle.

Corned Beef & Cabbage is another simple yet delicious Irish recipe that is good any day of the year. The corned beef brisket will absolutely melt in your mouth after it spends all day cooking in the slow cooker.

For more great Irish recipes check out:

• Irish Traditional Cooking: Over 300 Recipes from Ireland’s Heritage
• The New Irish Table: 70 Contemporary Recipes
• The Irish Spirit: Recipes Inspired by the Legendary Drinks of Ireland
• The Irish Pub Cookbook
• McGuire’s Irish Pub Cookbook

Food photos from Food Network

Keep the kids busy while you cook with fun St. Patrick’s Day printable activities and coloring sheets.

Snow in March, are you kidding me? Well, it happened and the kids are getting a snow day, which is good, because their classrooms are all germ factories right now. Hopefully if the schools are closed for a few days the cold anf flu bugs on the desks will die and the kids can actually go to school with out getting sick for a few weeks.

We got about 8″ of snow overnight and the kids have already been out in it. I was able to get a photo of the front yard before anyone had a chance to mess it up. Like the tree that is just about bent to the ground All it is going to take is one good gust of wind and I’m guessing it is coming down.

If the kids start getting a bit antsy, check out the article I did for TotallyHer.com on Snow Day Sanity Savers!

Happy Sunday!

When we got to the dentist office, things got even more stressful. The buildings were surrounded by fire trucks! A neighboring building had smelled smoke and no one was allowed in anywhere. Finally about 15 minutes later, all was cleared and we got to go in.

Miss N is not good when it comes to needles, so we determined ahead of time that she would need some Valium to start her appointment. As soon as they took her back to give her the Valium, they asked her if she wanted a teddy bear or a monkey to keep her company. She picked the super squishy monkey (pictured at the right) and it immediately became a source of distraction. About 10 minutes after getting her medicine she got sleepy and was very relaxed.

When they were ready to take her back into the procedure she suddenly got very frightened and basically cried all the way through. I felt so bad for her. She didn’t like the shot of Novocaine at all.

The actual extraction of the tooth took all of about 30 seconds!

She has resting all morning – we’ve watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, Barbie Mariposa and now she is just reading books. It looks as if she is starting to feel much better – she’s fighting with her sister!

This afternoon my daughter declared that it was time for her incisor to come out – and she worked that thing all afternoon. Personally, I think she had a few more days before it was really ready to come out, but she just can’t help but to mess with it. Blood and a little pain won’t deter her – once she decides its time for a tooth to come out, she just won’t let up. She packed a zip lock baggie and a paper towel and proceeded to remove in the car on our way to gymnastics! Oh my.

About 30 minutes after bedtime my son came back down and let me know that he had also lost a tooth. But his just fell out – no extra effort for him – blood makes him squeemish and he has no tolerance for pain.

It’s a good thing I have some cash on me tonight! The tooth fairy will be delivering $2 per tooth once she is sure that both of them are fast asleep.

What is the going rate for the Tooth Fairy in your house?

She isn’t running a fever, but her voice is raspy and there some stridor in her breathing along with her barky cough. (get more info about kids coughs ) I have a feeling that before the morning is over we will take her in to the Urgent Care center just to make sure this isn’t strep in disguise or something (my kids are weird that way – their strep never presents itself with the normal symptoms).

The challenge is going to come this afternoon. How do I keep her away from the party? Its a gorgeous day and we are having the party outside but she isn’t going to want to miss out on any of the action. Stay tuned.

So, she announced that “a peanut fell in her nose” knowing full well that she had put it there. I asked her if she was serious and she started crying. I made the mistake of saying that I would look at it when we got home and see if I could get it out with tweezers. This sent her off into hysterics and she started screaming that she was going to throw up. Oh, the drama.

I pulled over at the nearest fast food place and had my other daughter run in and get some napkins. We tried to get Miss N to blow her nose to get the peanut out. Nothing came out and she got more hysterical. I figured I was only minutes from the closest Urgent Care center and figured that was better than the ER.

We walked in right at closing and the receptionist let me know they were closing. Miss N was crying and I explained what happened. One of the doctors was still there and agreed to see her.

He couldn’t see anything. No peanut. My daughter was still hysterical and wouldn’t even let the doctor look up her nose with the light. It took us 10 minutes just to settle her down.

He did give me a really good potential home remedy. The doctor had me cover her mouth with mine while closing off the unobstructed nostril. Then I blew into her mouth to help force the lodged object come out. Well, we did this about 5 times and no peanut. We blew her nose again and still no peanut.

The doctor sent us home and I have to keep an eye on her. If she wakes up in the morning and is pain free, breathing clearly, and acting normal, then the peanut is probably long gone. However, if there is pain, pus, blood or excessive mucus, then I have to take her to an ENT.

I’ll keep you updated! It’s always something.