I didn’t want to miss out on a St. Patrick’s Day parade, so the weekend before the 17th, we took the kids to a small town parade in Hillsboro. We were the only people on our side of the street for about half a mile since it was a very wet Saturday. But, it was pretty cool that the police drove their motorcycles close enough to give the boys high fives! The parade lacked marching bands and the classic bagpipers for St. Patrick’s Day, but they threw candy, and that was all our kids cared about anyway.

On March 17th we hosted a couple friends for a play date. It was fun to put together some green and rainbow foods for a St. Paddy’s Day themed lunch. We ate green mac and cheese, rainbow peppers with white cheese for the clouds, green yogurt, grapes, and rainbow fruit. For dessert, I gave each kid a baggie with rainbow skittles and chocolate gold coins. It wasn’t Pinterest-worthy, but it was festive!

As soon as Silas got home from school, he built his very own leprechaun trap. Apparently, he had seen the first graders’ leprechaun traps and was inspired. I loved seeing his ingenuity and adorable “Get Gold” signs.

That night–to celebrate my birthday–we decided to take advantage of Portland’s Dining Month where upscale restaurants prepare special menus with three course meals for $29 per adult. We tried a new place called Besaws, and it was a fun night out with the family.

Stephen surprised me with a truly thoughtful gift this year. He bought me a beautiful upholstered headboard for our master bedroom. We’ve been married for a decade, and this is the first time we’ve had a headboard. It feels so luxurious! A few months ago, I sent Stephen a link to this exact one that I liked from Wayfair, and then I forgot all about it. Stephen, however, saved the link and kept checking the site to see when the headboard came back in stock. He surprised me for sure! That man is incredible.