Fun Recipes for St. Patrick's Day

I was in such a good moos this morning, even though Levi was up in the night and I could not get back to sleep...until about the time I normally get up and then I overslept by 90 minutes. Ouch. But still, pretty good mood. Enter female child. Adios good mood.

I let my buttons get pushed and then it just all went to crap. I struggle a lot with this relationship, if I'm being completely honest. It makes me so, so sad. I know children push limits and lie and are selfish and and and...obviously I know that. But there's an inward, I don't know, sourness, that I just don't know how to handle. I'll probably delete this because I don't want to throw the poor girl under the bus, but parenting her is one of the most difficult things I've ever done. Anyway, know you're not alone if you're really struggling with a child relationship also.

Moving on.

There is not a lick of Irish in me, but I married into a family with pretty deep Irish roots, so now I celebrate with lots of fun little things. I know some people go waaay out for St. Patrick's Day with elaborate leprechaun scavenger hunts and little green footprints on the potty with green water....maybe one day, but I do like to make it a fun day with yummy treats. Because let's face it: it's always about the food. :)

 Whoopie Pies with REAL Creme Filling- no fluff!!

They are to die for. Seriously!

 Sometimes we add a little green to the filling - not sure what happened to the poor sprinkles, never mind that, ha!

 When St. Patrick's Day falls on the weekend, like it does this year, we always make a rainbow fruit plate for a yummy brunch. Doesn't that look so fresh and pretty?

 I saw this idea on Pinterest or on a blog somewhere last year and just had to try it! It was slightly more difficult than I'd thought, ha, but we managed okay. So cute, right? For these, you melted the white chocolate and poured into a baggie, snipped a corner, and coated the pretzels by drawing/tracing their outline- add the sprinkles when the coating is still wet!

I cheated a little for the second round: I simply dipped the pretzels, individually, in the melted white chocolate, and then added sprinkles. Obviously they did not look as much like shamrocks but they were still festive and fun. I can't find a picture of this kind but if I do, I'll add it.

For dinner, lots of times I make this meal:

Or this one:

Well that's not the picture I was looking for but it shows the yummy ribs.. recipe below:

Crock pot Tangy Ribs and the trimmings

Scalloped potatoes recipe HERE 

I'm adding these pics because they make me so happy. This was little Levi for his first St. Patrick's Day last year, and I remember so clearly what a little love bug he was ALL day long. He was so sweet- his bib said "Kiss me, I'm Irish," but I got all the kisses that day. I posted this on instagram...can't believe a whole year has passed, almost!

And this.
Oh my goodness I can't even take it.

We took a little field trip to Massachusetts. I got lost (twice, but who's counting) which irritates me to no end, but I always figure it out. I will add that when I do get lost, it's usually when I'm following Mapquest or something. Ugh. It was such a fun day anyway. How can this be one year ago?!

I'm on IG @bethanylivs_life if you want to follow there. Have a nice day!