With little ones in the house, St. Patrick’s Day is a BIG day. Last year at school they made leprechaun traps out of boxes and other recyclables and lined them with fool’s gold (i.e. yellow circles cut from construction paper) to lure him in. Unfortunately, the crafty little creature ran into their classroom while they were on the playground, made lots of mischief, then escaped. This year, my kids were determined to try again. We spent several days building the trap and left it out last night with hopes that the leprechaun soon would be here.

Early this morning, I awoke to my middle child throwing open the doors to his sisters’ rooms, shouting, “Come look! He CAME! He CAME!” Sure enough, there were signs of mischief all over the house: green milk in the fridge, chairs turned backwards at the table, drawers pulled open. But — thankfully — no leprechaun in the trap. (Talk about a big sigh of relief for my three-year-old, who is secretly scared of this whole game.)

Funny stuff. But even funnier was the email I received today from a friend. Her question: “Does the leprechaun at your house work his magic with food coloring or pureed asparagus?” I had to admit it’s the former, but at least we’re having green soup (zucchini basil) for dinner…