A little Saturday Suprise

   Good Morning! I got up this morning and decided that this was a beautiful day to surprise my kids....and you!

For them, I made cinnamon rolls.

 For ~YOU~ I decided to post about another variation on my Master Cookie Mix Recipes that everyone really enjoyed in the Making Do Without Missing A Thing series.

   I dont know about you, but I seriously LOVE the mix of Peanut Butter and Chocolate. Not enough to sit on the couch and eat peanut butter out of the jar with a bar of chocolate.............well, okay, yes I love it just about enough to do that.

Occasionally. 

Just until I cant come up for air anymore and need to stop.

~Let's move on.~

   My husband loves Reese's Peanut Butter cups, and they are often a little gift from me to him. SO you can imagine his delight to come home to these cookies after work on Thursday. They taste very similar to his favorite candy, and so they immediately rocketed up to his number two spot on the LOVE list, which is awesome because I know there is no chance that Chocolate chip cookies will ever get replaced. Yep,that is as good as it gets.
   If you haven't been there already, the Master Mix is a large amount of mix that you make up (we use an old coffee can) and store in the cupboard, ready for use when you want to make some cookies (or Muffins or Cornbread or need Bisquick). I use old Folger's coffee cans because I can write the recipe to make it up right on the side of the can and not have to go digging for a recipe card when I need to make more. I am thrifty that way. Some women can have floofy stuff in their kitchen, and be just as efficient. I personally know it is going to be a mess anyways when I am done with it, so why go for the floofy look? Just harder to clean.....or throw out when you break it. :)

     Take 2 1/2 cups Master cookie mix and to it add:

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable/coconut oil
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 TBS baking cocoa
• 1/2 cup Peanut butter
• 1/2 bag of milk chocolate chips (fold these in at the end)

   Mix well. It will be stiff, and also easy to handle. Form into balls that are about the size of a walnut and place them on a cookie sheet. Press gently, just enough to get them to be flat on the bottom so they dont roll on you when you tilt the cookie sheet. They will melt down into good sized regular cookies. Bake at 350* for about 8 minutes, remove to a cooling rack, and enjoy. This recipe also freezes well for "cookie pucks"--just place the cookie sheet with little balls into the freezer overnight, take out next morning, and place in a ziplock, label, and freeze. They should be solidly frozen or they will stick together.
   I always use just whole wheat flour with my cookie mix, which makes for a healthier and heartier cookie. If your family objects though, the go half and half with white flour as the recipe I posted tell you to.
   Have a wonderful Saturday and Sunday!

Many Blessings to you and yours,

Heather

   See you back here on Monday for the last week, and giveaway, on our  

Growing Your Own Medicine Series!!

Hyssop and Horehound-The Beauty and the Beast of Herbs

   Welcome back again for our next session on 

Growing Your Own Medicine

series here on the Welcoming House.
Have you signed up for the series via email or feed burner here on the page?
Please do so!
I don't want you to miss any of the posts!

image courtesy

   I am absolutely stunned at the response to this series, and would really like to hear from you in the comment section after this post. What interests you about learning about growing herbs, and using them for health and healing? Your responses will help me tailor my posts more to what you are wanting to learn! If you are just finding us today, I would encourage you to check out Day One and Day Two so you dont miss anything!

   Before we get started talking about the two herbs I have chosen to cover today, I wanted again to post the link from yesterday that I shared with you. If you have not signed up for her classes and handouts yet, you are seriously missing out. Her course has been a great refresher for me, but if you are just starting out, then you will really appreciated her simple, step-by-step plan to learning to grow herbs. Just click on the link below to head over there and see what it is all about:

Growing Herbs for Beginners

   Since both herbs we are talking about today can be used together, or with others in cough syrups, cough drop, in teas, or in ointments, I am going to begin this section by giving you some really really simple ways to make all of those things. In each of my posts I will give you a short amount of information that tells you how much of each herb for each thing...and link you back to this post so you can go right back to the recipes.

            Cough Syrup: take 1/4 cup of dried herb to 2 1/2 cups boiling water. Pour water over herb, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain into a measuring cup. To the remaining liquid add 2 parts honey to the one equal part liquid that is left. For example: after straining you have one cup liquid left. You would add two cups honey, bottle it, and keep it in fridge, using as needed 1 tsp at a time. Read the herb information to see if you can use it as much as you want, or if there is a restriction, such as only up to 4 times a day.

            Cough Drops: Make the same infusion as above, but then add to a saucepan with one pound of sugar. Bring to a boil, and with a candy thermometer, continue stirring and boiling until soft crack stage. Pour onto a oiled jelly roll pan, and then using buttered hands, roll into tiny balls. It is hot, and will cool quickly, so do a little at a time! Below I included a link with pics from one of my favorite sites: Frugally Sustainable.

            Ointment: Take 1/4 cup fresh herb, bruise (roll between your hands or with a rolling pin), and place in a pan with one cup of coconut oil or lard. Warm until oil is liquid, and warm to the touch. Let sit on low, stirring as often as needed, for about ten minutes. Take off heat, strain out the herb, and place remaining ointment in tins or a glass jar, tightly lidded, in a cool place. Many herbs have external uses as well, and this is one way you would use it to treat something on the skin.

This series is now in the form of a book that is available on my Blog, under the link below:

I have added more herbs, and more suggestions, as well as have a 8 page mini-book for free, for a limited time, that gives you the 12 recipes that we use the most around our home here.

Thank you for your support and interest. I hope to do another series on herbs later in the year 2013

Growing Your Own Medicine E-Book

Many Blessings to you and yours,

Heather

Link for picture tutorial on making your own cough drops:  http://frugallysustainable.com/2011/12/horehound-lozenges-homemade-remedy-for/

With Spring comes the Rainy Days...

   Ever had one of those days where you just want to crawl right back into bed, pull the covers over your head, and pretend you dont need to come out from under there today?

Uh huh. I am betting you have been there, and done that.

   Well, yesterday was one of those days for me.

It was rainy.

It was overcast.

And it was really, really dark out....all day

   I should have figured it out when, by the time the twins got up, I had only been able to drink half my cup of coffee.

   Or maybe when one of the twins refused to give me a good morning hug, and threw herself full tilt down into a temper tantrum because I wouldn't let her have a sip of my coffee... (and after she plunged her hand into it--first praise God it was cool enough, and second, do you understand why I drank only half?).

   Or perhaps when, after two hours of running around and getting everyone ready for pictures at a studio, we show up after 30 minutes of driving, and the VERY NICE photographer informs us our appointment was an hour before that. Yep, we needed to reschedule. She very pointedly said she had tried to call a couple times--oh, did I tell you I left my phone sitting next to my keys on the buffet as I was running out the door to go to the appointment? Good thing my husband was driving...and that I didn't lock the door.

  Or that everyone seemed to be on edge, and no matter how much I tried to help certain children not fight, to share, and love, and play happily, instead it was growling... and snarling... and arguing. One of my twins has a new favorite thing to do when she is mad: she actually roars at whomever has upset her. The other one sounds like a pterodactyl scream, so you can imagine the house noise level all day long.

   If I had known what yesterday was going to be like, I promise you, I would have spent a LOT more time doing my devotions and praying than I already did. If only you can see ahead that you are going to need way more help than the usual day!

   I could go on and on, but instead I will just say I am very thankful that

today is a new day, 

and full of new blessings and mercies.

   There were a few simple things that helped the day grow better as it went on, and for that I am thankful as well. It is recital music week with my piano students, where they get to choose, and play, this year's recital music for the very first time. I was blessed to be able to see a couple of them have "the light go on" in certain areas they have been struggling over the last year or month or so. One of them, an autistic young man who is absolutely SOON going to be the next Mozart, (I'm not kidding--this kid has an unbelievable gift) was my favorite of the day. He has been working so hard on a certain classical piece, only to give up each time and re-start when not being able to go through the phrase completely without a mistake. He stopped, put his head in his hands, and just sat there. My mommy heart just felt so sad for him. And I could sympathize.

So leaning over to him, I gently put my hand on his shoulder and said: " All you need to do is step back, breathe deep, slow down, and ask the Lord for help." It was like watching a withering plant receive water. He straightened up, put his hands on the keys, took a deep breath, and next thing I know.....he was flying through the part with not a single mistake. It was so beautiful in so many ways. When he was done, I could tell from the brilliant smile that he was ready to jump off the bench and shout for joy, and so was I! Instead he just looked at me, smiled, and said: "Thank you." in such a heart-felt way it brought a lump to my throat.

And it changed my whole perspective on that dreary, painful day.

   It made me realize that it is the ups and the downs, the delights and the painful days, that make up the whole picture of a walk of faith. In this journey, if I allow myself to get so focused on the little things that take all my energy, and all my attention, I will miss the forest for the trees, so to speak. However, if I keep my eyes on the big things, and try to remember the beauty that is woven in and out of my life every single day, it makes those kind of days just a dark thread to highlight the gold in the other days, and weeks of my walk. After all, my life is not all about me, but about the Giver who walks me through it and asks me only to focus on what He is asking me to do. If I keep that in mind, then it takes a lot of pressure off of this pair of weary shoulders.

   Are you there this morning? Has it been a rainy, dark, and dreary day or week for you? Let me encourage you to do the same thing I told my student to do:

"Step back, 

take a deep breath, 

slow down, 

and ask the Lord for help."

 "I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:10-13)

   Many Blessings to you and yours, 

Heather

Linked up at: Raising Mighty Arrows, and Our Simple Country Life

What a Girl Thinks in the Sunshine.........

   I got the opportunity to get outside today and get a close look at my garden, which is laying in wait for me to begin work. I felt the old stirring of desire to sink my hands into the dirt and begin to turn, to plant, to nurture life from the tiny seeds that are laying just beneath the soil. I keep thinking this year of what I should add that is new, where I can get it, and where those plants will go.

image courtesy

   This year holds so much promise for me. Not only do I have the huge raised bed gardens that we put in last Spring at my mom's house, but this year I have my very own house (and large yard) to begin planting and sculpting to my heart's desire.
  

the beginning of the raised beds last year

   I am blessed that in all the years we rented I had landlords who understood how important a garden was to me, and had no problem with me planting it again and again. Our last landlord was even gracious enough to allow me to have two gardens--a regular one, and an herb garden. (We wont talk about all the rabbits and pets we have been allowed to raise over the last nine years either.) If you haven't read about this part of our story here~being finally Home~ at the Welcoming House, I would encourage you to mosey on over HERE and read about it. It is an important part of our story, and one I love to read again and again.
   I am not sure why gardening is such a relaxing thing for me to do, or why I look forward to it so much every year. When August rolls around and I am up to my ears in tomatoes, green beans, corn, and cabbage I always say to myself: "Never again, Heather! Next year you are going to buy it at the farmer's market and forget about gardening!". But, every year, Spring rolls around and I cant resist digging my toes into the soil, and dreaming about what I am planting and where.

image courtesy

   After a lot of thought, I realized that I love gardening because it responds to love and attention. Just like children, and just like "big" people. And it doesn't matter just how broken or abused that plant is, for some reason, it responds to the time and attention that is lavished on it, as do the hurting people have that God has brought into my life.
   It is that.......and the fact that once I weed, it stays weeded for at least a couple of days (unlike my house, which, once cleaned, I swear decides to start throwing things around, or urping them up out of their hiding places the minute I go to bed). There is such satisfaction in a clean and weeded bed, with pretty young plants growing up out of it in perfect rows, or patterns.

   I have also decided though, that people are like plants in other ways.

   Face it, some of us are blueberries, some of us are tomatoes, and some of us are beans.

   For those of us who are blueberries, the acidic things that have been poured on our lives, after some loving care and attention, just make us all the sweeter and the fruit in our life bigger in the end. It was because of those tough things, because the Master gardener decided when allowed a good dose of some painful times, that our lives are richer, and full of good things to bless others in the end.
   For those of us who are tomatoes, we send roots deep into the rich soil provided for us, and with a little love and a little crud, begin to bear fruit that over and over again fills others up. Our growth is slower at times, but when we reach that time when our maturity level is finished, we just keep giving and giving and giving, and bring in a bountiful harvest.
   And then there are those of us who are beans. We grow fast in plain soil, are used to a tough life and learn how to thrive on just a few important things: water, something strong to hold us up, and something to keep us rooted. Then we shoot for the stars, show the world our beauty, and eventually, contribute to the lives of others by giving them the basic things that are essential for their existence and survival. We teach them how to be a bean plant--rooted in the Word of God, reaching to the Heavens, and absorbing the water of Life.

   And of course, there are those who are brussell sprouts---sweeter for being touched by the frost that comes in every life....but perhaps not the most popular in every circle. :)

 Just had to throw that one in there.

   I was delighted to see that all my planted seeds have come up under the grow lights and are thriving. Another couple of days and I will be able to remove the plastic covers over the greenhouses, and start to make them strong with a fan. Did you plant anything this year? Do you have plans to expand or start a garden this spring? I would love to hear about it. :)

Many Blessings to you and yours,

Heather

Spring Cleaning---Non-Toxic Recipes and a Great Chart!

   Ahhhhhhhh.......the lovely smell of Spring. In our house the windows are open with fresh curtains fluttering in the breeze. We wake up each morning to the birds singing...and the cat hitting the screen as she tries to reach the little twittering things just outside her reach. Yep, great wake up call. :)

image courtesy

   I love Spring for so many reasons. The first time of walking barefoot in the turned soil. The sight of the first daffodil, or smell of the first Lily of the Valley. The first thunderstorm, with crashing thunder and lightning strikes splitting the sky in jagged streaks. All the new baby animals---because come on, who doesnt think chicks are one of the most adorable things God ever created?

image courtesy

   But I also love Spring because it holds so much promise of so many things. I wonder what changes will happen with the coming year, how large the garden will grow. I look forward to the times of sitting around the campfire with the family, or picking mulberries and cherries with my kids. There is so much potential.
   And through it all, for me, the smell of orange and thyme, lavender and lemon lightly stains the background of each thought like a watermark. Because with Spring Cleaning comes breaking out the homemade cleaners, washing and spraying the curtains with a mist of essential oil, and ending up with a house freshly clean and ready for a season of being outdoors more often than not.
   For years I have been using a chart that I wrote up myself on what to do in each room. We had moved so much it just was easier to keep it handy and pull it out twice a year---once in the Spring and once when we moved. But the other day this was posted on FB and I jumped up and down in delight! Printable form, and very easy to follow.

click here for the printable version and image courtesy

      I mean, come on, isnt this awesome? Easy to read, lots of great ideas, and something you can just place in your binder along with your meal plans from Making Do Without Missing A Thing series. I have a couple binders that are used all the time.......I have the one with main recipes and meal plans in it, as well as ideas for food storage and how much we need for a certain period of time. I have another with the above chart and recipes for cleaning, as well as my collection of other ideas such as my medicinal herbs and all their uses.
And finally I have one for school ideas and papers that I use as my master copies of things we use every week: chore charts, lesson charts, etc. I may have a "messy" house, but in my heart, I am an organized person who functions much better when I have everything available and easy to walk through step by step.
   So, cleaners are really easy to make on your own, and do a much better job than the horrible chemical based ones you purchase at the grocery store. I always used to get terrible headaches just from walking down those aisles, let alone using them in my home. I started with just using vinegar to clean my mirrors and windows, and was very impressed with the result. Then it just kind of went from there. My favorite all purpose cleaner right now is just a spray bottle filled with orange vinegar--or vinegar that has been steeping with orange peels for about a week. Take a wide mouth canning jar, or old clean PB jar, fill with orange peels from snack time, and stuff them in the jar. Next fill the jar to the rim with vinegar and put the lid on tightly. Shake a couple times a day for up to two weeks, strain through a coffee filter, bottle, and you have a natural cleaner. You can also use lemon or even lime or grapefruit--what is important is the citrus oils. The vinegar smell evaporates very quickly, while the orange smell hangs on. I do not use this on glass or mirrors as the orange oil leaves streaks, but it makes the house smell so fresh and clean! Vinegar has been known to kill 99% of bacteria on contact, which is in some cases MORE effective than those store bought chemicals!
   I have been collecting recipes for a while, and chasing down their links. Here are a few of my favorites!

Tub and Scouring Scrub by Martha Stewart

   This recipe is wonderful for replacing Comet or some of the other hard scrubby cleaners out there. You can vary the smell for the oil, and for an extra boost add cornmeal for more scrubbing power. It wont "Ka-Boom" your bathroom.....but it also wont Ka-Boom your nose and stop you from smelling for a week. Works great.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner by Suburb Homestead

   An easy one time use toilet bowl cleaner recipe--no storing, and so no worries about little fingers getting into the place where they are stored.

Homemade 409 Cleaner by Frugal Girls.com

   A homemade 409 recipe for all basic cleaning, that uses borax. I make my own laundry detergent, and so have all these ingredients on hand. I use Dawn for stain removal and for dishes, so have this on hand as well. The Frugal Girls also have a whole part of their site dedicated to cleaners and recipes....so if you are looking for some inspiration, then check it out by clicking the link below.

HOMEMADE CLEANERS

   I would also suggest that for the really yucky areas with lots of germs that using tea tree oil as your bacteria fighter is a great idea. I combine mine with lavender or lemongrass essential oils since it really is a strong smell. I tend to use tea tree oil and thyme tea interchangably except in the bathroom and kitchen. :)

   I hope this helps some of you get started on that Spring Cleaning...that is, if you can stay away from the gorgeous outdoors long enough to do it! :)

Many Blessings to you and yours,

Heather

Check it OUT!

click here to head over there!

Spring Fever a WHOLE MONTH EARLY!

   I am sitting here, writing out my next post and listening to the song birds twittering outside my window.

image courtesy

Song birds.

In MARCH, people!

In Minnesota, 

a.k.a.: home of the frozen tundra, ten thousand frozen lakes and a million frozen fish.

*er--* at least normally I should say.

   Normal March in Minnesota means lots of snow. Crazy snow.

Crazy snow like our mailbox so buried that the post man is sticking mail into a hole in a ten foot tall snowbank.

yep, that was the door of our mailbox

Crazy snow like the kids are sliding off the roof of the barn at homeschool co-op because its just another hill and the horse could care less.

kids sledding off the horse barn roof.

Crazy snow like snow drifts trying to reach the tops of 35 foot trees,

or to the bottom of windows in a protected corner,

yes that's the dog kennel buried halfway up the door. We'd lost the corgi by now in the snow drifts. Ha!

or burying stop signs so you have no idea where the road begins or ends,

or so much snow that the ditches are packed,

 and the road crews are literally carving out pathways for cars to drive through in the giant snowbanks.

I want to thank my friend Cathy for taking some seriously amazing pics of the weather while I was staying in a hospital a couple hours away, and couldn't.

   We have had two winters like that in the last two years. When our birth mom was having to stay near a hospital in a larger city about an hour and half from home I would break out in a cold sweat each time I knew I had to get on the road and drive home to visit the family. The snowbanks were taller than the car by another 3-4 feet in some places, and out on the prairie, if you get hit with a storm while driving, there is just no chance to see anything. There is nothing to stop the wind and snow, so you hunker down and pray for it to end, or diminish enough to be able to see to the next town.

   You know that whole saying about if March comes in like a lion, it leaves like a lamb? Well I keep thinking that March kinda came in like a lamb, so are we going to get hammered on the last week and get seven feet of snow in less than four days? Seriously, people, I am wondering while watching the trees bud, and the song birds return, if March is going to roar out, leaving April  to snarl, and spit, and shake us in her teeth until we raise our hands in surrender to the down parka patrol again.  I am not normally a pessimist at all, and it surprises me to be thinking this way.


   Am I enjoying it? Absolutely! In tank tops and shorts and sitting out on my reclining lawn chair soaking up every single minute. Doing yard work on the new house and the garden we put in last year until we cant see to work. Letting the kiddos out to run like wild children in the warm weather in rompers and sundresses.

image courtesy

But I am wondering what the catch is in all of this.

   I have lived in Minnesota for more years than I can count right now, and I can not honestly think of any time that I have seen this much Spring before Spring should normally come. I wonder how the storm season will be this year with severe weather, which normally comes in May or June. I wonder how hot, and  long, and dry the summer will be, and if I should trust and plant a few things earlier than normal? I mean, what is a packet of spinach and pea seeds compared to soaking up some glorious rays in the middle of March?
   So there is joy in my step as I am out in the yard with my children, and husband today, but I am still holding back that little bit of caution. I am going to dance in the rain, but if it turns to hail I wont be shocked. I will just thank God for the extra gorgeous days of sunshine, pull out the long sleeve shirts, and find everyone's snow boots.
   How about where you live? Are things normal-ish for your location? Or are there some different things going on that are catching you by surprise? I laughed out loud this morning when I realized it would be about 30 degrees warmer here than it would be in my hometown, which is a gorgeous orchard-growing micro-climate in Western Colorado. My mom made me laugh harder when she told me my youngest sister called and told her it was going to be "nice and warm", which meant around 45* there today. Since it was 84* HERE, I personally think we got the better part of "nice and warm". (you cant see it, but I am sticking out my tongue and thinking "na-na-na-na-na-na-na")
   Anyhow, I am going to be posting a lot this week on different things to do with Spring. I will also be sharing lots of other ideas over at the FB page that dont make it into my blog, so if you havent already, head on over there and check it out! Click here to see what else I am adding daily over there!
  Just as a treat for you, I am including a little video I saw on YouTube that to me speaks of Spring. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Many Blessings to you and yours,

Heather

More Green Than Anything Else

  Top O' The Morning To Ya!

 

 I woke up this morning to the mingled smell of corned beef and coffee. Now to some of you that may be rather unappetizing, but for this Irish/Scotch/and a little bit of everything else-lady, it popped me right out of bed so I could go stand over the roaster and breathe in deep like a child.
   Did you notice that I went to the roaster BEFORE I went to the coffee pot? Ha--yeah. There are some mornings like that believe it or not. Just like there are some mornings I look like someone drug me out from under a rock, and beat me, then sent me on my way with eyes pasted shut, finding the coffee cups, and brewing coffee by instinct and smell. (nice picture, right?)
    When I was a child, this holiday was by far my favorite, even over Christmas. We always had little flashing or cute pins we got to wear to school, my mom used green food coloring in everything, and we celebrated my father's heritage (and ours) as a family. We practiced the whole "Pinch if you arent wearing green" and I can remember at around 10 stressing over whether I should step out my bedroom door in a certain shirt because it happened to have a splash of pink on it...which of course meant my big brother would swoop in on me and chase me around the house. I dont really remember the ending of that memory------might be the amount of green food coloring I consumed that day, and in my lifetime, I dont know. :)

   We always had green everything..even green eggs and ham one year, although to this day I can not figure out how in the world my mother did it. If you think this picture was weird, you should have seen ours! Now that I have children, I have chosen to forgo a lot of the green food coloring and look for ways to make things green naturally and taste good at the same time. I am SO blessed to have three children who love fresh fruits and veggies, and we have been careful to introduce them to things at an early age for just that reason. Believe it or not, I have toddlers (who just turned two yesterday! *sniff*) who LOVE salad, or even munching on swiss chard or bok choy for a snack. I am going to have to keep those little rabbits out of the garden this year if I want to have a harvest I think.
   ANYHOW, I just wanted to give you an idea of what we like to have on this day for a meal, as well as some links for some fun activities for your kids. :)

St Patty's Day Meal Plan:
Breakfast: Banana Bread Muffins with Green Cream Cheese Frosting and a chocolate coin stuck in on top.
Snack:  Banana Kiwi and Spinach Smoothies (I promise, they wont taste the spinach unless you let them watch while you make it, it just gives it a nice green color), and yes.bad mamma.......a bag of small chocolate coins per child.
Lunch: Broccoli and Sour cream topped potatoes (if you have been cooking corned beef, we sometimes drizzle a little bit of the juice over the potatoes to make them even tastier), and Chocolate Mint Cookies (ok, yeah a little green food coloring~and I use my own Master Cookie Mix)
Dinner: OF COURSE is corned beef and cabbage in the roaster (or cast iron dutch oven, just depends on the year) with baby potatoes that are cooked in olive oil and seasoned with basil, garlic and onion.

While browsing around the other day, I found some great ideas for fun things to do with your kids. Since St Patty's Day this year falls on a Saturday, have fun! :)

* I love the napkin rings on this one, and dont think you need to use craft foam, just plain paper. And what kid doesnt love to finger paint?

            http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/807969/st-patrick-s-day-crafts-for-kids

*This site is SO much fun, and my favorite craft on here is the printable "God Says I am More Precious Than Gold"!  But LOTS of great ideas!

            http://www.scottsdaledaycare.com/easy-st-pattys-day-crafts-for-kids.htm

*and then THIS ONE has so many ideas I couldnt pick one to do with kids, but my girls are going to have so much fun! Lots of printables too! :)
         
            http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/stpatrick/

   Have a wonderful day! And stay away from the green beer! :)

Many Blessings to you and yours,

Heather