Conor's Leprechaun Trap

In years past, the kids have made leprechaun traps at school and creativity always abounds with this project.

This year, St. Patrick's Day fell on a Sunday, so there was no need to make a trap ... that is to everyone except Conor. Our boy insisted on trying his hand at catching a leprechaun. He was bound and determined to build a trap at home and catch himself a genuine leprechaun.

Unfortunately for everyone except Conor, he chose to dig through the recycling bin for cardboard boxes and, because we were all still asleep, the house alarm was still on .... and (I'm guessing you're seeing where I'm going with this) the recycling bin is on the other side of a door that has a house alarm sensor. YUP!! As soon as he opened the door, the house alarm went off in full-blown alarm mode. WAHWAHWAHWAHWAHWAH!!! (Annika slept through it ... Eric and I didn't.)

Once our hearts returned to a more normal rate and we caught our breath, I knew I was up. SO, Conor and I got to work on his trap. I did the x-acto knife work for him to preserve his cute little fingers and avoid any trips to the ER... yeah, that's the kind of mom I am. :)

Conor decided to lure his leprechaun to the top of this trap with the promise of a party.

PAR-TAY!

The leprechaun had two party entrance options - a LEGO staircase and a popsicle stick ladder. (We are nothing if not accommodating.) When the leprechaun got to the top of the trap and stepped on the white welcome (correction ... "welcom") mat, the hole below the mat would cause the leprechaun to fall and become snared in the lower (inner) cardboard box. At least, that was Conor's hope.

It appears that our house's leprechaun had watched some MacGyver episodes and figured out a way to climb out of the trap using some tape and a piece of gold ribbon. (We are still trying to figure out if the leprechaun escaped on his/her own or if there is a Leprechaun Freedom Force (LFF) that rescues all trapped leprechauns. Either way.... this leprechaun left behind 4 pennies for Conor's efforts... so Conor is seeing it as a win, even though the leprechaun got away.

Conor and his leprechaun party trap

Annika's 1st Grade Leprechaun

As she was sitting at the kitchen table working on her leprechaun trap for school, Annika (once again) expressed her excitement to find out what mischief her class' leprechaun would be up to in the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day.

She also pointed out that the class' leprechaun has a name. When I asked her what the leprechaun's name is, she replied "Damn it!" and happily continued gluing popsicle sticks and gold coins from the craft store to her leprechaun trap.

I'm fairly certain my eyes bugged out and my face contorted as I tried not to laugh at her recollection of the name. That said, I was pretty darned sure that her 1st grade leprechaun's name isn't Damn It.... especially at a Catholic school!

I explained to her that the name probably wasn't "Damn It" because those aren't nice words and that it was be akin to the leprechaun being called "Shut Up." Fortunately, Eric happened to be at his computer and was reading the weekly newsletter. He piped up, "Annika, your class' leprechaun is named Dominic."

Without missing a beat or looking up from her project, she said, "Dominic? Oh.... I was close!"

Damn It, Dominic
Tomato, Tomahto

Annika and her leprechaun trap