Celebrate St. Patrick's Day Around the World

Learn all about the many St. Patty's Day Celebrations Around The World

Sponsored by Little Passports

Did you know that...

St. Patrick's Day began as a holiday in honor a man named St. Patrick who did great work in Ireland during the late 5th Century. Throughout the years, St. Patrick's Day has become more of a day to simply celebrate being Irish. Traditional symbols of the holiday include shamrocks, Leprechauns, and of course, wearing the color green!

Take a look at Sam and Sofia's St. Patty's Day outfits!!

Are you wearing GREEN?? 

Post a photo of you and/your children in your St Patty's day green on our Facebook Page!

Across the world, people who want to celebrate head to parades and events whether they're really "Irish" or not. Little Passports (A monthly children's subscription service that teaches your kids about different states in the USA and new countries around the world) has shared some of the special festivities planned in each of these countries.

Australia

In Brisbane, the St. Patrick's Day celebrations last for ten days and include a parade, Irish dancing, dinners, boxing matches, as well as a Family Sports Day which includes Gaelic Football and other Gaelic sports!

Folk Group Photo Credit: Zvonimir Atletic / Shutterstock.com

Japan

In Tokyo, over 1,000 people wearing green will take part in their parade this year. They also host an International Collegiate Festival with workshops where you can learn Irish dance, play Irish music, and enjoy a full day of concerts!

St. Patrick's Day Parade: KengAduldej / Shutterstock.com

Ireland

Dublin hosts a giant four day festival featuring a parade with marching bands from all over the world. They also hold a fair with carousels, roller coasters and Ferris wheels and an Enchanted Banquet which includes a "curious evening" with plenty of erish fables, fairy tales and folklore. The festivities begin with famous buildings like the Blarney Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Bank of Ireland being lit green!

Trinity College Photo Credit: Semmick Photo/Shutterstock.com

United States

The United States hosts St. Patrick's Day parades in over 100 cities. One of the biggest is in the city of Chicago, who famously dyes its river green for the day! After the huge parade which draws thousands of people, you can head to the St. Patrick’s Day Festival at the Irish American Heritage Center and listen to Irish music, dance, and of course eat good old Irish food and drinks!

Chicago River Photo Credit: gary yim/Shutterstock.com

St. Patrick's Day is only a few days away! Sam and Sofia are trying to decide where around the world to celebrate. Will you help them decide where to go? Visit their Facebook page to vote.

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Did You Know? - Domestic Violence Addition

Learn the Sad Truth about Domestic Violence and Abuse!

Did You Know...

• Most domestic violence incidents are never reported.
• Women are more likely to be killed by their intimate partner than men.
• 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are victims of Domestic Violence
• Every 15 seconds, a woman is being beaten in the US. - Dept. of Justice
• Women between the ages 20-24 have the greatest risk of nonfatal Domestic Violence, involving their intimate partner.
• Domestic Violence affects all people, no matter your income - But... people with lower annual income are at a 3x higher risk for Domestic Violence than others who have a higher annual income.
• 3 out of 4 Americans either know someone personally who is or has been a victim of domestic violence or are victims themselves! (That's almost 75% of Americans!)
• On estimate, more than 3 women and 1 man are murdered by their intimate partners in the US every day.
• Women are victims of over 4 million physical assaults and rapes, because of their intimate partners.
• Men experience almost 3 million physical assaults from their partners.
• 1 out of 3 women who have been abused, have never told anyone.
• 64% of women who experience violence, have mentioned that their children have witnessed violence as well.
• More than 60% of Domestic Violence situations happen at home.
• Without help, Girls who are victims of Domestic Violence are more vulnerable to abuse as teens and adults.
• Without help, Boys who witness Domestic Violence are at a higher risk of becoming abusers of their own partners and/or children as adults, which continues the Cycle of Violence throughout the next generation.

I'm a Survivor and You can be too!

Content Sources:

dvrc-or.org

www.safehorizon.org

Photo Source:

www.peasexpeace.org

10 things you didn’t know about ME!!

-- 10 things you didn’t know about me --

1. Hello, My name is Autumn and I'm a Dewoholic! Mountain Dew, that is :)
2. To me... First impressions are HUGE when it comes to getting to know someone.
3. I got pregnant with my 1st child at age 17 but didn’t know I was pregnant until I had already turned 18 years old.
4. I’ve always wanted a daughter named Nadia Lashaye but my fiance don’t like the name, so I had to come up with different names when I had my daughters.
5. I have a short temper and have the tendency to yell a lot - I’m working on it. (Some people say it‘s a Bad Attitude Problem)
6. When I got pregnant, I never once wanted to give birth to a baby boy, I’ve always wanted daughters ever since I was a child. But If I would have had a son, I would of loved him just as much as I do my girls. I have 2 step-sons and I‘ve loved them since way before pregnancy happened.
7. I have many Childhood/Teenage obsessions that I’ve proudly brought with me into adulthood. Some including: Strawberry Shortcake, Carebears (Mainly Cheer Bear - light pink w/Rainbow belly badge), My Little Pony, Video Games, Crafts, the love of Collecting Randoms, the urge to NOT throw something away, and many more…. :) Sometimes my fiance thinks I have issues! Haha
8. I love reading Fantasy books, others just don’t seem to interest me too much -My favorite 2 series are: The Twilight Series and The Iron Fae Series - I’ve read them all more than twice a piece. (8 books total)
9. I’ve had many nicknames throughout my my life, some have stayed some have passed. But the one I miss the most is being called “Amber” aka “Amber-Alert.”
10. I’ve been with Alan, who I often refer to as my fiance, for over 9 years and the subject of marriage don’t often come up. I’m perfectly okay with that because that decision belongs to me, 100%.

There you have it! 10 things you may not of known about me, Autumn B.- Writer of My Kind Of Introduction. :) I hope that nothing above changes how you feel about me… I don’t believe anything is bad enough for that to happen but sometimes you never can tell. All in all - I’m just a Country girl who’s trying to raise 2 little girls the best way I can, in this crazy world of ours. I’m not too different than alot of you. 

I only gave the minimum amount of detail on my list so you may be a bit lost or confused with a few of my facts. If that’s the case or even if it’s not, Feel free to comment below with any questions or thoughts about the choices that I made for my list above :)

Is there anything you would like to tell us about yourself? 

One of the Sexiest Men Alive is celebrating a birthday today!

Happy 37th Birthday Blake Shelton!!

10+ things you never knew about Blake Shelton!
(Some you may of known but they're still pretty cool to read about again!)
Referenced by TasteOfCountry.com

DID YOU KNOW??

Blake Shelton was born on June 18, 1976 in Oklahoma!

Jerry the Turkey - NOT Blake's Turkey

10.  Blake use to own a pet turkey, his name was Turkey! He died of a heat stroke in June 2003. (My brother's Paw owns a turkey named Jerry, he's been around for many years and is HUGE! - See Jerry in the photo above!)

9.  Blake Shelton was the first person to ever be invited to the Grand Ole Opry via Twitter. The tweet read : "@blakeshelton, you're invited to join the Grand Ole Opry. See you on 10/23/2010!" Shelton, being the active Twitter user he is, promptly responded, "Hmmm... Let me think... OK!!!!!!!!"

8.  What were Blake and Miranda's favorite wedding gifts? Their matching His and Her's Flasks and Shotguns of course!!!! They are both big fans of hunting and enjoy a nice cold drink every now and then!

7.  No running around barefoot for Shelton! What bother's Blake Shelton more than ever? When he see's someone very under-dressed in a formal setting! Blake also believes that artists need to cover up their "Stinkin' Nasty Feet" in upcoming music videos! I guess we won't be hearing a Shelton version of "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem!"

(You can see some of Blake's tattoo on his left arm)

6.  Who has the worse tattoo in Country Music? According to Blake Shelton, he does! What's suppose to be deer tracks, that he designed himself... Blake often gets asked What the "ladybugs on his arm", mean to him! (Blake later added the barbed-wire to make his tattoo more "manly"!)

5.  The scariest thing Blake has ever received from a fan was a live iguana in a paper sack! -- Quoted from TasteOfCountry -- "We were playing a fair, and a few people were handing me stuffed animals and flowers, but one person handed me a paper sack," Shelton told the Boot back in 2008. "So I took all the stuff back to the bus. I put the sack in my lap and opened it, and a live iguana jumped out of the sack and onto my shirt. I screamed like a little girl! I think it took a year off my life -- it scared the crap out of me."

4.  Blake has no shame when someone mentions his old-school Mullet hair style that he use to rock in the 90s! He once said "I know it looks like crap, but it is just more fun to me to irritate people than cut my hair to satisfy them!" - If you ask me... Blake Shelton makes even the mullet look sexy!

3.  When Blake Shelton got named "One of the Sexiest Men Alive" by People Magazine, his mama was more happier than he was! As a hair-dresser in Oklahoma, Blake's mom was sure to cut out the magazine page displaying her son and tape it to her mirror for everyone to see!

2.  At the age of 17, Blake Shelton moved to Nashville to become a Country Music Star. He says it's the craziest thing he's ever done but luckily it worked out very well for him!

Young Blake Shelton

1.  Blake was a pageant child!!! Blake once said -- "My mom entered me into a pageant [when I was 6 or 7 years old]. I still don't know why and it's still the worst experience of my life, being in a pageant," Shelton told CMT. "She put me in like two or three in a row there. And I remember singing 'Cat Scratch Fever' by Ted Nugent, and 'Old Time Rock 'n' Roll' by Bob Seger -- [they] were probably my two signature songs." - Just like TasteOfCountry... I too wonder what his costumes looked like! To Blake's mom: Please put video's on YouTube PLEASE!! ASAP!

A few extra facts......

**  What shoe brand does Blake Shelton dislike the most? Chuck Taylors! He's been known to make fun of them quiet a few times.

**  Do you know which song was Blake's 1st big hit?  "Austin" of course!!! (One of my all time favorite songs!) -- Which topped the charts for 5 weeks and tied with Billy Ray Cyrus' 1992 hit "Achy Breaky Heart" as the longest-running No. 1 song for a new male singer.

Blake and Kaynette (2001)

**  Miranda Lambert is NOT Blake's 1st wife! He's been married before but it ended in divorce! -- According to CountryMusic.about.com, Blake's exwife is Kaynette Williams (married 11/17/03) -- I have to day that Miranda and Blake look alot better together than him and his ex did... Just my opinion though!

** Who's a Country Gentleman? Blake is! He asked Miranda's dad for her hand in marriage before he popped the question to his, now, beautiful wife!

**  Blake Shelton's Favorite Color is...... BLUE!

Happy Birthday Blake!!!

I believe I'm about to head on over to YouTube and listen to me some "Austin"! You can never have enough Blake Shelton! I LOVE his music and his wife, Miranda Lambert, has always been a favorite of mine as well!

Comment Below to help me wish Blake Shelton a big Happy Birthday!!

Who's your favorite Country Music Star?

Sources: http://tasteofcountry.com, http://voices.yahoo.com, http://countrymusic.about.com
Photo Sources are from various sites - Found in Google Search

FREE - Eye Health Fact Sheets

The National Eye Institute has all kinds of FREE fact sheets about eye health available on their website! Most of them are downloadable but a few you can get mailed to your home. The information is very interesting and can really help someone who is either going to school in that field or is just wanting to learn.

They even have a workbook for kids!

Get your Eye Health Fact Sheets and keep those eyes healthy!

Earth Day Facts for Kids

Earth Day is on April 22 this year and I hadn't realized how close it was until today! I always try and do something special with my girls on Earth Day even if it's just simply coloring a pretty picture of flowers or the Planet Earth. Since I still have a week until Earth Day, I've started an activity and craft search!

On my search I ran across some neat Earth Day Facts and thought that they might help out some with getting our brain juices flowing! I've shared a few below.

Some Earth Day Facts and Trivia to get your brains thinking about neat Crafts and Activities to do with the kids this Earth Day.

DID YOU KNOW........

1. Earth Day is the busiest day of the year for e-waste collection, collecting more than 3,500 tons of waste.
2. Earth Day Networks estimates that 500 million people from 4,500 organizations in 180 countries will participate in Earth Day events during the month of April.
3. Earth Day is big with schools. On many school calendars, it is the third most activity-inspiring holiday, after Christmas and Halloween.
4. Only 11% of the earth's surface is used to grow food.
5. April 22 is the first official day of Spring in the Northern hemisphere and of Fall in the Southern hemisphere and was chosen to be Earth Day for this reason.
6. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to watch a TV for three hours - it's equivalent to half a gallon of gasoline.

References - Parents.com, YumSugar.com

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