Irish Eyes Are Smiling

My mother's mother's mother's family immigrated from Ireland so we always like to celebrate St.Patrick's Day in some way to pay homage to that part of our heritage. We always wear green, of course. It's cute because Shule's favorite color is green and he's pretty obsessive about it. His teacher said that he was in good spirits all day on St.Patrick's Day and he said it was because so many people were wearing green. My mom usually buys "Irish potatoes" from See's Candies but we weren't in Tucson so we missed out this year. One year a bunch of us "kids" were in town because St. Pattie's Day happened to fall over spring break and my mom made us corned beef and cabbage- it was OK but Jon absolutely LOVED it. He'd never had it before and he was almost strangely excited by it. I guess it wasn't all that surprising because he really likes Rueben sandwiches and he has been known to get VERY excited about some foods.

I wanted to do something special this year because I had just finished a big research paper for school and had been neglecting everything but my children's basic needs. I also wanted to celebrate a little. While the boys were at school Sally helped me make paper shamrocks- I did the cutting and she did the painting. I looked up a bunch of Irish sayings and proverbs on the good ol' net and chose the following to use as clues for a Leprechaun's Treasure Hunt:
1. An old broom knows the dirty corners best.
2. A heavy purse makes a light heart.
3. A king's son is not nobler than his food.
4. A buckle is a great addition to an old shoe.
5. Better April showers than the breadth of the ocean in gold.
6. Don't throw out the dirty water until you have the clean water in.
7. The best looking-glass is the eyes of a friend.
8. A watched kettle never boils.
9. May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
When the boys got home I gave them their first shamrock clue and off they went. It was a lot of fun seeing them race all over the house looking for clues. As they found each clue we would discuss what the meanings of the sayings could be and then where the clue might be leading them. For dinner I made corned beef and cabbage (which was a little bit daunting because I've never done it before and I find cooking meat especially to be intimidating- but it really wasn't too difficult, you basically just boil it for an hour per pound). Jon was very happy and I was surprised that the boys didn't complain. I actually loved the cabbage/potato/carrots. They also enjoyed Leprechaun Fizz (sprite with lime sherbet). For dessert I made a round lemon cake and cut it in half and let both boys decorate a half with icing and skittles to look like rainbows. They had a blast and loved the cake but the skittles were way overkill with the sweetness, so I had to scrape mine off. Overall, it was a very fun, satisfying holiday.

Sophie has been gearing up for crawling by doing push ups- so cute! She's also getting around pretty well by crawling backwards but frequently gets stuck at walls and furniture.

Sally painting shamrocks (notice the intense concentration exhibited by the protruding tongue)

Sally seems to have inherited the single eyebrow raise capability of her mother.

Searching and finding clues

Maguire, the neighbor friend, was locked out of his house so he joined in the hunt.

Of course, all leprechauns hide their "Pot of Gold" at the end of the rainbow ;)

Boys got greedy and didn't want to share- Sally ended up winning the loot.

Jon's corned beef and cabbage

When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.