St. Patrick's Day

All I remember about St. Patrick's Day as a kid is wearing green and pinching people who didn't.  Last year Spencer came home from preschool overflowing with chatter about leprechauns.  He had to make a trap to catch one and warned me leprechauns make a big mess.  Then I remember getting on Facebook and seeing how just about everyone I knew made green food for their kids.  I felt a little bad and that night the leprechaun came and left chocolate gold coins under the "trap" and made a little bit of a mess.  Not much as I don't like intentionally making messes.  This year I tried to be a little better about it.

I didn't get home from work last night until after the kids were asleep, but Brodie told me Spencer had made a trap.  Silly kid just drew a picture to trap the leprechaun.  Last year's trap was much more elaborate.  Those darn video games are depleting his imagination.  Anyway, this time the leprechaun left a garland of clovers from where the trap had been in Spencer's room up over the stairs and through the kitchen and front room and out the front door.  Just before the door he left a couple small plastic pots with chocolate gold coins in them for the kids.  You'd think it was Christmas!  Spencer was in my room all giddy at 6 am telling me he thought he caught a leprechaun.  Between him and Clara I didn't go back to sleep, but still stayed in my bed until 7.  Spencer was so excited and had to wake up Tessa, who ended up being just about as excited.  More because there was chocolate involved than because Spencer almost caught a leprechaun.  I let the kids each eat one coin before breakfast and made them wait until after Spencer got home from school to eat anymore.  That meant Tessa and I had to come up with other uses while he was gone.  We spent a while playing store and Tessa bought all sorts of things from me with her "money".  Then we discovered the chocolate gold coins worked well on our front room coffee table in a game of table hockey.  Tessa won 8 to 7.

For breakfast the green food coloring made a heavy appearance.  The kids got green milk (to drink and in their cereal), green yogurt, and green eggs (thanks Parker chickens!).  Spencer asked if we were having ham.  I told him it was St. Patrick's Day, not Dr. Seuss day.  I also gave them clover straws to drink out of for fun.  Lunch included broccoli and green Kool-Aid.  I had to work tonight so I tried to prep things as much as I could before leaving.  Then I ended up with an hour break around dinner time anyway, so I came home to make it.  We had our family's favorite food...BRUSSEL SPROUTS!  (Thanks G'ma and G'pa!)  I also boiled spaghetti noodles in water dyed with green food coloring to make the spaghetti noodles green.  Then I made our favorite parmesan chicken that has green basil flakes in it.  Since my vegetarian neice was babysitting, I bought some tofu and breaded that as well.  Little Tessa adores all her older girl cousins, including Jordan, and couldn't wait to eat tofu like Jordan.  I had to go back to work before dinner, but Brodie said Tessa gobbled down that tofu faster than most dinners and she didn't even touch her chicken.  Spencer cried when Brodie made him try the tofu, but he did.  Then Brodie made the kids some pistacchio pudding for dessert.

One couple I was visiting with while I was working on their taxes pointed out to me that whatever I did this year, I'll have to do at least as much next year.  I should have thought about that earlier.