A look back at St. Pat's!

Someday, my grown-up daughters might look back at these pictures and think I was really organized and I planned ahead to pull things off like this.  The truth is, my sweet girls, I had a combination of desperation, supplies and luck to be able to pull off what looks like such a cutesy, festive day. 

I woke up the morning of St. Patrick's Day in a panic realizing Hallie's "go-to" green dress was in the bottom of a laundry basket and that all her friends at preschool would be wearing green.  I silently prayed she would have something else green to wear in her dresser.  Thank goodness she did!

When I stumbled down to get out cereal I lamented the fact that I wasn't cool like other Moms who thought ahead and bought Lucky Charms.  But I do own food coloring!  So, into the milk and pancake batter the green dye went.  Hallie was the one who told me the leprechaun did it.

From then on, I was sort of in my groove and the green obsession simply snow-balled . . .

to green nails . . .

and any green hair accesory I could find . . .

to a green onesie that could accentuate her pudgy toddler tummy.

Hallie discovered a pot o' gold at preschool that day and immediately shared her treasure with her sister.

Chocolate is a true treasure.

I am ridiculously proud of her coloring skills of late!  Perhaps we could work on that new backwards signature shown below though?

She painted this darling rainbow at preschool by dipping race cars in paint and taking them for a spin around the paper.   

I'm in the middle of this favorite green book of mine.

In the afternoon we watched one of the girls' favorite green movies. 

I realized we don't really have Irish movies around here.

Chris wore his fav tie with green in it.  It also happens to sport his school colors (which is why I bought it).

We made Shamrock Shakes!  Claire loved them!

For the dinner table, I pulled out everything green I could find and told the girls "the leprechan" put green, gold, and yellow candies on the table to eat.  We ate Irish Hot Pot-- it's something my dad made for us while I was a child.  You boil Irish favs (potatoes, cabbage, and onions) in a pot of water and then serve with sausage.  Each person can season with butter and salt and pepper as desired.  It is surprisingly delicious.  The girls loved sneaking bits of candy in between bites of potatoes. 

The older I get, the more I realize any opportunity for a new family tradition is an opportunity we must take!

These are the things my children will remember.  These are the types of memories that will tie their hearts back to home and make them long for simple, happy things.  And that is so worth any flight of frenzy to produce these festive times.