Thursday, March 19, 2009

St. Paddy's Day Fun

St. Patrick's day tends to be a big holiday around these parts, and we love getting into the fun. Saturday, we enjoyed the parade with friends and waved to other friends and locals who were even more festive than us and were actually walking in the parade. I think it might have been one of the coldest parade days we've had, but the kids didn't seem to mind. Just before it ended, I could tell the chilly weather was getting to Brad--he had us packed up and on our way right as the parade was ending.

Trying to stay warm

Caleb had the best parade wave--his arm went back and forth so precisely!


Then we had three more days to wait until the actual St. Patrick's Day arrived. There was lots of discussion about Leprechauns. Lauren was thrilled by a visit from some of those sneaky green guys at preschool on Monday--she talked about it all day. She also mastered her four-leaf clover drawings, and made lots of Shamrock pictures for everyone in the family. Caleb filled us in on the origins of the holiday (thanks to what he learned at school), and Andrew sported green outfits four days in a row.

On St. Paddy's day, it was not "Top 'O the Morning!" to me because I woke up actually feeling green. (Weirdest sickness--possibly food poisoning? Blame it on those leprechauns!) I managed to make some green muffins before the worst of it hit me, and I somehow got Caleb to school. For the rest of the morning, I hunkered down and slowly started feeling better. By the afternoon, I was feeling so good I started planning our Irish (green) dinner and before I knew it I had forgotten to pick up Caleb from school! OOPS! Once he made it home (thanks, Heather!) we went to the store to get the final ingredients for dinner. Caleb was in charge of the drink, and Lauren chose the veggie and dessert.


Our green feast included:
Green (spinach) noodles with chicken and creamy sauce
Broccoli
Green French Bread Shamrocks
Green Limeade-Sprite-mixer
Green popcicles for dessert


Not traditional Irish grub, but it was easy, it was GREEN, and the kids loved it!


Now, let the birthday season begin!

4 comments:

Pei-I Whittier said...

How fun! How did you make spinach noodles? I'd like to learn that. We ate corned beef with cabbage that was cooked in the slow cooker all day. Maybe I'll try your green dish ideas next year.

Mindy said...

I loved your green menu! Mind if we copy next year? Still think Lauren's haircut is about the cutest thing ever!

Natalie N said...

Oh my goodness. That pic of Andrew with the hat is my new favorite!! So fun! And Lauren's hair looks so cute in that picture too. The headband is darling on her.

Marsha said...

Fun, fun St. Paddy's Day (soon to be renamed Shamrock Day?)! Ashlee fixed us a green dinner too that night - green mashed potatoes, broccoli, meatballs, green jello, limeaid, green plates, napkins, and centerpiece. It was so fun.