St. Paddy's Day Digest

The sun rose on a beautiful mild day here in Eire, west.  Most of the Davis gang had already gotten up at Midnight to break the Lenten fast so they could also be ready for Communion in the morning...  But, first things first...  Bright and early, before even dressing for Mass, the Littles woke and ran to the leprechaun trap to see what they could see.  Gabey, reconstructing the scene, tells it in so many words:

"Well, looks like one was here. I don't know how he got in.  No one knows, but you can see he ended up in the pantry.  He got up here, got into the marshmallows, then drank some of this.

"What is it, Gabe?"

"Food coloring!  But, it was green ya know, sooo...

"But, anyway.  He stepped in it. Then slid down the broom handle off the shelf.  Then he walked across to the mudroom.  See his footsteps?"

"How come they end here, do ya think?"

"He wiped his feet on the door mat.  And he got most of the green off...  but you can see another track here across the kitchen.  Then he went in the dining room.  He looked over and saw all the stuff in the cage, and ran across and climbed up the chair to the little table...

"And he saw the beer in there. There was other stuff, but after eating the marshmallows, he was probably thirsty...

He thought that the little tea cups had beer in them, but it was only tea, so he looked up and saw the Guinness bottles and thought he'd go in and get some.  He went in and tripped on the little wire and 

SNAP, the cage door shut.  But not all the way.  It didn't lock, so he pushed it right open. He ate a piece of the cookie.  Then he went in the craft room and wrote a note and left it in here for us."

So, hmmmm...  Santa doesn't come to our house, but leprechauns do?

Well, that is the question right now...  Do they, or don't they?

William says right off the back that the note is in Mommy's handwriting.

Theresa looks over William's head and winks knowingly at Cathy.

Michelle smiles quietly.

"Maybe it is," Mommy says.  "What do you think?"  No answer.

 But later in the day, William accuses Cathy of playing leprechaun.  Cathy insists it wasn't her and Anna agrees Cathy hadn't gotten up in the night.

 Gabe, more quietly skeptical finally asks Mommy if she did it.  Mommy says, "Would I pull a trick like that?"  One raised eyebrow. His.  Mine are both raised -- innocently.  For now.  

Here's the "wink."

There'll be a lesson in healthy skepticism coming later, followed by a talk about knowing the difference between what's real and what's make-believe and why it's important to know the difference.

And I'm making plans for more elaborate shenanigans next year.  The children will get to figure out where the leprechaun has been and what he's been up to... Maybe I'll enlist special helpers every year.... Sorta like the Santa game, I think -- It may well be more fun for  "the leprechaun"  than the children.

White board art for the day.

And here's the rest of our traditional St. Patrick's Day in a nutshell --

For Posterity:

St. Patrick's Itinerary, 2013

Children attending: Michelle -17, Theresa-14, Cathy-12, Anna-10, Gabriel-8, William-7

1) Mass at 8 a.m. The four girls sang in the choir -- just them with Sr. Petra today, and it was awesome!  The Lorica was so pretty!

2) Lunch:

Corned Beef 

Colcanon 

Soda Bread (ala Cathy -- the best ever!)

3) The Quiet Man, enjoyed thoroughly while eating bread pudding

4) I had to take Dan to the airport to fly to another 

week of work in Nevada (Ugh.Not traditional!)

5) Darby O'Gill & the Little People (Young Sean Connery. Oh, yes; oh, yes.) 

Watched after i got home and started blogging this post!

6) All Creatures Great and Small (the PBS series) -- watched at dinner time while eating

popcorn 

cheese

apples

summer sausage

This day, not a recipe for good health, mind you!  But -- really -- it's not our normal routine -- by a long shot.  It being a Sunday in Lent, and an Irish holiday,  however, we feel no shame in celebrating like couch potatoes!

And now, just a little Muppet silliness to end the day on.

This video dedicated to the cheese man, Dominic (even though he can't
have cheese on his health regimen right now -- we know where his
heart is!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day to All!