Happy St. Patrick's Day

Of course, they don't get much more Irish than Madison. Who would have thought just a few years ago that this little Asian girl would soon have so many Irish ancestors? Daddy has Irish blood in him somewhere - you can tell because he bleeds green. Sort of like a Vulcan.*

But I digress: today is that sacred holiday, one of the big ones with kids' imaginations: Leprechauns dance, rainbows and pots of gold abound, and everyone wears green - even if you're not the slightest bit Irish. After all, no one wants to get pinched because of being found not wearing green.

Madison didn't have that problem today. Mommy found a nice outfit for her, and there was plenty of green to spare.

We started the day out the way you're supposed to start St. Patrick's Day: with Lucky Charms. Madison has a

tendency to eat only the marshmallows, but today was a special occasion. Have you seen a box of Lucky Charms lately? It is such a retro look they're using at certain grocery stores, which is pretty cool. They've got this really old box cover artwork, which show you what Lucky Charms used to look like when they were first sold in boxes somewhere in Ireland in the year 493 AD.

For lunch, we went with some co-workers to O'Charley's, of course. It was delicious, as usual. Daddy wore his shamrock tie, and Mommy wore her green as well. On the way there, we listened to Riverdance, and of course have been listening to all sorts of Irish music this week, from the Chieftains to plenty of other CDs we've collected over time, such as a group called "Nightnoise."

We like them a lot - it's relaxing background music for any occasion, actually. "Riverdance" is one of our favorites, but you can't go wrong for St. Patrick's Day if you pick up a copy of the Chieftains' classic concert CD called "An Irish Evening."

This is good stuff! There's a lot of fiddle, and you can't help but tap your feet all the way through. Madison doesn't quite tap her feet yet, but she does sway and swing her arms about. Maybe by next year, we will have shown her how to do a proper "jig." Although I'm not entirely sure how to do a jig myself. I'll have to put that down on my list for New Year's Resolutions next year: learn to do a proper jig.

Anyway, last night (St. Patrick's Eve) we watched "The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold" again with Madison. It's short, but fun. Madison was saying "naughty, naughty" to the Banshee each time she showed up. That movie is a Rankin and Bass animation, just like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." It was fun watching this one - I don't remember seeing it when I was younger. I was so abused!

We're actually saving "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" for Saturday when we have our family party at Ye-Ye's house. That's the classic. If you haven't seen that one yet, you simply must. It is required viewing for St. Patrick's Day! It has Sean Connery and Janet Munro in it, and a whole lot of leprechauns. After all these years, the special effects, music and story still hold up well, making it the best movie to go see when you want to feel a little Irish.

Daddy has also gotten a few other themed movies we'll be checking out this week: "The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns" and "The Secret of Roan Inish." We'll let you know how those are - St. Patrick's Day this year is apparently a four-day celebration now!

This Saturday at Ye-Ye's house, we'll be having corned beef and cabbage, and potatoes of course. The cousins are coming, and we'll all put on our green shirts again. I think the annual potato toss is scheduled, where each contestant tries to launch a potato across the yard into a black cauldron. Not since curling has there been this much excitement about an organized sport. The cousins will be tested for steroids this year though, as there is much speculation about them cheating. Last year's competition was a blow-out: Madison won. Rather than use the traditional toss method, she chose to simply walk up to the cauldron and throw her potato in at close range. Then she'd run off giggling. This technique was very effective, and she wound up winning hands down.

Here's a photo of Madison from St. Patrick's Day in 2009. She had a great time hanging out with family - we all did. Ye-Ye and Nana always make the holidays so much fun - they decorate,come up with themed games, and there's always the great food. We're looking forward to a fun day this coming Saturday, when we do it all over again. Look at Madison in this photo. She's so small here, but she was still so into everything as well. Madison is definitely not shy about things. She's very hands-on!

Anyway, as much as we're looking forward to Saturday, today was also a good day. Later on in the afternoon, Madison felt a little sick to her stomach and actually went to get the hot water bottle herself. Mommy is taking good care of her now, and keeping an eye on her temperature. Hopefully, she'll rest peacefully tonight and this will pass.

Despite how she felt later, it was a good day for Madison. Actually, it was a good day for all of us. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

*Speaking of which, I wonder if Spock was Irish? That would explain the green blood. Nobody ever said his last name. It was probably something really Irish, like O'Malley. That's it: his real name was Spock O'Malley.