When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

. . . the whole world smiles too! Most of the day my kids were smiling. Except for Luke screaming virtually the entire time at Giant. But we won't go there tonight. . .

I had picked up at Old Navy some cute St. Paddy's Day shirts for the kids and had ever intention of snapping a picture but it just didn't happen today. Luke's though really matched his personality lately and said "Irish Hooligan" which is about right.

It's really hard to explain to Grace the hubub surrounding St. Pat's. We started off our day all dressed in green and excited to do some Irish things. I donned my claddagh ring that my parents had given me and Grace asked all about it which was nice. We tuned into our XM and listened (rather loudly I might add) to traditional Irish music all day. Every single time they played "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" it got me;)

On the menu for tonight was corned beef and cabbage with potatoes. I never made corned beef before and it was delicious. Tom's mom Dorothy was kind enough to share her recipe for Irish soda bread which I made. I had a few nibbles and can't wait for breakfast tomorrow. When Grace complained she didn't like raisins, my response was that's ok but this is a day to remember Irish traditions so it's important we do this right.

Which got me to explaining the day. What does "Irish" mean to a 3 year old? I got out our world map and showed her where Ireland is and where we are and that there is a big ocean in between us. A long time ago people in Ireland were very hungry and had no jobs. They decided to spend all the money in the world to buy a ticket on a very slow moving boat and try their luck in America. Mommy knows they were very sad to leave Ireland because their songs tell us so. But because they took that risk, you Grace and me, are here today and today we say thank you for taking that trip. This seemed to satisfy her or at least she's figured out how to make me shut up.

Luke and I are still battling an obnoxious cold coupled with teething pain (him, not me). He's on me like white on rice from the moment he wakes up until he goes down at night and to say he makes me feel claustrophobic is an understatement. Some separation would be a good thing right about now. My sinuses are miserable and I'm resembling Shrek these days with the amount of green snot coming out of my nose. One side of me says it's time for the doctor, another says give it some time yet.

Sunday capped off a great running week despite my cold. 8.5 miles was my long run but I chose my course unwisely and now my quads are sore. What goes down. . . must go up. Lesson learned and won't do that route again.

Now that St. Pat's is over, we roll right into Easter and time for some eggs to come out tomorrow. Spring is so close I can taste it though Grace seems to think it will be Summer any day. Actually, she might be right given our weather around here. I really need Spring to hippity hoppity it's way into our snotty, phlegmy, claustrophobic lives. But at least there's a lot to celebrate and that makes me, and the kids, happy.

On a sadder note, in a previous blog entry, I had mentioned baby Nolan and his battle against liver cancer. He did receive a transplant but it failed. His burial is on Thursday. As difficult as my children can be at times, this past week has reminded me how precious and precarious life can be. I never met Nolan but he taught me a valuable life lesson. That little guy fought from the beginning with every ounce if strength he had. He reminds me how gregarious babies and kids are. That living is a privilege and worth fighting for. Please remember Nolan's family in your prayers and intentions. The loss is unfathomable to me yet a reminder that medical science cannot fix everything--as much as we would like it to.