Happy St. Patricks Day!

I realized how unprepared in some respects I was for this holiday when I saw Shane don a green shirt for work.  I asked him, “Isn’t there a clean work shirt?  I have just done the laundry.”  His reply, “I know, it’s St Patrick’s Day.”  So the search began to find green shirts for all the children who wanted to be like Daddy.  To remedy this problem I made little clover pins for all of us to wear conspicuously.

Oliver had been sick the last few days but seemed a lot better this morning as he ran around.  Around 1pm it became obvious he was getting sick again and upon further investigation I realized he probably has strep throat.  I put on a “Darby O’Gill and the Little People” to pacify the masses that knew Daddy was going to be home early tonight for our special dinner. Then I made Irish potato candy dough and our traditional meal with a few variations.  Dinner was delicious for Shane and I, but alas the children are not into corned beef yet.

After dinner we made our candies.  Peter loved rolling the dough in cinnamon so we gave him his own bowl.  He stood there for at least 45 minutes rolling the same dough in cinnamon over and over.  Oliver also got his own set up to make his own special potatoes since we don’t want the germs spreading. (If that is possible with three children under the age of 5!)

While we worked Shane discussed with me the origins of Irish potatoes.  It turns out that Irish potato candies are actually a Philadelphia Irish tradition.  That made me smile since, Muldowneys are definitely from the Philadelphia area and the recipe has been a family secret.  It’s fun to have such a specific tradition for my family history.

After dinner and candy we put on Irish folk music to dance to and then Marie showed us how she can jump like a leprechaun.  It was a good day and it was especially nice to have Daddy home for dinner.  Thanks for taking those couple of hours off!  For more pictures click here.