The Feast of the Irish

We had our traditional St. Patty's day festivities here this year. Even though Mama had to work (and was fighting a cold), we still managed to scrounge up some green clothing and prepare a grand feast. Dad put together some colcannon and we made sure that we had plenty of beer on hand. We had the traditional corned beef, of course, but this year we tried baking it instead of boiling it (shocking, I know). I thought it would be fun to try something different, although I was a little worried about ruining the corned beef. It actually turned out really well and I'd be willing to try it again. Baked corned beef also has the distinct advantage of NOT boiling over all over your stove top (always a risk, especially if you never seem to have a pot that the corned beef fits in properly). Dinner was a big hit -- it seems that Max and Molly both highly approve of corned beef (or corned beef "hot dogs," as Molly calls them).

Although I ran out of time and energy for the soda bread this year, I did spend St. Patrick's Day Eve putting together a special St. Patty's Day treat. I ran across a recipe for Irish Car Bomb cupcakes and, political correctness aside, I decided I just had to make them. I'm not a fan of Guinness, but chocolate stout cupcakes, with whiskey ganache filling, and Bailey's frosting just sounded too tasty (and oh so festive!). Given that the kids would be consuming some of the goodies, I did make a few non-alcoholic cupcakes. They exceeded my expectations -- they were delicious. I could have eaten a vat of the Bailey's frosting all by itself.

After we tucked the kids in bed, Dad and I sat back with a couple cups of (Bailey's-enhanced) coffee, some cupcakes, and watched "The Quiet Man." It was the perfect end to a perfect evening.

I Hog the Ground

Max and Molly (and Mama) like to watch Jack's Big Music show on occasion. I think it was the first TV program that Max ever watched. I remember sitting with him on the couch in our finished basement veerrrryyy early one morning. He was sick and fussy and miserable, so we hunkered down and watched a little TV until it was "lights on" (as the kids now say). Since that was back in my nursing days when I wasn't drinking caffeine, maybe I was hoping those technicolored puppets would wake me up a bit.

One of our favorite episodes was about Groundhog Day and this song is now one of Max and Molly's favorite. Listening to Molly belt out the words while rocking out with some serious air guitar is too funny!



Now, do you want to know why the lead singer looks so familiar? It's Steve Burns of Blue's Clues fame! When I first saw this clip, I thought I'd seen the lead singer before, but I actually didn't realize who it was until we looked this up on YouTube for the first time. He still rocks!

Wool and Copper

It's a good thing that we don't usually get each other anniversary gifts, because most of the yearly themes are bizarre at best. I suppose I could have always purchased a flock of sheep for my beloved (free grass clipping and fertilizer included -- bonus!), but I don't think we're zoned for livestock. ;) I can't believe it's already been seven years. It seems like just yesterday that we got married, but then it also feels like we've always been together (in a good way).

As a joint gift to ourselves, we both had the day off of work together. We spent most of the day doing the normal stuff -- kicking around the house, feeding kids, shuttling kids on and off the potty, etc. We did have more exciting plans for the evening, however. Since Grandma and Grandpa kindly offered to babysit (the best present of all!), Dad and I treated ourselves to an evening out on the town. We had been wanting to make a trek out to Tribute, because we've heard and read good things about it, so we figured this was a good time to do it.

We weren't disappointed! We had an early reservation and when we first got there we were the only customers in the place. We both opted for the tasting menu with the wine pairing, so we were able to sample a lot of different restaurant specialties. The food and wine were excellent, the service was good, and the company was outstanding. It was really nice to have a quiet evening where we could relax and talk and enjoy spending time together. Happy anniversary, honey -- I love you!

Bits and Bobs

Our computer has been working reliably for a couple of months, so I'm finally getting around to (maybe) catching up on my photos and blogs. I seem to be running about a month behind, no matter how hard I try to catch up! Since this is as much of a virtual baby book as anything else these days, I've accumulated a bunch of miscellaneous things I jotted down that don't really warrant a post unto themselves, but that I don't want to forget (you know, in case I need some handy blackmail to ensure future good behavior).

Both Max and Molly have really been giving their imaginations a workout lately. It's so fun to watch them play pretend and the things they come up with always make me laugh. Recently, one of their favorite things to do is to pretend to be soup. They take turns sitting in a "pot" made out of blankets and pillows and "stirring" each other with a toy baseball bat. Often, some throw pillow "crackers" are thrown in for a little extra flavor! Pretend flying is also still in high demand -- the other day Molly asked me to "help [her] fly in the clouds" like Peter Pan.

I've also learned that I really need to watch what I say these days, because my words keep coming back to me. The other day, Max asked Molly if she was happy and Molly said, "No, I'm not happy!"? I wonder where she heard that from ... Molly ending up having a rough bedtime a few nights ago. I had to go up there several times to try to get M&M to settle down. In between visits, I heard a conversation over the monitor that cracked me up:

Molly: Waaaaaaaaaa!
Max: Molly, are you sick?
Molly: I'm sad.
Max: Are you sick, honey?
Molly: No, I'm CRABBY!
Me: You can say that again ...

After dinner today, Max was running around, being noisy and raising a ruckus. Dad and I were standing in the kitchen when Max came tearing through, stopped on a dime, jumped in the air, and threw some little bouncy balls across the Max. We asked him what he was doing and his response was, "I'm being NAUGHTY!!!!" We just looked at each other and started laughing.

Max has pretty much given up naps. He'll take one once or twice a week if he's extremely tired, but we usually pay for it at bedtime. Max took a nap today for the first time in over a week -- now it's almost two hours past his bed time and he's still awake? I just heard him up there reciting the words to "No, David" to himself. At least he's keeping himself entertained!

Brusha Brusha Brusha

I always find it amusing that Max, who should have had his fill of doctors, is always totally excited about the prospect of visiting the doctor's office. As it turns out, his enthusiasm also extends to trips to the dentists. We told him yesterday that he would be going to the dentist today. Max has been to the dentist twice before -- he did ok the first time (but got upset when they wanted to recline the chair, so he didn't get his teeth cleaned) and really well the second time. We were hoping he'd have another easy trip, so we tried to prep him for the visit and explained that the dentist would want to look in his mouth and clean his teeth. Max obviously remembered the previous visit, because he nodded sagely and said that they would use the "noisy toothbrush."

Max and Dad returned from the visit with good news all around -- no cavities, we're doing a good job brushing his teeth, and the dentist said the spacing of his teeth was good (which was NOT what the dentist thought at his first visit). Max was proud to show off his new orange Cars toothbrush (he picked the color himself, of course) and the new bracelet that he picked out of the prize box. I always laugh, because I think he's picked a bracelet out of the box every time he's been to the dentist. Molly had serious bracelet envy and followed Max around until he finally tired of wearing it and took it off. She promptly pounced on it and has been wearing it every since! Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be as interested in sharing his new toothbrush.

Darth Max

Given their genetic makeup, it was only a matter of time before Max and Molly became bonified Star Wars fans. Max inherited a Darth Vader helmet from Big Brother and promptly managed to beg, borrow, and steal a permanent loan of Big Brother's old toy lightsabers. Since Max was so enamored of the Darth Vader helmet, we thought we'd break out all of our Star Wars DVDs and let him watch a few.

Needless to say, both kids are hooked. They spend their days arguing over the relative merits of "the Dark Maul one" vs. the "Darf Vader one" (I'm afraid I'm siding with Max there -- Vader will always be cooler villain). Molly, who is totally (and inexplicably) in love with Brother Bear, is convinced that Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are brothers. I am happy to report that neither child is particularly impressed with Jar Jar Binks -- in fact, they think he's a big frog. There has been a lot of talk about gooberfish around here lately, though.

I think Max took the cake for the funniest Star Wars story, though. The other night he was running around with his Darth Vader helmet on and exclaiming, "You don't know the power of the dark OUTSIDE!" I think both Dad and I are happy that our geekdom has spread to the next generation.