St. Patrick's Day 2010

I'm not exactly sure when I decided that I loved St. Patrick's Day. I always liked it growing up, and my enthusiasm was reinforced after moving to Boston. Last year, I remember taking pictures of Abby and having so much fun and, maybe it was then, that I started looking forward to the next year's festivities. I do remember how my mom always tried to make holidays special and how we would have green milk and other fun things to go along with the day...traditions I'm proud to continue.

Today, was a good day. Possibly even great. I felt like I got an "A" on being a mom today. I got a D- on cleaning the house...but I think I've got my priorities straight. ;)

Our day started groggy. Taking Nyquil at 1am does not for an easy morning make. Nevertheless, we eventually got ourselves together. I do not like to miss an opportunity to celebrate a holiday, so of course I made Abby green eggs for breakfast. She seemed to enjoy them.

After breakfast, we took Kyle to work. Then Abby and I went to the grocery store for a while to pick up a few things we needed before heading to the Apple Store. Kyle's phone was not working right and he needed us to take it in for him. However, we ended up with about 30 mins to kill between groceries and iphone rescue, so Abby and I decided to have a small snack at a bakery next to the grocery store. We'd never been in before, but it was a cute little place. We split a lemon- blueberry muffin. I absolutely love this age. I love love love that I can take Abby out for breakfast and we can just chill together. It is so much fun. And, as a bonus, the booths made for a great photo backdrop. :)

It was a great jumpstart to our morning. After the bakery we took Kyle's phone in. We had to wait a little while before we could be seen and Abby spent her time walking around the store completely oblivious to all the attention she was getting. I will say, it's pretty easy to entertain a toddler in a store full of bright monitors and iphones. So, all that went well and it was time to take Abby home for a nap.

We both took naps. And I woke up feeling like I had finally shaken off that Nyquil feeling. Next was lunch, and we had to stick with the theme...so green mac & cheese it was. :)

Today was one of those days that we simply could not stay indoors. The warmest day of the year so far - I think it was 60 or even higher. So we packed up and went to the park. We played on the playground for a long time (where Abby made several friends and got more attention for her shamrock-saavy look). I decided to take Abby to a pine tree grove to have a snack and, of course, take pictures!

This makes me laugh. This was Abby's first pinecone experience.

"Hey, what's this?"

"aaaaaah"

"ugh! mom! that was gross!"

How could I not add this picture?

Those eyes melt me - and dirt on her face just makes it better.

Ok. So, back to our day. We left the park to pick up Kyle from work. I was super excited to realize that today is ST. Patrick's Day. As in Saint. As in it's a "feast day" Still not following? Lent doesn't count on feast days. As in, I can eat sweets. So when I picked up Kyle from work, I thanked him for letting us go get ice cream. :) He gave me one of those looks - but found it in him to comply.

Also, I discovered, it's pretty much impossible to say the phrase, "Can I please have sprinkles" without sounding about 4 years old. Especially when you add, "the green ones?"

I thought this was a cute moment. Kyle explaining to Abby why she has to hold his hand when they're walking by a street.

So, we had dessert first, but that's the kind of crazy world I live in. We came home and I invented some hodgepodge stuffed peppers recipe. Let's see, we had turkey, black beans, onions, peppers, and cheese and spices. I think they came out pretty well.

So. Here we are. At the end of a fantastic day. The child is in bed, the kitchen is cleaned, and we're going to catch up on a few tv shows before bed. What a wonderful day this has been. I think, to an extent, holidays are made for kids (some of us never grow up) and I am having so much fun participating in the festivities. Who knows, maybe 15 years down the road I won't even remember where I put my green shirt - but this year, we had a really, really fun time.