Dear Readers, I start this blog with a kind-hearted warning- you will not want your younger readers eyes to see this blog! Happy St. Patrick’s Day and may your day be filled with loads of luck! xo, allison
As I sit here in the early hours sit I know that mischievous little Leprechaun is lurking around the corner, eager to leave his trail of craziness. Soon the milk will be green, cereal thrown across kitchen counters and canned food in school backpacks. Lucky children will find a sprinkle of magic dust, which ironically resembles glitter. But who cares, since that particular dust brings you oodles of good luck for the following year.
In some ways he is like his friend the Easter Bunny. Now, that visitor was raised properly. Yes, he does leave footprints, but he always brings gifts of chocolate. Of course there are those that enjoy the Tooth Fairy most of all. That tiny flying Fairy leaves no mess at all. She quietly flies in at a moments notice and leaves a gift under the pillow. I remember as a little girl getting so excited when the Tooth Fairy would leave me a half dollar! Rumor has it these days she is leaving ten and twenty dollar bills! Oh my- can anyone say inflation?
Of course, this list would be incomplete without Santa Claus. He is the master of all that is magical. Children across our entire planet make their lists, behave accordingly, leave a plate of treats and go to bed early with the hope Santa will visit their home before they wake up Christmas morning. Somehow they believe he can travel the globe, slide down chimneys and fly in snowstorms, in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer all in one night. They believe—and as well they should.
That is until they don’t. Until they start adding up two plus two and realizing it just might not equal four. It all starts out with innocently. “I felt the tooth fairies wings on my cheek last night.” “I heard Santa’s sleigh land on our roof!” “I saw the Easter Bunny hopping out my window!” Delightful years pass and then come the carefully worded questions, “Does Santa buy his wrapping paper from our school fundraiser too?” “How does the Tooth Fairy know when I lose my tooth?” “Why did I see you emptying my piggybank in the middle of the night?” “Why doesn’t our alarm system go off?”
Then the unavoidable day arrives. Your child looks straight into your eyes and asks you that dreaded question, “Mom, are … YOU the Tooth Fairy?” It’s such a tangled moment in parenting. You delicately explain that yes, you are indeed that clumsy, forgetful Tooth Fairy that borrowed money from their piggy bank. You watch the innocence drain from their face as you struggle to explain that you were not exactly lying, just fulfilling an unspoken parental obligation. Carrying on a time-honored tradition.
During my rambling explanation my mind wanders to my memory box. The one located in my heart that is overflowing. In it is the look on my son’s face when he peeked into the kitchen to make sure that crazy leprechaun was gone! Or the moment my daughter spotted the magic dust on her stool. Or when the Easter Bunny left our son a hockey helmet filled with chocolate eggs. Or that unforgettable time Santa thought he could actually build an ice rink in our backyard on Christmas Eve!
I lock my memory box, tuck it close to my heart and I hear my child’s voice, “Mom! Mom! You are Santa too, aren’t you?” In my mind I am screaming, “Run Leprechaun, run!
Moral: The magic of bunnies, fairies and Santa is very real. Be sure to fill your life with memories worth keeping because in the end those will be some of your most prized possessions.
Your lucky friend,
A quick guide to all things St. Patrick’s Day: One drop of green food coloring in toilets and milk jugs will do the trick. A few cans of soup or tuna in their backpacks works perfectly! Our Leprechauns left their favorite cereal, Lucky Charms scattered all over the kitchen counter. Something new I heard about is Fairy Bread- a age old tradition from Australia. Spread butter on two slices of white bread and then coat butter side of bread with sprinkles and cut into triangles. Just use green sprinkles to make it a delicious treat for your Leprechauns. Happy Leprechauning!
Also I have included my favorite Irish Soda Bread recipe I like to share with a few each holiday. In the past I have left a loaf in my mailbox, delivered to my kid’s school, left on my neighbor’s porches, sent a batch into my husband’s office. Each year I think of someone I want to know how lucky I feel to have in my world. A few years back the Irish Soda Bread went to our plumbers. If you have been without indoor plumbing you totally understand this pick! No need for a story, it just ain’t pretty!
Irish Soda Bread
2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of white sugar
2 teaspoons of both baking soda and baking powder
Dash of salt
3 tablespoons of softened butter
1 cup of buttermilk
Melted butter for top
Optional: 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds and ½ cup raisins
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Work softened butter into dry with your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs. If you like, now is this time to mix in raisins and caraway seeds. Make a well in the middle and pour in your buttermilk. Mix just until moist. Form a ball of sorts with this incredibly sticky dough. Honestly, it’s more like dropping dough in a heap onto a greased baking pan or parchment paper. Next place a bit of flour on your hands and gently flatten your dough pile a bit. Using a sharp knife, make a crisscross cut 1/3 way through top of dough ball.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden crusty brown. Brush your bread with melted butter as soon as it comes out from the oven. When cool to touch, using a sifter to sprinkle the top with some flour.
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