St. Patrick’s Day

I am a loser.  With a capital L. 

On the way to school this morning, Nicholas and I had a conversation:

“Mama, did you know that today is St. Patrick’s Day?”

“Yes honey, Happy St, Patrick’s Day!”

“How come I can’t wear green today for St. Patrick’s Day?”

“Because you wear a uniform.”

“But everyone should wear something green for St. Patrick’s Day.  Even the houses are dressed up for the holiday,”  he said as we passed by a few that had flags waving in the cold air.

“Well, it’s hard with a uniform.  You can get changed into something green when you come home from school.  Would that work?”

“I guess so.  But how about a bracelet or a pin or something?”

Yup.  Yesterday, I remembered to pick up corned beef for dinner tonight, but completely blanked on getting my kid something green to wear to school today.  L-O-S-E-R.

In serious danger of losing precious Mom points, I silently vowed to fix it for him.  I had to drop off something at his school later (because it would have been too easy to fill out the form and send it in with him, thereby saving me a trip!), so figured I’d make a stop and find him something green to wear and drop it off.  Well, FOUR freakin’ stops later, I finally found something.  Geesh, when did St. Patrick’s Day become such a huge holiday?  Methinks it has much more to do with the fact that Easter is right on our heels and the stores aren’t used to that; must capitalize on bigger holiday coming down the pike and quickly hide what’s left of Erin Go Braugh.  I despise when retail rushes the holidays.  I mean, seriously, how many people made a run for sparkly green Shamrock glasses this weekend?  Apparently not I, but the stores were greatly devoid of anything green, and so was I, for the time being.  Some Irish woman I am!

But fear not … Mom points quickly restored, I found a beaded light up green bracelet and dropped it off for Nicholas just in time to see him in the lunchroom.  A huge smile lit up his face when he saw me … think how many extra points I’ll get when he sees the balloons I have at home waiting for him!

For dinner tonight, I stuck with the prerequisite Corned Beef and Cabbage, as it seems almost sacrilege not to have it on St. Patrick’s Day, right?  I also made the Colcannon that I made for last year’s holiday celebration … cooked bacon, melted butter and mashed potatoes… yup, still just as good as I remember it.  The Husband, surprisingly enough, took two helpings of it, pushing through his disdain for mashed potatoes and cabbage.  Although this is only a once-a-year feat for him, I’ll take what I can get.  And as he told me, “baby steps.”

Diane’s Colcannon
From AllRecipes

2-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 slices bacon
1/2 small head cabbage, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter, melted

Place potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving drippings, crumble and set aside. In the reserved drippings, saute the cabbage and onion until soft and translucent. Putting a lid on the pan helps the vegetables cook faster.

Drain the cooked potatoes, mash with milk and season with salt and pepper. Fold in the bacon, cabbage, and onions, then transfer the mixture to a large serving bowl. Make a well in the center, and pour in the melted butter. Serve immediately.