St. Patrick's Day 2014

Andi traveled to Las Vegas and Los Angeles for work this past weekend, so the kids and I were flying solo. I've been exhausted since our return from vacation (princess problem, I know) -- running on fumes with a sleep-refusing Mr. Aden. My poor little man is suffering from eczema on his neck and chest and no matter how many different creams and lotions I try, nothing seems to relieve his pain and itching completely. We see the pediatrician on Wednesday for his four month check-up, so I'm anxious to see what the doctor says about it. In the meantime, Aden can't seem to get comfortable enough to stay asleep for long, plus the time change from vacation and Daylight Savings have really thrown his schedule for a loop. Oof. I'm one tired mama over here. Luckily, Tory doesn't seem to be affected by our travel or DST and as long as I let her sleep in bed with me while Andi's away, she's out like a rock.

Actually, my little Tory Bean has been an angel since we returned from vacation on Thursday, so there's that little blessing. The other day, it was all too quiet so I went to investigate. I opened Tory's bedroom door and found her snuggled in bed, reading a book. Um, excuse me? I think we might have left our rambunctious toddler in Mexico and brought back this little girl by mistake!

Sunday afternoon, Janie invited us over to her mom's house (Grandma Marion) for a St. Patrick's Day corned beef dinner. Tory and I decided to bake a Poke N' Pour cake to bring along for dessert. We ran to Target in the morning to pick up a cake mix and a few other ingredients. Tory asked if she could walk alongside the cart and it was against my better judgement as I don't usually bring her to Target because she's such a handful. I decided to give her a chance and asked her to stay close to me. "I promise!" she said. And, she did. Tory stayed by my side the entire shopping trip and I was so proud (and shocked!) of my little girl. She is growing up so fast.

We came back home and baked our cake. Tory licked the beater and proclaimed her love for "white cake." As I was about to pour the lime green Jell-O on top for the "pour" portion of our recipe, Tory shouted, "I not like green cake! I like white cake!" Fortunately, she forgot and enjoyed a piece of cake after dinnertime.

We enjoyed ourselves at Grandma Marion's house. Tory played with her cousin, Connor, and Aden happily bounced from lap to lap amongst family. Best of all, I enjoyed a little break from solo parenting and didn't have to come up with something for dinner. Win-win.

Aden and Auntie Lindsay

Janie's corned beef feast

Our traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner
Corned beef, cabbage, boiled potatoes, carrots and Irish soda bread

Next year, Aden. Next year ...

Grandma Janie and her (non) Irish cuties

The green Poke N' Pour cake was a hit, by the way. It was the first time many of Andi's family had tasted the refreshing dessert, so I felt like a star for bringing something delicious to the party. My mom used to make this cake all the time when I was growing up. I added green food coloring to the whipped cream frosting to give it a little more flare. You could use whatever color, for whatever holiday. Recommend!

Decked out in the only "green" we own.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!