An Irish Day in Conshohocken

My daughter finally got to experience her day in the sun, as the Conshohocken parade took place today. Under beautiful blue skies, and with only a slight chill in the air, it was a magnificent day to be Irish.

The Dad's were the only one's allowed to march with the children, and Larry was looking forward to this time to be with his lil' Irish Princess. She was pensive at first, not knowing what to expect. But, as more and more of the students started to arrive, she felt comforted. And, having Daddy by her side is always helpful.

My son and I got to walk around the adorable main street of Conshohocken, Pa., and I treasured this time with him. He is so supportive of his little sister, and couldn't wait for her to go happily 'skipping' by. We have Aunt Patty to thank for her adorable bouncy curls, as she was the one responsible for lovingly wrapping each little curler. Mom Mom Murray attempted a trial run with the 'rag curls' she usually does in Julia's hair. Rag curls are the result of ripping sheets into strips and meticulously weaving them through her hair. We just couldn't accomplish the ringlets required by the Irish dance world with this technique. So, Aunt Patty, who for many years did her own daughters 'ringlets' for competitive cheer leading, was our 'go-to girl'.

The final gift of the night came when Julia exclaimed,"my Irish Dance for the parade wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be." Now, she has the bug, and we (hopefully) have many more Parades to attend!

A Gathering

We finally were able to get together with my Mother's siblings for a wonderful meal. This is usually for my Dad's birthday in February, but had to be put on hold for one reason or another, so March 21st it finally happened !

My Mother has had the tradition for many years of making homemade Gnocchi/Cavatelli, as this is my father's only request. My Aunt Connie used to be the one to make them for him each year, now it is my Mother's labor of love :)

My kids, and my niece and nephews have all made 'roni's" with Mom Mom. It has become just as much about the process as it is about the actual consumption of the meal. I'm grateful they all have had this time with my mother. I have such amazing memories of cooking with Aunt Connie, whether it be Lentils, or watching her roll with just two fingers the Sweet Potato Gnocchi at such a fast speed, your head would spin. So, it was only fitting that our gathering occurred just a few days past the Feast of St. Joseph, which was her gift to our family for many years. To me, St. Joseph's was like an unofficial family reunion....because of her, everyone gathered. So, I looked around at the crowd that was before me, and gazed at my mother's complete happiness at having the one's she loves dearly enjoying a meal prepared by her with love. My brother, Michael and his wife Patty took over Meatball duties (under my mothers watchful eye), which I know made Mom proud. I looked over to my father, who was sharp as a tack, and just reveling in all the stories and laughs going around. I saw all the kids devouring the food on their plates with reckless abandon, and I knew this was truly a great day, for all of us.
This a collection of pictures from the present meal back to some gems I came across.

St. Patty's Day Dinner, well worth the wait!

Today we gathered for that most grand of feasts, Corned Beef and Cabbage. This meal is lovingly made by my mother in law each and every year, and I am eternally grateful.

We had a group of 16 this year, and we all managed to squeeze around the table. We began with an amazing Potato/Leek Soup, followed by Guinness Beef Stew....in between we nibbled on Irish Soda Bread...then came the Piece de Resistance.....the coveted Corned Beef, and it's grand partner, Cabbage! We ate till we were almost in a coma-like state. The glasses were kept full, and the conversation and laughter, constant. The meal was punctuated by Dad McCay's Irish Coffee Masterpiece, I wish I had had an endless pot during the Snowstorms, they would have been much more enjoyable :)

Larry asked if he could bring his good friend Zach with us this year. We were glad to share the experience with him, and we told him he now has a standing 'date' to join us every year.

Larry's B-Day Flyers Game

So.....my first born turned 13!!!!!!!! I really still can't wrap my head around that. When I asked what he wanted to do for his grand day, he pondered it for about 3 seconds and says,"well....we can take a few friends to the movies...OR......GO TO A FLYERS GAME!!!" The latter being said with the exuberance one would have after being told they won the lottery.

So I went to work, looking for just the right game/team and date.....and of course I wanted great seating. Since this was his only request, I was not going to skimp on the seats, but I also wasn't going to be forced to pay the over-inflated charges of a StubHub. I asked my darling husband if he wanted to go, as I thought best to just get 2 tickets. He declined, and inside I was screaming like a lil' school girl, I looooove going to these games. I took this task very seriously, and one can say I was bordering on obsession. I came across a link w/i the Flyers website that allows season ticket holders to sell off there tickets. This was the best thing I have discovered in a looong time (cue the Angels singing). I was able to get tickets that were no longer available for generic sale(3 rows off ice), and the price was nowhere near as inflated as my other option would have been.

When my darling husband(the one mentioned above) saw the amazing location of said tickets, his tune changed and said,"I can take him"....FAT CHANCE BUDDY! He had his chance!

My amazing 13 y.o and I (I'm hoping the more I say it, I may start to believe it), set out on our journey on 3/11 to see the Bruins play our Flyers. The Flyers lost, but the experience was amazing. We jumped out of our seats quit a few times as these Gladiators came crashing into the glass right before our eyes, close enough to reach out and touch(ok, imagine glass partition removed). The look on his 13 y.o lil' face every time he said to me,"Mom, I can't believe they are RIGHT there!!!!" was MY gift :)

The Sickies Arrive and refuse to leave!

Jul has been battling a cold for the last 2 weeks. It seemed to have gone away, then came back full force. We saw Dr. Anthony today who confirmed Double ear infections. This is my child who does not complain and hates having 'down time' due to being sick. So, when she wakes up and says her ears feel 'fuuny' and head has a lot of pressure, I take her seriously. Thank goodness, no bad fever to deal with.She does have some 'coarse' sounds in her chest which Dr. A said can be due to inflammation or the virus itself. So a 10 day round of Antibiotics and strong cough syrup to help her clear her system. it doesn't help that for whatever reason, she will not allow herself to have a good chest clearing cough. She gets freaked out by the sound, and stops short of any productive cough. So, I guess that is why this is lingering longer then it should.

On the upside, she actually wants to cuddle with Mommy. And, since this is a rare occassion anymore, I will selfishly enjoy it.....as she will be better in no time and moving at warp speed once more!

Steppin' out into Spring

This was the first weekend of non-stop beautiful weather in a looong time. Everyone was out and about enjoying it, as well they should!

We started off by going to what I like to call "Communion-Palooza". This a day set aside to do crafts and learn a bit more about the process one must endure to establish their place in the Communion line. We were originally scheduled for the 1pm-3pm group. But, since we had to be in Conshohocken at 1pm, we made it to the 10am group. It was just Julia and I, as we left the 'boys' home. It was nice to work on her 'Grandparent' project with her, she was very proud of it. She was fading fast through the other 'learning centers', as was I!

We broke free and headed home to get the boys and begin our journey to Conshy for parade practice for Juls' Irish Dance School. You would think from the amount of time we sat in traffic, that everyone had the same idea, to spend a gorgeous Spring-like day, trapped on the Schulkyll!!! Once we got there, we realized what an adorable little town Conshohocken is. Julia did fabulous through out practice. She looooves this dance group immensely, and cannot wait to participate in the St. Patty's Day Parade(s) next weekend. Her outfit arrived from Belfast, and it is absolutely too cute for words. They are very particular about the way the girls hair must be worn, and I'm stressing that a bit, but we'll get through it :)

After practice, I was treated to a wonderful Birthday lunch by my family. We really just enjoyed the day together, then headed back out to the Schulkyll to begin the excruciating ride home. But, with bellies full, and the stress of finding and getting to practice on time behind us, it was not THAT bad.

My Bliss....this was HOW long ago????

Well.....here we go!

Everyone is Blogging! It always sounded like some dreaded stomach discomfort that I always thought wise to avoid. But....here I am. The thought of having yet one more thing to remember (or neglect) is a wee bit stressful. Will there be pressure to 'update', will my blog content pale in comparison to the many successful bloggers, will there be gaping holes left between posts? Oh, for sure, all of the above is guaranteed, so I will just accept that, breathe deep....and move on.

I am really doing this for selfish reasons. I want to be able to create something for my kids to keep as a reference for their lives, and so, it allows me to not have to remember every little detail when they ask,"when did I first blow my nose?" and other such profound markers of life.

Although, my kids are passed the 'baby' stage, I find things are moving at warp speed, and too many of the little moments are going by and not being honored appropriately. And, after all, isn't it really the little moments we all hold so dear to our hearts?

On We Go............