Tomorrow marks one of my favorite holidays of the year: St. Patrick’s Day! I don’t know which I enjoy most: That most everyone wears something green; that everyone, no matter their culture or origin, is Irish for the day; all the yummy corned beef sandwiches on rye and Irish tacos (yes, RMT’ers, Irish tacos! Put a little corned beef and shredded cabbage in a corn tortilla with some warm mustard, mmmm….); or that it’s OK to begin the day with a cold adult beverage in hand (it’s five o’clock somewhere, right?). Slainte (or however else you want to toast the day)!

As any good folk with Irish blood in them would, T and I started our celebration a few days early. On Wednesday our play group, Coastal Cuties, organized a special St. Patrick’s-themed music class at Jammin’ Music. Long-time and well-known local kiddie music teacher Mr. Geoffrey led and entertained our group of about 25 children and moms for an hour with a mix of old Irish favorites like “Danny Boy” along with sing-a-long and play-a-long activities involving other traditional kids’ favorites.

T and several other children knew Mr. Geoffrey from having taken classes here as babies, toddlers, or preschoolers. Though the venue has changed (Jammin’ Music moved to a new location as of the last year or so), Mr. Geoffrey remains memorable and hard to forget, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. I know T was super-excited to return to a class with Mr. Geoffrey, and although it’s been almost two years since he’s been in a class with him (T takes music at preschool now), T still randomly mentions how much fun he had in Mr. Geoffrey’s classes.

But whether it was their first time or not, the kids had a blast singing and dancing the afternoon away. Actually, we moms had a pretty great time also. Our play group leaders put together a festive favor to take home also, which included a green leprechaun hat, lucky gold coins, and a recipe for a fake-and-bake sweet treat.

Yes, RMT’ers, I said recipe, so here you go. Keep in mind that you can easily transform this into a simple yet decorative quick-bread to go with your warm one-pot meal this weekend – just omit the cinnamon and sugar, of course.

May the road rise to meet you this weekend, RMT’ers, and have a safe, fun, and festive St. Patrick’s Day!

Sweet Shamrock Pretzels

Ingredients:
– Canned refrigerated bread stick dough (we used Pillsbury Original Breadsticks)
– Colored sugar
– Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat it with cooking spray.

2. To create the clover shape, mold 3 sections of breadsticks into hearts and press them together as shown. Attach a small stem, decorate, bake according to the package directions, and serve them up to your lucky guests.

Source: Disney Family Fun Online

Traditional Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you;
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.