So much for the luck of the Irish...

I'm beginning to think that "the luck of the Irish" isn't actually for those of Irish descent. Because if it were, as an O'Connor (well, formerly, at least), I'd be having a fairly lucky St. Patrick's Day. And for the second year in a row, that's just not the case.

Poor Kathleen seems to have hand-foot-and-mouth-disease. I say "seems to have" because thanks to the whims of Tripler Hospital and Tricare, getting Kathleen seen by a pediatrician right now will take an act of Congress. . . I realized that her diaper rash wasn't actually a diaper rash when she was taking a bath on Sunday night, and I noticed that she had little bumps and blisters on her hands and feet, as well. A quick google search reinforced my suspicions -- it looked just like hand-foot-and-mouth disease, which I remember having as a little girl. (What did parents do before the internet?!) Although we couldn't get to a doctor in person, we spoke with our favorite doctor, Aunt Angela, on the phone. She assured us that there's no treatment for the lovely hand-foot-and-mouth-disease. All we can do is use tylenol for fever or discomfort and try to push liquids. And since it's "highly contagious," we've got to stay away from any other children. Poor little Kathleen.

That being said, Kathleen doesn't seem too uncomfortable. She has been a little cranky, but that's to be expected. (And, frankly, knowing that she is sick explains the past couple days of crankiness. I kept taking her temperature, because she sort of seemed sick, but the thermometer said she was fine, the liar!) Still, being home-bound wasn't exactly what we had planned for St. Patrick's Day. In fact, most of our plans hinged on being able to get out buy some things at the commissary. Thankfully, Daddy was our hero and came to our rescue, making the all-important commissary run at lunchtime!

So, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day in a subdued fashion. We'd intended to decorate cookies for all our little friends, but that suddenly seemed distinctly unkind. Since we'd been talking up the cookies for days, we still decorated some, but only enough for our family.

Kathleen used the green, orange, and shamrock-shaped sprinkles with abandon, decorating the cookies with all the subtlety of a two-year old. You can't see it in this photo, but the tray has about a quarter-inch of sprinkles all around!

We enjoyed the cookies after our dinner of Irish stew and soda bread, a meal Kathleen rejected in favor of kiwi and only kiwi. (At least it's green. And a fruit. It could be worse, right?) Madeline also passed on the stew, instead enjoying a sampling of some of her favorite homemade purees -- pears, prunes, and butternut squash. That doesn't sound like much a celebration to me, but she seemed pretty happy.

We hope all of you enjoyed a happy and healthy St. Patrick's Day, and that you're enjoying the luck we haven't had!