Confession Friday - Magical Mayhem at My House

"Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter. 

  Lullabies, dreams and love ever after.

  Poems and songs with pipes and drums.

  A thousand welcomes when anyone comes.....

That's the Irish for you!"  ~ An Irish saying

It's Confession Friday AGAIN!

Another St. Patrick's Day has come and gone.  It just happens to be one of my fave days of the year. What's not to like about a hearty meal consisting of corned beef, new red potatoes, cabbage, and Spotted Dog  (that's a slightly sweeter version of Irish soda bread that has raisins in it) and scones, wonderful, glorious scones. Being of Irish decent helps make it special, too.  I sometimes ponder about my ancestors from across the sea.  What brought them to America - the potato famine, religious freedom, or something like escaping the law?  Were they from the rural areas, from Dublin or some other Irish town?  Whatever the reason, they and other Irish who immigrated along with them over the years carried one thing with them that brings a smile to my face....wee ones, little people....otherwise known as leprechauns!

Ah, I sense among my readers "The Doubtfuls."  "No such thing!", you say!  "Leprechauns don't exist."  You are so very wrong.  Of course Leprechauns are real!

You have to know about the wee people to fully appreciate them.  The name for Leprechauns comes from the Old Irish word "lurchopan" which means "little body".  In the un-Americanized version of Irish folklore, leprechauns do not wear green.  In fact, their coats are red.  They might wear a vest of green, if they are so inclined.  Leprechauns are wonderful shoe makers.  Almost all of them own a pot of gold.  If you are ever get close enough to catch a leprechaun and hold him, be careful!  He has to grant you three wishes OR give you his gold, but you CANNOT take your eyes off him for even a split second because he vanishes instantly.  And it would be wise to not listen to what the leprechaun is saying, as they have the gift of gab and can confuse you to the point of frustration so that your choices of wishes aren't the wisest.  I, for one, have never been close enough to one to catch him, but my advise would be to pass him by, should you get the chance.  Somethings just aren't worth it.  Oh, and leprechauns shouldn't be confused with elves, fairies or imps.  Fairies are woodland creatures with wings; elves are smaller and not quite as mischievous as the wee folks; imps - the leprchauns' German cousins -  are little devils.  The pranks that imps play are much more damaging and destructive.  Leprechauns shun them like crazy!  They get along well enough with elves, even though they think the elves are goody-two-shoes and sometimes play tricks on them that are relatively harmless. I know, I know, you are still somewhat skeptical, right?

So last night was like most St. Paddy's Days at my house.  Olivia and Carson of The Fab 5 fame, along with their mom, came for supper and we ate ourselves sick.  Every couple of years or so, the kids will spend the night here in the hope that the leprechauns will come and visit.  I tried to tell them that the little people don't come very often to the same house, to no avail.  Almost eight years old, Carson went to bed convinced that they would come. Olivia wasn't so sure, nor was I.  So off we all went to bed.  And this is what we woke up to.....those fun-loving leprechauns!  Just look for yourselves.....

The drapes were the first thing I saw when I came into the kitchen.  Look really hard and you will see a bunny in the chair, not his normal resting place!  Naughty leprechauns had moved him in the middle of the night!

The leprechauns wrangled a whole bag of yarn balls down from the upstairs craft room!

They proceeded to string it ALL through the house EVERYWHERE!

This poor little elf was forced down from the top shelf of the bakers rack and "tied" to the top of a chair!

 

Another little elf got hung on the light fixture over the breakfast table!

The leprechauns plunked this shy elf into the middle of the flowers on the breakfast table!

Oh, my goodness!  Our poor little elf was poked inside this bunny head first!  I am sure he spent a very uncomfortable night!

Next stop was the kitchen where they got into a bag of pink and white marshmallows!

The leprechauns took some of the marshmallows into the guest bathroom.  Some were half eaten!

Someone left a bag of chips on the kitchen desk.  Big mistake!  They got into it and made a big chip mess!

A full piece of apple pie before we went to bed.  The half eaten remains in the morning.  They turned over the sugar bowl, put black pepper on the pie, and left a little green shamrock inside the sugar bowl!

they spelled out a message with Ed's toothpicks!

Up on the breakfast bar, the mischief continued.....by opening and half chewing sticks of Key Lime Pie gum!

 

A roll of packing tape attached to the top of the bakers rack over to a chair and then over to the tray in the center of the breakfast table served as a conduit to get the elves.  I am sure they had fun using it as a slide!

 

The yarn misadventure continued into the living room.  ALL over the living room!  They upturned a footstool in the process of  hanging the yarn over a picture.  What you can't see is all the pillows from the couch and love seat in the floor!

In leaving the marshmallows in the bathroom, the soap bottle got knocked over!

You can't even imagine the excitement at 6:30 a.m. when we all came out and saw the mayhem!  Proof positive that wee folks had played their mischievous tricks in the wee hours of the morning. 



I confess - I am so glad that the leprechauns chose my house to visit!  Sometimes magic and mayhem go hand in hand. It's all in your perspective.

If you weren't so lucky as to have the leprechauns come to your house, there's always next St. Paddy's Day! 

And if the end of this post finds you still an unbeliever, my deepest sympathies.  Magic and leprechauns and two wee ones' excitement is the PERFECT start to a day. I highly recommend it.