There’s a little something this time of year that the leprechauns from Oak Brook, Illinois bring all over the country.
I’m talking about the Shamrock Shake.
Bird and Deal are crazy for it. I suppose they would say it (sham)rocks.
Both boys have been taking swimming lessons, and Deal hates it. This isn’t a non- sequitor. Work with me here and read on. For three years he has gone from ambivalent to stressed to frightened of swimming. He has full blown teary eyed panic attacks and meltdowns before lessons. We have encouraged him and coddled him and bribed him. He has hated swimming lessons for three years and fights it every week. Mac Daddy and I don’t care if he’s ever on a swim team; we simply want him to be safe in the water. We only care about the basic strokes, floating, treading water. Bird can focus on the butterfly and backstroke if that’s what floats his boat. For Deal we just want safety and confidence.
We dipped to an all new parenting low when we told Deal we would take a family vacation to Hawaii when he could swim and tread water. Bird was thrilled since he can already do those things. He was less thrilled when we mentioned that we’re going as a family and have to be patient for Deal to learn. Deal just shrugged as if flying half way around the planet to the Edenesque middle of the Pacific Ocean was no big deal and not worthy of learning to swim. He shrugged, people! In his six-year old body language he basically, said, “Meh, Hawaii Schwaii.” You can imagine Bird’s riotous reaction. Mac Daddy and I had no cards left to play. If a freaking trip to paradise wasn’t going to sway our kid, what could?
The Shamrock Shake.
We’ve been seeing ads for this shake, which is new to North Carolina. The boys were intrigued. Mac Daddy offered up a Shamrock Shake after every swim lesson. Never mind that the boys are done before I have had a chance to finish a second cup of coffee. If Deal would buck up for swimming lessons without a fury for a simple, green shake, it was, well…a deal.
The boys have been coming home with this minty green shake, leaving me thinking about a grown up version. But I didn’t want it to be minty. Hmmmm…. I realized I wanted to create something bright and springy and green. And so my Shamrock Shake inspired cocktail was born.
Swimming
1 scoop of lime sherbet
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream
1 shot of tequila
1/4 cup cream or whole milk
Splash of triple sec
Squeeze of 1/2 lime
Put all ingredients into a blender and whirr away. Add more cream or milk until you get the desired consistency. Pour into a tall glass and add a straw. I like the bendy kind. Oh, and I don’t recommend you drink this in the same early hours of day time that my sons partake in the Shamrock Shake.