Spring Breaking

I have been stuck lately. Easter was great! There was tons of delicious food and everybody was happy. But afterwards I just felt drained. I couldn't think of anything to do, my head was all foggy. Everything is great. Maybe even perfect and when things are perfect i get anxious. Like something bad is going to happen. Its an awful feeling. Like, what do i do next in life. I was at a Y in the road and I couldn't think of which direction to go in.
I hate that feeling. Ugh.
So it took a couple days to shake that feeling and get back to normal. So that's why I haven't written anything all week. Sorry.
Logan has also been on spring break all week, so I have been trying to entertain him and Dylan.
We started at the zoo! Yay!! I absolutely love the zoo. We live about a mile from the Turtle Back Zoo. So we bought a yearly pass and went a couple times this week. The kids had so much fun. They ran all over the place but they listened to me so well, I was quite impressed.

I can't forget our trip to the frozen yogurt store.

Then we traveled to our old stomping grounds. The city of brotherly love, Philadelphia! I lived there for about 6 years. It's where Tyler and I met and the kids were both born there. So it's a very special place to me. We went to some of our favorite parks and had pizza and played. We took the subway and the boys really liked that.
I couldn't go to Philly without stopping at The Reading Terminal Market . It is the most amazing food place in Philadelphia because you can get everything in one place. When the Logan was just a baby I would shop there every week. The food is delicious, fresh, local and cheaper than the grocery store.
We also walked to Old City and the kids ran all around the liberty bell and independence hall. It was a ton of fun.

There is so much good food.

I thought this was funny. Like, we tore down the actually house but this one was good enough so we saved it... Oh America :)

I LOVE these roses. I want them on my fence.

The tree roots looked like they were eating the bricks. Yum yum yum.

It was the most perfect day for a walk in the city.

I thought this old sign was so cool. The building was an old department store.

All and all it was a good spring break with the kids. I am definitely ready for Logan to be back in school next week. Even though it's a week of half days and a parent teacher conference. Logan is the sweetest kid in the world so I'm not really worried ;)

Have a great weekend!

XoXOxOXo
Stephanie

Backyard fun

Finally it feels like spring. Nice and sunny and warm. And since it's supposed to be nice out all week, I figured I would fix up the backyard. The kid's needed an area to play, otherwise they just dig for dinosaur bones and play in the dirt. That's fine and dandy but that can only last for so long.
I found this awesome DIY kids tent from Cakies. So I decided to make that first. I had to go to Ikea for other things so I picked up some cool rainbow striped fabric. Then I went to Home Depot for the wood. I had them cut the pieces for me to save time. I also picked up a 3/4 spade bit because I couldn't find mine at the house.
So now I had everything to make it.
4-- 1” x 2” x 48” pine wood
1--3/4” x 48” dowel
drill
3/4” spade bit
measuring tape
marker
3 yards of fabric or an old twin bed sheet

Measure down 6 inches. And mark it with a pen or marker.

Drill hole into each piece.

Make X with 2 boards and put dowel through the holes.

Put the fabric over the dowel and make it even on both sides. I used almost exactly 3 yards of fabric. Then cut little slits near the ends to put the cloth through- 3 for each post.

I also made a chalkboard out of a piece of scrap wood. I was pretty much the exact size I wanted. So I took the piece of plywood and painted it with the chalkboard paint. I did 3 coats of it. Then I drilled it into the tree with really long wood screws. It's at the perfect height for the kids to draw and the chalk will be washed away in the rain.

We started making a little racetrack too. It's not the best but its a start. We had a huge stack of old bricks behind our garage so we used those. I say 'we' because the kids helped me, they carried all the bricks over from the garage.

But if you're too busy to make a tent you can buy them at Etsy too.

I think it's a pretty cool spot to play now.

I hope you like :)

XoXOxOXo
Stephanie

Anniversary weekend

This weekend was very special to me. It was mine and Tyler's wedding anniversary. Yay! We have officially made it 3 years. One baby, a new job and 4 moves later we made it! It was a long hard road but we have made it so far and I think that it something to celebrate. So we went out to The Gaslight Brewery in South Orange to celebrate.
On Saturday we went to the Short Hills Mall, Anthropologie had a kids Earth Day event where they planted flowers. Logan also met his new friend, Jumanji the Gorilla. We also stopped by the zoo to see the new Sea Lion exhibit. They were so fun to watch swim around.

I also made this super delicious Chicken Spaghetti .

Ingredients
2 cups Cooked shredded Chicken
3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup Finely Diced Green Pepper
1/4 cup Finely Diced Onion
1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Instructions
Cook some chicken breast and shred it or use leftover chicken. Cook spaghetti in pot of water with a 1/4 a cup of the chicken both. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, drain and combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.
Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

I just shredded some chicken I had.

Diced the onion

And the green pepper

Add the onion, pepper, pimentos, season salt to the mushroom soup in a large bowl.

Add the cheese and chicken.

Break the spaghetti into thirds and cook for a few minutes. It should still be hard. Add to mixture and pour into dish.

Add more cheese to the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes.

It will be crispy on top and warm and delicious inside.

Yum.

It was so good, I was pretty much comatose after eating so much. I almost forgot to eat these little babies.

Ohmygosh it was Record Store Day too, there was just so much going on this weekend! I was in Brooklyn on Friday so I picked up this old thing :)

Now today for Earth Day I'm going to finish setting up my rain barrel.

I found this old whisky barrel on Craigslist so I snatched it up. Well actually I drove to pick it up and it wouldn't fit in my car, I have a Jetta and it's a 55 gallon oak barrel. Of course it wasn't going to fit in my car, so my good friend Wes picked it up for me. Thanks Wes!!
Now I have to get it in working order. Getting it into place was the first battle. It weighs more than I do! Some whisky water drained out and I think my dog may have gotten drunk. Hahaha
I hope you all had a fun weekend too.

XoXOxOXo
Stephanie