Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Oh, who was I kidding…I really don’t do anything besides dress myself in well-worn knits and cook food all day. That trip to the Farmer’s Market that I posted last week? Aliens abducted me, bandaged my eyes with banana peels and forced me to walk, one foot after the next, until I reached the outskirts of my block. Which was terrifying and exciting all at the same time, but it’s nice to be back on the home front again.

Becauuuuse, it was Spring Break this week! Woohoo! And unlike my friends who surprised their children with trips to Disney, etc etc, I surprised my kids with this: “pack your bags kids, we’re heading up to the lake. Again.”

Spring_break_New_Jersey_kids_FeedMeDearly (2)

School weeks are tiring enough without having to race around town getting prescriptions refilled and purchasing mini toothpaste sets. Who’s with me? Why travel when you can have fun in this glorious snow?

Spring_break_New_Jersey_kids_FeedMeDearly (1)
Spring_break_New_Jersey_kids_FeedMeDearly (6)

Besides, we didn’t just have snow over Spring Break. We had days upon days of record-breaking lows. Which, mind you, when you’re situated right upon a lake, results in lows much lower than those horribly bad lows. These are the kind of lows that keep you trapped inside all day (win!) but that freeze your pipes (:(((() For the record, that was a quadruple frownie face, and until they replace my keyboard with emoji, we may have to put up with more of those.

This wasn’t a total destruction on par with last year’s freeze. Fortunately, just the kitchen pipes froze and eventually thawed. Which for 3 days meant no dishwasher, no running water (kitchen only), and a mounting pile of dirty dishes in the sink.

So let’s focus on what we could do last week. Because my glass is half full with the lemonade that I made out of those Spring Break lemons.

First up: Christmas.

Spring_break_New_Jersey_kids_FeedMeDearly (4)
Spring_break_New_Jersey_kids_FeedMeDearly (2)

continue reading

34 comments

emma_swing_kelly_park_new_york_nyc_parks_chelsea_FeedMeDearly

We spent a weekend at home. No Saturday morning scramble to New Jersey, which I admit was a nice change.

But keeping kids entertained in New York City for the weekend is no small feat. That nice little sliding glass door to the backyard doesn’t exist, making it essential to plan activities with military precision. Comfortable footwear? Snacks packed? Game plan sketched?

With the grandparents in town for a visit, we hit the park at 0500 hours.

emma_bridge_kelly_park_new_york_nyc_parks_chelsea_FeedMeDearly

emma_smile_kelly_park_new_york_nyc_parks_chelsea_FeedMeDearly

sam_climb_kelly_park_new_york_nyc_parks_chelsea_FeedMeDearly

It actually wasn’t that early, but it sounds cool.

Speaking of the military…

sam_monkey_bars_kelly_park_new_york_nyc_parks_chelsea_FeedMeDearly

continue reading

35 comments

jump_FeedMeDearly

I hinted last week that I’d come with lots of fun pics from our trip to Alabama, and I stuck to my word. Please forgive me for making this a long post, sometimes it’s hard to restrain myself.

Lake Martin in Alabama is one of our favorite annual trips – there is so much to do, to see, to drink, and to laugh about together as a family. When you marry someone, you marry their family, and I’m so fortunate that I found a group of people who are so incredibly fun-loving and warm-spirited.

It’s trains, planes and automobiles to get to Alabama every year….

leave_FeedMeDearly

….but to fend of the relentless “are we there yet” questions, I just remind the kids that their favorite long-haired cats are waiting for them.

DCIM100GOPRO

cats_FeedMeDearly (1)

For them, Alabama is about cat love. For me, it’s everything else…

steps_FeedMeDearly

DCIM100GOPRO

continue reading

49 comments

lawn_FeedMeDearly

This is a shorter post this week as I just got back from a busy few days at a family reunion in Alabama. Looking forward to sharing those pictures with you guys next week, but until then I wanted to fill you in on a recent visit to a secret spot near our house on Greenwood Lake, NJ.

We’re lucky enough to live in a lake community that offers a great summer camp for the kids. They’ve been doing archery, cooking, pioneering, and have been taken on some fun local field trips. One of their field trips was to the Botanical Gardens in the Skylands area of Northern New Jersey, which is only a few minutes driving distance from the lake.

The kids came back with so many great stories about our visit that I wanted to see it for myself. So we found some free time on a Friday afternoon and made our way over to the gardens. I wasn’t expecting much more than a few beautiful lawns, but was taken by surprise when we walked into a nearly-private 90-acre wonderland.

We entered the gardens near the teensiest little hut that was apparently going to be used as one of the supplemental film locations for The Lord of the Rings.

running_FeedMeDearly

Once we were inside the gardens, we discovered miles of manicured lawns….

dance_FeedMeDearly

walk_FeedMeDearly

…and fields of wildflowers.

flowers_FeedMeDearly
continue reading

39 comments