The Friday Five!

What the what!? I blinked and it's Friday again. Our week was a full one. I've been doing a lot of writing -- I had two more pieces up on HuffPo this week: one with some great ideas for finding QT time with the family this spring and another on how I organize all our crazy. Check 'em out and share and comment if you're comfortable doing so! We also celebrated Cam's SIXTH birthday yesterday and are prepping for a little partay for her this weekend. And we're getting ready for some family coming into town, too. Woo hoo!

This is what else we did in between all of that ....

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Reading -- we are headed to Scotland + Ireland this summer! We've all picked areas to research (like we did when we took our Italy trip last summer) and these awesomely illustrated Sasek classics for both Scotland and Ireland are getting us started.

Cooking -- I am all about finding easy recipes that are full of flavor and this Lemon-Rosemary-Garlic Chicken and Potatoes does just that. Plus the kids cleaned their plates!

Wanting -- I'm almost always a year-round dark nails gal, but every now and then I like a little pop of color. Essie's Mint Candy Apple is the perfect shade!

Making -- between making some decorations for an outdoor art studio in the works and a accessories for Cam's party, our Pom Pom makers have been working overtime. I'm making medium ones for the outdoor studio and teeny ones for the party. You can make poms without a tool, but it's SO much easier and consistent with. *photo from A Lovely Lark.

Playing -- a quick trip to IKEA this week reminded me of the Jenga-like set I got the kids over the holidays. Love it!

Lemon Coconut Baked Oatmeal Cups

We've been doing a great job of reducing the amount of processed foods we eat, but one area is still slaying us: snacks. I cart around what must be a 10-lb snack bag to school pickup, sports activities, and anywhere the kids might decide they can't go on without a snack. So, yeah, anywhere.

The Friday Five!

Here's what's what this week!

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Making -- the sensory fun continued this week with our easy DIY Potions Station.

Cooking -- with the final arrival of spring, I've been grilling a TON. But we all had a hankering for this Maple Dijon Pot Roast this week.

Reading -- I just started Chocolate Wars this week and it's fascinating. It traces back the rivalry among English chocolatiers to the early 19th century highlighting not only the competition among themselves, but the internal struggles all had reconciling their Quaker values (they were ALL Quaker) with eventually operating in a capitalistic corporate world. Perhaps it's because I love chocolate, or because our kids attend a Quaker school, but I'm finding it incredibly interesting. On the kiddo side of things, Cam picked out this audiobook for older kids based on the cover art (she'll learn). But turns out they both love it and want to listen to it to and from school (usually we just do audiobooks in the morning). It's funny and even though they're a little young for it, it's not at all inappropriate.

Wanting -- I've been jonesing for a dress up event lately and eyeing these statement beauties.

Playing -- Zeus on the Loose is a great math game, but requires kids to keep track in their head of numbers adding up to 100. So the math is a little above both our kids, but they've had no problem picking up the strategy of the game.

DIY Potions Station

As our kids get older and able to undertake more complicated projects, I tend to forget about how much fun they have just simply puttering around. Cami has been asking for lots of sensory play lately (not her words, but those are the activities she means) and both kids have been interested in Harry Potter again, so they asked for a Potions Station on a recent playdate. As we'd never put one of those together, I just kind of went with whatever we had at home, giving some thought to the kinds of materials that would work well together and provide some sensory fun.

DIY Birthday Party Garlands

Cam's 6th (SIXTH!!) birthday is almost upon us and although we are sticking with our trend of keeping parties more on the simple side of things, I can't help but oogle at all the fabulous DIY celebratory decor popping around out there. Garlands are one of my most favorite ways to decorate for a party and I always find a great way to reuse them afterwards. I don't even need to make garlands for Cam this year, but if I did, I'd have a hard time picking from this set! Some require more DIY than others (one is even just a DIY arrangement, really), but I love them all.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12

p.s. I also love these simple and free printable party banners, which would be super easy to jazz up!

The Friday Five!

It's been a really funny week, and I am SO glad it's Friday! We've got family in town for the weekend and a million extracurricular things scheduled, but I'll still take it. We spent a lot of time this week reading and playing games (I was completely intrigued by this article's idea of Mind, Body, and Soul Time with your kids, so we're trying it), but read on to find out what else kept us busy this week.

Reading -- I haven't found a lot of time for my own reading lately, but we started a great new family read this week: Peter Nimble and the Fantastic Eyes. Cami has lots of ideas about the book, which she likes to interject as we're reading it. So I'm guessing it will take some time to get through. But it's pulled everyone in immediately. We also started a new audiobook, A Week in the Woods, written by the author of one of our all-time favorite books: Frindle. We've just really begun, but it seems promising!

Playing -- This game is suggested for kids slightly older than ours, but I'm so glad we went ahead and tried it anyways. They are OBSESSED. It's a great game of strategy and even Cam picked up on it immediately. Plus, it cracked me up to watch them shake the dice like they were prepping to roll a craps point.

Making -- We all loved making our Pop Art Portraits earlier this week.

Wanting -- I'll admit it. I long scoffed at luxury-priced athletic wear, but now that I've dabbled, I'm addicted. If you've ever done [solidcore], of which I'm also an addict, you'll know that even the perspiration-light folk sweat like a you know what in church. I've always had to wear a headband to keep my hair back, and to help keep sweat out of my eyes. But as I watched sweat pour off my head this week, and then onto my feet in a carriage lunge which is hard enough to hold without a slippery surface, I realized I needed to get some more serious headgear. I need a wide headband and this is what I want.

Cooking -- I'm pretty sure I've included this in a previous Friday Five, but we all are loving on this easy One Skillet Mediterranean Chicken recipe this week.

Lemony Chicken Stir-Fry + 30 Days of Dinner!!

I am life cranky right now. I've tried to blame it on post-vacation blues, but spring break has been over for a few weeks. It could be the fact that I've restarted a Whole30 three times in the last several weeks (I'm on Day 3 this round, so fingers crossed!). But I think it's more just a funk about everything and nothing in particular. But, in any event, it's making me sort of blah about blogging right now. I'm not planning anything drastic, but I did decide to stop our Project 52. Nothing about that excites me at the moment and I felt like I was phoning it in. So today, instead of a weekly photo, I've got our next 30 Days of Dinner.

I love cooking and the spring weather that finally seems to be on its way is full of promises for great produce, seasonal recipes, and lots of grilling. This bright Lemony Chicken Stir Fry was a huge win with everyone in the fam. I served the kids' portions with regular rice, but even Cam was tempted by the purple cauliflower "rice." It's a great go-to weekday meal that doesn't scream Paleo, but is Whole30 compliant. And I'll pretend that I'm not cranky about the glass of wine I can't have with it.

As I mentioned, I'm in the middle of restarting a Whole30, so the 30 Days of Dinner are a mix bag of clean eating, Paleo compliant, and Whole30-approved recipes.

Lemony Chicken Stir-Fry

(slightly adapted from Food + Wine)

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts 
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos  
- 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil 
- Kosher salt 
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced 
- cauliflower rice (I used a purple cauliflower, which was visually so much fun)

Directions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 4 minutes. 
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 3 minutes. 
- Stir in the coconut aminos and sesame oil, season with salt and pepper and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, 3 minutes longer. 
- Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper, and coconut aminos. Transfer the chicken to a platter, top with the sliced scallions and serve with cauliflower rice.

*          *          *

30 Days of Dinner

Day 1 (Sun) -- dinner out

Day 2 (M) -- Avocado Turkey Burgers; sweet potato fries; Cauliflower Kale Salad (used dried cherries instead of pomegranates)
Day 3(T) -- Shawarma-Spiced Chicken with Tahini-Yogurt Sauce and Paleo Naan
Day 4 (W) -- Grilled Turkey Kofta Skewers with Yogurt Sauce (used goat's milk yogurt); roasted potatoes; leftover kale salad
Day 5 (Th) -- Korean Steak and Vegetable Noodle Bowls (use coconut aminos and leave out honey for Whole30)
Day 6 (F) -- Soy-Lime Broiled Tilapia with Kale-Spinach (use coconut aminos); cauliflower rice. Pizza for kids. Also, I still hate cooked fish.
Day 7 (Sat) -- dinner out
Day 8 (Sun) -- Food52 Breakfast Hash using turkey sausage, sweet potato red onion, red pepper, kale, cabbage, mushrooms, and eggs. 

Day 9 (M) -- Honey Grilled Chicken with Citrus Salad (Paleo, not Whole30 compliant); roasted potatoes
Day 10 (T) -- Easy Bibimbap Bowls with cauliflower rice
Day 11 (W) -- leftovers
Day 12 (Th) -- dinner out
Day 13 (F) -- dinner out
Day 14 (Sat) -- dinner out
Day 15 (Sun) -- dinner out (we were getting ready to go on vacation, thus lots of dining out) 

Day 16 (M) -- Lemony Chicken Stir-Fry
Day 17 (T) -- Marinated and Grilled Flank Steak (no Worcestershire); Spring Cleaning Detox Kale Salad (no honey); roasted potatoes
Day 18 (W) -- Food52 Breakfast Hash; green salad
Day 19 (Th) -- Persian-Spiced Chicken with Spaghetti Squash (everyone LOVED this)
Day 20 (F) -- One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet (doubled recipe and made 1/2 without cheese); cauliflower rice
Day 21 (Sat) -- leftovers
Day 22 (Sun) -- dinner out 

Day 23 (M) -- Italian Baked Eggs (sans cheese and bread); zoodles.
 Day 24 (T) -- Cajun Burgers with Caramelized Onions; sweet potato fries.
Day 25 (W) -- dinner out 
Day 26 (Th) -- Grilled Chicken Tacos (without tortilla); grilled vegetable kebabs.
Day 27 (F) -- leftovers 
Day 28 (Sat) -- dinner out 

Day 29 (Sun) -- dinner out 

Day 30 (M) -- grilled vegetable kebabs (skewer cut up veggies, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other seasoning); roasted potatoes; fried eggs

International Pop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

As you might have guessed by our Pop Art Portrait project yesterday, we were all a little smitten by the International Pop exhibit we visited a few weekends ago. The exhibition explores Pop Art across the world throughout the 1950s and 1970s, focusing on the changes in communication, advertising, travel, and print media. Our kids were quite familiar with American Pop artists, but it was the first time any of us had spent much time looking at the art from different countries. And we loved it.

Pop Art Portraits

Our trip to the International Pop exhibit at Philadelphia's Museum of Art last weekend prompted this super fun art project! We'll have more on our trip to the museum tomorrow, but in the meantime, head over to The Land of Nod's blog to make your own!

p.s. can you tell that Kane still has Jamaica and Bob Marley on his mind?

The Friday Five!

Oy this week. I am both so happy that it's Friday and wishing I had just one more day with the kids in school to actually get some ish done. Spring sports season kicks into high gear this weekend, so bye bye weekend mornings in bed (and by that I mean sleeping in until 7.15). Oh well, it was good the 3 weekends it lasted. Here's what else we've been up to whilst not sleeping in.

Making -- We've been keeping it pretty low key with the making this week, but the kids have both been really into making collages on cardboard. Probably because it involves getting everything out of the craft cupboard and spreading copious amounts of glue everywhere, but they've been cleaning it up!

Reading -- A good friend and lawyer coach of mine is getting set to launch her first book. I got an early copy to screen, and even though I'm not in biglaw right now, I think this is a fabulous read for any lawyer about the new age of business development. If you are at all interested, it will be free on Amazon on April 14th, so you should head over to her site and sign up to track the release! The kids and I also finally cracked the young readers' adaptation of The Boys in the Boat, which my mom bought Kane for Christmas this year. Promising with the start of spring sports!!

Playing -- My MIL picked up this Cinderella UNO game for Cam and it has been a huge hit with the kids. I find it about a gazillion times more difficult to remember the rules than regular UNO, but that could just be my general dislike of Disney getting in the way. Whatever gets them doing the math, right?

Cooking -- My Whole30 was a hot mess this week. I'm just trying to keep it as clean as I can and start back at Day 1 next week. Ugh. But these tacos were freaking delicious (even sans tortillas).

Wanting -- I stopped by our local Kit + Ace this week to brainstorm with the fabulous Shop Director Beth Silverberg about a super fun maker workshop this summer in advance of my book launch. While I was there I had the chance to swoon over the luxurious clothes that are an ingenious mix of fashion and functionality. Basically, it's stylish athletic wear that looks nothing like athletic wear. I picked up a few pieces and now want everything else. Locals, stay tuned for our collaborative workshop for parents and kids tentatively planned for July!

Project 52 -- Week 14

Cam's infectious good mood is my inspirational photo for Project 52 this week. We've all been crazy busy and in a bit of a funk since returning from spring break (even Cami occasionally). But I'm aspiring to shake it off and smile. At least more often than not.

DIY Stationary Center

I know we've been doing lots of guest posting elsewhere lately, but when it rains, it pours. So we've got another for you today. I've been wanting to put together a stationary center for the kids for a while and because April is National Letterwriting month, I figured this would be a good time to team up with Paper Source to finally get it done! Head over to the PS Blog to check out what we came up with! And friends and family, keep your eyes on your mail ....

Summer Vacation Necessities

Too soon?! Not in our house. We're planning our summer vacations now (wishful thinking, I know) and are over at The Land of Nod's blog today sharing how we're getting ready. Head over and check it out! 

The Friday Five!

It's been a super weird week trying to readjust to post-vacation life. Besides going through general pina colada withdrawal, I started a new Whole30 so my cranky level is running high. The kids were not excited to return to real life and keep periodically crying (literally) and saying that they want to go back to Jamaica. Nevertheless, we've carried on. Here's what we've been doing in-between whining ...

Reading -- We're almost done with the audiobook of The Case That Time Forgot -- finally a Sherlock Files' book that doesn't scare everyone to night waking. And we started Andrew Clements' Lunch Money (we read his Frindle last summer and the kids both loved it!).

Making -- We've been doing a lot of coloring together this week -- it's helpful to keep everyone chilled out!

Playing -- Kane's prepping for a school presentation on a historical figure. Obviously in our house that involves a costume.

Wanting -- I'm not going to lie. The first few days of a Whole30 are awful. All I want right now is bread and cheese. OK, and red wine.

Cooking -- this was insanely flavorful and delicious, especially considering how little time it took to make.