Looks like we can officially put those puffy jackets, hats, gloves, mittens, and snow boots away! Spring fever has sprung! I can’t remember the last time I saw so many children happy just from being outside. So many young children were cooped up this winter for way too long. The parks are in full bloom and the kids have never been happier to skip, hop, slide, and run outdoors. I know the parents are equally as excited to have the kids playing outside, especially with the extra hour of sun we now receive each day.
Moms on the Upper East Side, make sure you book a ride at the new E. 60th Street Flywheel, www.flywheelsports.com. You will want to make sure you’re bathing suit ready for summer, which is right around the corner. In all honesty, as much as this exercise is great for our physical being, for me it’s so much more for my mental state of mind. It’s my 45 minutes of Mommy Time Out, when I can escape in my own head to the music and just let go. As busy city parents, sometimes we need to just let it go, the words right out of Elsa’s mouth.
If you are going away for spring break, have a #FabULyss time spending quality time with your family and don’t forget to power down. If you are here in New York taking a staycation, there are so many wonderful activities to do with your family.
Easter and Passover are also a great time to spend quality family time with your loved ones. I will be making chocolate-covered matzah with my boys. I especially love this toffee-covered chocolate matzah recipe from Martha Stewart (recipe below).
How much fun is an Easter Egg hunt? Make yours creative and have lots of fun with the family.
Easter egg hunt fun idea #1: Use different colored eggs by age.
Color code the eggs you hide according to age so that means the littlies, or the 2- to 4-year-olds, can hunt for blue eggs, while the older kids go for purple. Or have the boys hunt for blue and the girls hunt for pink.
Easter egg hunt fun idea #2: Add letters to each egg so kids can make words.
Buy some alphabet stickers or write a different letter on the outside of each egg. You can even get crafty enough to paint letters on each egg.
Set the kids loose on their egg hunt and then offer extra Easter prizes to the kid who makes the longest word from his egg stash.
Easter egg hunt fun idea #3: Leave telltale bunny prints.
Make bunny footprints near each hidden Easter egg to give the kids some easy hints as to where the eggs are hidden.
You can also try making the footprints out of plain paper or even sprinkle some baby powder and put a bunny paw print in it with your fingers.
Easter egg hunt fun idea #4: Hide them in the house.
Make a trail of little eggs from your child’s bedroom to the living area, and then lead them to one giant clue that will allow them to discover either a larger egg or a non-chocolate Easter gift such as a book or toy.
Most importantly, have a #FabULysslyFun time!
Also this month, don’t miss #DivaMomsBookClub’s night out with New York Times best-selling author Kimberly McCreight, author of “Reconstructing Amelia.” Celebrate her newest book release, “Where They Found Her.”
Kimberly McCreight book signing and Q and A at New York Design Center (200 Lexington Ave. between E. 32nd and E. 33rd streets in Kips Bay, Manhattan, divam
Lyss Stern is the founder of DivaLysscious Moms (www.divam
Handmade toffee-chocolate matzah
INGREDIENTS:
4 sheets unsalted non-egg matzah
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
Coarse sea salt
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place matzah in an even layer on baking sheet and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add brown sugar and immediately reduce temperature to low. Cook, stirring, adjusting heat as necessary, until sugar has completely dissolved and begins to bubble. Drizzle toffee over matzah and spread to cover using a spatula. Transfer toffee-covered matzah to oven and bake until toffee has a rich, shiny sheen, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Tent matzah with aluminum foil and let stand 20 to 30 minutes. Remove foil tent and spread melted chocolate over matzah to cover; sprinkle with sea salt. Transfer matzah to refrigerator and let chill at least two hours. Break chilled matzah into pieces. Matzah will keep in an airtight container for up to four days at room temperature.
From Martha Stewart Living
