Young Women In Excellence Night 2013

So Allie didn't care for phone photos so she had me upload all the photos from tonight's event - and since I have them processed, here they are!  It was such a fun night - the theme was Awards Night (kinda like the movies) and they had presenters and awards (golden shoe filled with golden treats).  Allie was the only value project for Faith, so she got to go first.  Her "acceptance" speech was funny, making sure to emphasize that I her mom, made the map and she painted it.  I hope everyone understood what she meant!  She meant I outlined it and did all the research before she spent 20 plus hours painting it.  It was a weekend of work over President's day holiday.  I did all the research prior to her painting and embellishing the map, but it still took that much time getting it done!  I thought it would never get done.  All I can say is I am glad we did it together, and she was very creative as to how she wanted it to look!

So here are in-progress photos of her working on the map:

I should have printed these pictures for everyone to see - haha, I bet she wouldn't love these!  Anyway, and then just since the beginning of February, which is when we did the project, she grew up and became this tonight:

The above notes capture exactly how we all feel about scripture study (which by the way got switched from 630 a.m. to 530 am this year - which is nice because Kevin gets to be in-charge of waking everyone up!).  Yes, the map has been super helpful for setting purposes.  Knowing the setting of the story has made the scriptures come alive.

 Accepting her award: (I love that she has Converse shoes on.  It's just her fun personality. Where did she get that from?)

 Making her "acceptance" speech:

 Being made to pose by her mom, of course:

 Cute awards:

 Allie and her awesome dad:

 Allie and Zane, who got to come, because we didn't dare leave him at home:

 Allie and her friend Nikki:

Nikki and Me:

 Allie and me: (I know it's crazy that she is going to be way way taller than me - I asked her to be nice and bend at the knees a little)

and last but not least,

 beautiful Allie and her lit-up dress scene.

She wishes she had a dress like this!  

I am so happy to get to have a daughter like her.  She is hardworking, smart, beautiful and super resilient. She juggles school, cheerleading, a second choir, piano, and home life very well, and in spite of all her accomplishments, she is pretty humble and not cocky.  She even has been very good at leaving her room clean and bed made every day so far of eighth grade (or pretty close to that).  I love her so much and how did Kevin and I get to lucky to be blessed by a daughter like her? 

Mason is 9 months!

How did my baby grow so fast?  I love this little baby - he is so good to me, still so cuddly and loves to be tickled and is just plain happy.  He loves to eat and eat - real food, that is, and sadly, not nursing as much anymore.  But he won't take a bottle of formula either so the nursing has to keep up til he at least will drink milk from a bottle or sippy cup.  He loves water, though.  He will drink water from a sippy cup or bottle, whichever, he doesn't care.  He loves bread, vegetables, fresh green beans, bananas, pizza, lasagna, and tonight he even tried chicken and rice divan with broccoli.  He loves food!

He can say mama (but only when he really needs me!), and his latest feat is standing up by himself, unsupported for a brief 2 seconds.  He loves his baths and loves to play with Zaney.  He is such a good sleeper too, especially during preschool on Tue/Thurs.  I think he is in tune with me!  He wakes up at 6 a.m. and then nurses when he gets up. I love that he sticks his foot up in the direction of my face and holds on to my hand and hugs it with his two little hands while he nurses. I will miss that when he stops nursing! Naps from 10-1 p.m. then he is ready to go down again around 7 p.m. at night.  He sleeps the full 12-13 hours!  He has two little teeth and chubby toes.  We love this boy to pieces, and so glad he is a part of our family. Pictures are hard to take now, since he is always on the go, and tries to grab my camera when he sees it.

Monterey Bay and Lego Kids Fest Trip 2013

August 29/30, 2013 was the Lego Kids Fest in San Jose, CA.  Collin is a huge Lego fan and so Kevin thought it would be fun to take him to the kids' fest in California.  So they flew there and also went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium one day.  They even drove by the house we almost bought in Watsonville back in 2012.  Fun short trip for the boys!

 Farms of Watsonville

Strawberry fields in Watsonville

Watsonville house (old and small! but full of charm!)

Collin says sleeping on the plane makes the trip go a lot faster.  I agree.

Easter - Jerusalem Dinner Menu

I am cutting it close!  But last night I finally laid in my bed and thought I probably should plan our Jerusalem dinner for Thursday night.  Gotta be as simple as possible, and one my kids will eat.  So combining what I've already tried in years past:

Main Dish - Chipotle Ranch Chopped Chicken Salad (in the past I have done chicken noodle soup, substituting matzah balls for the noodles)

Side Dish -  Homemade Matzah 

Beverage - Grape juice cocktail

Dessert - Matzah-Almond Chocolate Bark (a favorite from year to year!)

Recipes Below!

And for the first time I got us this Seder plate, which we will talk about at dinner:

That makes it official, right?

And of course, we will dine with oil lamps in dim light. Just for ambiance.  Enjoy your Jerusalem Dinner!

RECIPES:

Our all time favorite recipe for matzo is here: http://zelittlechef.blogspot.com/2010/04/egg-and-onion-matzah.html

and here is another that gets rave reviews:

Basic Recipe for Matzo from allrecipes.com, but here it is in case the link is broken:

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour for dusting*

1 cup all-purpose flour*

1/3 cup water, or more if needed

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or as needed

(optional)

1 teaspoon olive oil, or as needed

(optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Move an oven rack near the top of oven and preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Preheat a heavy baking sheet in the oven.

2. Dust a clean work surface and a rolling pin with 1 teaspoon flour, or as needed. Place 1 cup of flour into a mixing bowl; set a timer for about 16 minutes (18 minutes maximum). Start the timer; pour the water, about 1 tablespoon at a time, into the flour. Stir the water and flour together with a fork until the dough forms a rough ball, remove the dough to the prepared work surface, knead rapidly and firmly until smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

3. Divide the dough into four equal pieces; cut each piece in half again to get 8 pieces total. Swiftly roll each piece into a ball. Roll each piece of dough out into a 5-inch pancake, dusting the top and rolling pin with flour as needed. Gradually roll the pancakes out to a size of about 8 inches, increasing the size of each by about 1 inch, then letting the dough rest for a few seconds before rolling again to the finished size. Roll from the center out. The bread rounds should be very thin. Using a fork, quickly pierce each bread about 25 times, all over, to prevent rising. The holes should go completely through the bread. Flip the bread over, and pierce each piece another 25 times with the fork.

4. With at least 5 minutes left on the timer, remove the hot baking sheet from the preheated oven, and place the rounds onto the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet onto the rack near the top of the oven, and bake for 2 minutes; turn the breads over and bake an additional 2 minutes, until the matzot are lightly browned and crisp.

5. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Lightly anoint each matzah with olive oil, using a brush, and sprinkle generously with salt.

SALAD: Chipotle Ranch Chopped Chicken Salad

The Salad:
Grilled chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken breasts, chopped

Oranges, 2 *or can of mandarin oranges, drained

1/2 green pepper (or yellow works too), diced (my kids will eat if cut really small)

Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint, halved

1/4 c Fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Romaine hearts, 4 cups, sliced (we love Costco's artisan romaine hearts sliced fairly thin)

Large avocado, 1, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

Optional: my family loves mexican food, so any time I get the chance, we make it.  To make this salad with Mexican flair, add a cup of corn and pinto beans.  Yum!!

In a large bowl, combine the oranges, tomatoes, and cilantro.  Add the romaine and your dressing of choice (make sure it is kosher!) and toss to coat. Season the salad to taste with salt and black pepper. Gently fold in the avocado and serve right away.

The Dressing:

Chipotle-Ranch Dressing:
1/2 c or mayo ***homemade kosher recipe follows
1/2 c. sour cream
Taco seasoning (add as much to your liking)

- Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

Homemade Kosher Mayo (if you want)

1 1/2 c oil
1 egg
1/2 garlic clove (optional)
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper

Use a tall jar, add all ingredients and mix with an immersion blender.


Dessert: Matzo-Almond Chocolate Bark

Photo: Martha Stewart (hers does not have the crushed almonds but sea salt, which should be good too!)

5 to 6 pieces plain matzo

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

12 oz. semisweet chocolate bits (we use milk)

1/2 cup slivered almonds, crushed

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lay the matzo in a single layer so that it completely covers the bottom of the sheet. In a saucepan, melt the butter and sugar over low heat. Raise the heat and boil the mixture for 3 minutes. Pour the butter and sugar mixture over the matzo and spread it with the back of a spoon. Place the matzo in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and immediately pour the chocolate bits over the matzo.

Return the sheet to the oven for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate. Remove the sheet from the oven and smooth the chocolate evenly over the matzo with a spatula. Sprinkle the crushed almonds over the top. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. Break into pieces and serve. Serves 12.