Over Night Camp Prep

So, my oldest is going to overnight camp for three weeks this summer.  I never went to overnight camp.  I don't feel like I missed anything; however I know lots of people who LOVED LOVED LOVED their overnight camp experience, and I hope M loves his.

So, now that I am the mom, I am in charge of gathering the items needed.  I just assumed I would throw in some shorts, t-shirts, bathing suits and flip flops in a "bag" and be done.  Needless to say, I was clueless. 

Luckily this camp has a short required list. .  . three camp shirts and two pairs of camp shorts.  Reasonably priced.  Not bad.  Then the list of stuff, and the quantities. . . . . shorts, shirts, flip flops.  And then the flash light (oh - he needs one), and a shower caddy (oh yeah that too).  And shampoo, and toothbrushes, and tooth paste, and PJ's. . . . and a stadium seat without metal arms (huh?).  And three small plastic containers to store "small items." 

And stationary, and pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelopes.

And some baseball caps

and some swim goggles

and a laundry bag;

and a pillow, sheets and camp comforter.

None of these things are impossible.  But, now I am busy gathering them (and a bag or two), and then I will start labeling, in both sharpie marker and regular label.  With the hope that lost items will find their way back to Mr. M BEFORE we leave camp on pick up day.

Wish me luck folks.

The End is Near!

So for months you have heard about our plans to add onto the house and renovate the kitchen, the first floor bathroom and Naomi's room.  You have read about our plans, and our meals and our adventures.  Well, I am happy to report that we are nearly complete with our project.  I can almost taste it in my mouth.

We now have a working sink in the new kitchen.  The cabinets are up. . . knobs are being placed.  The ovens are in, but not yet functional.  The lights are not in yet.  But they are on site.

So, we went from . . . .

An ugly crowded 1980 kitchen.  That the cabinets no longer closed, and the drawer next to the oven never fully opened, due to the stove's pull bar.  And ugly brown tile as backsplash.  And an ugly blue counter.  (I would say I am sorry to the person who is reading this blog who designed said kitchen, but I am pretty sure they aren't reading this blog.)

To:

I will post other photos when the whole thing is complete.  But this is best view yet.

Help Support Project Manna!!!!!!

The 23^rd Annual Project Manna Concert will be held on May 16,^, 2012 at Temple Emanuel of Newton, Massachusetts.  This concert is a collaborative effort of Temple Emanuel and the Massachusetts Avenue Baptist Church of Cambridge.  All proceeds go to Project Manna, the Church’s hot meals program and food pantry, serving approximately 150 meals a week, providing nutritional assistance to over 200 families.

The concert was founded in 1989 to unite two communities of faith in a celebration of Gospel and Jewish music. This year’s event promises to deliver exciting performances from many local choirs including the Boston Community Choir (a.k.a. the Boston Pops Gospel Choir), led by Brother Dennis Slaughter, the Massachusetts Avenue Baptist Church Choir, the Temple Emanuel Adult Choir, the New England Conservatory Gospel Choir, the ShenaniGanns of Gann Academy, the Nashir Choir of Needham’s Temple Aliyah and the Love Tones, an a cappella Gospel ensemble from the Myrtle Baptist Church.

The concert will be held at Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, Massachusetts on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 7:30 PM.  Tickets for the concert will be $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.  For more information, please visit  http://www.templeemanuel.com/projectmannaconcert. 

This is a wonderful concert, but even more so, Project Manna helps people in need, whether they are single adults or families.  Even if you can't attend the concert, please send a donation.  Every dollar matters, especially when so many people need help.  Providing a warm meal is very important.  If you can give $5, please give $5, and if you can give $100, please give $100.  Every dollar collected is vital to this program.

Email me with any questions.

 

Birthdays and Vacations and Passover

April is a busy, busy, busy month.  So of course, first comes Passover.  Eight days of a special diet (no bread, no yeast, no corn, no corn syrup).  Eight days is a long time.

Then we traveled to Chicago over April vacation.  We had a great time, but it is always nice to return home.  We returned home on Sunday and then it was Naomi's birthday on Wednesday.  Her party is tomorrow, Saturday.  Then on Sunday, we celebrate Mark's birthday (party to be had at a later date).

And of course, the home construction project.  They guys did a great job while we were away, and so much has been accomplished.  The hard wood floors have been finished.  The granite counter tops have been installed.  The back steps are nearly complete.  Rumor is that they will be done by Memorial Day, but I might have a usable kitchen by Mother's Day.  I won't be able to stock my kitchen, but if I have an oven, WATCH OUT WORLD.

Oh the things I would make:

Roast Chicken
BBQ Chicken/Tofu
Challah
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Muffins
Lemon Scones
Brownies
(Just to name a few).

OUCH

Mark is my careful kid.  My kid who looks before trying anything dangerous.  Knowing him now, and looking back on his toddler years. . . . he didn't fall that much.  He walked late, but once he started, he was slow and steady.  Again, he didn't fall that much . . .but when he did. . . . he did it really well.  Right before he turned two, he was running outside, and fell on the pavement and scraped up his chin. . . . . right before my in laws were coming from Chicago.  I was hoping that the visit went well.  Because boy, did Mark's bruise look awful.

There was the time that he fell at camp, and chipped a tooth. . . .

And then there was the time that he ran into a light pole in front of my husband and my father in law, while flying a kite.  That injury was awful.  Blood was everywhere.  And my husband and father in law had no kleenex.  Just a cell phone.  So they called me.

This latest injury happened on Thursday . . . . I was in the infamous blue zone waiting for the kids to get out of Religious School.  Waiting.  Waiting.  And then Mark's teacher appeared.  Could I drive around, and come into the office.  Mark fell (five minutes ago) and needed some ice.  He fell on his face.  Face????  Mark??????  I was surprised.  Naomi is forever showing me little scrapes and crying for band aids and boo boo ice.  Mark isn't the kind of kid that needs ice. 

I drove out of the blue zone, while the teacher gathered up the carpool kids and met me in the office.  I got to the office, and there was Mark . . . red eyed from crying, holding an ice pack on his lips.  He said that his jaw hurt (both sides), both ears hurt and both cheeks.  And he his lip was rather large. . . . The administrative person gave Mark another ice pack and off we went to the car.  The poor kid was trying to hold it together, since his classmate was in the car.  This ride lasted FOREVER.  He was complaining about his jaws, and cheeks.  It couldn't be broken . . . . right?????

Once home, he calmed down and had some dinner.  On Friday morning there was a slight mark on his chin.  By Friday evening he had a full fledged bruise, and it was UGLY!  Another friend asked him if that had happened when he fell (a witness to Mark's graceful trip including the ungraceful landing on his face).  I took a photo this morning, because he could not really see his chin in the mirror. 

Mark flinched when he saw the photo. 

Kugel!

So, last night was the Temple Emanuel Mystery Dinner and it was GREAT.  The whole thing is a great event.  The family shows up at 4:30 PM.  The kids are whisked away, and the adults have fun dining on some appetizers.  And then the BIG reveal.  Some of us are hosts, and some of us are guests.  We have ranked dinners. . . (breakfast for dinner, Next Year in Jerusalem, Make Your Own Pizzas) and then we open our envelope.  We find out the address of the house, we drive there, and then we find out who is hosting and who else will be dining with us.

This year, I cooked at someone else's house. . . and our theme was breakfast for dinner.  There was OJ, white wine, kugel, homemade waffles, bagels, cream cheese, lox, veggies, fruit, maple syrup and whipped cream.

We had a great time.  I am already thinking of themes for next year (Chili 9000 or PASTA NIGHT).  Any ideas?

Here is the family kugel recipe.

Noodle Kugel

1 pound broad noodles

8 eggs (I use egg beaters)

1 c. sugar

1 carton sour cream (8 oz) (I use fat free)

1 stick butter, melted

1 8 oz carton cottage cheese (I use low fat)

1 TB Vanilla

Cheeses need to be at room temp.  Cook and drain noodles.

Beat eggs with sugar, sour cream, cottage cheese, melted butter and vanilla.  Pour drained noodles into mixture.  Pour whole thing into 9 x 13 Pyrex dish (sprayed with Pam).

Top with topping and bake 350 for one hour. 

Topping

¼ c corn flake crumbs

½ c graham cracker crumbs

¼ c sugar

Mix into bowl.

The Little Things That I Miss

I miss having my silverware in neat stacks . . . all the little spoons in one slot, all of the knives in another slot.  Right now all of the silverware is thrown into a plastic box.

I miss having an oven . . . my kids miss eating roasted chicken.  Nice to know that I make a few things besides cookies that they miss.

I miss having the kitchen in the same room where I cook.

I miss having a disposal.

I miss having the ugly kitchen, since I have no kitchen right now.  Instead I cook on what was my kitchen table.  If I thought that my ugly kitchen was small, who knew what it was like to cook in the dining room.

I miss my gas stove.  I don't like cooking from a microwave and skillet.

I miss having the ability to cook a vegetarian meal for Adam while cooking chicken for me and the kids.

I miss having Naomi's room and the kitchen.  There are WAY too many boxes around the house. 

I miss having my order.

I miss having a food pantry. . . right now my food is on my bookshelf.  The cookbooks that used to be on the shelf are packed away.

I miss having a bathroom on the first floor.  I have to run upstairs or downstairs. 

I miss the no dust zone.

I miss the cleaners.  (It is too hard to schedule them to come while the workers are here.)

I miss entertaining.  Can't have people over, unless they want to eat take out pizza.

I miss having playdates for the kids.  I think they miss it too!