Maceisms of the Day

A few recent ones:

Dang! I know there were several I kept meaning to post, but of course I can't think of them right now. So here's the one I can:

(All related through PJ, since I'm here on my hiney) At church Sunday before last, in Primary, they're doing Sharing Time, talking about gifts. A little girl gets up, unwraps a present and says (essentially), "The best gift of all is Jesus" and has a picture of Jesus - to which Mace loudly declares, "Laaame!" Because right now that is his favorite word for everything he believes to be - well - lame.

Remembered another! My mom was here and asked Mace for a kiss. He presented her with his cheek, so she kissed it and laughed, teasing him that he wouldn't let her kiss his mouth. He steps back and says, "Ewww! I don't want to marry you! I don't want a marriage kiss!"

Where does he come up with this stuff?

So pleeeeez, make some.....

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese!!

Since there isn't much going on around here these days aside from me incubating (as PJ likes to call it), I thought I'd toss out the recipe for what I've been living on these days: Melanie's Mac & Cheese (of course, I also have a couple recipes for real mac & cheese that are awesome, but this is the lunchtime standby). Most of my friends & family know how much I love the ol' blue box, and that I have - over the past 25 years - perfected the art of making it. Now, if you make it according to the directions on the box, I feel it comes out soggy, watery and not so very cheesy. So please, try it my way at least once and see if it isn't cheesy, orangey heaven. This only applies to the real stuff - I don't do generic for my m&c.

Boil your water.
Once it reaches a full boil, pour in macaroni, stir well.
Set your timer for 2:15.
Get out your strainer, bowl, butter & milk.
Timer goes off; strain & shake off water.
* Pour in bowl & stir in 1 tablespoon butter (yes, that's all) (margarine is OK, but butter is preferred) until all noodles are coated.
* Shake cheese packet over noodles, pour in 1-2 tablespoons milk (yes, that's all) and stir well to combine.
Eat while hot!

(* = these steps must be taken while the noodles are piping hot - the heat will help melt the cheese, so you don't need that ridiculous amount of milk. So don't get distracted!)

And yes, I do eat this at least once a week for lunch, and about 2-4 times a week these days.

Maceism of the Day - 11/30/09

So popcorn is a big thing in our family. The kids start eating it at about 6 months old (we bite off the kernel and give them the fluffy part) and everyone really loves it. We use the Stir Crazy popper with oil and lots of butter and salt. What does this have to do with anything? The other night, Mace was finishing up the popcorn bowl while watching a movie and wiping his hand along the inside of the bowl to catch the rest of the buttery, salty goodness. He then says, "Mmmm, popcorn frosting" while slowly licking each finger.

Maceism of the Day? - 11/13/09

(Not really a Maceism, per se, but kind of.) When Mace brought his school pictures home yesterday, PJ and I (after laughing for 5 minutes) noticed a strong resemblance to someone else.........Mace now says he was purposely trying to look like Lewis from Meet the Robinsons, but we think he's just making that up because he's heard us talking about it. Regardless, his picture is just priceless - we think it perfectly captures the essence of Mace.

This morning, he wanted his hair spiked up again, so I did it for him. When I walked him to his class, we were a little late, so both AM and PM classes were there, sitting relatively quietly. As soon as he came in, the room exploded in a chorus of, "Mace!" "Cool hair, Mace!" "Hi, Mace!" "Over here, Mace!" The teachers had to quiet everyone back down and restore order, with Mace acting like this was completely normal. Apparently he has quite the fan club. It was really cute.

The Most Expensive Nap Ever

I'll also put this in my pregnancy blog update, but thought I'd post it here, just for kicks.

Yesterday, I decided I really needed to take my medication to help with the contractions all day, not just at night. I'd been putting this off because I hate the way they make me feel (weak, shaky, racing pulse, funky vision, etc.), but I've just been having too many contractions to ignore anymore. So, I take them with breakfast about 9:30, then PJ, Monster and I head to Target around 11:00. I see a friend there and am talking with her, when the shaking gets really bad and I get all hot/cold and clammy and feel like I'm either going to pass out or throw up. So I sit on a display and wait for PJ to come back, then we head slowly for the car.

I only make it to the end of the aisle before I have to sit on the floor because I just feel terrible. PJ convinces me to call my doctor, and they recommend I come on in. My doctor is of course still on vacation, but the on-call guy sees me and sends me to the hospital to be monitored. Great.

So, from 12:30-4:00 I enjoy peace and quiet and have a wonderful nap. All the tests they ran show nothing to indicate anything specific is wrong, and I guess the info they got from monitoring the contractions wasn't enough to scare them, so I went home.

All I can conclude is that I'm not used to being on these meds while up and running, since the last time I had to take them, I was on bedrest. Plus, I'd overexerted myself the night before and did feel terrible from the time I woke up, so that probably didn't help.

Can't wait to get the bill for this. (12/1: Just got it - only $77! Small miracle!)

Halloween!

I think Halloween may be Mace's favorite holiday - free candy and being allowed to run around in costume? Heck yeah! We had to hide his costume from him until Halloween or he'd have worn it every day.

We had Cinderella, Wolverine and Snake Eyes - and all had a glorious time. Mace was invited to a classmate's party (he was so excited!) on Friday, then that evening we went to the school's Boo Boogie dance/harvest festival thing. Then on Saturday, we stopped by the mall for an hour or so, then to the Stake Center for Trunk-or-Treating.

All in all, a busy but fun couple of days. Oh, and Monster had to wear her costume to church, where she completely destroyed it.

Maceism of the Day - 10/29/09

Parent-Teacher conferences were today, and of course the fabulous Mrs. O and I had lots to talk about. Apparently Mace has been having more tantrums since moving to the afternoon class, but she thinks it's ok - gives her more to work out with him before he moves on to his next poor teacher.

Anyway, last week, she had asked the kids to quietly recite the rules, then line up for recess. Eventually, only Mace and two other girls (one of whom was sitting next to Mace - poor girl) remained in their seats, having failed to follow directions yet. So, she sends everyone else out for recess. Once Mace realizes what has happened, he starts to get ticked, and when she explains why he doesn't get to go out yet, he says, "Hel-LO?! She has her hands in my underpants!" (Picture this with him standing, arms spread wide, totally indignant.) (ETA: We still haven't been able to figure out if she did have her hands in his pants or not.....)

Mrs. O said she had to work very hard to keep her "Teacher Face" on - I can only imagine - that kid can be unintentionally and inappropriately hilarious.

Maceism of the Day - 10/28/09

Yes, it's been a while - the boy's been at school, apparently sharing his little pearls there. But here's what he came home saying yesterday.

Mace: "How come when they answer all my questions, I can't talk anymore?"
Mom: "Huh? Who? What?"
Mace: "At school. My teachers. When they answer my questions, they say I can't talk anymore."
Mom: "Well, it's probably time for the teacher to talk then."
Mace: "Oh." (Pause) "But I want to talk!"

Those poor, poor teachers.

Oh, and the only thing Mace says he doesn't like about school? "Sitting criss-cross applesauce (Indian-style, if you are my age). It hurts my back!" (Plus, there's the whole thing about having to sit in one spot, not flop, or roll, or jump, or.....)

My children.......just ate their dinner

An actual dinner, consumed by all with zero incidences of me shrieking, "Eat! Just eat!" Monster had to have her onions and celery removed, but with the prospect of bread looming ahead, she actually ate most all of her chicken noodle soup. And T ate his whole bowl practically before I'd started, wanting his bread.

I know it's just a fluke, I know tomorrow night we'll be back to the regular script of kids hopping around, playing and saying, "I want chicken nuggets! Why can't we just have chicken nuggets?!", but for tonight, it's bliss.

Hair Today.....Gone For A While

I got so tired of Monster having her hair in her face all the time, but didn't want to cut full bangs again, so I tried to just give her a little fringe swept to the side, and it was going great........until she moved. Oh, well. I guess it'll grow back.

Soccer Time!

With the end of summer comes the start of school and soccer season! It's Mace's first year, so Dad will be his coach this year and next, and both seem to be having a great time. We were thinking at first that Mace might be a bit like T was his first couple of years - mostly running around the field, just having fun being a dude. But Mace has really gotten into it, and as of last practice, was even being aggressive and focused. Wow! Mace, focused on something!!

We switched leagues this year to actually get into the boys' school area, so Tristen goes to school with over half his team now, which he seems to really enjoy (probably doesn't hurt that his lady-love is on the team, too). He has really improved this year! He's one of the more aggressive players, constantly going after that ball, even if it's buried in defenders.

Having 2 in sports at the same time is a challenge, especially with just one car, but I knew it would be. Somehow, the small detail that escaped me was the fact that I'd be sitting for 2 games each Saturday. Duh. It's only going to get crazier when Monster starts some activity in Kindergarten. But hey, keeps things interesting, right?

Here's some footage of the MaceMace scoring a goal! (You might me trying hard to stay out of the mother/daughter debate going on next to me: those two bicker every single game/practice they're together - it's real fun.)

Big Girl, Big Girl!

I always stress about Potty Training, even though I know, and have seen it happen over and over, that children aren't ready until they're ready. (Caveat: unless you're the kind of person who is really motivated and dedicated to staying on top of it until the kid gets it - I am not that kind of person.) We'd tried various times over the past year to get Monster interested, with varying levels of frustration resulting.

But last week (as it always happens), after being wet one time, she said, "I want to go pee in the potty." OK! And her enthusiasm has stayed pretty consistent since. Of course, she has times where she doesn't want to, or potties/bathrooms that are more intimidating, and accidents - but overall, she's doing great! She has little problem pooping in the potty (the boys resisted that more), and even went without problem in the Kohl's bathroom - yippee! (Oh, and the Dora and Princess underpants have helped a bit.)

So no, none of my kids are "early" potty-ers. But they all get it done in due time and - when left to decide for themselves - with little drama.

The value of a buck....

We're out shopping and Tristen finds Lego Batman for the Wii, which he wants desperately, on sale for $15. So PJ tells him he can get it if he pays for it out of his piggy bank. Totally excited, he buys it and we go home. Then we tell him to pay up, so he brings his bank out and empties it out, saying, "I've got $50!" Turns out, he has roughly $10, plus we owe him $5 for September's allowance. So we give him $.50 for his tithing and take the rest - then PJ takes pity on him and gives him $1 to put back in. Tristen is beside himself - he just can't believe it's all gone! We explain several times about how he wanted the game, and this is what $15 looks like, and you have to save up to buy things you want, etc., etc. He sobs all the way to bed, and in there for awhile. But I believe he's thinking more about his money now and what he wants to do with it. And he does love that game.

Baby Girl!

I keep forgetting that most people don't visit the maternity blog, so I'll post it here too. It's another girl! Obviously, we would have been happy with a boy as well, as long as he was healthy - but a girl is great! Won't have to cram 3 boys and a dog in one room, we have girl clothes around, MaraJade will have a sister (whether she likes it or not), and it's balanced!

Joe Edward Flanagan 3/1/1930-9/4/2009

My Grandpa Joe - my mom's dad and whose name Mace has as one of his middles - passed away September 4 after a long battle with emphysema, pneumonia and such.

From the Seattle Times:

Joe E. FLANAGAN Joe left us on Sept. 4, 2009. He was a retired beer truck driver, avid bowler and horse race fan. He is survived by wife Arlene; sons Eddie (Delsie), Kevin & Tim (Heidi) Flanagan; daughters Linda (John) Burrell, Jolene Warden and was predeceased by Kyle Kochel. He also left sisters Emma (Carl) Soderberg, Helen Thomas and brother Ray (Lois) Flanagan, many grand and great-grandchildren. Come celebrate Joe's life with us on Sun. Sept. 20 at the Mt. Baker Comm. Club, 2811 Mt. Rainier Drive S., Seattle, WA 98144 at 1:00 p.m. We'll share memories, stories and food.

Maceism of the Day - 9/17/09

So I'm at Toys R Us with all the kids to buy the boys some Legos. Everyone's wandering around, looking at the various items. There's one of those displays in a case, with some Legos assembled & looking super cool. A boy, maybe 6 years old, is completely enthralled with the display, calling down the aisle to his mom about how cool they are and so on. Mace comes up next to him to see, and so the boy turns his enthusiasm on him - like any friendly kid would. After a few seconds, Mace says, "Hello?! You're talking to a stranger!" The boy immediately shuts down and says, "Oh. Yeah," and goes back to looking at the display, now completely silent.

Oh Safety Town - your influence lives on.

Losing your mind...

happens so slowly, you just sort of don't notice it. Not until that final straw lands and you go over the edge. Sometimes it does so slowly, drifting down and falling softly onto the pile of similarly harmless-looking straws, all of which are deceptively suffocating. Other times, it's that last giant stick that comes crashing down on your little teepee of sticks and straws and obliterates your carefully-constructed cage. Either way, when the fog clears a little, you're left in the same condition - with one little hand waving weakly out the top of the mountain.

"Your grammar is a measure of your character"

Perfect!!

Thought this was kind of interesting....

As I was posting the beach pictures, one of MaraJade kept reminding me of something, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I remembered, and found this picture of me at the beach. I must be 2-4? Anyway, thought it was fun.

Summer Fun - Benson Lake - July 2009

What do you do when it's over 100 degrees and you just can't take another day in your boiling house? You go driving around, trying to find a place to cool off. We found Benson Lake, where I'd been a few years ago with some church friends and the boys.

It was really nice - places for everyone to sit with shade, shallow, silty water for a long way out, very nice.

Monster chose to hang out with me on the towel and eat most of the time

Mace as Harry Potter

Summer Fun - Beach Day - July 2009

Again, what do you do when it's blazing hot? You leave town. I heard the forecast, decided I couldn't handle it, so I packed up the kids and the dog and headed west.

We ended up (eventually) somewhere I suddenly can't remember. It's just north of Seaside, in Gearhart. You can drive on the beach and just park there. It was a great day - I can't remember having such fabulous weather at the Oregon Coast - I was in my swimsuit and wasn't even cold! I guess that's what happens when it's over 100 in the city.

Ronan discovered his long-hidden water dog roots - he may have had the most fun.




Camp BocekKite FlyingAll 3! In one picture!Best Buddies

Monster refused to wade in the surf, so here's where she hung out:
Trying to get a long shot of everyone's relative positions - hey, I'm no photographer

Cash Cab - Portland!

This is absolutely hilarious (at least to me)! I am a big fan of Cash Cab on Discovery Channel. Mace has really taken to it, too, for some reason. Last week, I'm in the other room, and I hear Mace & MaraJade doing their own version, so I grabbed the camera and got some video of it. This is totally unscripted - he just remembers every little line and detail from the show, apparently. I really love the part where he says, "You don't say anything! Only (Ben) Bailey says something!"

Maceism of the Day - 8/12/09

I got up a couple hours after the kids (hey, just par for the course here lately, people - I'm tired!), and I'm in the bathroom washing my hands. Mace comes in and starts talking - here's a rough playback:

Mace: "We can't eat smudges, cuz when we do, we get chocolate up our noses and they're not good and they go into your nose."
Mom: "Mmhmmmmm......"
Mace: "Yeah. We don't like smudges. They're gross."
Mom: "Yes, I guess we shouldn't eat smudges." (Thinking, why/how would you eat a smudge? But, hey, Mace is Mace - we just go with the flow.)

So I'm done and we head to the kitchen to get breakfast going. There on the counter is......a bowl with some old dried up pieces of .......... fudge. And the light bulb turns on. He'd been wanting a piece of that fudge since we brought it home on Sunday, but we'd forgotten all about it. I wonder if he'll ever try fudge again?

Maceism of the Day - several

So I've got a few Maceisms to catch up on:

First, back in early July, Mace was attending Safety Town (if your kids are in N Clack. Schools, I highly recommend they go!), where they learn about Stranger Safety, Bus Safety, Poison, Guns, Police, etc. for 8 days. So, on Friday he learned about Police and 911. We picked him up and left straight away for our weekend at Kah-Nee-Ta. There, in the teepee campground, the kids would ride their bikes around the street and paths, where we could keep an eye on them.

So, Saturday morning, I'm washing the dishes outside the bathroom, right by the pay phone. Suddenly, a tribal police officer is there, checking out the phone. He asks me if I've seen any kids messing with the phone - someone has been calling 911 and hanging up all morning. I tell him I've seen a bunch of kids, but can't think of anyone around the phone ---- wait, my son has been making his rounds, picking up the phone & hanging it up, but he doesn't know how to call..............oh, crap. I tell the officer I suspect it was my kid and I'll handle it.

We catch Mace on his next circuit and ask him to show us what he's been doing. He picks up the phone, pushes 911 and hangs up. So we have our culprit. We explain to him that 911 is only for emergencies, like if there's a fire, or if you're lost, or hurt, and never just for playing. We then tell him that the police came here looking for him, because he was messing with 911. To which he calmly replies, "The police didn't come last night." Awesome. So he's been pranking their phone for the past day and a half. We thought we'd noticed an awful lot of police patrols.

Primary Maceisms:

We're so lucky that Mace's Primary teachers love and appreciate him, because he's really something. Each Sunday when we pick him up, there's a new report of something he's said or done. Recent gems: The Holy Ghost is actually the Horny Ghost, and one week they made a paper cow with little flaps that was a Holy Cow. At least we can amuse the teachers.

Random Summer Stuff

We've gone to the park, played around at home, dressed up (Mace frequently has "theme" days and wants me to take pictures of his outfits), and just had some fun.

Off to church!
Mace as Ben 10
Mace as Speed Racer

Kah-Nee-Ta

We went back to Kah-Nee-Ta for the first time since T&T were about 1 1/2. Now that everyone's older and able to swim, we thought it would be more fun - and it was! Of course the older kids took turns being done with this place and wanting to go home, but overall it was a nice vacation. S'mores in the teepee, swimming, outdoor movies, bike riding around the paths, sunbathing - good times.