What I Did On My Winter Break, by Melanie Bocek

In an effort to distract myself from the reality of bedrest and occupy my mind and body, I started crocheting again. Previously, I had only ever made blankets (OK, started blankets - I'd never actually finished a crocheting project). This time I got the idea to make some hats for the baby, then found all these awesome resources online for patterns and instructions/refreshers for how to make stitches - yippee! I had no idea all you could make crocheting. So I whiled away many hours picking what I wanted to make, starting with hats, then moving to booties, then adult slippers, adult/child beanies/hats and other cute accessories. I compiled quite a few printouts (which my mom got me a binder to organize them in - thank you!), then started going.

In all, I made 4 baby hats, 2 pair booties (working on a third now), 4 kids' hats, hats for the boys' teachers/carpool drivers, fingerless gloves and a headband for my little sister for Christmas, and a headband and necklace for my buddy Makelle (who is also a driver of the Mace - forgot to take a pic of hers, so I used the pattern pic: mine looked pretty much the same). It's been fun, I've learned a lot, and it's really helped keep me from going crazy when Monster insists on watching only what she wants during the day or I otherwise can't watch TV, or in the evenings when Restless Leg tries to act up. Well, that and online shopping. :-)

So here's what I made:

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.