Stealing Mac

Okay, so I took this picture to put on his blog, but I couldn't resist posting it on mine first. I can't believe how much he has grown up!! But still that sweet smile. Thank you, God, for my son, Mac!

Super Model (gulp!)

So I opened up my mailbox yesterday only to find this, which caused quite an uproar in our household....

(and no, it's not her, but she has already thought about bringing it to school to see who she can fool)

The Music

For those of you who may be annoyed by the music added to the site, scroll to the bottom of the page to the blue music player, and hit the pause button. I cannot figure out how to moderate the volume from within the program, but I still like the music.....

And the Winner Is....

Last night we had our final entry in the Meatloaf Sunday(Tuesday) hunt for the perfect meatloaf.  To tell the truth, I was getting kind of sick of the whole thing. Two failures, one complete and utter, had pretty much done me in. Plus, at 2lbs of beef per attempt, it was getting kinda crazy. But at the final hour, GG gave me a recipe from my great, great Aunt Agnes and, being family, I decided to give it a try. THANK GOD!! It was as near perfect (once again, thanks to Donna's meatloaf pan) that I think I could ever hope to get. Anyone interested in the recipe had better get on the ball and ask me quick, because it just may just get filed under "secret". The major difference was the "cubed, soft bread" for which I used part of french loaf of sourdough. She also called for poultry seasoning. Who knew?

This weekend was a busy one. We started off with, of course, baseball. And this time, I had a camera!

The coach and his team (note the goofball at the end)

Ben fields one with Zack backing up

It was a crazy game with periods of sun and periods of torrential downpour that would send all the adults into the dugout and all fo the kids out into the field to see if it was hail or if it hurt to get hit by the rain....kids. We hope they are having fun, I know we, the adults are, even though we get to the end and are exhausted with trying to keep them somewhat interested in what is going on out in the field and somewhat organized. I have learned that I can NOT tolerate the sound of a metal bat being hit on the concrete floor of the dugout so have convinced the team that when they make that sound, they are playing with fire, I just may turn into the Hulk, or something equally as grumpy. They are starting to get the hang of my need for organization and I am starting to get the feel for their need to move around or else fall asleep. The last two innings of the game are always kid-pitch, which results in a lot of ball chasing by the pitcher and a lot of walks. I always hope that a kid is going to be over eager and swing at everything, thus striking out quickly. Alas, even these guys know that if it hits the ground five feet in front of you, it isn't worth swinging at.

Ben and Mac were with their dad and Nettie this weekend so we went home with only two kids, who, after playing for three hours on a wet play structure at the baseball field, only wanted to sit an vegetate in front of the Wii. So that left Jeff and I to piddle around ourselves, and as a result, I can't for the life of me remember what we did the rest of the night!

Sunday was a busy day. Starting with Dollars for Doughnuts at church, we were responsible for supplying a dozen doughnuts to be sold (for donations) to raise money for Race for the Cure. Our church has a team (of which we are members, so grab your wallets people) and along with doughnut sales, people have made baskets to be raffled off (one was nothing but M&Ms. LOTS of M&Ms) such as a ride in a restored Model T, or a three day stay at a vacation home on the Hood Canal (hmmm, I wonder who could be so generous). Well, I expected a sugar laced afternoon of misery with all those doughnuts floating around, but Jeff seemed to be the only one worse for wear, after, oh, 4 or 5....Silly Man.

Then it was quick back home to gather up all our garage sale donations (for a garage sale benefiting the same). This however, ended up being quite an ordeal for one of us. Thus resulting in a complete room overhaul with the help of two adults and LOTS and LOTS of trips to the garbage/recycle cans.

I have to say, however, that the end result was very nice (don't look at the bed, that was my fault, I had just collapsed from exhaustion on it).

But we weren't done there! Oh no! There were mowers to fix...

Which reminds me, I do remember what we did the rest of Saturday, Jeff spent the rest of the day performing feats of agility and mental logistics trying to repair a hose on the car, breaking it, then repairing the hose AND the car.

The ducks and kids and I worked in the yard. Picking up pinecones,

and weeding.

Lydia and I

were digging out the weeds between the sidewalk sections and JD was right there, grubbing along with us.  A couple of times I had to be careful that I didn't poke her beak with the hoe and a few times she got my fingers, which were apparently in the way. Those ducks are nothing if not helpful. I have taken to having to mow with the broom in my hand to shoo them away from the front of the mower. I am not sure, but I think that maybe the vibrations of the mower set the worms to moving, and the only way to get those ducks out of the way is to PUSH them with the broom!

This, by the way...is what happens when ducks attack. This is a hosta that is BEHIND a fence and SHOULD be quite large, lush and beautiful, like its sister in the front yard. Sigh. They figured out how to go around behind the garden shed, go under it to get to the hosta from behind the fence. Grrrrr.

The Cat Box

The following is an essay that Noah wrote as school. I thought it was pretty clever. Of course, he has taken creative liberties, I can't remember the last time he had to empty the cat box....

Man, I can't wait to be 20.  Right now, I'm stuck with changing the cat ox and emptying the trash. If only I could just speed up time.

I despise changing the cat box, because when I take the top off, I'm greeted by poo.  First, I start to barf a little. Then I start to get dizzy.  If I don't faint, I feel like I'm going to die.  If I do faint, I hope I was leaning back.  I'll never complain about bad breath again (or athlete's foot).

The final death wish is taking out the trash.  I feel like someone or something is going to jump at me. Animals are coming for my brain!! They don't deserve me! They deserve my sister.  Then all my problems are solved. Party time!  I hope the animals are deaf.

Well, that's the two death jobs. If you mom or dad tells you to do one, show this paper to them.

Can we say "TWINKIE for dessert"?

Ben's dad and Nettie love us so much. . .they bring him home to us in such great shape! :-)

Signs of Spring

Watch out mole, Jeff is on your trail....

Sigh. . . . .

My lastest...

Happy Birthday, Emma. Hope I can get it to you in the mail before your NEXT birthday....

Wait! Was that the Weekend??!!

Holy smokes, talk about time flyin'by! It feels like I just sat down and wrote the last blog, yet so much more has happened but I can't figure how it all fit in!!

Okay, so we ended up with serving dinner at Benedict House. What a blessing that was. The kids talked about it all week and then my book club started reading Breakfast at Sally's by Richard Lemieux, a local one-time-homeless man, all about his experiences as a homeless person in Bremerton, Wa.  I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a clearer picture of just what it means to be homeless and who the homeless are. It is a light read as far as literature goes, but it can, at times be a very hard read, as you may recognize yourself throughout the book, in roles you may not be necessarily proud of.

Okay, on to baseball. Well, the first game of the season was postponed. MAJOR BUMMER! Then the powers that be attempted to cancel Saturday's game as well. That was when my magnificent husband/coach and some of his peers stepped up and declared that enough was a enough. Our players were tough enough that we didn't need a "perfectly groomed" field to play on, we would play in the pasture next door, just let us PLAY!  And they did! Talk about a bunch of excited players. They were almost as hyped up as their coach!  Of course, the day dawned gloomy and stormy. Humor was low in the Thomassen household as we ran a few errands (trying to find a door with a window for our exterior bedroom door, or at least a decent storm/screen door). We did, however, discover the joys of the Mobile Library on our rounds. We had stopped at Albertson's to pick up some supplies, and as usual, the boys wanted to stay in the car and read rather than be seen in public with their parental units. I noticed the BookMobile was in the parking lot so asked Mac if he would mind returning the few library books I had been carrying around in the front seat of the car for the past week. Well, suffice it to say, by the time we got back to the car, Mac was still in the BookMobile, checking out a new load of books! We may have discovered a new Saturday morning tradition!

But back to the game....as we drove up to the field the rain drop ceased, as we knew they would (we had been praying on the way, you see) and we proceeded to play a dry game! The kids were so cute and full of energy (I know, yes, that was ME that said that). Of course, many crash courses in coaching were taken that day....I have to keep stats? There is a rotation? Home team is responsible for what? I thought we were Visitor? Rake the field? Where are the rakes? What is the combination to the field shed? Which field shed is OURS? There are FIVE locks on the field shed!!??We have to put down the chalk lines? Where is the bathroom? How do you get 13 little butts to stay in order on the bench? Which one is Carter and where is COOPER!!!!  Needless to say, that was one appreciated adult beverage we shared when we got home! Did I mention it started to rain the minute the last child was handed his snack after the game?

The rest of the day was spent playing the Wii, reconfiguring baseball lineups and teaching Mac how to create his own blog. Now, it took me a good day or two to get the basics down on my own....you would think I would have been able to whip his out in a matter of an hour or two. HA HA HA AH HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Anyway, be on the look out for On Being Mac, coming to a computer near you.  I believe this to be more of an exercise for me in allowing him creative freedom, than it is for him in expressing himself. We have decided to allow Noah to continue on with Facebook for now after spending several hours forcing him to read about what can happen to people (namely unsuspecting kids) on social networking sights. Regina and Debbie? Any more good stories? He was a little concerned when he was invited to be a friend of a  family member, only she didn't look anything like the family member he was used to. She had posted a picture in which she had changed her appearance using makeup and a hairstyle that he was not familiar with. We then had a long talk about how people will use the internet to pretend to be someone that they really are not (this family member wasn't, she just doesn't normally wear makeup, apparently), but you are forced to assume they are really like that. And what can happen as a result.  I feel horrible that kids are having to learn lessons like this at 9 years old. I just want them to be able to be kids and enjoy computers like toys. Not have to learn how they might be used like weapons against them....

Easter, Giant Eggs, Benedict House (a theme!)

For those of you keeping score, the meatloaf has had to take a back seat for the time being as we have been all over the map during Spring Break and I refuse to not let everyone weigh in on such an important decision as The Family Meatloaf Recipe. Stay tuned!

As far as the rest of life, we all survived our own person versions of Spring Break.  Mac and Ben spent much of theirs in Spokane, hunting eggs (and losing several to the resident squirrel at St. Davids), becoming dragons and trying to teach Nana how NOT to learn how to Ripstick.

Jeff and I spent a quiet Easter at church and home, silently giving thanks in the knowledge that our children were getting their full quota of candy and we didn't have to deal with the aftermath. We gleefully watched as a little girl in church took advantage of everyone's attention on the Baptism being performed, to invade her sister's Easter basket and literally stuff her face with whatever she didn't have to unwrap. Okay, so I admit I missed the jelly beans and peanut butter eggs, but my pants still fit and I kinda like that....

Noah and Lydia got to pay their annual visit to the Easter Bunny and participate in an Easter Egg hunt or two before driving off to Spokane to have their share of Nana and Poppy time. Walks were taken, Ripsticks, skateboards, bikes and skates were ridden, wildlife areas were maintained, milkshakes and pizza were enjoyed and the weekend was capped off by a epic game of capture the flag that took up the entire two acres and every last ounce of daylight.

We came home to find that, although there yard had been groomed, their house washed and their pool cleaned, ONE of our two remaining ducks had been holding out on us as far as egg production. As a result, we found THIS on our first morning back......  I guess she missed us.

And finally, and I am most proud of this. Our family took part in feeding the homeless at a local men's shelter this Sunday evening and we had a BLAST!  Benedict House is a men's shelter (http://www.ccsww.org/site/PageServer?pagename=housing_benedicthouse) that  our church has the opportunity to help out once or twice a year for a week at a time. This was our first opportunity as a family to do such a thing and I could not have been more proud of our kids. It was more of a challenge to come up with enough jobs to satisfy all the desires to help than it was to get them to pitch in. They wore their aprons like badges and practically had to be shooed out of the kitchen to watch TV with the residents at many times. Mac peeled carrots and said grace for the 20 or so men present for the meal, Ben stirred meatballs and helped to plate the meatball subs, Noah plated chips and carrots and Lydia handed out cookies until everyone was fed, then we took our plates and joined the residents in what was perhaps the best meal we have had in a long time. While the adults cleaned up the kids visited and watched some tv with the residents. Ben and Lydia, unbeknownst to me, got a special treat and learned how to hand roll cigarettes. I imagine once they figured out just what it was they were witnessing, the gentleman probably got a little bit a lecture on the dangers of smoking, but if he did, he took it well.  It was, by far the most perfect ending to our week in celebration of Christ's Resurrection. My faith has definately been elevated! Hope yours has as well