tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52896682575767852172024-02-19T03:04:54.518+01:00hennymatsbecause it's in the little thingshennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.comBlogger201125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-73276887073629235482014-01-26T15:44:00.000+01:002014-01-26T15:44:26.432+01:00AT's January Cure: Living room refresh<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Alright, can I ask you something? Am I the only one who's had 30-seconds tasks on her to do list for <i>five</i> years? Seriously. Today we finished something that took 30 seconds. And we've been meaning to do that ever since we moved here, actually I think we meant to do it in the old house. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, yeah, I'm still working on AT's January Cure. In fact, we've been tackling so many of the little things, and the larger projects we just didn't get around to. Or didn't do because, frankly, sitting on the couch with some cookies and hot tea is way more fun after a long week than causing a giant mess in your house by cleaning, purging and rearranging.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And it does make a mess. Funny, but for me cleaning and purging always makes a mess. Yes, technically there is the outbox for that, but somehow stuff just ends up all over the house, waiting to be returned to its original place, waiting to be found a home for or waiting to be dealt with in some other way.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AnS85zRwDeix-A7wIx9kKUv0vhu61GPfKZb12xq7R74IGk73p0wdlfH9wpe7hsyqSl3RAf7SqOufQlbtLzvYXtvRMPkn8qUIx2osSWGHU6mT-eDSOqxMqcxjVUzjtRmPwgO809fpiLZ5/s1600/IMG_4422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AnS85zRwDeix-A7wIx9kKUv0vhu61GPfKZb12xq7R74IGk73p0wdlfH9wpe7hsyqSl3RAf7SqOufQlbtLzvYXtvRMPkn8qUIx2osSWGHU6mT-eDSOqxMqcxjVUzjtRmPwgO809fpiLZ5/s1600/IMG_4422.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Like that huge white drawer full of DVDs that has been sitting in my living room since last week - removed from the TV chest that we've removed and waiting for us to digitalize the DVDs. Or the stuff from the outbox that we've been putting up for sale. Not to mention the two large laundry baskets full of magazines that I am slowly making my way through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hate that. Isn't organizing meant to make your house nice and clean? Sigh. Guess it'll take another couple of days until the last things are put away / recycled / sold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But let's look at what we did get done:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/keep-yourself-on-track-get-a-gettogether-together-january-cure-assignment-8-199007" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><b>8. Keep Yourself on Track: <em>Get a Get-Together Together</em></b></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uhm, well. Not really doing this one. We have a birthday coming up at the end of the month, and while we did use the Cure last year to prep for a party, this year we've decided to just send the kids off to the grandparents and enjoy a nice weekend for two. Much better reward for all that hard work if you ask me!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/create-a-landing-strip-january-cure-assignment-9-199072" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. The Clutter Filter: <em>Create a Landing Strip</em></span></b></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Still working on this one. We've rearranged a few things in the hallway and I did add a wooden bowl we had to throw in keys and such, but I need to take a trip to Ikea to buy some wall organizer I can use for storing brushes, lipstick and other accessories for getting out the door quickly in the morning.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/unplug-for-an-evening-try-a-media-fast-the-january-cure-assignment-10-199126" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">10. Unplug for an Evening: <em>Try a Media Fast</em></span></b></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instead of getting out my laptop, I went through stacks of old magazines last week. The result? A big stack of magazines ready to be recycled and not much done in terms of blogging, editing photos or starting the 2014 edition of my annual photo book. Not sure I like this. I think I do need the time when the kids are in bed to be creative - well, as creative as my brain allows me to once it's half-asleep from a long workday. But you know what I mean. What I did find is that it actually makes sense to close the laptop once I find myself mindlessly browsing Pinterest or worse, shopping for things we <strike>do not really need </strike>might urgently need at some point in the future. Once my brain refuses to wake up, I might just as well go to bed. Revolutionary, I know.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-halfway-point-project-progress-the-january-cure-assignment-11-199167" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">11. The Halfway Point!: <em>Project Progress</em></span></b></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not the most productive of days, but I did some prep work for the big living room rearranging all week, so maybe that counts... ahem. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/weekend-chores-flowers-bedroom-cleaning-wardrobe-organizing-the-january-cure-assignment-12-199222" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">12. Weekend Chores: <em>Flowers, Bedroom Cleaning & Wardrobe Organizing</em></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lots of progress over the weekend. Not on the bedroom though, mind you. But hey, if you can get your significant other to help you with that goal project you've been meaning to do, you're not gonna go and clean out your closet instead, are you? Didn't think so. Besides, my closet will get it's semi-annual clean-out when it gets a tad warmer and I can pull my Spring wardrobe out and sell all things I am not delighted to see again plus all things that didn't get worn all winter long. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Only bedroom progress was cleaning out my sock drawer and doing the regular weekly dusting / vacuuming / mopping. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But, folks, we did go from this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJX7quk_4BZsdWWv3S4LHZDCIjDJBHm2ngCKaKCJqGL3wttPT46OtP0pUgq-61sb8F8B0sp7-tZ52Gt8qX61oZwE3G-QOmlooHLyC9PofmNwle4R9RQ_dV0KBX4y8i8_TlI1r_2AASR2f/s1600/IMG_4396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJX7quk_4BZsdWWv3S4LHZDCIjDJBHm2ngCKaKCJqGL3wttPT46OtP0pUgq-61sb8F8B0sp7-tZ52Gt8qX61oZwE3G-QOmlooHLyC9PofmNwle4R9RQ_dV0KBX4y8i8_TlI1r_2AASR2f/s1600/IMG_4396.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OgN1SABNkcWtNlEQVZCDRRVhd5NZNE_4zMLu4dpkQyE9KvRvmpI9yGeZgCDfhG_20O-Z9k3Prn1qGGIzU9D-IqQyHbwGypldkrHTkG5svbIeXAUsPmat-fGGxC1kDf96s3SABTP1Ivy-/s1600/IMG_4397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OgN1SABNkcWtNlEQVZCDRRVhd5NZNE_4zMLu4dpkQyE9KvRvmpI9yGeZgCDfhG_20O-Z9k3Prn1qGGIzU9D-IqQyHbwGypldkrHTkG5svbIeXAUsPmat-fGGxC1kDf96s3SABTP1Ivy-/s1600/IMG_4397.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2_NEaItvwg1tUppkB82zSbSuDmjvZjS2eCMrGavMC8ZZ7ai9DKVTWSTFBUx9XTM76EbOTQ4ENu64gihN6NHQI1vqOkzCyl5KuxEup6yfxiS6WC26Y1mj-nNB3QQ3PHdOusaXq-qQXo2T/s1600/IMG_4416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2_NEaItvwg1tUppkB82zSbSuDmjvZjS2eCMrGavMC8ZZ7ai9DKVTWSTFBUx9XTM76EbOTQ4ENu64gihN6NHQI1vqOkzCyl5KuxEup6yfxiS6WC26Y1mj-nNB3QQ3PHdOusaXq-qQXo2T/s1600/IMG_4416.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3oMTVcMRXY7pmbyrCbvQZVe_qnb5nKAaYBcprI9LBR1x8-ORPjdxKRk5DiCyfIE9gtiLgWbp0h1SOw-SnEQZyOXCBOprA3JRDt9PwR8ApnjrrRo5CldMm_wNJCfC2r0gHr-CxvlEyb_8/s1600/IMG_4420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3oMTVcMRXY7pmbyrCbvQZVe_qnb5nKAaYBcprI9LBR1x8-ORPjdxKRk5DiCyfIE9gtiLgWbp0h1SOw-SnEQZyOXCBOprA3JRDt9PwR8ApnjrrRo5CldMm_wNJCfC2r0gHr-CxvlEyb_8/s1600/IMG_4420.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And all just with rearranging and purging. We got rid of a ton of things, including the already mentioned magazines, lots of technical equipment, DVDs, CDs and countless other things that were just there because they had a place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you have that, too? Things that live in your house simply for no other reason than that there is space on the shelf for them and they are still good? We had plenty of these things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, we have a lot more space and only those things left that we really need. The only things we bought were two guitar holders and a large canvas of one of my photos. Everything else we already had somewhere (such as the lampshade and lamp or the four white ramekins that from the kitchen clean out the week before). Sunday we went for a walk with the kids and got some branches that sit in a vase and yesterday we put up the canvas that came in the mail. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm still sitting here with a big grin, happy over the fact that we got it done. Looks so much nicer now, I have no idea why we didn't do it in the first place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><br /></em><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/less-mess-organize-papers-files-january-cure-assignment-13-199293" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;">13. Less Mess & Stress: <em>Getting Your Paperwork & Files Organized</em></a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ugh. That was my otherwise free Monday morning. It was ugly. And I don't really want to talk about it. Still some things left to organize, but overall just surprised that something you do regularly can take so much longer if you decide to really do it, I mean, not just putting all the new papers on top of the old ones (which are neatly organized, mind you), but really go through ALL of it and decide if you really, really need to save it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/less-mess-organize-papers-files-january-cure-assignment-13-199293" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><br /></a></em><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/clear-up-cord-clutter-january-cure-assignment-14-199327" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><b>14. Worth It:<em> Clear Up Cord Clutter</em></b></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Busy workweek. Still had it from Monday. So. No. Didn't clean up any cord clutter whatsoever. Although, not true, stuck one visible extension cord back where it belongs. I did, however, remind my dearest that there are still cord-related things on his to do list... ahem. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/clear-up-cord-clutter-january-cure-assignment-14-199327" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><br /></a></em><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/declutter-organize-bathroom-cabinet-cleanout-199378" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><b>15. Declutter & Organize: <em>Bathroom Cabinets Cleanout</em></b></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That took half an hour while dinner was cooking and it was so good to get done. I should've taken a photo of what I tossed, some really amusing things in there. Heart-shaped hair clips, anyone? Elastics that no longer have any relation to their name anymore? Self-tanning body lotion from I-have-no-recollection-of-ever-buying-let-alone-using-that? Ahhh, that is the Cure at it's best. Quick decisions, easy disposal (hello, garbage bin) and instant gratification. Check!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Medicine? Well, that doesn't live in my bathroom, because really, medicine shouldn't live in bathrooms. There are two wall-mounted cabinets with locks for that, one for kids, one for adults with the contents sorted by illness. Yeah, could've sorted through that, too. But really, it was time for dinner and as I said, it doesn't live in my bathroom... ahem.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/lightening-up-declutter-media-collections-january-cure-assignment-16-199428" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>16. Lightening Up: <em>Declutter Media Collections</em></b></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Does tossing all those magazines and CDs over the weekend count here? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/lightening-up-declutter-media-collections-january-cure-assignment-16-199428" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;"><br /></a></em><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/weekend-chores-flowers-outbox-living-room-lighting-january-cure-assignment-17-199470" sl-processed="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><b>17. Weekend Chores: <em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Flowers, Outbox, Living Room & Lighting</em></b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><span style="color: #3c3c3c; line-height: 22px;">With last weekend, we don't really have much left to do here. I already did add a table lamp, and while I would love to replace the floor lamp by my couch that makes me squint at magazines trying to decipher text, it's not in the budget right now and also will depend on the new couch I'll eventually get (been </span><span style="color: #3c3c3c;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">saying that for two years now.). So for now, it stays. </span></span><span style="color: #3c3c3c;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Emptying the outbox is always my least favorite part, it seems to take forever and requires so may trips to drop off things, ugh. But this time I am really going to face it and get all things out of the house by next week!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #3c3c3c;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">My favorite part is the energy the Cure sets free. I find myself constantly decluttering things and sorting as I go, no matter if they are assignments or not, on my list or not. And I am still hopeful that this year I can really sort </span></span></span><span style="color: #3c3c3c; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">through most parts of the house before Summer comes. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #3c3c3c;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">So that was it for me - how has it been going for you? What's your most favorite part and what parts do you loathe?</span></span></span>hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-3885981008274492442014-01-14T20:57:00.000+01:002014-01-14T20:57:40.720+01:00AT's January Cure: The kitchen. And then some.<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">You know that feeling when you’re totally exhausted, but still glad? That was me Sunday night. I knew the kitchen cleaning and organizing task that is part of AT’s January Cure would be quite a bit of work, but I had no idea it was going to be this bad. I mean, I do believe that I have a fairly organized kitchen, after all, organizing drawers is something I’d do for fun (believe it or not), only to keep opening that drawer, smile at the nicely organized contents and close it again. Yes, that is something I like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And yet, that kitchen task took me all weekend, and more. But let’s start with the beginning of the week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQZ4fEkv61_CCQvbHt33zwwNoKoXJVjEC2QcqFj93d1xMk_MgFayhtuZJsdyVQLiggNJZphllXDqeLNPs97Y4wpHAZqO0Rw0l2BIiw53g2gxcChPbOhNcY7UL1r5AT-__6fs8ovS3fc5s/s1600/IMG_4351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQZ4fEkv61_CCQvbHt33zwwNoKoXJVjEC2QcqFj93d1xMk_MgFayhtuZJsdyVQLiggNJZphllXDqeLNPs97Y4wpHAZqO0Rw0l2BIiw53g2gxcChPbOhNcY7UL1r5AT-__6fs8ovS3fc5s/s640/IMG_4351.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Monday: get a fresh perspective</span></h4>
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<span lang="EN-US">The theory is you sit in a spot for 10 minutes that you never sit in, and try to get a new perspective on a room. Ideally that makes you think of ways to improve the flow of a room or change that one thing that’s always been bugging you but you never really knew why.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I sat in the open door to my tiny entry, trying to figure out a way to make the flow of kids coming in with dirty shows, winter jackets, hat, scarves and school backpacks fit better into that little space. We had made some changes over the weekend as part of the floor cleaning task (LINK!!!), such as bringing in a stepstool leftover from the bathroom for little brother to sit on and take his shoes off. Still, that space feels cluttered and cramped. Well, actually it IS cluttered and cramped, because it’s just too small for four people and their stuff. I knew that when the floor plans of the house were being finalized, and yet I rather wanted some extra space in my kitchen and not in my entry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We already keep extra coats, shoes and accessories tucked away in a nearby closet and have (labelled!) baskets for the kids’ hats and such, but still. But what I came up with is this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">that room really, really needs to be painted. And this time it’ll be painted white.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">the coatrack holding the boys’ jackets needs to be hung higher – after all, we’ve lived here for close to five years and the kids have obviously grown a lot<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">I need to rethink the placement of that large mirror. I love it, but across from our coatrack it seems to visually double the coats. I will try to find another place for it and put a large-scale photograph in its place in an attempt to calm and widen the space<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">as already on my list (LINK!!!), I really need to find a new way to store those things like hairbrush and lipstick, preferably close to a smaller mirror<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">I need to remove as many things as possible from that room!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I also used my free morning on Monday to get a headstart on the kitchen and cleaned out the candy cabinet. I have absolutely no idea where all that stuff came from. It feels like I clean that out every month or so, and within no time at all it gets so cramped that the door will hardly close. This time, I had no mercy and threw a ton of stuff out, including all the cheap Halloween candy. I kept just as much as I can easily let my kids eat without having to worry, and I will have to have yet another serious talk with the grandparents about the sheer amount of sweets they bring. Two tiny bags with a kid-sized handful of gummybears are plenty, no need to buy the XXL bag for each boy. I mean, I found gummybears that were actually expired! And my kids love gummybears, but they can’t eat half a bag each day. Ugh. Such a waste.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tuesday: Set up an outbox</span></h4>
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<span lang="EN-US">That one was easy – put a large box into my storage closet. Done. Already added a few things to it. The weekend’s kitchen cleanout resulted in a separate outbox that we’ve put into the basement together with all the other things there that are waiting to be donated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A lot of things that I purged also simply went into recycling or got dumped. Chipped bowls, expired foods and that gigantic surplus of chocolate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Wednesday: Pick a project to cross off your list</span></h4>
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<span lang="EN-US">Not quite sure about this one. I’d love to do some major living room re-arranging to make it less cramped and win back some wall space for floating shelves and ideally some large-scale art. But we’ll have to see how the month goes, and with half the family being sick last week, I called the living room project a bonus and focused on crossing a few of the kitchen things off my list while working on it over the weekend anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I was really lucky that my three workdays had light loads in terms of The Cure. For this one I decided to do it the other way around – not pick a piece of art to frame, but a frame that needs some new piece of art. Specifically the large ABC poster in the kids’ bathroom. It’s <a href="http://de.dawanda.com/product/5126870-ABC-Poster-von-enna-deu-eng-span" target="_blank">this lovely print by enna </a> and while I still think it’s beautiful, they simply have outgrown it. I still do love the dark wooden frame though, so last week I went through my photos from the last vacation at the beach and picked one. Actually took me until this week to finally get the measurements of the frame, decide whether I want the photo with or without a mat and order it. But it’s done and should be ready in time for hanging it as one of the next Cure assignments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Friday – Sunday: Flowers, kitchen organizing and cleaning, make a meal</span></h4>
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<span lang="EN-US">Nothing better to start your Friday than clean out the fridge and freezer, right? Well, at least the kids were at school so I could make a giant mess out of my kitchen, <strike>barely managing to clean it all up before I had to run out of the door to pick them up</strike> cleaning it all up, having a nice cup of tea and waiting for them at school. Ha. The upside was that little brother and I went for a nice and relaxed grocery shopping trip later that afternoon (and yes, if you usually deal with two kids arguing and racing their shopping carts around the aisles, taking just one of them shopping is actually nice and relaxed). He chose some red tulips for our weekly flowers, and we bought some chicken for making a citrusy grilled chicken Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I felt pretty good with the worst kitchen offenders already dealt with and flowers on my table. I should have known that if it takes me quite some time Monday to clean out one cabinet and all Friday morning to do the fridge, the rest of the kitchen wouldn’t exactly be a piece of cake either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And let’s just say it wasn’t. By Saturday night I had at least dealt with all the food cabinets, plus those two drawers holding my baking pans, measuring cups and waffle irons (why, yes, I have two. One for waffles and one for ice cream cones. Not that I have ever made ice cream cones yet, mind you. Guess that is on my list for 2014, or else that thing will have a place reserved in next year’s outbox!) that had been driving me crazy for ages. But it was late, dinner was on the grill and the kids were tired.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ah, right, that is why everything seemed to take even longer. Kids. Two of them. Having demands like wanting drinks, food and mommy to find that tiny little flashlight that belongs to one of those Playmobil figurines. Somehow I have a feeling this Cure thing would be easier if you could just keep working without interruptions, until late at night if you have to and then collapse onto the couch and order a pizza, oh, and sleep in the next morning. Well, no such luck. That reminded me why I don’t usually do weekend projects like this one and try to break tasks into chunks that I can finish off while they are at school and I am off work...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the end we did get it done though, and although I am sure my men all think I am nuts and rolled their eyes here and there, they did let me work and even took the time to appropriately admire my work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So this is what we ended up with for the outbox. I found a couple more things, such as a pair of fruit knives. Who on earth needs fruit knives?! I asked my mom when she came in, but she insisted that “people used to have them”. Right. And what for? “Well, for when you want to cut an apple of so”. Hmmm, when I want to cut an apple I use a real knife and cutting board, thank you very much. But what else is she going to say, she was the one who bought that stuff. I was going to add them to the outbox and took them out of their WMF package (yes, they were still in their original box, and made it through two moves. Go figure.) to see what they look like – turns out they look precisely like miniature versions of my regular WMF cutlery. So into the kids cutlery drawer they went, at least now they have knives sharp enough to cut their chicken themselves. Just another one of those why didn’t I think of that earlier moments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Anyone else having these moments during The Cure? I find it has several effects:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">these lightbulb moments where it finally dawns on you that an unbelievably simple solution for something that has been bugging you for ages is staring right in your face, and has been all along. You just didn’t see it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">you actually take those five minutes it really takes to clean up little messes instead of planning to add it to your to do list for five times before you actually do add it, and then postponing it another five times before you get around to it. So instead of wasting a lot of time and thought on “I have to remember to purge that battery drawer”, I took the box holding the batteries out yesterday, put all the dead ones into a recycling bag and organized the rest by battery, rechargeable and those teeny tiny special sizes. Then actually found and recharged three and put them into little brother’s flashlight, that has been sitting on my kitchen windowsill for ages, missing batteries. Amazing how simple things can be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">making plans. I can’t help it, even after making my <a href="http://www.hennymats.blogspot.de/2014/01/ats-january-cure-starting-with-list.html" target="_blank">master house list last week</a>, I keep seeing things and adding to the list. I have a feeling, this Cure will take me longer than January... Much longer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">finally crossing off things you meant to do forever. Some of them never even made it on my list because I keep forgetting them. Am I the only one who finds that she forgot thing on her initial project list? Maybe I should have taken more time to write that one... Anyhow, funny thing is even though you have your plate full with assignments, you somehow manage to cross things off here and there, simply because it raises your awareness of the things that work and don’t work in your home. And I guess that is what The Cure really is about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So we’ll see how this week goes, should be ok. Next week I am not so sure, it’s a busy one workwise and some of the assignments will take an hour or two (or more...). You know, paper clutter, bathroom cabinets and such.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This weekend’s assignment will be bedroom organization. Since I do my wardrobe twice a year anyway but usually more towards February or March when I can put the winter stuff away, there won’t be much to do. Maybe I’ll do a quick sock drawer makeover, but my overall plan is to try and get the living room changes underway. Since that involves quite some furniture moving as well as hanging the TV on the wall, I don’t really want to do that on my own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What are your plans for the weekend? And what is your goal project for The Cure?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Happy organizing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Swenja</span></div>
hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-1191251576774016152014-01-04T21:00:00.000+01:002014-01-04T21:11:04.044+01:00AT's January Cure: Starting with a listEvery time AT starts one of their cures, I get excited. Like a fresh start, a clean beginning. I have to admit, last year's Kitchen Cure threw me off (I mean come on, take everything out of your kitchen cabinets, wipe down, sort and put back on say a regular Tuesday night after work and while the kids are waiting for dinner? Sorry, just not happening in my house), but I do love the concept of The Cure.<br />
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I did the January Cure <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2013/02/the-simple-things-paperwhites-cause-i.html" target="_blank">last year</a>, at least most of it. And the <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-first-step-create-a-project-list-the-january-cure-day-1-198350" target="_blank">20/20 cure the year before</a>. Funny thing is, that even when you don't manage to complete every single assignment - it always gives you a new look at your surroundings. You start really seeing those piles of clutter. The little things you meant to fix - weeks ago. Months ago. The projects that didn't get done all the way. The things that sit somewhere because you don't really know where they belong and they've sat there so long that you start to not see them anymore.<br />
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The things you've been avoiding.<br />
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<b>Day 1:</b> And that was assignment one of the current January Cure: make a project list. Oh, and my list is long. (It also occurred to me that I need to update my home projects list on this blog. Oops.) Then focus on the few things you want to do for January. So, here we go:<br />
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<b>Kitchen</b><br />
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<li>clear off and declutter the windowsill, where unidentified plastic kid objects go to collect dust and ultimately die. Also, make pesto to use up that less than good looking basil and replace it with some rosemary. </li>
<li>clear off counters as much as possible and try to find new homes in cabinets for some of the things</li>
<li>declutter oils and vinegars</li>
<li>use up excess food from the holidays</li>
<li>clean garbage drawer under the sink</li>
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<b>Living room</b></div>
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<li>get rid of TV unit and one of the cubby units. Turn the other two cubby units on their sides (they're similar to the Expedit), hang TV above one of them</li>
<li>rethink frames currently on the walls and make plans for new art</li>
<li>declutter kids craft materials </li>
<li>declutter kids games and sell the ones we no longer use</li>
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<b>Office</b></div>
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<li>Sort through bin with recycling stuff I keep for the kids to craft with</li>
<li>Go through and file papers (ugh)</li>
<li>Declutter fabric, find new home for fabric scraps</li>
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<b>Kids room</b></div>
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<li>start looking for new art for little brother's room</li>
<li>sort through toys and sell baby toys (mostly done over the holidays)</li>
<li>hang the guitar shelf that little brother and daddy made for big brother for Christmas</li>
<li>get big brother his own craft supplies, now that he and I sorted through every single drawer in his desk</li>
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<b>Kids bath</b></div>
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<li>start looking for new art replacing the babyish ABC poster, keeping the lovely frame</li>
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<b>Entry</b></div>
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<li>find a new wreath for our door</li>
<li>paint!</li>
<li>wash the rugs</li>
<li>finally get those mysterious stains off the tiles that have been there forever</li>
<li>declutter shelves</li>
<li>start looking for new art</li>
<li>source better way to keep brush, lipstick, kids detangled and other quick-out-the-door essentials nearby but not in plain sight (needs to be wall-mounted)</li>
<li>install new hooks for keys</li>
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<b>Day 2.</b> So this is where we're at for the weekend assignment:</div>
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<b>Buy Flowers</b>: did that while shopping on Friday. Got paperwhites again, and finally put my three tiny helleborus plants back outside today, nestled in a planter by the front door. </div>
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<b>Vacuum the rugs and clean ALL the floors: </b>Two kids, two cats = I vacuum every day, at least downstairs. The floors in this house are dust bunny and crumb magnets. As for the mop, well, thanks to a very lovely migraine, this still didn't get done today and will have to wait until Sunday. No better day to mop all your floors than Sunday, right? At least I washed the bath mats already. </div>
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<b>Stock up on good green cleaners:</b> We use mostly green cleaners, but not all. I haven't found a floor cleaner that does not leave streaks other than the one I use, and that is not green. But what has made a difference to me is generally decluttering my cleaning products and just using some basics, most of them green, instead of all sorts of harsh and specialized cleaners. I did, however, use this as an excuse to browse the cleaner isle in the local drugstore for ten minutes and getting a new, green, lavender cleaner to use on the kitchen, kids bathroom etc. We'll see.</div>
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Anyone else doing the January Cure? </div>
hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-84975223216771925842013-12-15T21:43:00.000+01:002013-12-15T21:43:22.356+01:00Our Christmas traditions: Doggie biscuits & new labelsYep, that's right. We make doggie biscuits every year. And we don't even own a dog. But our friends do, and my in-laws used to, so I started the tradition when I was quite pregnant with little brother.<br />
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This little guy here, routinely rolling out dough and cutting out bone and dog shapes.<br />
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Big brother also likes to help. We use this Epicurious recipe and the boys take turns measuring out ingredients, rolling out, cutting shapes out and carefully placing them on baking sheets and brushing them with egg wash.<br />
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This year I designed labels using PicMonkey. My favorite web-based editor for quick blog photo editing, and now it also lets me make all these cool labels using overlays and design elements that almost look like I know my way around Photoshop. Which of course I don't.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6icFc_mVWWQdArYEe6sYzX9BPgHfMC0rBGh_ZMjMQ1Iy7JfI9kxLj9k3Lldaa9gPr2K38owXhQsAopXaS28wfxV6_bZpanZtZ41uZg-TEJMCJaqza0zogcN8712RjrV9bxCu43_QDOGfX/s1600/DogBiscuits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6icFc_mVWWQdArYEe6sYzX9BPgHfMC0rBGh_ZMjMQ1Iy7JfI9kxLj9k3Lldaa9gPr2K38owXhQsAopXaS28wfxV6_bZpanZtZ41uZg-TEJMCJaqza0zogcN8712RjrV9bxCu43_QDOGfX/s640/DogBiscuits.jpg" width="330" /></a></div>
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It's so easy that I made all kinds of labels for all our handmade gifts. I love it. Love it. LOVE it. Did I mention I really really like it?<br />
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Anyhow.<br />
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Here's to Christmas traditions and adding to them. Because maybe these labels will be a permanent addition, saving me the trouble of designing and making / stamping new ones every year, thinking about Christmas label design in September. I mean, not that I would ever think about Christmas labels and gift lists in September. Ha.<br />
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What's your favorite tradition?hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-56815004020108577272013-12-09T22:40:00.000+01:002013-12-09T22:40:29.682+01:00Our Christmas traditions: KulleraugenThese are hands-down my favorite cookies. Known as jam drops or thumbprint cookies to the rest of the world, we call them <i>Kulleraugen</i>, which translates to something like googly eyes.<br />
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Funny thing is, I hardly ever make them myself. My mom makes them, as one type of cookies in her annual Christmas repertoire of a dozen or more types of cookies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8VV4o2vRMB8KsSJ0zIogoP469GxTqSjVKkR3u8i3lycJ2KII5WXCxmZEhFQBzZljVe12hX_lP95uBS1M8L-VssKTx9u6Pa9LWaxJbtrwCuUuwp5pofFJrDkluGKKgdE1mVelXJmEKvrw/s1600/IMGP9238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8VV4o2vRMB8KsSJ0zIogoP469GxTqSjVKkR3u8i3lycJ2KII5WXCxmZEhFQBzZljVe12hX_lP95uBS1M8L-VssKTx9u6Pa9LWaxJbtrwCuUuwp5pofFJrDkluGKKgdE1mVelXJmEKvrw/s640/IMGP9238.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And she only makes them because I request them. Every year she'll ask me what to make, and every year I don't care about all the elaborate confections and artfully decorated cookies and request Kulleraugen instead. And every year I ask her to make a double batch. She never does, but she also doesn't include these in the cellophane bags of cookies she gives to friends and neighbors. These are our to eat.<br />
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Of course, with two boys, my share of these cookies is getting smaller by the year. And on top of that, big brother has the Christmas get-together at his class this wee, and with me having to work both the day before and the day of the little party, I opted to bring cookies.<br />
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But what to bring? As pretty much every year, we made those cookies that by now make up <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2011/12/pass-milk-please-my-favorite-christmas.html" target="_blank">our holiday cookie tradition</a>: fig and cinnamon swirls, plum streusel stars, Christmas cantuccini. But those aren't necessarily for kids. At least not all kids.<br />
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There's only one answer to that: me making a double batch of Kulleraugen today. What makes them special is not just the fact that they belong to my Christmas for as long as I can remember or that I make them from a photocopied newspaper clipping that dates back to the Seventies. They are also filled with homemade red currant jelly from our own backyard. Bright red and wonderfully tart.<br />
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I have a feeling I have to hide these well or they'll be gone before I can take some to school. Or maybe I should just make another batch. Or two.<br />
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<b>Kulleraugen (Jam thumbprint cookies)</b><br />
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250g flour<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
pinch of salt<br />
100g sugar<br />
homemade vanilla sugar or vanilla extract to taste<br />
3 egg yolks (save the whites for another use, such as coconut macaroons. Just saying.)<br />
150g butter<br />
red tart jam or jelly such as red currant<br />
1 egg white and some chopped almonds, optional<br />
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Sift flour and baking powder into the bowl of a standing mixer. Add sugar, salt, vanilla and egg yolks. Mix briefly with dough hook. Turn the mixer off and add butter in cubes. Mix until small crumbs form. Knead the by hand until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour.<br />
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Roll the dough into longs and cut off walnut sized pieces. Roll pieces into little balls and push a well into the with your finger. Place on a lined baking sheet. Fill cookies with a little jam and bake at 175 C for about 10-12 minutes.<br />
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Optional: once you have rolled your little balls, brush with a little egg white, dip into chopped almonds and proceed as above.<br />
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The cookies should not brown and just set, maybe turn a tiny bit golden around the edges.<br />
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We store them in Christmas tins where they keep for a few weeks. In theory, that is.<br />
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<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-20360719697529181922013-10-10T19:58:00.000+02:002013-10-10T19:58:00.200+02:00More Fall: Trying black & white againI've spent a bit of time on <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/hennymats/boards/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> recently. You know, just that tiny bit of time one spends there when one isn't addicted to it at all. Searching for specific ideas and projects. Never getting carried away by other Pinner's beautifully edited collections of images.<br />
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Right.<br />
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One of the things I have learned, and why, yes of course I learn things on Pinterest - important things, not to say <i>vital</i>, you know, really useful and such. Anyway. One of the things I learned is that I should try to experiment a bit more with black & white in my photography.<br />
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That time-sucking imagine-pinning monster has a way of showing you what you like. And what you forgot you liked. Such as black & white photography. Dreamy photos, Fall photos.<br />
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So in a pathetic little attempt to bring some of that look-how-great-my-dream-photography-/wardrobe-/cooking-skill-/very-next-DIY-project-is to my actual real life, here is a few of my Fall photos in black & white:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0SE9AWiITVG0vYhWt8lSeCrIZMvZLO4pP6XXB4QEkdSR80dSuaDH51h2xRdaU7l6T8SdGx0OEJZRUl0sX-HcJ9kcVFDeuUp_mcDnBIAGLKiggZGy6PU1c591Y4Q3bZALvf98SJt8tQv0/s1600/2013-10-08+-+18bw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0SE9AWiITVG0vYhWt8lSeCrIZMvZLO4pP6XXB4QEkdSR80dSuaDH51h2xRdaU7l6T8SdGx0OEJZRUl0sX-HcJ9kcVFDeuUp_mcDnBIAGLKiggZGy6PU1c591Y4Q3bZALvf98SJt8tQv0/s640/2013-10-08+-+18bw.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoebAHsseU7G6N5HhIBbj4fajp7btT-EK6b99BVO7RPT2AHnM5sAz8NFBe6SM6G2UKxbXDQXzxZfY1RY7heaPq5d3ykij61kPkZmYpdrEb4iMn9EH3T8h6pgXh8bfZWKAyZz0rn68Llck4/s1600/2013-10-08+-+21bw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoebAHsseU7G6N5HhIBbj4fajp7btT-EK6b99BVO7RPT2AHnM5sAz8NFBe6SM6G2UKxbXDQXzxZfY1RY7heaPq5d3ykij61kPkZmYpdrEb4iMn9EH3T8h6pgXh8bfZWKAyZz0rn68Llck4/s640/2013-10-08+-+21bw.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Hey, there has got to be some credit for getting off my pinboard and onto my camera...hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-74843062863975295672013-10-08T21:35:00.001+02:002013-10-08T21:35:08.027+02:00Something about FallI like Fall. No, actually, that is an understatement. I <i>love</i> Fall.<br />
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But lately, I have been looking at the trees slowly turning color and thinking - Stop. Not just yet. Don't you dare turn color now. I mean, wait a minute, when did it get to be October? I'm not ready yet.<br />
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It seems that for all of those thing that make Fall wonderful, you need time. Plenty of time. Think about it: walks in the wood, drinking a hot cup of tea and just looking a tree outside your window, reading books (ok, magazines for all busy moms) all cuddled up under a soft knitted blanket, picking the perfect pumpkin, sleeping in on a Sunday morning, breathing the crisp air, making big batches of pumpkin soup and baking apple tarts (more on that later. Unless I'm taking a nap).<br />
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Ahhhh... Sounds lovely, no?<br />
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I've been nagging my older son to finish his homework on time and go practice the guitar when all he really wants to do is ride his bike with the neighborhood kids. He had a really hard time adjusting after the long summer break, his first ever real summer break after his first year of school. You can tell he misses those lazy days of summer, where all he had to do was get up when he woke up, throw on some shorts and a tee, grab some breakfast and see who'd be there to play with.<br />
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All of a sudden he is faced with deadlines and worksheets that need to be finished until the Fall break in two weeks. Guitar practice after not touching the instrument much over the summer. Books to be read, additional assignments to complete. Getting out of bed when it's all of a sudden still dark in the morning. Wearing a jacket.<br />
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I told him he'd have to adjust to the school year routine and just finish the things he had to do first and then he'd have time to play.<br />
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Today it dawned on me that I am not all that different.<br />
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I have to force myself out of bed in the morning when all I'd really like to do is take a nap. For three days straight. All of a sudden I am faced with deadlines and assignments and to dos. At work, where there are events to prepare and newsletters to write, at home where there is a house full of messes, from refrigerator to closets that have been neglected all summer long and need to be taken care of now. And at school and kindergarten, where it seems that no day goes by without some teacher telling me what I have to do or make sure that my kid does. And don't even get me started on the holidays, because I know they are just around the corner just another thing I should be on top of.<br />
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I just nod in silence.<br />
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Of course I add it to my list and mostly we cross things off and get them done.<br />
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But for some reason, it is so much harder this year. It's not so much that I miss the lazy summer days, it's more that I miss the time to enjoy this season. And with every tree I pass that is sporting yellow leaves it reminds me that this goes by so quickly.<br />
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Within the blink of an eye October will be gone.<br />
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Will I have taken photos, made apple pies and sat in that last bit of sun that still has the warmth to it? Will I have had the time to made myself a cup of tea and sip it, slowly, why it is still hot? Will we have collected pretty leaves and chestnuts and made those felt acorns I have been meaning to try forever?<br />
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Or will it all just rush by in a blur, a whirlwind of to dos and tasks to be crossed off? Where finishing my annual family photo book is just another thing on the list I that I need to force myself to focus and work on? Or will I be able to slow down and enjoy that task, because it's about our family memories and I really like doing it.<br />
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But that is just the thing. I like the things on my list. Well, mostly (let's just not talk about housekeeping here, ok? Cleaning out closets is fine. Dusting? Yawn.). Most of the things I do enjoy - given the time to do them. And not under pressure to complete the next item and the next and then the one that just came on top of it.<br />
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So I am here and now making a pledge to slow down. At least a bit. To squeeze in the little things that I love so much. To sit in the sun. Find the most beautiful leaf of all. Make hot chocolate. Go read some poetry for a change. Find books about the season to read with the boys. Or take half an hour to go into the woods and take some photos (and actually noticing in the process that there are still plenty of green leaves on the trees. No rush.)<br />
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But most of all, slow down enough to enjoy the things I am doing anyway. And help my kids do the same.<br />
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Wishing you a wonderful Fall,<br />
Swenja<br />
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<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-11654449054387073422013-09-03T22:43:00.001+02:002013-09-03T22:43:58.228+02:00Vacation photo dump: the beachSalty air, the sound of waves, bare feet on the sand and kids chasing seagulls (turns out those aren't so easy to catch)... yep, we escaped to the beach over the weekend. On a whim, just for a few days. With pretty much zero time to pack.<br />
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It was lovely.<br />
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Of course the kids caught croup. Sigh. Nothing is perfect, right?<br />
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It was still wonderful to get away for a bit before school starts again. And it was even better to spend my birthday on the beach. Not wiping crumbs off the counter, baking my own cake or folding laundry. Nope, just eating ice cream, sitting in the sand, having some fresh mint tea and watch the kids have fun.<br />
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Here's a little photo dump of our mini vacation:<br />
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Big brother with his surfer style hair. Too cute. Of course I get an eye roll when I say that. <i>"Mom!"</i></div>
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My men!<br />
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Don't you just love those chubby feet? He's just growing out of the toddler chubbiness.<br />
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And he is one big funny goofball. Making the strangest faces when I try to take his photo.<br />
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It was even warm enough to splash around the water a bit.<br />
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Beach sunsets. Seriously: is there anything better?<br />
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Love the light.<br />
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I didn't really want to leave, but our house wasn't directly at the beach and the kids had to get some sleep.<br />
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Going shopping for a bit. Mmmmhhh, chocolates! Tartes! Quiches!<br />
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Seagulls. Hungry seagulls.<br />
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Catching crabs and other tiny critters.</div>
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Trying to relax for a bit.<br />
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"All seashells are pretty, mommy". So they all went into the bucket. </div>
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This is a seagull trap. Seriously. The bait? Waffles. I mean, you can catch anything or anyone with waffles, right?<br />
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Except for seagulls as it turns out.<br />
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Big brother didn't give up though. It was pretty funny.<br />
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I could spend days just wandering the beach and looking for treasures.<br />
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Some are real, others images I treasure, scenes and details captures that will remind me of the beach when I am back at home.<br />
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Some black and white - I really don't know why I don't do this more often. I mean, it's not like you have to use a different roll of film and decide in advance anymore, right?<br />
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Well, so much for now. I need to catch up on my sleep - the remaining week will be busy and there are way too many photos of big brother's birthday still on my camera, waiting to be sorted and edited. But for now, I will go to bed and think of walking barefoot on the beach.<br />
<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-44972296977384239902013-08-28T21:07:00.001+02:002013-08-28T21:07:43.905+02:00SadSad things seem to always happen when you least expect them.<br />
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Sunday. Sunday we had fun watching tractors with the boys. Sunday was our wedding anniversary.<br />
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Sunday night our cat died.<br />
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He looked terrible when he came home that night, and despite trips to the vet and clinic late at night, he didn't make it.<br />
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So yes, we're sad. Very.<br />
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And the only thing that helps a bit is knowing that we've always truly loved and appreciated that cat. Despite busy days, there was always time to cuddle with him. He'd get up early in the morning with me and purr while I brushed my teeth. He'd sit in the driveway with us while the kids rode their bikes around the street. He was always with us.<br />
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And he will always be with us. How could you forget a cat who purred so loud he'd sound a bit like a dove. Who loved ham and shrimps, but only the best quality. Who could open doors. Who wouldn't meow but make some strange sound instead. Who had this look in his eyes like he was a very wise old soul.<br />
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I know this might sound corny, but we do hope that soul will live on. <i>Somewhere</i>.<br />
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<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-11468563848685464062013-08-19T17:40:00.001+02:002013-08-19T17:40:17.986+02:00Beware of the sharks: party preparationsI could have sworn big brother would go for a guitar party this year. <i>Sworn</i>.<br />
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I was so sure that I actually got blow-up guitars and guitar shaped key rings, <i>weeks ago. </i>I mean, after this year's <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2013/02/the-simple-things-rock-star-cats.html" target="_blank">Rock Star Cats</a> for carnival it had to be a guitar party, right? <i>Right?</i><br />
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Wrong.<br />
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Instead, we're in for a shark party this year.<br />
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Which is ok for me - I mean, just do a quick search for shark party on Pinterest. See what I mean? Lots of ideas.<br />
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Good thing that I was anyway planning to reuse last year's bunting and the blueish party supplies with the stars. I mean, it's blue, right? Goes with sharks if you ask me. And besides, the store still carries some of it, so I could stock up on napkins, balloons and some other cute things.<br />
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Such as the cutest little favor boxes. Turns out they're too small for goodie bags, but they make nice invites, at least if you fill them with some gummy sharks. And they just happen to give those homemade invites something to cling to, because just printed on plain paper they looked just that. Plain. Punch a hole, tie them to the boxes with some green raffia and - ah, much better. To anyone who's interested, this is where I found <a href="http://www.clipart.dk.co.uk/1393/az/Sharks/White_shark_3_" target="_blank">the shark clipart</a> I used in the invites.<br />
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And since I has a kid-free house last week, I got the goodie bags out of the way as well. I don't know about you, but I don't really like when my kids come home from birthday parties with a lot of little things. They are treasures to them for a day or so, and then these little things turn into clutter. And they start to multiply. Take over their rooms, the basket of <i>miscellaneous</i> toys in the living room (it's a <i>junk basket</i>, if you ask me, and we weed it out every couple of months, usually sending at least a quarter of its contents to the trash).<br />
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Using simple white bags, I glued the shark to the front, added the guests' name on some washi tape and cut teeth into the top. They got filled with some more shark candy, a plastic shark and, my favorite, a shark bell for their bikes. Not too much crap, right? Right? </div>
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Finally I did birthday shirts, and the traditional felt birthday crown and yarn wreath. Luckily I could reuse last year's letter and garland and just cut out the number and pinned it to the wreath. Easy. Which was good, considering the fact that I had been crafting, sewing and eating gummy sharks all day.</div>
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Stay tuned for more!</div>
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Swenja</div>
<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-66352948240853589112013-08-18T11:45:00.000+02:002013-08-18T12:08:08.640+02:00Making cloudsI've made a couple of clouds recently. Mostly soft, fluffy ones. Who doesn't like puffy little clouds? See, that's what I figured, too. So I made them, again and again, as gifts for some dear friends. No two clouds I made are alike, and that is not just due to the fact that I just cannot follow a pattern.<br />
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It all started out with the <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2012/11/a-baby-party-and-way-too-much-fun-with.html" target="_blank">cloud mobile I made for my friend's third child</a>. You might also remember the <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2013/01/still-here-and-holiday-recap.html" target="_blank">cloud pillow I made for her for Christmas</a>. Well, it sort of took off from there. I made some more cloud pillows, gave them little sleepy eyes and a grin.<br />
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Then it went on to cloud teabags, cards and more pillows.<br />
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For a while I haven't been making much. There has been so much summer fun, work and plain daily life going on, that making things got pushed to the bottom of my list. You know, in to those parts of the list that you never really get around to, despite all the good intentions. And then my kids left for a vacation with their grandparents. Oh, bliss.<br />
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I still have to work and there are many things on my list, such as the new garden and preparations for big brother's party. But I decided that some of those things would have to wait, and that I was going to spend this kid-free time mostly with things I never get around to while the kids are here.<br />
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Such as sleeping. Taking naps in the middle of the day. Reading the paper and drinking a third cup of coffee on Sunday morning. Eating take-out Chinese food in front of the TV on a Monday night after an 11-hour shift at work. Going for a quick swim in the pool when I'd usually clean up the house and put the kids to bed. Grilling pizza and eating it on the patio at 9pm instead of 6pm. Ahhh...<br />
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And making things. Leaving the mess of sewing supplies out, not having to worry about putting away needles and scissors.<br />
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So I made another cloud mobile, for some dear friends expecting baby No. 2. I think it's always kind of hard to find a good gift for the second child. You have all the basics, have gotten rid of most of the excess stuff and the few things you could use new you actually like buying yourself, because now you finally know what to look for. But in this case, they have recently moved to a house, coming from a small apartment. That might leave room for some additional stuff for baby's room, no? Also, I am just so glad they decided to go for a second child. You see, they went through quite some sorrow and hard times with their wonderful daughter, and I think it's so great that they have the strength and courage to have another one.<br />
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I'm a firm believer in gifts for the big siblings when there is a new baby. Just ask my coworkers, both first-time mommies, about that email exchange recently where I was a little, uh, determined to get my point across about gifts for the older sibling being a necessity. But especially for the second baby and with little ones I do feel that while baby usually has everything he or she is going to need, the older child is so easily left out from all the gifts and congrats over the new arrival.<br />
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So anyway. Before I launch into a tirade here, let's just say I made an owl cloud pillow for the soon-to-be big sister. Or is it a cloud owl? Not even sure this makes sense at all. But I there wasn't enough white fleece left over, and the owls were so cute so an owl cloud pillow it was.<br />
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Turns out you can also cut two of the owls out, sew them together right sides facing, turn them right side out, stuff them a bit and sew them closed with some twine for legs. They also hang from puffy white clouds nicely.<br />
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Well, either making clouds in addictive or I am just not a very creative person. But I made another one. For another good friend, who is pregnant with her first baby. This little cloud pillow was made with soft fleece and fabric by Cloud 9. Seriously. I have been in love with their fabric since I started sewing last year, and I've been saving this fabric for a special project. And a birthday gift to a soon-to-be mommy is special, don't you think? And it could just be my favorite cloud so far. I almost want to keep it. Actually, I really do. It looks right at home on my couch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5-Nfa3P13WzhFsw2YOKfXx0I4RPesWZ-7cN-y0Gf6YgkKIu5_R2wEbB5TBlsvvYh1ms4nfCxFmfHClI69XEipHNTnuQkB0D9epYFAuxvQa7-7z89m3IldzxdU7Eew3o9fQlCpoxRu2rH/s1600/IMGP5966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5-Nfa3P13WzhFsw2YOKfXx0I4RPesWZ-7cN-y0Gf6YgkKIu5_R2wEbB5TBlsvvYh1ms4nfCxFmfHClI69XEipHNTnuQkB0D9epYFAuxvQa7-7z89m3IldzxdU7Eew3o9fQlCpoxRu2rH/s640/IMGP5966.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Maybe if the kids stay a little longer I will make the time to sew one for myself.<br />
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Meanwhile, I'll go spend some time staring at the real thing and doing nothing at all.<br />
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Happy Sunday!<br />
Swenjahennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-41356478809677247962013-08-11T19:59:00.000+02:002013-08-11T19:59:04.942+02:00Summer fun941. That is the number of photos I took during our summer staycation. It took me two nights to edit that down to about half, and then some more to pick a few to show you guys.<br />
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With the new garden and the first time ever we had to take our vacation during the school holidays, we ended up staying at home. And we had the most gorgeous weather one could imagine. The kids had a blast, and while we didn't get to sit around and relax much, it did feel so good not to look at the watch and stick to a strict schedule for two weeks. The kids went to bed when it got dark (which is way past 9pm here), we had dinner when we were hungry and got out of bed when we had slept long enough.<br />
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Bliss.<br />
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Still lots of garden projects, a fence and more weeds than I can count, but also lots of pure and simple summer fun.<br />
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I love that my boys are still perfectly happy with the simple things. Here's what we did:<br />
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Starting out with the kiddie pool. Which got <i>very</i> warm after a few hours. Little brother didn't care though.<br />
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Grilling bread on a stick over the new fire pit. I think by now I can make the dough in my sleep.<br />
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Having the neighbors and kids over for grilling marshmallows.<br />
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Decided we need a bigger pool and finally went and bought one of those incredibly ugly blue blow-up things. Not pretty, but <i>sooooo</i> much fun!<br />
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With unusually hot and sunny weather here, it was <i>so</i> worth it. Big brother could have stayed in that thing all day.<br />
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Tractor pulling events are <i>a must </i>around here. This is the season's first, and the boys are quite the experts by now.<br />
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Taking a day trip to a local museum. I wish we had taken more of those trips, but with some work creeping into the staycation, plus garden projects, summer flu and the heat, we often opted for just staying in the pool.<br />
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This is an old schoolhouse. What a far cry from today's fully digital, touch-screen whiteboards! Or take the school's restroom...<br />
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The biggest attraction however, was the museum cat.<br />
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Harvesting radishes. Big brother did that as a school project and we ended up planting the seedlings into the new garden.</div>
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Little brother also picked his radishes, though he didn't really like eating them.<br />
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The harvest.<br />
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They looked a little wonky from replanting the fairly big seedlings, but they still did taste good. Can't wait to start next year's crop.<br />
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Meanwhile, there are always ice cream sandwiches...</div>
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Now it's back to work and the weather has also cooled off somewhat. But despite all the work, I think we could do another staycation. I'm sure a full service, all inclusive hotel would have been less work, but the kids had so much fun just enjoying their home and the neighbor kids, all without school, schedules, kindergarten or homework. </div>
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How has your summer been?</div>
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Cheers,</div>
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Swenja</div>
<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-43432871518844231052013-07-19T22:45:00.000+02:002013-07-19T22:45:40.674+02:00Life latelyFour months? Really? You have to be kidding me. Where did those four month go? Or the last seven, for that matter. When did it get to be <i>July</i> already?<br />
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Seems like I am missing a few things lately. My annual family photo books? Not even started. And it is, well, July. And it's not just doing the books, it's also the material. Sometimes weeks pass before I pick up my camera again. This blog? Oh, <i>please</i>.<br />
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Something's gotta give.<br />
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With my not-so-new anymore job (that was last October), more and more things just drop of the list. Get postponed and then just sort of lost. Why is it so hard to start something again once you have stopped, for whatever reason? And why is it all the <i>fun</i> things get dropped?</div>
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Don't get me wrong, I love that job, I really do. There are weeks when it's absolutely completely insane, but I still love it. It's just that all the other things need attention, too. You know, things like grocery shopping, errands, laundry and oh, cleaning the house. Taxes, filing papers, paying bills. And my brain happens to shut itself off at 8pm latest. Can't process a single thought anymore. Trust me, I've <i>tried</i>. </div>
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I've been thinking about this lately though. (before 8pm, obviously)<br />
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Apparently I need my fun back.<br />
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That means that something else will have to give. Some things I simply won't do. Some things my boys will have to help. Cleaning is a family activity now, and that is a good thing because it goes much faster if I don't have to do it all by myself. Not sure my boys agree to that yet, but hey...<br />
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So anyway, looking through my (not even sifted through and edited, yikes!) photos, this is a little glimpse into what we've been up to lately:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6OhKbTs8v3jJxO5fls3bU5bc2amAKupvjbF8k6zMt32ieESnmV8Vk_mO0BQz5ciQTMMx8dVXPmQwlQ1H-P9jFIHXFJoS6BGPJyZE0ArhmZYjmt55LsED5RoZlhzTJtbfVnanL7ReAeUB/s1600/IMGP3672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6OhKbTs8v3jJxO5fls3bU5bc2amAKupvjbF8k6zMt32ieESnmV8Vk_mO0BQz5ciQTMMx8dVXPmQwlQ1H-P9jFIHXFJoS6BGPJyZE0ArhmZYjmt55LsED5RoZlhzTJtbfVnanL7ReAeUB/s640/IMGP3672.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Little brother learned to ride his bike. After starting his <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2012/04/simple-things-balance-bike.html">training bike</a> last year and being familiar with the pedals from riding his go-cart, I thought he'd be at this much sooner. But he simply wouldn't let go. It was plain to see he could easily do it, but he just didn't trust it. I really do hope he doesn't come after his mommy in that respect! Geez. Once he got the hang of it though, he was determined to also set off on his own, not needing to give him that initial push. Didn't take him long - something big brother had taken much longer to learn once he rode his bike. Go figure!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00C5dhoYSJYDsuyFREnVVvCXCaOJmxODP4O1uZXQdixnAyK5qWp-Y9vjeUxsHW5D78YAGaryMag1R2BUGzj1RdmLxiIU2uVseK4V7oiv3NUub8NeIbyVF7O4kExLMDXhh650PYuJavUco/s1600/2013-06-08+-+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00C5dhoYSJYDsuyFREnVVvCXCaOJmxODP4O1uZXQdixnAyK5qWp-Y9vjeUxsHW5D78YAGaryMag1R2BUGzj1RdmLxiIU2uVseK4V7oiv3NUub8NeIbyVF7O4kExLMDXhh650PYuJavUco/s640/2013-06-08+-+19.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Summertime! After a long winter the garden seemed to take forever to grown and bloom. Once it did though, it <i>really</i> did.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9KqFjBgqpC4WOrUDgd21BWcinheTBtCxD3Y9PL6DM-Z97djvwrmU7byFoiGNzGRBwNTb7qtNNsyHC58fYL9t9IrDb3etzR1t_tywr6twlcqgaMSkiWPgtYLv7mQQMB5uy9PQ1E1D-FZ5/s1600/IMG_3252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9KqFjBgqpC4WOrUDgd21BWcinheTBtCxD3Y9PL6DM-Z97djvwrmU7byFoiGNzGRBwNTb7qtNNsyHC58fYL9t9IrDb3etzR1t_tywr6twlcqgaMSkiWPgtYLv7mQQMB5uy9PQ1E1D-FZ5/s640/IMG_3252.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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Planting seeds for a school project - and then planting some more because little brother wanted them, too. "It's not fair, mommy!" Right. That's they're most favorite complaint lately: "Not fair!" Guess they're gonna have to get used to some of it...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinKIfoLMCYlGcDJ27ZoFbgagx6MzpwAuqS75mKVfcbVyU1viQ7t0-ZqD5FDnXqAJanLzGY9D04u-UoV_s19-34NxwE3_sa5_apAKUThwiBFAta19LLDLoNcc6emWwLq0TLRTUMfF4BJz0/s1600/IMG_3257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinKIfoLMCYlGcDJ27ZoFbgagx6MzpwAuqS75mKVfcbVyU1viQ7t0-ZqD5FDnXqAJanLzGY9D04u-UoV_s19-34NxwE3_sa5_apAKUThwiBFAta19LLDLoNcc6emWwLq0TLRTUMfF4BJz0/s640/IMG_3257.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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We planted cucumber, radishes and pumpkin. And sunflowers, but they refused to grow. Oh well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwardtjJFRxsnGNhoLrzNRKU44fNjSQPwJ-oYX4Z7O5tjNrbCt8-g_zFsTip6OU5jcWjFLKoLih_Afzg-obHBlan9X1v-Fr1TGNDvG9rHXXWkVhJ4GpJZ0XNbAoRCJL3qux4cYiztXAB71/s1600/2013-06-08+-+06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwardtjJFRxsnGNhoLrzNRKU44fNjSQPwJ-oYX4Z7O5tjNrbCt8-g_zFsTip6OU5jcWjFLKoLih_Afzg-obHBlan9X1v-Fr1TGNDvG9rHXXWkVhJ4GpJZ0XNbAoRCJL3qux4cYiztXAB71/s640/2013-06-08+-+06.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Early summer tradition: Making elderflower syrup. After last year's batches were gone far too soon, we made some more this year. Maybe some of it will last long enough to be a Christmas present? Summer's scent in the middle of winter. Like strawberry jam. Elderflower and strawberry is almost the same season, and it's way too short. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEireuMyKil7tGVi_za-qdXtnceGJ9ofDNI4drNMb-mazxTaaYiYVoT3uG7NgDcJSOFDG_IjcLTS2yT_f2w3kwszrWGUED_HaUjzyzyEUoIpeikuz4dAoOgYgTwanOhP4kiQmV3x4hA3TCRr/s1600/2013-06-08+-+43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEireuMyKil7tGVi_za-qdXtnceGJ9ofDNI4drNMb-mazxTaaYiYVoT3uG7NgDcJSOFDG_IjcLTS2yT_f2w3kwszrWGUED_HaUjzyzyEUoIpeikuz4dAoOgYgTwanOhP4kiQmV3x4hA3TCRr/s640/2013-06-08+-+43.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Water battles with daddy - a favorite pastime when it gets really hot. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcg4SittPpob7thZbrLc1fsIqeaXJeA5-mCXdMGqfyXznyzezPczZ_igdJBOSVHHOl7zQzMLUvssqG5KXszWYbsuXM-z8A4rbe3byaEX-qhiOFy9gBJ41adsMCMy1nE_PGALYAHmjjjygo/s1600/IMG_3416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcg4SittPpob7thZbrLc1fsIqeaXJeA5-mCXdMGqfyXznyzezPczZ_igdJBOSVHHOl7zQzMLUvssqG5KXszWYbsuXM-z8A4rbe3byaEX-qhiOFy9gBJ41adsMCMy1nE_PGALYAHmjjjygo/s640/IMG_3416.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Taking a break and having some iced coffee. Recently decided I love iced coffee. Nothing fancy, just a hot brewed fresh shot of espresso over half a glass of ice cubes, some simple syrup and milk. Not only does it taste good - sometimes it's the only way to get through the afternoon without falling asleep mid-sentence!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VvkuF29Ly90KfIpkSJH29AjYoonYNo1M2M5xr9qicW_0G8-Od64jquneW23z85aSoY0aj3Io6eQ_uuzyzPhAyoMQZXPXNWbKPPetd7Rl9uXaCIHg62YFmL-l-RU5kSC2sqMbyVyRhoRV/s1600/IMG_3247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VvkuF29Ly90KfIpkSJH29AjYoonYNo1M2M5xr9qicW_0G8-Od64jquneW23z85aSoY0aj3Io6eQ_uuzyzPhAyoMQZXPXNWbKPPetd7Rl9uXaCIHg62YFmL-l-RU5kSC2sqMbyVyRhoRV/s640/IMG_3247.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Someone getting new glasses! Of course they had to be green. We agreed on a pair that is black outside and the brightest green possible on the inside. Fine with me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjD6RoVBUU9okjJZb8zzGHQ2gO_UpZWeJedxNuZliKrzrYpYi75yaTkPSEfJUxOh1Rm5jCdrqOgcckUgLI0BDowxVLb0iDzE5XHfMoTeRlKOxxmRLVZYJmdzsOh0iQ_OwWBYBdzuR_K2Cs/s1600/2013-06-25+-+08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjD6RoVBUU9okjJZb8zzGHQ2gO_UpZWeJedxNuZliKrzrYpYi75yaTkPSEfJUxOh1Rm5jCdrqOgcckUgLI0BDowxVLb0iDzE5XHfMoTeRlKOxxmRLVZYJmdzsOh0iQ_OwWBYBdzuR_K2Cs/s640/2013-06-25+-+08.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Big brother also had his first guitar concert. Well, a tiny little one, playing two songs in front of a handful of people, but still. He was nervous, but he did a great job.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2af4JINXP5fyfM40oPSxLbjvX6oM-apxgZfKFqhLIW6nvr-D-zL0PAV8S0flHSFkO3tzXqF2VjTrBLQGrmhdqO2ONj70JSIF2S4Nfvt_lpcqCLI2uxCY4lZxaosTbpaCCsE4Eo-dDqTT/s1600/IMG_3271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2af4JINXP5fyfM40oPSxLbjvX6oM-apxgZfKFqhLIW6nvr-D-zL0PAV8S0flHSFkO3tzXqF2VjTrBLQGrmhdqO2ONj70JSIF2S4Nfvt_lpcqCLI2uxCY4lZxaosTbpaCCsE4Eo-dDqTT/s640/IMG_3271.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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Sneak peek at our latest project. That wildflower field you see there? That is our new backyard-in-progress. This is the before shot, and quite some things have been done since. Of course even more remain... oh well.<br />
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So there you go, a brief update of sorts. Yeah I know. Lots of pictutes. What? You thought I wouldn't post for four months and then let you get away with three or four photos? Nah. After all, who knows when I'll get around to this again... Kidding. Hopefully.<br />
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So hey, it's nice to be back.<br />
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Talk to you soon!<br />
Swenja<br />
hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-26351152266931147132013-03-17T21:31:00.000+01:002013-03-17T21:31:51.037+01:00A Chocolate Party - the actionChocolate. Soft, sweet chocolate. Something little brother loves dearly. Which could be a reason we decided early on that this year we were going to throw him a chocolate party (<i>the other reason being that this was the perfect excuse to go buy a chocolate fountain. Please don't tell anyone though</i>).<br />
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Of course I took way too many photos. And of course there are quite a few I forgot to take or simply didn't have my hands free enough (or clean enough...) to hold a camera. Oh well. I took plenty of photos of some of the preparations, which you can read about <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2013/03/a-chocolate-party-preparations.html">here</a>.<br />
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Decorations included giant yellow doggie balloons. Because birthday balloons are a very serious tradition around here. Very serious. Since these things can get expensive (especially when you need two, because tradition dictates that the sibling gets one as well, making it four of these per year) I save all the old ones once they finally go flat. One of the most popular ones ever was big brother's giant dog balloon, and since <strike>I was overworked, tired and a little tight on budget</strike> I couldn't find the perfect chocolate party balloon, I decided that the yellow dog would be just fine, after all they loved it (and it matched the party colors), so I just got him filled up again and bought him a companion. Don't they look happy together?<br />
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We had added the <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2013/03/a-chocolate-party-preparations.html">garlands</a> earlier in the week, but I felt the urgent need for some simple streamers on the party day. We removed the rug, put down old bath towels and placed our two kid picnic tables from the backyard in the living room play area, hoping that this would keep the chocolate mess in kids reach and away from my white dining room chairs. So the streamers ended up forming a nice canopy.</div>
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They also played nicely with the garland and the goodie bags in the background. Yes, I admit to standing in this spot for a full five minutes, admiring my decorations. Yes, I know I am insane. But I just love it when something works as planned. What can I say.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVncnt2j_tRS0XA69JmaRWI_5kQo6as49ZYJRYF1O8SSARWYWatcr86y_YufKkoTPMQAvBlzrCl6DbF0N4MMEIcQ_myoJKRiA43FHRH4mNuqkORhlwGjex9CWDX9JgE2JNvy2eeJH77H-f/s1600/IMGP1435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVncnt2j_tRS0XA69JmaRWI_5kQo6as49ZYJRYF1O8SSARWYWatcr86y_YufKkoTPMQAvBlzrCl6DbF0N4MMEIcQ_myoJKRiA43FHRH4mNuqkORhlwGjex9CWDX9JgE2JNvy2eeJH77H-f/s640/IMGP1435.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The birthday boy with his crown - same one from last year with a quickly added 4 to it. And no, I didn't dress him to match the crown - I simply figured that the chocolate stains would show the least on a brown sweater... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5Z0mdsDxwVUJBVeFd_eAxYywMJ02bMcpBkYYvd942LdbOHxxHFnC6WIw2YofRDbwJfzywT9mRT_mNeA1iwg5RDQDYsGSofCvKGLirtaGeEvuJgX_RiQSTXTowf3Y05DBkzVrLf7Hq2vQ/s1600/IMGP1448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5Z0mdsDxwVUJBVeFd_eAxYywMJ02bMcpBkYYvd942LdbOHxxHFnC6WIw2YofRDbwJfzywT9mRT_mNeA1iwg5RDQDYsGSofCvKGLirtaGeEvuJgX_RiQSTXTowf3Y05DBkzVrLf7Hq2vQ/s640/IMGP1448.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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I usually refuse to buy strawberries when they're not in season and not grown locally. My kids know that, so they were beyond thrilled when they saw me prepare strawberries for the chocolate fountain. After all, birthdays are supposed to be special occasions, right? So strawberries in winter it was. We also had cookies, blueberries, grapes and bananas.<br />
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Since big brother suddenly got a rash and a fever literally five minutes before the party, the first part was a little hectic and I didn't get too many photos of little brother and his guests and gifts. He got the cutest things ever and had so much fun opening all his presents.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fRGpTJDPhxzP-7nBZjxe3LVtzplNPVoLVDiSoQq9LgtEXfKqZRiRvxUHHX5uoIQOAWGiKfITDcAD-EdnvNIejGTVsNzpn4zWbQ7s73pSIDt86vkECZmULV7j35cj2kRJdA3OU15C3mNw/s1600/IMGP1486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fRGpTJDPhxzP-7nBZjxe3LVtzplNPVoLVDiSoQq9LgtEXfKqZRiRvxUHHX5uoIQOAWGiKfITDcAD-EdnvNIejGTVsNzpn4zWbQ7s73pSIDt86vkECZmULV7j35cj2kRJdA3OU15C3mNw/s640/IMGP1486.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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When everyone had arrived and played for a bit, we started the chocolate fountain. It works really well and does not get hot at all, so the kids can just enjoy it. The bananas, strawberries and cookies were the biggest hits. I guess you could also do marshmallows, but they aren't popular over here and as far as I am concerned, we had enough sugar already.</div>
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With all the sweet things, our prepared milk glasses were refilled quite a bit. I had snipped a few inches off some regular plastic straws, which were apparently great for making milk bubbles.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwLKsRu1omGtmJvIWCiPTJ_T5IEe4Nl_OTxQJC9YFauGcQ2UduB_YzQOyCjgctLVVNVAgMSrT1cOam0Q5w_uj7dNVwab2mwt1Nx2X1V8p7ws2kHs1gUrOArREmfB8SYZ19I8D-wcomzcT/s1600/IMGP1584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwLKsRu1omGtmJvIWCiPTJ_T5IEe4Nl_OTxQJC9YFauGcQ2UduB_YzQOyCjgctLVVNVAgMSrT1cOam0Q5w_uj7dNVwab2mwt1Nx2X1V8p7ws2kHs1gUrOArREmfB8SYZ19I8D-wcomzcT/s640/IMGP1584.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Here's a shot of the party tables - not as messy as expected, really. Of course we had chocolate mouths and fingers and drips on plates and some shirts, but it was all easily cleaned up.<br />
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The birthday boy couldn't get enough!<br />
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Now this is where my lack of photos comes in. With big brother at the emergency clinic and a chocolate fountain to clean up, other guests to entertain, I never really managed to get photos of our simple dinner that we served before guests left. I had prepared sandwiches with a large star cutter, and we set out some leftover grapes - oh, and fancy little paper umbrellas never hurt anyone, either (unless you'd poke someone in the eye which luckily nobody did). The sandwiches were prepared ahead and just eaten on the run, they were just too busy playing to be sitting down for long.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKE_GOXqmRnHNxFtydksm1vTN3ArRyLR_inV43AR2_xtKwLFjJDX-OL0LdBva3GzudlgHGgAqzq5R2BAStluCWdBVrxREfZmCNHbbz2CpPMIQIxECniyNDBUUUilprcWR9nX1hXUpRqKc/s1600/IMGP1594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKE_GOXqmRnHNxFtydksm1vTN3ArRyLR_inV43AR2_xtKwLFjJDX-OL0LdBva3GzudlgHGgAqzq5R2BAStluCWdBVrxREfZmCNHbbz2CpPMIQIxECniyNDBUUUilprcWR9nX1hXUpRqKc/s640/IMGP1594.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Overall it was a fun party, we just wish big brother could have been part of it. He was ok when he returned from the doc though, and although most guests were just leaving, our neighbors stayed for some real dinner and he got to play with their kids for a bit.<br />
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We have since done the chocolate fountain thing in little brother's preschool as well - and I'm sure it wasn't the last time!<br />
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So if you'll excuse me now, I have a sudden craving for something sweet, no idea where that might come from...<br />
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Swenjahennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-22944176062756106582013-03-10T11:08:00.000+01:002013-03-10T11:08:29.533+01:00{the simple things} brightnessUgh.<br />
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That's basically all I can say.<br />
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Ugh.<br />
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I hear someone call "Mommy? Mommy! M-o-m-m-y!" what feels like every five seconds. The cats follow me around the house, meowing. There are dust bunnies having parties under my couch, and a laundry mountain that laughs at me because there seems to be no way to conquer it today. But I will. Still, I get so tired of it sometimes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8KVTNZUxrmPOYNz9KKuJM1odd0mA6_DT_efnuQnK5llwHiiwpILHbe_DFCa8Jddre1xS6Ve643X4yNX2ZrPjyYc2NBAoU89mdEsfyx_n6lvyOxSVgz3Mt3ZOC_Ds3fX6yqx2CApK2UST/s1600/IMGP1740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8KVTNZUxrmPOYNz9KKuJM1odd0mA6_DT_efnuQnK5llwHiiwpILHbe_DFCa8Jddre1xS6Ve643X4yNX2ZrPjyYc2NBAoU89mdEsfyx_n6lvyOxSVgz3Mt3ZOC_Ds3fX6yqx2CApK2UST/s640/IMGP1740.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I fell asleep on the couch at 7:30pm on Friday, after having raced to the pediatrician right after picking up big brother from school and hearing from our neighbor that her kids have scarlet fever. And they all shared the chocolate fountain last weekend. Luckily although my kids have been sick for two weeks and we've had our share of sore throats, fevers and midnight barf, it was not scarlet fever. And they are much better now and have started to eat like normal again. Which also means they have their energy back.<br />
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Yesterday I took my husband to the emergency clinic. His throat is so sore he can't swallow, and his fever won't go down.<br />
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Outside it started to get gray and rainy again. Temperatures are supposed to drop further today and it's supposed to start <i>snowing</i> again. Can you believe that? Snow. <i>Again</i>.<br />
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Oh, and I have to get to work tomorrow, for a long, long day no less.<br />
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It seems for every thing I take care of, there are five more screaming for my attention.<br />
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And although I don't get it all done, it's the little things I do get done, that make my day. I am still exhausted, but I feel better for the simple things. Like a clean kitchen. Folded laundry. A birthday gift made for a good friend. Taking both kids to swimming lessons. Making tea from sage that grows in my own backyard.<br />
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And these simple little bursts of brightness: A bowl of clementines...<br />
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...and some daffodils.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1DuccOqtYqSvHX2te43wrPMqx8KX1QyNkHyFGGRxRvc7B77vTAxsvTC7rs1lnkM5p629ycivSDHXyvfZ56ysMKIo3YL915XjywSQgEiTXLgz88Mf6IP9JNj3FCSAyVKW2rltcuNO2XWq/s1600/IMGP1724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1DuccOqtYqSvHX2te43wrPMqx8KX1QyNkHyFGGRxRvc7B77vTAxsvTC7rs1lnkM5p629ycivSDHXyvfZ56ysMKIo3YL915XjywSQgEiTXLgz88Mf6IP9JNj3FCSAyVKW2rltcuNO2XWq/s640/IMGP1724.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Both bought quickly on the run, at a discount store I don't usually shop at. But Tuesday after guitar practice little brother started to have a meltdown, so we just quickly grabbed a few things since it was on our way. At the checkout I noticed the daffodils - tiny, cheap little bunches, sold as they were, not even standing in water. I bought one anyway, and put it in a mug with water while making dinner, prepping school lunch and trying to keep little brother from screaming.<br />
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Not even two days later, I had this burst of bright yellow abundance in my kitchen.<br />
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I got some more daffodils yesterday, and they already started to blossom.</div>
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Maybe it's just me, but even when I'm exhausted and everyone is sick, the rest of the house a mess and it's cold and rainy outside - some bright yellow daffodils and orange clementines on my clean and uncluttered kitchen counters make all the difference.</div>
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Linking with Rebecca's simple things sunday today.</div>
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<a href="http://www.simpleasthatblog.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/rebeccaanncooper/sts_button_final-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Happy Sunday</div>
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Swenja</div>
hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-88664330790788374482013-03-04T10:06:00.000+01:002013-03-04T10:06:34.575+01:00A Chocolate Party - the preparationsAnyone who knows little brother will know that chocolate is one of his favorite things in the whole world. Well, cars, keys, phones, anything with buttons to push. <i>And chocolate.</i><br />
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It's funny when I hear parents of just one child talk about how well their kid eats and all these great things they did and how they pay attention to what the feed their child. Yeah... been there. Done that. And big brother will try and eat pretty much anything, he doesn't eat a whole lot of sweets and prefers a strawberry over a piece of chocolate at any given point. Little brother on the other hand... well. He likes pasta, but only with butter please. And bread, but preferably with a certain kind of cheese, or maybe honey. In short, he's an extremely picky eater, and I have no idea where he got that from.<br />
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But birthdays are supposed to be about favorite things, right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsDliwWXoHRVFArc71dGILfm8AE1iMOJAvOU96fPzlthofcB-ziZ1gDWOCyMQnjQZ-UOFeVzIRbxQwUZoCwTLHHOs-1Q25kXCa9UNqEaJ6Mn2bJOye1Q9-oq3isxOPQVSiXqYBlr1WP9r/s1600/IMGP1085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsDliwWXoHRVFArc71dGILfm8AE1iMOJAvOU96fPzlthofcB-ziZ1gDWOCyMQnjQZ-UOFeVzIRbxQwUZoCwTLHHOs-1Q25kXCa9UNqEaJ6Mn2bJOye1Q9-oq3isxOPQVSiXqYBlr1WP9r/s640/IMGP1085.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="text-align: center;">And chocolate is one of little brother's favorite things. So a chocolate party it had to be. As long as I can still get away with things like puppy parties and such, I will take advantage of it. Sooner or later they'll just roll their eyes and tell me what they think is cool. But we're not there yet.</span><br />
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Also one of my new years's resolutions for this year is to keep it simple, meaning the goal was to try and use things we had on hand or that would really make sense to purchase. That meant no cute small glass milk bottles. No paper straws in matching colors. Instead we used small glass, dipped them into chocolate and sprinkles, and at the party added milk and some very basic very normal and very plastic straws that were cut a little shorter to match the tiny glasses. The kids loved it, even without fancy paper straws.<br />
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Surfing around the Internet one evening (and admittedly looking at paper straws and such), I found <a href="http://poolga.com/poolga/peskimo-synergy-art-chocolate-cat">this cool phone wallpaper </a>of a cat looking at a pot of chocolate. And it was yellow, sort of, which is his favorite color. And did I mention it featured a cat?<br />
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For invites we ended up using that and just stapled it to a paper bag filled with some <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2013/02/yum-aka-hot-chocolate-on-stick.html">chocolate-on-a-stick</a> we had left over from Christmas, figuring it was still winter and cold enough for some hot chocolate.<br />
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We originally wanted to do individual chocolate fondues, but my trial run was a total failure. The small tea lights heat them so much that the chocolate scorches instead of just melting. So it had to be Plan B - a chocolate fountain. Seven kids and a chocolate fountain, hmmmmm.... it did actually go pretty well, but I haven't managed to sort through the pictures from the party yet.<br />
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Decorations were pretty simple, too. I was going to make dot paper garlands in sprinkle colors, but I don't have a large circle punch and was determined to not use the party to buy more craft supplies (does that sound familiar to anyone or is just me who suddenly thinks she needs paper straws and circle punches and all these things?). Instead, I used paper I had on hand in yellow (of course), brown, red and white and my trusted star punch and my sewing machine to make star garlands. The day of the party we added some balloons and streamers, but the star garlands were hung the week before the party.<br />
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Since I had my sewing machine out anyway and this could be prepared well in advance, I used some felt left over from making <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2012/02/celebrating-carnival.html">last year's lion costumes</a> and sewed a simple felt chocolate. Most of our guests are still young enough to have a play kitchen and/or play store, so I figured they could use it. It's also pretty simple to make. After making a couple of them, I came up with this technique: cut out a felt square, sew around three sides, stuff it (I usually use cheap Ikea pillows for that) while the needle is still in the felt (can you tell I am lazy?), sew it closed. Measure, then sew down the center of the long side. Measure again and sew down twice the shorter side, dividing it in thirds. Done.<br />
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I also found two small books about chocolate and threw in a car shaped eraser and a party blower for good measure. As usual, our favor bags were simple kraft paper bags, the names clipped on with wooden pins. Doesn't get easier than that!</div>
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Oh, and we made use of a small chocolate bar mold I've had around, adding melted chocolate and some sprinkles, wrapping the finished bars in cellophane.<br />
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Currently both kids are sick and at home, so I can't make any promises on when I'll manage to post some actual party pics. But I can say they had a blast, even though little brother wasn't in the best mood all morning and big brother had to make a trip to the ER with daddy right during the party (turned out just to be a fever and a case of hives). Sigh. I am so ready for Spring and the end of this long, long and sick winter season... But the sun is out today and it's supposed to be really nice. </div>
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Can't wait!</div>
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Swenja</div>
hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-28482935078761739982013-03-03T11:05:00.000+01:002013-03-03T11:05:25.484+01:00{the simple things} guitar practiceWhen big brother was two years old, the Easter bunny got him a guitar. A light blue, wooden toy guitar. He loved it. Like any good rock star, his guitar didn't last all that long. So the next year the Easter bunny came back, this time with the smallest size of a "real" guitar he could find.<br />
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He has been playing with it ever since, and this year we finally ended up getting him enrolled in guitar lessons. I have no idea where he got his love of music from - sports and music are two things I am an absolute failure at. But then again, my boys didn't get too much from their mommy, anyway.<br />
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He's had weekly lessons for a couple of weeks now, and he does practice most days. He will protest when you ask him to practice, mind you. But once he actually puts down what he was doing and gets his guitar, he enjoys it.<br />
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He's a little bit frustrated with the fact that he has to start learning the basics, he'd much rather learn chords and play all his favorite songs (current play list includes <i>I can see clearly now</i>, <i>Let her go</i> and anything by Eric Clapton, preferably <i>Layla</i>). But he does keep practicing, and I love that he found something to enjoy. He's not someone who's great at team sports and he doesn't like the fact that all his friends play soccer. Playing the guitar or going fishing with daddy is so much more like him.<br />
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Speaking of daddy - well, after taking big brother to his lessons once or twice, he too caught the guitar bug and started to take lessons. Now they practice together a few times a week, especially on Sundays. Can't wait for them to be able to play on long summer nights!<br />
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I have a feeling the Easter bunny will have to be bringing a bigger guitar this year... </div>
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Linking up with the simple things sunday.</div>
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<a href="http://www.simpleasthatblog.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/rebeccaanncooper/sts_button_final-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Happy Sunday everyone!</div>
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Swenja</div>
<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-84535575936259368812013-02-24T11:07:00.000+01:002013-02-24T11:07:14.394+01:00{the simple things} new playgroundWe live in the middle of a new development, and just as our part of it got finished last year, the next part started. <i>Sigh</i>. More excavators, dump trucks, cranes and the like. A little boy's heaven, you'd think. Unless your little boys have been used to that for a good <i>four years </i>now. A dump truck? Yawn. Look, there's a new crane! Oh what else is new....<br />
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Anyway. The good news is that the city finally finished the new playground that is right between our part of the development and the new one. The process started last summer, and the fun part was that all the kids and parents who live here got invited to a planning meeting to make a wish list of things they'd like for the playground. </div>
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The not so fun part was the wet summer and the fact that building the playground took much, much longer than anticipated. It got finished just before Christmas, but the sand didn't get in until this year. So now it's all done! And it's great. Last Sunday we got a little bit of sunshine (while I'm typing it's snowing outside. <i>Again</i>. Sigh.), so we got some much needed fresh air.</div>
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The slide seems to be everyone's favorite. We've been to the playground a few times since it opened, but last week was little brother's first time of going down the slide all by himself. Before that he's stand at the top, holding up traffic and wait for big brother or friends to go down with him. Now he does it <i>all by himself.</i></div>
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I love the details. Such as the swinging bench.<br />
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Oh and yes, that is a mouse sitting on a box of explosives. Go figure...<br />
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But the best part? The playground is so close that I can literally see the kid from my back deck - or open the upstairs window and tell them dinner is ready. Not that I can let the little one out there all by himself yet, but I'm sure that time will come sooner than I'd like to think.</div>
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How about you? What are your favorite playgrounds and do you ever let your kids there unattended?</div>
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Sharing with Rebecca's simple things sunday today. </div>
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<a href="http://www.simpleasthatblog.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/rebeccaanncooper/sts_button_final-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Happy Sunday,</div>
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Swenja</div>
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hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-12998333528422693372013-02-17T12:15:00.001+01:002013-02-17T12:15:24.291+01:00{the simple things} Rock Star CatsIt was <i>Karneval </i>over here this week, so the boys had to dress up for preschool and school. For some reason, cat costumes have been very popular at this house. Wonder where that comes from... Although we did <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2012/02/celebrating-carnival.html" target="_blank">lions</a> last year and <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2011/11/winter-time-black-costumes-bad-photos.html" target="_blank">magicians</a> for Halloween the past two years, cats remain the absolute favorite costume of all time.<br />
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Except that big brother is six years old now, and in school. Somehow I could not bring myself to buy him the same cat costume just a size bigger. A six-year-old dressing up as cat? Hmmm....<br />
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Instead, we took a cue from their all-time favorite music, the <a href="http://www.mukketier-bande.de/musik">Mukketier-Bande</a> (if you follow the link, click on the green arrow to listen to some samples).<br />
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You see, their all-time favorite song is about a rock-star cat named <i>Atze</i>, complete with leather jacket and electric guitar. And I just couldn't resist that one. So I got two used leather jackets from eBay for very little money, plus inflatable guitars. Then I made some cat ears using fleece we had left over from other projects, and bought cat tails since the week got so busy that I didn't have time to make them. We also printed a picture of Atze on simple white tees so that the boys could wear them under their jacket and show them to those who might not know who Atze the cat is (blasphemy!).<br />
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Thus we had two rock star cats for this year's carnival parties. And I can just see a rock star party in our future...<br />
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<a href="http://www.simpleasthatblog.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/rebeccaanncooper/sts_button_final-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Happy Sunday,<br />
Swenja<br />
<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-69139595018691567432013-02-13T21:41:00.000+01:002013-02-13T21:41:00.087+01:00Homemade Orange Chile PepperThe brother's daddy and uncle both had their birthdays last month, so we needed to stock up on gifts. It needed to be homemade (by the boys, of course), use mostly things we had around and be fairly quick to make, since the weeks before the birthdays were insane work wise. Tall order?<br />
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Nah.<br />
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Both daddy and his brother love to grill, so we made Orange Chile Pepper for meat hot off the grill. I had some oranges left over, so I used a vegetable peeler to get the skin off and a knife to scrape the remaining white pith off the back. Then I finely minced the peel and left it on a plate on the counter for a day or two. Voila, dried orange peel!<br />
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Then big brother and I took a trip to Ikea one Saturday afternoon and (among a select few other items, naturally) bought two of their spice mills.<br />
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While daddy was at going for a run, the boys took to their project. We got our dried orange peel, some coarse sea salt, black pepper and whole dried red chiles.<br />
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We started with some salt, then added the orange peel. We didn't really use a recipe, the boys and I pretty much eyeballed it.<br />
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Add some black peppercorns and then some hot chiles.<br />
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Screwing the top back on the mills, giving it a few shakes and adding a tag - done!<br />
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Actually, that was too easy. Even for us. Luckily we had picked up some simple gray oven mitts at Ikea. We grabbed some fabric pens we had, and the boys drew a design, each one on one side of the mitt, so both mitts have big and little brother's artwork on them. It's a cat standing at a grill, btw.What, your cats don't usually grill your dinner? Ha.<br />
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Of course we also had to come up with the matching card. A quick Pinterest search later, we made these BBQ cards where you can actually open the top of the grill. That's fish on the grill. Guess the cat went to get himself another beer then...<br />
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So, now I have some time before I need to come up with a father's day craft...<br />
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What kid-made gifts have you done recently?<br />
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Swenjahennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-9225594140846994062013-02-11T20:56:00.000+01:002013-02-11T20:56:45.282+01:00Yum. A.k.a. hot chocolate on a stickI was actually going to post these for Christmas. Because we did them for Christmas, to make up for the lack of cookies this year and give to neighbors and friends instead.<br />
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Oh well.<br />
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I think they're pretty perfect for Valentine's Day, too. Or basically any day you could use some hot chocolate. Which, with current temperatures is <i>every</i> day, if you ask me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFTN12NHwSPI_l_D8Ew-v89ojfQNCXp2nskXKAn1S1cRSAnDxW1ED9E8a0CS_EDTLu06fyalShtcKMOb_y8S_aq5BQYkKhaK7CO07dC2NFOdp0i_YwfvcNJb_wS1pAot4ex8uNtp7Lnkl/s1600/2012-11-18+-+08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFTN12NHwSPI_l_D8Ew-v89ojfQNCXp2nskXKAn1S1cRSAnDxW1ED9E8a0CS_EDTLu06fyalShtcKMOb_y8S_aq5BQYkKhaK7CO07dC2NFOdp0i_YwfvcNJb_wS1pAot4ex8uNtp7Lnkl/s1600/2012-11-18+-+08.jpg" /></a></div>
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I used the recipe from giver's log, which you can find right <a href="http://www.giverslog.com/?p=3290" target="_blank">here</a>. There's also a helpful review at <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-review-hot-chocolate-on-101625" target="_blank">TheKitchn</a>.<br />
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I think I made about six batches in total, and after a while found that it worked best if I doubled the recipe. We also added some spice to the chocolate. As for what kind of chocolate, well, I mixed what I had on hand, nothing with less than 70% of cocoa though. For a mold, I used those tiny flowery mini muffin tins I've had for ages and never seem to be able to find the right muffin recipe for. They were perfect and after popping the whole tray in the fridge for it to set, they came out easily. The silicone molds were even easier, but mine are quite big which makes for a very chocolatey cup later...<br />
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For the Christmas batch I ended up printing those lovely tags from <a href="http://www.apairofpears.com/2011/12/hot-chocolate-party-printables.html" target="_blank">A Pair of Pear</a>s to go with them. They were perfect and added just the right touch. Of course I did not manage to get a photo of them. Sigh.<br />
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I think they look pretty just wrapped individually and tied with some ribbon, too. Or you could write a message on the stick, tape a little flag to it...<br />
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As for the hot chocolate, well, we made extensive quality assurance tests, let me tell you. The brother's verdict: pretty good. In fact, good enough to have everyday. Morning, afternoon and at night, please. If you ask little brother, he'll also tell you that you absolutely must make some freshly whipped cream to go with it. And while you're at it, some sprinkles don't hurt, either.</div>
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Red heart sprinkles, maybe?</div>
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Happy Valentine's Day,</div>
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Swenja</div>
<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-3276858348743868682013-02-11T15:42:00.000+01:002013-02-11T15:42:12.612+01:00{the simple things} Paperwhites. Cause I really can't see that snow anymore.What a winter. Rainy and warm before Christmas, and as soon as the new year is there it starts snowing. And snowing. Then it thaws again. And, next thing you know, it snows again.<br />
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Can you tell I am a little tired of it? I don't even feel like going out and taking pictures of it. I just want no more snow this winter. I am tired of driving through it to work, tired of being cold and tired of having to dress the boys in countless layers before going out to the brand-new playground right behind our house (more on that some other day, as apparently I was also too cold to take decent photos of it).<br />
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Last month I did <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-january-cure-182076" target="_blank">Apartment Therapy's January Cure</a>, and one of my favorite parts of this and any AT Cure is always the fresh flowers task. Every week, you go out and buy some fresh flowers for your home. I should really keep this up, because even if I didn't deep clean every last kitchen cabinet (I did clean out the worst offenders though), this really brightens up my home and makes me smile.<br />
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The simple things, right?<br />
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So, here's to a pot of paperwhites, bought sometime in January and now brightening snowy February days on my kitchen windowsill.<br />
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You see that green no-idea-what-it-is-called plant behind the flowers? That's actually a leftover from the same Cure assignment over a year ago.</div>
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We also have the house filled with lovely potted blue muscari that were part of decorations for a party. So there you go, Winter, even if you insist on dumping even more snow outside, in here it's Spring!</div>
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<a href="http://www.simpleasthatblog.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/rebeccaanncooper/sts_button_final-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Cheers,</div>
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Swenja</div>
<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-63906739705328543252013-01-27T10:16:00.001+01:002013-01-27T10:16:51.957+01:00{the simple things} snowWe got so much snow over the last two weeks! Driving to work in the morning has not been fun, but the kids sure did enjoy all that winter weather. Especially snowball fights with daddy.<br />
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I got hardly any snow photos though. When the kids went outside with daddy, I was going to go run some errands and do some much needed grocery shopping. Then I looked at them, turned off the car and went inside to grab my camera for some snow photos before I left. This is what I got:<br />
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Big brother preparing for his next attack. As you can tell from his hat, he's already taken a few hits.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEE7UPqjfHeOYEpvfArQ4vH7EkSJRxn-hps_dzttTYKv6-VdHiiZRwtYZW9kpk_9TMAP0KXOhQEQKmTjzNJlMJ5mI_Ky9x4cwWpG45MikhOELO37RdN03cmx4myUJT9juan47IeO8Xp1T4/s1600/2013-01-14+-+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEE7UPqjfHeOYEpvfArQ4vH7EkSJRxn-hps_dzttTYKv6-VdHiiZRwtYZW9kpk_9TMAP0KXOhQEQKmTjzNJlMJ5mI_Ky9x4cwWpG45MikhOELO37RdN03cmx4myUJT9juan47IeO8Xp1T4/s640/2013-01-14+-+36.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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And there comes daddy's revenge...<br />
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The brothers teaming up and plotting for their next turn. Little brother prefers to give strategic advice only, not getting in on the actual snowball action much.<br />
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It's a shame I didn't get more photos of all that winter fun, and none at all of the winter landscape. Too busy working, and when not working too busy trying to catch up and snuggle on the couch - with a blanket and some hot tea. Brrrrr. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Happy Sunday!</span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;">Swenja</span>hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-32400011631480509312013-01-20T09:48:00.000+01:002013-01-20T09:48:00.710+01:00{the simple things} tea partyPart of our activity <a href="http://www.hennymats.blogspot.de/2013/01/still-here-and-holiday-recap.html" target="_blank">Advent calendar</a> was a tea party. I found this tin tea set that was not too girly for the boys, which I knew they could also use in their kitchen. I included some tea and anise cookies, and we had our tea party. Amazingly, the brothers, who are usually just one loud blur running past me and racing around the dining room table, actually sat down and had a very nice, cultivated and quiet tea for half an hour or so. After that, it was back to chasing each other around the house, screaming. Of course.<br />
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Apparently I was not the only one documenting the simple things...<br />
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Joining Rebecca's simple things Sunday again and hoping to get back into the habit!<br />
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<a href="http://www.simpleasthatblog.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/rebeccaanncooper/sts_button_final-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Swenja<br />
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<br />hennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289668257576785217.post-5711204904015262162013-01-19T21:39:00.000+01:002013-01-19T21:39:06.124+01:00Still here... and a holiday recapYes, it's me. Still here. Still too busy by day and too tired by night. Still trying to get too many things done at once.<br />
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Right now it's a demanding job, Apartment Therapy's January Cure (and while I enjoy that I have to say that no, I did not manage to deep clean and organize my entire kitchen in <i>one</i> weekend, not even close to that), family things going on, big brother learning to play the guitar, little brother learning to swim and a party planned for February. Among other things.<br />
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But really, if I wait for a better time to blog again, I might never get around to it.<br />
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So here's just a brief hello and a little recap of our holidays, before the first month of the new year is over...<br />
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Luckily, I started early, and made a plan. Otherwise I would have never managed to make so many gifts. I did eventually give up taking photos of all the pretty little things and wrapped gifts, but I did manage to give something handmade to everyone on my list.<br />
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Such as these simple little barrettes, covered in fabric scraps. One of the easiest things and so much fun.<br />
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For coworkers, I covered the buttons in more grown-up fabrics and glued them on oversized paperclips instead.<br />
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We also did out tradition Advent calendar, and this year I included quite a few activities, such as reading Christmas books, baking, making Christmas cards or, in this case, having a tea party - complete with a tin teacup, a bag of winter tea and some anise cookies.<br />
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The complete calendar just before being wrapped up. I always forget that doing 48 packages <i>is</i> more work than 24, even if's mostly the same things.<br />
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The kids also made a lot of Christmas gifts. This year their main gift to their friends and grandparents was using porcelain markers on mugs. Ikea sells these miniature sized white mugs that were perfect for their friends, and we did larger ones for the grandparents. That is a cat on the mug, in case you didn't notice...<br />
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We didn't get more than two types of cookies done this year, but we did make a double batch of the dog biscuits to give a way to our four-legged friends. I bought some lined kraft paper bags and used the stamp from <a href="http://hennymats.blogspot.de/2012/02/preparing-little-brothers-doggie-party.html" target="_blank">little brother's dog party last year</a> to make labels that we attached with red and white bakers twine. One of those things where a good blogger would have gotten a nice picture of. Oh well.<br />
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Of course I also sewed part of my Christmas gifts, like this soft cloud pillow, made from fleece blankets. And yes, that is a 7, and not a 9. For some reason German seem to prefer cloud 7 to cloud 9. Go figure!<br />
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My favorite sewing helper. Especially when he's sleeping right on the fabric I want to cut...<br />
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Then it was time to pick out our tree...<br />
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... and trim it. Little brother insisted on hanging four ornaments on one branch.<br />
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For the first time since big brother was crawling, we also pulled out the wooden pyramid that my dad built some 30 years ago. It works with votive candles and the boys were pretty good with it, so we might just make this a tradition again.<br />
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Finally, Christmas Eve - presents! We didn't get much this year, the boys got books, little brother got the guitar and camera (kiddie camera) from his wish list, and big brother did get his one big wish, his very own laptop. We got a used one and he uses it to run the same software they have at school. Not really getting any more real toys this year, meaning no games, Lego, Playmobil, cars and such was also a nice break, because really, they have enough of that already. With all the handmade things and sibling gifts, the packages still added up and there were more than enough things for everyone to open.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5wb-GLGKCuHkjpzzFWwYhpbw_5J0fxxJTUxychdHbm5oODuZZEEW65LxPTddN0CDB2cbhms8YBAB35drYc0sfAtI1lxCUCzJkSj7QfAVAaC-GGtxU0C2eOPW0Bzqk6YKP0rRCVS7vjxh/s1600/IMG_1478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5wb-GLGKCuHkjpzzFWwYhpbw_5J0fxxJTUxychdHbm5oODuZZEEW65LxPTddN0CDB2cbhms8YBAB35drYc0sfAtI1lxCUCzJkSj7QfAVAaC-GGtxU0C2eOPW0Bzqk6YKP0rRCVS7vjxh/s1600/IMG_1478.jpg" /></a></div>
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New Year's we had neighbors over with their kids, which was nice. The boys had fun decorating for the party with lots of silvery and glittery things.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH52x4S9p_pFL2G550aNpW9PJm2-t0k35tr9rgQ1ESh2MtvaKZuTISqFqb5M0jv1mQnxE7n2S0rqs32vMunLmOayHOTjRz4CbBmK9SmOvDskRdIp25YGGw5fJ_vOtPAMSKBUuNKL3EAEuk/s1600/2012-12-31+-+08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH52x4S9p_pFL2G550aNpW9PJm2-t0k35tr9rgQ1ESh2MtvaKZuTISqFqb5M0jv1mQnxE7n2S0rqs32vMunLmOayHOTjRz4CbBmK9SmOvDskRdIp25YGGw5fJ_vOtPAMSKBUuNKL3EAEuk/s1600/2012-12-31+-+08.jpg" /></a></div>
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So here's to a happy new year!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fJkWTOvmv8020v6sQYium-WCg10l67EOu9kEU6bEqfb4emU_HC1UPS4Iu8Ybk2dhQyFUTTlGGHG6IMgimt5f8uqAcYpxOMF_dryZ8GGnAGwT7iu_60ARtWOaP0r1X2fLzQbDQweVCa_f/s1600/2012-12-31+-+48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fJkWTOvmv8020v6sQYium-WCg10l67EOu9kEU6bEqfb4emU_HC1UPS4Iu8Ybk2dhQyFUTTlGGHG6IMgimt5f8uqAcYpxOMF_dryZ8GGnAGwT7iu_60ARtWOaP0r1X2fLzQbDQweVCa_f/s1600/2012-12-31+-+48.jpg" /></a></div>
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Now it's back to working, enjoying the simple things (and the snow we're having more than enough of) as well as organizing and cleaning up the house before the weather gets nice again and we'll spend more time outside.<br />
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What have you been up to?<br />
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Swenjahennymatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826592924373076850noreply@blogger.com1