Holidays are coming!

I've joined my first exchange! I am very excited actually and have been racking my brain trying to think of things that we do every year "Tradition-wise". I think I've got it figured out ( I'm not going to give it away just yet....)



The Holidays are coming fast and I need to work on my project list. My goal: Keep It Simple. This year I'm on a pretty strict budget with the kiddos and I want to do as much homemade gifts as possible. Christmas can be so overwhelming I need to keep the Reason for the Season in focus. I have plenty of inspiration lined up now its a matter of getting it done!

Happy Birthday Matt!

Happy 30th my dear! Hope your day was good! We Celebrated with a lovely supper out with our parents and children and then rounded off the evening with Cake. Matt requested Harvey Wallbanger cake which turned out yummy and his mom made his favorite chocolate no-egg crazy cake with white fudge frosting.

We will definitely have to try the Wallbanger recipe again.

Happy Birthday to...

ME!

I'm a little caked out so I requested birthday pie- Matt got me Birthday Brownie with ice cream instead (needed 24 hour notice to order pie) Hmmm. Chocolate is good too.

Happy Birthday Miles!

Miles turned eight years old yesterday! He got to take treats to his class and then we got to celebrate, play Uno Attack, and eat yummy cake again! Hard to believe he's eight already!

Check out this awesome cake Grandma Margie made!

It was chocolate cupcakes laid out like an alligator!

WIP.....

My cleaning goals may have to be suspended because we're going to be expanding our dining area! Matt has been very busy tearing things apart in order to figure out how much work he has to redo!

The Plan: Remove windows that look into enclosed front porch, header the opening, remove door leading from porch into living room, open wall and add header then add built-in counter/storage with see-through cabinets above. This will be so nice when its done!

Spring Cleaning Party

I'm going to be Spring Cleaning along with Simple Mom or at least try! Mom and I are going to have a garage sale at the end of May and so I am trying to purge and de-clutter my little world and try to make it a little cleaner as well! Maybe get those cobwebs off the ceiling fans? Yeah, that would be nice!

Easter 2009 Round-up!

Happy Easter 2009 from the Harju Family!

HE IS RISEN!

OK! The sugar has worn off and Easter is now over but I did get some of my projects done which turned out fairly good. First, this year I wanted to try tie-dyeing eggs. Miles wasn't too impressed actually with the whole process, I think he really likes the whole messy dip and dye the eggs thing so maybe we'll do a few that way again next year. I actually bought this kit from The June Bride on Etsy which saved me from scrounging the thrift store for silk ties. This turned out to be fairly easy and I decided to blow out the eggs since we weren't going to be eating them. Matt helped me with blowing them out and he and Miles' helped to wrap them. I weighted the wrapped eggs down with a Pyrex glass casserole lid and I also used a

stainless steel pot since I didn't have a glass or enamel one. I do think next time around I will get the silk wet before wrapping the eggs to see if that would help make the silk tighter. I also finished making the cashmere bunnies for Max and Vivian. Vivian was so funny because she found the one I was making for Max and then wanted to know where hers was! I completely lucked out when I went hunting for a pink cashmere sweater at our local DAC thrift store because I really didn't expect to find one. This was my first attempt at a soft toy and they weren't quite the Betz White perfection but it was

fun and I'd definitely try it again.

I was going to hang these with ribbon but didn't have a spot for them, so my Mikasa bowl got to be the happy container instead!

The bunnies turned out cute if not perfect!

Happy Birthday Vivian!

Vivian turned the Big Two on Saturday, the 11th and got to celebrate and eat yummy cake made by Grandma Margie. I had to go back and look at her First Birthday pics - Wow she has grown so much!

Vivian's First Birthday April 2008

The Birthday Princess 2009!

Super Yummy Cake made with love by Grandma Margie!

Vivian got a new bike! It really wasn't that cold out but she insisted on putting on her snowsuit!

SHHH work in progress...

SHHH don't tell! I'm working on my big list of projects!

pictures

One of my biggest obstacles with this blog is feeling like I have to have pictures to tell my story. I visit other blogs nearly every day that have amazing pictures. So I try to take more pictures but then they stay in the camera until I download them! I've been contemplating a flikr or photobucket account so I can organize and access my pictures from anywhere which would be nice. I guess I can only work at it!

What's My Personality?

I love to find random quizzes - they can be so interesting...

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are a creative person with a great imagination. You enjoy living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close to you. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's Your Personality Type?

Cookie Monday

On Monday, Vivian and I made cookies. OK, I made them and Vivian ate the cinnamon chips and raisins - someone has to sample these things. They ended up being yummy and were consumed very fast.

Resolutions??

Now, most people set their resolutions at the beginning of a New Year and here it is the end of January so what gives?! Actually, I despise the whole setting of resolutions at the beginning of a new year, why set myself up for failure right off the bat? And who can really think after the whirlwind of Christmas? But by the end of the month when I have had time to ponder what this year may bring and what I would like to accomplish then I can set some goals for myself. I like the term goals rather than resolutions anyway, it gives me something to strive for. So here it is, in no particular order-

My Goals For 2009

• Work on my Blog


• Spend Quality Time with my Children


• Learn how to knit or crochet or both


• Organize my Storage/ Crafting / Sale Stuff Area


• Become a better menu planner, aka - plan ahead


• Simplify