New Haske Home Videos

Here are three of our newer creations in case you have not seen them yet. They involve trips to Greece, a nearby town in Bulgaria and Belgrade. Enjoy!

And So It Begins...

I am tired of being a "clutter person," who's piles keep growing taller. I am tired of always searching frantically for the things I need because I don't give them a clear home. I am tired and need a change. So I did what I usually do, I turned to a book for help. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo has truly been life-changing. I have just started this process, but can tell you that her advice gives you a completely different perspective on the stuff that surrounds you. If you are like me and want to free up some space in both your home and you mind, give it a read. 

Unfortunately, I did not take before pictures, but wish I would have. Amelia and Bryce's dressers have been an ongoing battle of me: folding, stacking and pulling out and tumbling. One simple thing is to fold in a different way, so the clothes stand up, and don't fall over when things are taken out. You can see everything, so there is no need to fumble through it, and you fit so much in one place. It even works in a suitcase. To learn how to fold this way, watch this video. It has even made folding more enjoyable, which I never thought I would say. 

I am slowly working through my clothes as decluttering is the first stage and it is not a process to be rushed. I will report back with progress of how it is going. 

Amelia's clothing drawer - what an improvement!

What do you want to wear today Bryce? 

Art Attack

Amelia love, love, loves to do art. This weekend after watching a segment of Art Attack on Disney Jr, she wanted to make Rapunzel's tower. So that is what we did...

Well done Amelia! What a fun project to create! 

Beet Burgers

Tonight we had beet burgers for dinner. This was inspired by something that was served at school recently. I don't have an exact recipe as I just eyeballed it, but here are the basic ingredients...

1 jar/can of chickpeas

shredded beets (I used a whole bag)

feta cheese

1 egg

olive oil

roll in bread crumbs (optional)

Top with natural, plain yogurt.

I highly recommend giving this easy recipe a try!

Where's Bryce?

Little Climbers

Just when we thought our weekend couldn't get any better, we discovered Kokolandia. Well, actually friends invited us to join them there, but still it was a new discovery for us. Kokolandia is a ropes course in a wooded area, located in one of Sofia's many parks. They have everything from a basic beginner course, or "baby corner" to the high ropes course. Amelia was very excited because she climbed once before at a birthday party event, but it was indoors. This was Bryce's first time in a harness.

Bryce was very nervous at first, but once he realized that he could trust his harness everything changed.

Go Bryce! 

Amelia getting the hang of things.

Funny face! Bryce likes to be silly - it's in his genes:)

Walking the planks

Can I go on the high one next?

Post park relaxing. The sunshine was just too inviting for these two. Bryce looks asleep, but don't be fooled!

Backlog: Signs of Spring Bike Ride

Last weekend we spent a morning in the park, enjoying the signs of Spring. It was still a bit chilly, but the sun was shining and we were so happy to be outside.

Yuzhen Park in Sofia...one of our favorites.

The flower beds were in full bloom.

I love the contrast between the hat and mittens and the flower beds.

Martenitsas are exchanged on the first of March. They are worn until significant signs of Spring are seen and then placed on a blooming branch or under a rock.   

Slide train!

Again?

Our First Official Spring Hike

Buds on trees, crisp air being warmed by radiant sunshine...how did I not have a real appreciation for Spring before? I am in awe of all of the tree blossoms, flowers peeking through the grass, frogs laying eggs in ponds....the list goes on and on. Today we headed up the mountain to check out a new spot that we saw on a recent drive. 

We were stunned by the beauty and the kids, of course, were drawn to the pond. 

We hiked up a hill and picnicked in a field. 

You can't see it here, but in the distance are snowcapped mountains.

We played around a bit...Bryce is still all about airplanes!

And then we hopped into the car and headed to one of our favorite trails to spend some time next to a stream. 

Bulgaria is so good for our souls. We are so grateful to be living in such a natural paradise.

Happy Easter

Our first Easter in Bulgaria is in the books, but our first Bulgarian Easter is yet to come. What I mean by that is that the Bulgarian observance of Easter will come at the end of April because they follow the Eastern Orthodox calendar. Either way, we enjoyed our yearly tradition of dying eggs and having a surprise hunt to wake up to. The kids found their eggs so quickly that we couldn't even capture photos! Here are some photos of our two little creative kids coloring their eggs...

"Mine is going to be a rainbow egg."

Blue of course...don't you just love his concentration!

Dots and swirls...love this girl!

Arranging her masterpieces

Creativity takes time

Ta da! And now Daddy has snacks for the next week:)