Lions and Tigers and Bears! OH MY!

We are a very spontaneous family. And this morning despite the dreary weather, we really wanted to do something fun. So on a whim we packed some food, diapers and extra clothes and packed the girls into the Jeep and drove to DC to the National Zoo. Very spontaneous. Very fun indeed! We saw Lions: And a Tiger and his beloved ball:

And bears and flamingos:The National Zoo has an awesome new Asia trail with my all-time favorite red pandas. So cute. They NEED me to cuddle them. lol. And they had the most adorable asian Otters too. But can you guess what Anastasia's favorite part was? The frogs! We drive all the way to the zoo and see all the exotic animals and she loves the frogs, which we have in abundance in our own back yard. I do absolutely love that she loves frogs because when I was a kid I too loved frogs. I was obsessed with them. My mom made me froggy clothes, I had atleast a hundred frog knick-knacks, and I had pet frogs from time to time. Yes they are awesome. And this new love for the slimey green creatures that are currently singing deafeningly, loudly in the trees right now, is proof that she actually got some of my genes. I am so proud.

And just for kicks, I thought this picture of George Washington's Bathtub from our trip to Berekly Springs was really fun:

On another note, it has been a good, busy week. I scored both of the girl's a new wardrobe at a consignment sale for less than $50 the other day. That included brand-new stride rite shoes for Anastasia. Yesterday I spent the morning gardening which I loved more than I ever thought I would. It is nice because Anastasia enjoys hunting for worms as I dig in the dirt. And Isabel is just happy to ride around on my back, or watch nature from her carseat. So it is a good family activity that helps me feel productive with 2 small children. That doesn't happen very often! Happy weekend everybody!

I am making a private Shutterfly page for family and friends. So if you want access to ALL our photos, and/or the ability to download and develop them... please shoot me an email at marmalejo@gmail.com . Thanks :)

Busy as Bees making Honey.

That would be us... busy bee bliss. The first days of Spring provide us with dozens of adventures to be had. Nick tells of our adventure yesterday (giving us all a break from his newest hobby) and our trip to Berkely Springs. We enjoyed being enveloped in the "wild and wonderful" terrain that is the very heart and soul of West Virginia. The highlight for me was definately finding a mountain spring, 20 minutes from our house! I will definately be saving jugs and making random trips there for water rather than spending money at the store.

Last Thursday it rained, and I needed out of the house. So I found Books-A-Million (which I used to like significantly less than Borders or B&N) to be a fun date with the girls. I like that they have a train set for Anastasia to play with, and the kids section is really close to the craft magazine section. So Anastasia played while Isabel sat in a comfy chair and I read some magazines. That is where I discovered a really sweet magazine called "Living Crafts" with very waldorfy, natural crafts. Anyhow, they had an article about growing Easter grass that you can find here. So you can guess what we will be doing this week! I also like the following centerpiece from Martha Stewart:Decorating for Spring is so cheery! I can't wait for Easter! And this week's color is blue... so we painted with blue watercolors... and I think I have a few tricks up my sleeve!

Binge Sewing.

I finished the Easter dresses and am so excited I can't wait until Easter to share!

I used Wendy Slothboom's Feathered Friends fabric and the Portobello Pixie "Claire" pattern! How perfect of a name (except for the spelling typo), for the perfectly fairy tale dresses! AH! I can't stop squealing in delight! Even Bitty Baby got a matching one even though it isn't pictured! And, these pictures truely don't do the flowy, maiden cuteness of these dresses justice. As if my kids couldn't get ANY CUTER!!!

I heart Green.

Its been very green around here this week! I have decided to do a color each week to try and teach Anastasia colors that aren't red. So this week seemed the appropriate week to start with St. Paddy's day and all. We made the above egg carton caterpillars, which were recycling at the same time so they are green squared!! And they eat newspaper shamrocks...mmmmm. Anastasia enjoyed painting everything green! Even her hair! I had people asked me if I dyed her hair green while I was out. Yeah. right. Someone today asked why Isabel was dressed like a boy... um, she had flowers on her blue coat... she just likes blue. People are so weird sometimes. lol.
Green-dyred rice and split peas for playing in. Warning: only use if you want to sweep the floor We also watched green inspired movies on YouTube. I go in and out of Youtube phases. I am totally in one (hence my previous post) and I learned how to put them on my blog. How exciting! Isabel even got in on the action and wore green while doing the morning crossword. lol. And lastly my green froggy sugar bowl:



And even my green peas are coming up!

Wearin' of the Green

Top of the afternoon to ya... Happy Saint Patrick's Day! If you aren't wearing green, consider yourself pinched! I have some fun gifts courtesy of Youtube for all you wonderful blog readers! Here is a silly St. Patrick's Day movie for little kids from Big Idea (the maker of Veggie Tales). Anastasia loved it though it was a little goofy:



And another great old cartoon of Irish-spirit note:



Meanwhile the corned beef is in the oven... mmmm.... Strange how much I love the stuff and only make it once a year. We watched the above movies this morning, made green caterpillars out of egg cartons that we painted green, listened to some Irish music, and now my two little leprechauns are fast asleep. Time to cut out some fabric pieces! Hope you have a great and corned-beefy, green and snake-free-y, happy, river-dance jiggy St. Patricks Day!

Whats in your basket?

I have already done a good deal of my Easter shopping for the girls. For some reason, I like filling Easter baskets and stockings more than buying the bigger gifts for Christmas and birthdays. Thus far I have purchased some Crayon Rocks and some finger puppets from Let's Explore. I have been eyeing the crayon rocks for some time now, and think that Anastasia is old enough to enjoy them. I think I will pair them with a sketch book and possibly a nature inspired coloring book. I also ordered a cute knitted bunny from Green Mountain Wee Woolies Etsy Shop for Anastasia, but it looks like a nice item for Isabel instead in person. I would post pictures of some of the cuteness, but I don't want A-Bomb to see.

Yes her name is A-Bomb today because she explodes into rage at any moment if she doesn't get her way. I got Anastasia a cute bunny last year so I figured I would outfit him with a new ribbon rather than buy a whole new bunny. I am going to try and find a pretty soft white rabbit for Isabel's basket. I was also considering sewing up some Purl Bunnies. And for Isabel I want to add some bells, beans and rice to a few eggs and glue them shut for some fun shakers. I might get some flower seeds and little pots. I am thinking of getting some plastic animals along with the stickers and candy I have for filling Easter Eggs for a fun Egg Hunt.

Yes maybe I am a little ahead of the game, but I am usually so last minute in reality that I am lucky I get anything done on time. (I seriously wrapped Christmas gifts on Christmas morning! Santa came AFTER breakfast lol.) I still have to make Easter dresses! So I want to know, what is in your Easter baskets?