These are a few of their favorite things...

because I have nothing better to post about. I also realize that this may not be a popular post b/c it may urge some to spend money and well with this economy I know that more frugal posts are necessary. Like free ideas, crafts, patterns and the like. But I'm all our of ideas although I do have 2 sewing projects started so I will share those soon :)

The kids are BOTH really into Playmobile. We have started collecting them, and collecting is the right terminology. I still have sticker shock every time I pay for one ;) These are our newest members... I love how well they share them and play together (it's funny secretly listening tto them), the only downfall is the teeny tiny pieces.




Something else we stumbled upon is The Little Book of...Make Your Own Stories. Bella loves these little books b/c she is constantly writing and illustrating her own stories.


I also love the Rosie Flo's coloring books. They are also make Johnny Joe for boys. Check out her website!



Finally, everyone needs a copy of this book for Spring!



I hope everyone has a great Tuesday evening :) I plan on getting our sleepy little monkeys to bed early and watching the Biggest Loser with one of my favorite people. We usually top off the evening with dessert. Guess we won't be the biggest losers :0 I think I may finish our garden plans. Looks like the Weiss clan may have a head start on their seeds. No seed starting for us, no transplants. I'm getting a little nervous now ;) It turns out I should be gardening this weekend, but I have a photo session scheduled for Friday evening and Saturday! Will our garden ever come to be? I also am on the hunt for vermiculite! Ok, so I'm off to call Ted and Debbie's and lots of other nurseries in a hunt for the goods! Peace ;)

Where the Wild Things Are

By far one of the best books EVER. My SIL Celeste and I went to the opera a few weeks ago and saw Hansel and Gretel. Maurice Sendak designed all the props and it felt like we were in one of his books! Unfortunately, this movie may not honor him what so ever. This is leaked footage so I'm not sure if this movie is actually coming out, but if it does, I hope it does not disappoint...

Spring has not sprung!

I have always had faith in the weatherman. Why? I don't know. When everyone else says "yeah, yeah...sure it's going to snow or rain, etc...", I say "yeah...it will...Travis Meyer's says that it will!". Well, supposedly last month we were supposed to have a really bad ice storm, like the one last year. We went out and bought a generator, went shopping, the works. It didn't happen. So, I lost a little faith in the weather man. I put away the snow gear and put my spring hat on and equipped myself for beautiful spring weather. What happens? It SNOWS! I am not a big fan of the snow. It's cold, wet and well COLD! I usually pray for one good snow a year and that's usually what we get. Apparently, winter is not over in OK b/c it snowed this morning and is still snowing and it's DEEP. I wasn't too thrilled, mainly b/c I wasn't prepared (and remember snow IS cold), but that all changed when I saw the looks on Flossy and Ro's faces this morning. So, off I went trudging through our mess of a storage to find "the tub" off winter duds. So, we bundled up and out we forged. It was a blast! Fiona hopping through the snow like a rabbit, catching snowballs in he air and eating them was one of the highlight's for the day. Topping the day was our family snowman and snow forge that we built. Then we went inside for a cup of hot cocoa, then grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. What a day :) Maybe we should move back to Chicago :) NOT!!!!

Sixteen, Smoothies and Light

Not much has been going on except for long days watching the rain and being cooped up. Tomorrow will be no different. Looks like building the boxes for our garden will have to wait again.

Monday we are starting the green smoothie challenge so I may need to blender shop tomorrow for something a little more powerful than our whimpy blender. I refuse to buy the $400 Vitamix though, at least until I know I will stick with it (who am I kidding...I probably won't). I would at least like an "E" for effort ;)



My little sister Audrey will be 16 in a few days which is shocking to me to say the least. Does time really speed up that much as you get old(er)? Sarah will be a Senior in HS and my little bubby is 13 (he's such a little man in the making, the girls are already gaga over him)! I'm thinking with driving abilities I may not see Auggie as much although she has promised to teach me how to play the guitar.



We had a little sunshine Wednesday so I was able to take some natural light shots of the kids. We had fun :)



My Professor


Future Photographer


Bella's New Kicks


My boy...not daddy's boy ;)


They made beautiful cupcakes

We are here to be happy...

Tara posted this on her blog and I just had to post it here because it is so lovely :) ENJOY!

Bubble Prints & Cheese Sandwiches

Judo is fast asleep in slumbering bliss and Bella is in Barbie Land. I managed to make myself a cheese sandwich for lunch. Yes, you heard me correct...a cheese sandwich. It was smothered in Miracle Whip and American cheese. The only thing missing was white bread which I can't remember the last time I actually had white sandwich bread, Rainbow Bread that is. Anyways, it was good :) When I was in kindergarten I used to eat miracle whip sandwiches. It consisted of 2 slices of Rainbow Bread and probably 6 tbs of Miracle Whip! That reminds me of something. When we used to go to Tristan's Mum and Dad's we would get hungry. So his mum's response was "We have mayo, cheese, turkey, lettuce, tomato, etc....". In other words, she could have just said we have sandwiches. But the long list made her fridge sound so much fuller and appetizing. We all joke about this still ;)

After home school and before lunch today we decided to make bubble prints. This is how it went (reminds me of bubble tea):









Enjoy the rest of Tuesday! The kiddos are up and we're off to the park!

Zoo Fun.

So I woke up yesterday morning and much to my dismay it looked very cloudy. This was supposed to be a fun day and so I quickly started brainstorming. Then the rain started. I sent a text to my friend Sunnie stating that we would not be able to go to the zoo. Well long story short, the rain stopped and the sun started peeking out from behind the clouds. We bundled up, packed up and loaded up to brave the zoo. I anticipated school bus after school bus and huge crowds, but was surprised when we arrived. Don't get me wrong, it was a little crowded, but not bad for spring break. I of course was under dressed in a short sleeve shirt with no jacket, but eventually it warmed up and the kids ended up shedding layers. We had so much fun! I usually dread the zoo, but have to admit the last few times we've been have been a blast. The kids ended up playing on the playground for a long time which they needed too :)







Today we were supposed to garden, but instead I am grocery shopping and buying garden supplies. Does anyone know where you can buy Vermiculite? I'm a little worried b/c our lettuce and carrots need to be in the ground now and we have a long way to go before we're ready to plant. I am excited about our window estimate today though! I also got a call from my granny and she plans on staying with us in April for a whole month! You know what that means...good home cooking...a babysitter...a storyteller...a laundry doer...and a summer clothes maker ;)

This makes me happy :)

I have always wanted a big book shelf in my house like this one...

Toothless Grin.

And I love it! It finally happened Saturday at my grandma's house. Interestingly enough, she walked for the first time at her house as well. Mamaw was pretty proud of that fact. And now, Bella has tooth #2 loose.




Friday night our best friends, Kim & James, drove to Fayetteville (where we were) and convinced us to go to a show with them. We saw these guys and they were good, real good. Listen to Auditorium or Revolver...awesome!

So, I'm sick and all I wanted today was a bowl of chicken noodle soup, not Campbell's, but good old fashioned homemade soup, ya know, the kind with Ream's Noodles. I didn't make it to the store though so I settled for some tomato soup. I have found the best already made convenience tomato soup on the market.



I really should have gone to Whole Foods today, but didn't b/c the crud has made me feel pretty bad. Today was the day however, to pick up our order from the Coop


Coop Order:

Homemade organic biscuit mix
Six Herb organic bread mix
3 dozen organic eggs (fresh eggs keep for 1 month in the fridge)
4 pounds organic beef

I don't buy the whole chickens b/c well, that just grosses me out. I also don't usually buy produce b/c the coop is a once a month thing. I just buy all my produce from Whole Foods. I'm hoping we'll have lots of veggies from our garden this year and I won't have to buy any.

Nervous Tick Motion...

I just wanted to post this video of Andrew Bird. The photography on his site is amazing. We were so fortunate to go to his show Tuesday night at the Cain's with our friends Jeremy, Lacy and Eric. Oh, and my sisters came and Audrey ended up hanging out with us old fogies all night. Pretty cool if you ask me ;) Of course her friends weren't there :) I can honestly say that it was the best concert I have EVER been to. He is truly an amazing performer and so original. The crowd however was a little too tame for me :) After all, music=dance and no one, I mean no one was dancing. I tried to politely squeeze through the crowd to get a glimpse of the talent and was scoffed at. Audrey and I quickly made our way to the back, but that's OK ;) Sarah got some great photos and video but I don't have them yet to post.

My not so babies...

My not so babies...
Originally uploaded by judochopbella

We visited our friends Jess and Josie over at Fizzy Art Photography the other day...her studio is amazing inside and out! She took some great shots of Bella and Jude too!

I miss these days...

when jude was a wee bebe being pushed in the shopping cart with his bag o cheerios and bella being her cute little self...

We Made Buttons

Yep...you heard me! The kind you eat, ya know the chocolate ones:) What? You mean you have never had a chocolate button? Well...you are missing out! It took Bella and I the better part of the afternoon to make these little beauties, but they were well worth it :) Our goal was to make enough for friends/family, but after one batch we thought we better stick to cookies :) We're looking forward to more candy baking adventures soon so stay tuned ;)