{The season has begun.}
About a week ago, the husband started getting the soil ready for planting. He read up on the new veggies he was going to plant. Thought about our little vegetarian we are feeding currently - the baby and has begun the process of providing loads of organics for our family.
Carrots, potatoes, beets, onions, and more and of course PEAS. My girls never even let me cook them...the sugar snaps get eaten raw mostly. A lot of times, we pack them as a snack to take to the pool with us - they are great but I like them best when the gardner steams them and then slathers them in butter. Wow...heaven!
I love that our girls know where their food comes from. The gardener is also a hunter and grilled out deer tenderloin the other night. The twins were panting waiting for that to come off the grill and loved that they were eating something that Daddy brought home. As he said, it doesn't get more organic than that and I suppose he is right. Our freezer is full from his deer hunts this fall and we are thankful for that.
But I love this time of year. It starts to get warm.
Each warm day when you get to open the windows for a bit - don't you feel like you are in a laundry commercial or something? You just take a deep breath and listen to the kids running around playing. I love it. Soon it will be full on migration and if you are birder you know what I'm talking about. Warblers! I can sit in my own backyard and see tons of warblers drop down in our trees on their journey.
This year, I will definately be out more with the baby. Some of my old birding friends are not able to get out and walk like they used to but maybe we can at least do a trip up to Magee Marsh.
What's that? OK...again, if you bird, you know, this place has a little amazing boardwalk on the shoreline of the lake where ALL the birds drop before making the trip on across. You can see EVERYTHING within arms reach. Amazing colors, variety, and close views. If you are looking for something fun to do this Spring, this is it! Truly, they are always tons of families there and really, we don't even need binoculars because everything is right there. Check out their website - you'll find out they have different fun events all Spring long. What a great way to introduce your kids to some fun science concepts like migration. You will NOT be disappointed by this place but beware...when it hits peak migration - the place is as packed as Disney World and there are people there from all over the US just to watch the birds. It's pretty darn cool.
And with Spring, comes lots of new babies. Which by the way - has anyone else noticed all the new babies around?! Wow! If I were just to go by my sales lately - I'd say last summer when gas prices were so high - there were a whole lot of people spending time at home and well, as a result, gas hike baby boom!
Bibs, bibs, bibs! One of the teachers at my girls school asked about buying some bibs and I want to thank her for buying a few. A few other teachers bought some things too which was fun to work with them on some designs for school bags and the like. So - I have some new bibs in stock that I hope you might like as well. I'll have them loaded on etsy soon or you can email me if you are interested. Just $12 each, fully reversible bib with a snap neck. Can't beat the cuteness of it! Here's a peek a at one of them...
And since the garden has been planted, I've been thinking about all the creatures that visit our garden. So, some new patterns coming along are "garden critters" that your girls and especially your boys will love! My girls have already put dibs out on the design samples. Trust me, super cute, super easy to sew!
I can't wait to get these patterns all out. Super easy patterns for beginner sewers. Purses, kids stuff - you'll love them. All projects you can complete in under 3 hours. Don't sew? START! Just get a machine - and start by making something really simple to learn how to use your machine. You will love being able to handcraft gifts and make things for your family and I promise you, EVERYONE CAN SEW. Really! You can!
A sunny Spring day just makes me happy and want to give things away! So send me your comments or email me. We will randomly choose one and send you a NEW BAG for Spring! A hipster in a great fresh Spring home dec fabric by Amy Butler. Isn't this pretty?! 
We will take comments up to the end of March and send out your new bag the first week in April. I love giveaways!
So get outside, go enjoy the birds, the flowers beginning to come up and take a hike!
:>) xo Trish
Aprons are the hit lately...here's some more on their way to Morroco (is that how you spell it) to 
jibber jabber.
I could not resist a photo of the sun hitting the ice. Isn't this amazing? Be thankful for the little things God gives us. Simple pleasures.
iends love it and have been inspired to clean out their own closets for their very own american girl closet bedroom. (See my last post) If your little one has been so inspired - LET US KNOW! I have a pretty little accessory bag for the super Mom who sends us a comment and photo of your special american girl closet room. I'll let the "Two Peas" pick their fav and we'll mail you out this sweet little bag.
A mix of pinks and browns. Yum-o!
diaper wipes wristlet,
and changing pad.
Let’s begin. I have a special place in my heart for Big Macs, Big and Tasty’s…burgers and fries in general. And of course, Coca Cola. Fountain. I can do canned drinks but will drive out of my way to get a fountain drink. So, baby(s) #1 and #2, the twins. I gained 36# while pregnant with them. A week after they arrived, I had lost 31#. I thought, THIS is great! Baby #3, the singleton, I gained a “gulp”, 45ish#. Whateva. A week after she arrived I had lost…10#. And gradually I lost 3# here, 2# there…really slow. Mind you, I didn’t lift a finger to exercise. Not watching what I eat so I was content to think that eventually, when I was through this baby stage, I’d get back to my mountain biking and hiking regime. At 16# over prepregnancy weight – I stalled out. Stayed there for months.
The “American Girl” part of my day…this is a long post, sorry. I have a lot to get off my chest (heave a sigh). My girls have been saving money from birthdays, first communion and Christmas plus allowance. They decided they wanted to buy themselves a new American Girl doll. Ok, so if you have kids into this you know, this is not cheap. The doll they want is $95. I have a $10 coupon to use. And we offer to give them $10 for their birthday in February. That puts one peas within $2 of having enough money and the other pea within $4. They beg to do laundry. I pay them 50 cents per basket. 
The dolls they picked out arrived yesterday and I put them in my closet. They are super excited. The peas share a bedroom and they each have a ton of American Girl stuff already. We talked them into giving up some of the million toys they had outgrown and to clear off the bottom of their closet and they could “build” a “bedroom” for their dolls, hang pictures on the wall, etc. So here’s the result. My husband added some Christmas lights we were going to throw out to light it all up. They LOVE it. And now, several of their friends have decided to do the same. Cool idea, eh? Anyway, the jist is, I’m proud of them for saving their money to buy their own doll. Proud of them for doing such a super job at earning their allowance by working around the house. Proud of them for respecting and taking such good care of what they own. They are really good girls. I don’t know how that happened but they are surely, super special little things. I heart them big time :>)
I’ll get the rest loaded over on 
hairbow business. I couple of posts ago, I put up a photo of my little one with a hairbow...this is one I purchased from Suann. They stay in even in super fine baby hair.
Anyway, Suann ordered a mommy and me purse set from me and I added in with her purchase a little dress for her daughter. Suann made this adorable bow to go along with the dress. I love it! I love being able to find things handmade and made locally. 
office window here on campus, and my baby is talking to her dolls on the floor here...and the big sisters were just dismissed early from school...I'm thinking 
we had better wrap things up and start heading home while we still can. I love LOVE LOVE snow but hate driving in it, especially when I have the kids with me. I think the baby could stay here all day - she gets loads of attention from everyone that walks by my office door...and the students think its funny that my office is set up like a nursery. Hey, it works and everybody is happy!
I cut about 5 different designs and pieced it all together. Then we tried to put on the snaps. Shhheeezz! I think we busted about 10 of them before we gave up.
SO...we dropped our older daughters at an afternoon birthday party and took a trip over to the local fabric shop for a pair of pliers designed to put on snaps. Hoping to catch a bite out to eat, we headed to the local wine bistro...not open. Then over to our old favorite, Village Wines, also closed due to renovations! And...we don't actually drink alcohol but our favorites happen to be wine bars, both these places serve amazing food! Next try, a local mexican eatery and it was open. We gobbled down a ton of chips, salsa and some mighty big burritos. Yummy! Hit the spot...oh, yeah, back to the snaps!
oyed this process and my twins want to be sure that we bring their favorite, a brood of fat little birdies on orange dots, to church tomorrow. They think she should wear it all day, not just at meal time! 
ery two hours at night ever since. I'm pooped. Seriously, tired.
Last night, I started to try and put a stop to this habit I think she has developed but it's hard because her crying wakes everyone in the house. Any suggestions out there? I tried feeding her again late at night...made no difference. I let her nurse last night at midnight and then again at 6 am but we toughed it out between 2 and 3 am. Cry, pick her up, change her diaper, rock, lay down, cry, let cry, cry louder, pick her up, rock, lay her down, scream her head off, let her for a bit, pick her up, rock...finally, quiet. And then I was awake until like 4 am!
This is just the top before I tied the whole thing. I did the backing in this cute rodeo flannel I had purchased long, long ago - thinking of course, Sophie would be a boy. So, the top side of the quilt is for my Mom, the back side, the rodeo flannel, for my Dad.
ys and I am so excited! I can't wait to celebrate this first Christmas with our newest little one, our 7 month old, Sophia! And our twins are gonna go crazy when they see the fun stuff that Santa has brought!
I'm still working on the quilt I'm making for my Mom and Dad and I'll share that later. Do you facebook? Well, search me out, Trish Raridan Preston, and then click on my Elf Yourself link. TOO FUNNY! Or find these funny "movies" yourself where you can insert your head onto elf bodies and more...at 
and finally...working on the new website. New website you ask...yes, new all in one, shopping, gallery and more website. I'll let you know when I'm ready with the big launch.
ee the movie
