Update!

We took the girls to the doctor today for their checkup... They both got a clean bill of health and doc says they are right on track!

Lola Grace weighs 18lbs and is 27 inches long

Ellie Francesca weighs 14lbs 2oz and is 25 inches long

They each received three shots today so they have been very mellow tonight. It hurts my heart when they scream during the shot,s but they are really good about them and are comforted easily.

for the love of logos

I love logos! I love the idea of creating a logo. I love creating logos. I love the long process of researching a company, brainstorming creative ideas, sketching out all the unworthy ideas that immediately come to mind and getting them out of the way. Eliminating the garbage. Reducing the clutter. Then I walk away from it all and do something completely different than think about logo design... clean out the chicken coop, pull out all the spent plants from the garden, make a batch of pesto with the last of the season's basil, bake some chocolate chip cookies... well, you get the idea. It's then that the best ideas hit me. Then I sit down and sketch more ideas. Nothing. Panic. Nothing. Panic. Beat myself up. Nothing. Panic. Sketch. Okay, I'm liking this a little. Sketch. Way too much going on. Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. That's the amazing part of logo design. It's a long involved process. It's the process of taking in tons of information and reducing it all down to the most simple terms imaginable.

Here are some colorful logos I spotted while walking through Disney's California Adventure and Universal Studios this summer...











Have you ever had one of these In-N-Out burgers? Like a logo it's reduced to it's simplest essential ingredients. A thin meat patty, a large slice of tomato, a chunk of crispy lettuce and special sauce on a perfectly toasted bun. Yumola!



Our good friend Ian stopped by with his Dad last weekend. I made some chocolate chip cookies. One of Ian's favorite things to do at our house. Eat as many of these as possible without getting sick. That and having fun with Isabel.





I made four batches of pesto from the remaining basil to stash in the freezer for winter. These should get us through October.



Last night was Back to School Night. Parents attend their child's classes in brief increments of about 15 minutes per classroom (six total) to learn what's in store for the year and what's expected of students. The stressful part was learning about several missing assignments. Then there were the tears when we returned home, and several hours of work through those tears. Each new school year brings at least a month of transition time. Maybe it's the shock of reality that life is not really a giant summer vacation.

On the positive side... I was very proud to see my daughter designed a logo that was on display outside her art class. I frequently find papers covered with small drawings around the house. Little logos in the making. Perhaps I've passed something on to her.

The disorganized part must come from her Daddy.

...

Welche Puppe für welches Kind? - What kind of doll?

Since I was asked some times what kind of doll I recommend for children in different ages, I started to write down a little orientation.

Immer wieder werde ich von Eltern gefragt welche Puppe der richtige Gefährte in welchem Alter ist, desshalb habe ich hier eine kurze Orientierung geschrieben. Diese Zeilen sollen aber nur ein Leitfaden sein, denn ich bin sicher, dass die Eltern genau wissen was ihr Kind gerade braucht, so kann es auch vorkommen dass sich ein Vorschulkind ein kleines, kuscheliges Schlamperle wünscht und umgekehrt ein ganz kleines Kind mit einer Anziehpuppe, die der der großen Schwester ähnlich ist, mehr Freude hat als mit einer Puppe die dem Alter entspräche.

Die Puppe im Sackkleid - Die Erstlingspuppe - Bunting Doll

"Geht leise!
Es ist müde von der Reise.
Es kommt von weit her,
vom Himmel übers Meer.
Vom Meer den dunklen Weg ins Land,
bis es die kleine Wiege fand.
Geht leise!"

Paula Dehmel

Aus reinen Naturmaterialien gearbeitet und mit reiner Bio Schafwolle weich gefüllt ist diese Puppe ein idealer Begleiter für Kinder ab dem Säuglingsalter. Es ist in seinem einfachen Sackkleid sehr kompakt, anschmiegsam und leicht und kann anfangs in der Wiege befühlt und benuckelt und später vom Kleinkind gekuschelt, getragen, gebettet und als Begleiter überall hin mitgenommen werden.

The Pillow Doll or Bunting Doll is very soft and cuddly and can be a Babies first friend. The Body is it's clothes and traditionally made from soft materials like velvet or niki.

Die Puppe im festgenähten Anzug
Das Schlamperle - Cuddle Doll

"Die besten Spielsachen sind solche,
die das charakteristische des Dargestellten
nur andeuten." (1)

Diese Puppe ist ein kompakter, kuschelweicher Begleiter für Kinder im Kleinkindalter. Sie ist meist etwas größer, ist fester gefüllt als die Puppe im Sackkleid und hat Arme und Beine. Mit dem festgenähte Anzug ist die Puppe immer gut eingehüllt. Sobald das Kind in das Alter kommt in dem es seine Puppe auch an und auskleiden möchte kann die Puppe über den festgenähten Anzug einfache Puppenkleider tragen. Diese Puppe wächst mit den Bedürfnissen des Kindes mit und kann ein Begleiter über einen recht langen Zeitraum sein.

The Cuddle doll is a great doll for young children. It is very soft and cuddly and can be a Toddlers best friend. The Body is it's clothes and traditionally made from soft materials like velvet or niki.

Die Glieder Puppe - Das Puppenkind - The Companion Doll

"Die Puppe ist das zweite Ich des Kindes. Im Spiel mit Puppen übt sich das Kind darin, Gefühle auszudrücken und Erlebtes zu verarbeiten. In der Puppe sieht es sich selbst. Das Kind gibt der Puppe Leben, es beseelt sie mit seiner Phantasie." (2)


Ein Puppenkind ist je nach Wunsch 30-45 cm groß und ein idealer Begleiter für Kinder im Kindergartenalter und darüber hinaus. Diese Puppe kann an und ausgezogen werden bei langen Haaren können Frisuren gemacht werden. Sie wird komplett aus Puppentrikot genäht und hat ausgeformte und bewegliche Arme und Beine. Diese Puppe ist fest mit reiner Bio Schafwolle gefüllt und wird, wenn sie speziell für ein Kind angefertigt wird, oft mit der selben Augen, Haar und Hautfarbe wie die des Kindes angeferigt. Die Kleider die sie trägt sind einfach gehalten und auch für kleinere Kinderhände einfach an und auszuziehen. Ich verwende meist nur Gummizüge statt Knöpfen oder anderen Verschlüssen weil ich damit die besten Erfahrungen in der täglichen Anwendung gemacht habe.

A companion doll is a perfect friend for all children that can change clothes already. The body of this doll is entirely made from skin colored tricot and can be dressed with all kinds of different clothes. If a companion doll is custom made for a child it is often made in accordance with the childs skin, hair and eye color.

(1) und (2): Das Puppenbuch, Karin Neuschütz

A picture is worth a thousand words...

So this picture popped up on my screen saver and I couldn't help but reflect on it and share it will all of you.

We should have know what personalities these girls would have... Look at Ellie and Lola at only three weeks old. Ellie is the much inquisitive one who does not like to sleep because she is afraid she will miss something very important and Lola is the cuddle bug who is chillin through life, enjoying the baby stage because she gets to sleep as much as she wants.

Playdate times four

Yes, that is FOUR babies you see in our living room. Last weekend the girls went to the zoo with thier friends Bailey and Brady. Man was Brady a lucky guy, he had three girls all to himself! After the zoo we all hung out at the house and had fun!

Michaeli

"Wenn ich groß bin, wenn ich groß bin, so groß wie die Welt,
Dann werd' ich ein Ritter, ein Ritter und Held.

Wenn ich stark bin, wenn ich stark bin, so stark wie ein Stier,
Besieg' ich im Walde das Drachengetier.

Und die Erde, und der Mond, und die Sterne sind mein,
Die Sonne soll auch für den Rittersmann sein."

Marianne Garff

Sankt Michael von Marie-Laure Viriot mit freundlicher Genehmigung von © 2009 Waldow Verlag

Nature Table September - Jahreszeitentisch September

The little dog rose family is doing a walk in the warm autumn sun.

Caramelized Onion, Sage, and Cheddar Muffins -- Sweet Melissa Sundays

This week for Sweet Melissa Sundays, Hanaa of Hanaa’s Kitchen picked these delicious savory muffins for us to try. You can find the recipe here on her site or in Melissa Murphy's Sweet Melissa Baking Book.

Savory muffins and quick breads are a favorite for me! Even though I love sweet and fruity muffins, if I had the choice I would probably grab a savory. This recipe calls for caramelized onions as a star ingredient and I have to be honest and say that onions are my least favorite veggie! I usually order and make everything sans onions, but lately I've been trying them more and more and thinking maybe it was just the fact that I didn't like them as a child which has led me to avoid them as an adult. The caramelized onions surprised me and were pretty good, I had a few from the pan and they did make the kitchen smell absolutely delicious.

Since I love savory muffins so much and wasn't sure if I would like the onion, I decided to do half of the batch with "caramelized" mushrooms, which are a favorite veggie for me. I cooked the mushrooms in the same pan that I had caramelized the onions in so I could get a nice onion flavor (it has always been only the onion texture I did not like) infused into the delicious mushroom bites. You really couldn't tell the difference between the onion muffins and mushroom muffins in appearance.

I ended up having to use dried sage because I couldn't locate any fresh. And my other change was to leave out the black pepper and up the cayenne, which gave these a nice kick. We really enjoyed these muffins, even picky husband :) These are perfect to serve with a creamy soup, thanks for a great pick Hanaa!

Plum Baby Snuggle Doll

We are busy these days harvesting all the fruits and nuts and pumpkins in our garden.
Making jam, jelly, chutney and last but not least a little Plum Baby for my shop.

Fried Apple Pies

We enjoyed making fried apple pies. We used can bisuits, canned fried apples, an electric skillet and oil to make these yummy treats. The children each made their own apple pie and tasted it. Most of the children liked the apple pies, though some were not sure of them but at least tried a bite.

March of Dimes Walk a Thon

We had a great time walking for the March of Dimes. It was very hot and humid, which made us so glad that we walked first thing in the morning. The children walked or ran 3 laps around the walking track before they called it quits. That was veryy impressive to all of us adults. Way to go guys!! Remember your money can be turned in up to October 2nd.

Guess who Guess what???

You guessed it, Ellie has a tooth popping through. She was chewing on my finger this morning and all of a sudden I felt something on her bottom gums. Tony and I couldn't believe how excited we were (I know kind of cheesy). You probably can't quite make it out in the picture but I tried.

Building blocks

Making some creative buildings in the block center.

How tall are you in apples?

We decided to measure ourselves using an apple for measurement. The children thought this was a funny way to measure. They had fun counting as we measured each of the children and Mrs. Jaclyn and Mrs. Eileen. Most of the children were 9 apples tall, there were two who were 8 apples tall, two who were 10 apples tall and even one that was 11 apples tall. Mrs. Jaclyn and Mrs. Eileen were 15 apples tall.