Yummy!

Guess what we had for dinner!  How did you know?  He wears it well huh?  I couldn't resist...us "big people" had eggplant parm, but Benj preferred just the spaghetti!  

Happy 11 Months Benjamin!

I'm having a bit of a hard time today, first my baby is 11 months old!  How in the world dd that happen?  Second, school starts tomorrow!  Yikes, au revoir summer...Look at my little guy!  Is he a muffin or what?  In these pics he is modeling his new diapers...with hemp insert--my little hippie.

"Who's coming to find me on the stairs?"
"Oh hi Mama!"

How can anyone resist that face?

New Clothes, Celebs and Benji

As promised, here are some pics of the new clothes for my kids...

A toadstool dress for Mia.   I ordered the dress (made fair-trade in Bolivia!) from Dharma Trading...dyed it brown and then stitched on the applique I made a while ago.  I think it looks pretty cute and Mia loves it!  She is wearing it today--and Peaky and the Monkeys are riding in the pockets!  Ha--she cracks me up.
Here is a Tomato suit for Benj...dyed in the same batch...
And finally a star two piece set for Mr. B....too cute!
Oh and to appease all those who really just check the blog for pics of the kids...here is a cute shot of Ben eating his foot!

Also, I neglected to mention that while in CT, we went out for lunch and saw Renee Zellweger eating at the same restaurant.  She is the first A-list celebrity I've ever seen in real life...and man was she teeny tiny!  She ate chili...I had a veggie burger...and she was wearing sweat pants!  Sure they were Juicy Couture sweat pants...but sweat pants none the less...

Tom is home safe and sound from another Mexican adventure (trade show)...and the Lynch family is all together again...getting ready for school...Ok, I'm procrastinating and Tom and Mia & Benj are watching an Arthur video I just picked up for $2.  So we are not really getting ready--but we are definitely getting ready--to get ready.  Ahhhhhh....

Mini-Vacation...

What a delightful little vacation the kids, mom and I had visiting Kathy in CT!  She was a wonderful hostess, and I was especially pleased to have vegetarian, local and organic meals served to me 3 times a day!  I warned her that she might have to open a Bed and Breakfast when word got out to some of my readers (hi Amanda & Jen!).   Kathy has 2 horses, Otto and Gus, Chase the dog and a slew of barn cats.  Mia was in heaven....

Just a lovely view out the back huh?  The 2 horses eating some hay in the sunshine...it was idyllic.
Mia got to go for a ride each day...she rode Gus (while I led him) and loved it.  She even went on a trail ride (picture me hiking with a horse that is carrying my daughter!  Mia was very enthusiastic about the horses and cried saying goodbye to Gus.  
Here we are on our ride....Kathy on Otto and Mia on Gus with me!
Benj loved Chase.  Chase is probably sleeping a lot today without Benji to disturb him!
Each day Mia "helped" Kathy feed the horses.  Her favorite part was "shaking" out their hay.  We had a  blast and thank Kathy for her hospitality!

Hooray for Summer!

I am really going to miss all the time I've had for being crafty when school starts.  I made some magic wands and bean bag tossers for a birthday party today.  I finished the strawberry shirt for Adah.  I am working on a snuggly quilt for Mia to use during quiet time at preschool (deadline looming!) and I still am going to sew the applique patches on the clothes for the kids too!  Ahhh...yes, I get a wee bit obsessive when I find something new to do with myself!  I think I might learn to knit this fall....we'll see.
We've been trying to hike whenever the weather cooperates!  Here is Mia at the top of Piper.  She was very proud of herself and loved the stone seats!
Everyone is rewarded with a snack at the top!  For other members of the family the blueberries were plentiful.
Here is a rare shot of Tom and his brothers!  I made them sit in age order because I'm just that lame!  Left to right...Mike, Tom, Gordon and David.  Carol (my mother-in-law) was so happy to have all her boys in one place for a dinner!  I can only imagine what it must be like to have your children scattered about the country.  We are all wishing Gordon good luck as he embarks on a journey as a PHd candidate in English at UConn.  Bravo Gordon!  We expect your smarty pants genes to have passed to the kids!  

Speaking of Connecticut, I'm heading down with my Mom to visit Kathie for a bit, so I'll be taking a short blog break....see you soon...

Hey! Watcha been doin?

Hey there!  What have we been up to?  Avoiding the rain...searching for sun and a few other things...

My darling friend Hannah (see Hannah's Cob Blog )and her husband Brian are up from Oklahoma.  They came over for a local NH feast, which included the latenight harvesting (see our men with their bounty) of mint for some Cuban inspired fun (not local rum...ha!) Hannah and I met the first day  of kindergarten in 1984...and became instant friends...now with a gazillion (technical term) miles between us, we still have cultivated a shared interest in crafting (which led Brian to ask Tom "are all girls like this?" to which Tom responded "I don't think so.") and cooking and all things homey.  Hannah is perhaps the most talented person in the world...there is nothing she can't do...now they just need to make some babies darn it! 
We've done a lot of this kind of stuff too...with the weather not cooperating for a lot of outdoors time, we've all snuggled in with some books...and movies (current fave: James and the Giant Peach) 
We did manage to get up to the White Mountains..here we are up at the Basin.  Yesterday we hit the weather right and enjoyed gorgeous sun up north and a killer storm once safe home again.  Mia is getting really good at navigating roots and rocks.  I love to walk behind them and enjoy the view of my family.  The Kelty back pack was an early birthday present for Benj from my parents...and we LOVE it.  Thanks Mom & Dad. 

 Mia has already asked to go to Grammie & Poppa's house today.  She asked me yesterday if she could walk there, by herself.  Lately whenever I aggravate her she asks to visit Grammie.  Ahhh, she'll be spending  A LOT of time there during the teen years, I can see it already.  At 15 I'll let her walk...at 3 I call Grammie to come and get her! 
In the midst of everything, Tom & I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on the 7th.  We had a delightful (and kid free) dinner at 55 degrees in Concord.  Nice atmosphere, adoring husband, wine and yes, chevre....I feel a renewed love for Tom.  I'm just crazy for him...he's a darn good guy.  I'm no longer lonely my muffin...thanks for all the love.
There is always time for fairy houses when you're in the woods with a 3 year old.  Here she is next to Isa the fairy's house.  (She made that up--so cute, and spent about 10 minutes arranging leaves and twigs in her house)  

I've also finished an applique for Adah, canned some cabbage, made cookies, folded a bazillion (technical term) loads of laundry and vacuumed crumbs.  Today I hope to make napkins for my sister.  Lofty goals I know.  I'm feeling a bit melancholy, perhaps it is the rain or the looming first day of school.  Either way, I need a ray of sunshine to brighten my spirits...send me the sun...

Eating Local...

Yum...fresh, local steaming corn...nothing tastes like summer like corn-on-the-cob.  It is NH Eat Local week!  How are you participating?  We are so lucky this time of year to have a veritable cornicopia of fresh and local veggies available.  There are so many venues to obtain them too...check out your local farmer's market, farmstand, small grocery shop or join a CSA like Mom did which we split (thanks Mom)!   This week we even have had local cheese & ice cream(yum--sandwich creamery!!!) and milk (sherman farms) in addition to the great CSA produce, I supplemented with some Beans & Greens corn & cukes.  Suggested reading: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and the book the changed my life about 3 years ago (and my family's) in terms of food, The Ethical Gourmet by Jay Weinstein.  Both offer great food for thought.  

Not everything we eat can always be local, but you'd be surprised at how easy it is to make a difference.  For example, I love coffee.  Coffee does not grow in NH.  However, I get coffee from Sunflower's Natural Foods in Laconia, that is roasted in Canterbury, NH!  Wild right!  With a little investigation, you can make an ethical choice with your food dollar.  I hope that we are all enjoying nature's bounty this summer...even during a rain spell.

Fence Warming...

Happy August to you...friday night we celebrated the joy of our new fence!  Mia and her playmates had a great time in the yard...
Mia, Adah, Cameron and Eli set up for a party of their own...
They feasted on dirt birthday cakes and grass mojitos...I know I know, is it sad that my daughter knows what a mojito is?  Oh well, I thought it was adorable to see the kids play so well together.  It gave us grown-ups plenty of time for chatting and eating...and oh yeah, fence-admiring!

My First Customer...

I've been making all these applique patches (I've made trees, owls, stars, eggplants, tomatoes the list goes on).  I  got my first order from Mr. Eli Chapman, he commissioned an airplane (and he even supplied the shirt)  In exchange, I got a pint of blueberries, and the joy of one satisfied customer...

Check it out!  Pretty snazzy huh?  Shall I put a sign outside my house that says "Will work for produce"?  Next, I'm going to dye some clothes and add my previously made patches on them...stay tuned...

My kids...

Are nuts...

Benj is such a good helper with the measuring...
And Mia well, after a blueberry binge...needed a bath!  Ahhhh.