Wow, I can't believe how much time has passed since I've updated here. It seems like our weeks are just flying by these days. Some random stuff...
~ For awhile I've been wanting to take turns with Steve, taking our kids on "dates" for some one-on-one time. Yesterday Emma and I went on our first date. We spent the afternoon at a Ceramics and Coffee Shop place, just painting, drinking delicious drinks, and chatting. It was really pleasant, and I'm already trying to think something fun for Noah and me for next time. I've already penciled Noah and Steve's date in for November, just to make sure we don't let another month slip by without a date.~ I love love love fall, and lately I've been going a little nuts cooking fall-type things. Towards the end of last week, I planned our menu for the weekend and didn't even realize until I was getting ready to make dinner Sunday night that pretty much our entire diet over the weekend had consisted of some type of fall vegetable. Friday night we had chicken enchiladas with pumpkin cream sauce, Saturday morning we had pumpkin quinoa parfaits, Saturday for dinner we had butternut squash bisque (which went so perfectly with these garlic knot rolls), Sunday I made roasted vegetable dip for snacking during the football game, and then for dinner we had pumpkin rigatoni. Isn't that ridiculous? I told you I went a little overboard, and it was even enough for Steve to make up a silly little song about all the members of our family turning into various types of squash. I haven't been taking too many food pictures lately, but I did snap one of the vegetables for the dip before I roasted them. They were so pretty, I just couldn't help myself. (Emma said, "Mommy, it seems weird that you like to take pictures of vegetables!") Also, the picture above isn't really the pumpkin quinoa parfait. It's actually a spiced quinoa apple pie parfait that I had a few weeks ago, but maybe if you squint, you can tell yourself it's the pumpkin one.
~ Since my children have started nursing a little less, I have noticed that those lovely old calories aren't burning quite as fast as they used to. Some of my clothes weren't fitting right (or at all) and I really didn't want to start going down that road. I had heard about the 30 Day Shred from a few people so, thinking that I could manage anything for only twenty minutes a day, I decided to give it a try. I started it on October 1st, so I am just about finished with my thirty days. I am happy to report that, even though the difference probably isn't noticeable to anyone else, my clothes that were previously a tad snug are now much more wearable. Woo! I keep flexing for Steve and he acts like he can't see my new rippling muscles (ha!), but I think maybe he is just jealous!

~ I just baked some cookies and cream cheesecake bars to take to Emma's school tomorrow for a teacher lunch, and I am so really really happy that tomorrow morning I get to cut them into bars before I take them to school. That means I can keep one (or two or five). They are cooling in the kitchen right now and I can barely control myself.

~ I started this post Sunday night and now it's Tuesday night. Ah well, better late than never, right?