We had such a nice weekend. The weather was gorgeous and I feel like I finally got in the mood for autumn. The heat and humidity are back today (of course), but it’s too late. I’ve got a taste for fall. It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Mother****ers!

Saturday night we went to a haunted firehouse.

There was a huge line to get in.

But we didn’t really mind because there was entertainment while we inched our way towards the entrance.

Finally we made it all the way up to the firehouse.

Family feet:

Cal was getting excited and Mack was getting nervous.

At the last minute Mack decided that he really didn’t want to go through the haunted house, so he and Chad waited for Cal and me to go through. It was this character right at the entrance door that freaked him out:

Can’t really blame him, I guess. Cal clung pretty tightly to me all the way through.

Mack was disappointed that he chickened out, but we still had a fun family evening together. We talked to him about how being scared is fun when you know that you are actually really safe. We also talked to him about how facing your fears and doing things that challenge yourself makes you stronger and makes your life richer. You only live once!

Sunday morning (yesterday) I took the boys to Einstein’s for breakfast…

where I’m the Yelp Duchess! It’s kind of like I own the place.

Cal got the seasonal specialty bagel:

Mack got a blueberry bagel with strawberry jelly.

I got a bacon, egg, and cheese asiago cheese bagel sandwich.

I sent Cal back through the line to grab a bagel for Chad, and he wasn’t too happy with the name that the cashier gave him:

After breakfast we went to the gym. First up was thirty minutes on the elliptical.

Next was BodyWorks.

Now that I have done this class four times, it has definitely grown on me. I have sore glutes again today!

I just had no desire to blog yesterday, so I didn’t. Instead I did a bunch of house-wifey stuff.

The PR people at Smart Balance recently contacted me and asked me if I’d be interested in checking out their 14-day meal plan. We use many Smart Balance products, so I said, “Sure!”

Those are their products that I found in our fridge and pantry already. They sent me the plan and a coupon for a free Smart Balance product. When I checked out their website, I found a bunch of great recipes and decided yesterday to make their Sweet and Sensible Mini Pumpkin Muffins.

They turned out great. It was such a simple recipe that I know I’m going to make these again.

In addition to baking, I actually cleaned the house a bit! I am a terrible housekeeper, as I’ve said numerous times. I just don’t prioritize cleaning, other than doing laundry and dishes (which I haven’t found a good way to put off for weeks on end). With my traveling in September and my busy weekends (and weekdays), things had really gotten out of hand around here.

Not perfect, by any means, but much better, right?

The boys pitched in and cleaned up all of their toys in the television area.

Am I embarrassed that my house gets to that state before I do anything about it? A little, but not really. I am happy with how I choose to spend my time, and so is Chad. Would I love to have a clean house all the time? Absolutely! But not so much that I am going to change how I live my life.

One of the main problems is that we have really outgrown our house. We have lived here for 16 years and really never intended to have two children living in this house. There is literally no where to put all of the kid stuff that resides in our house.

This corner is a problem, but lots of this stuff needs to go to the hazardous waste recycling center (the old computer/parts) or to storage. It’s time to clean it out because that’s where our Christmas tree will go.

Whatever. We are pretty happy in our clutter. I do need to excavate my desk today, though.

I did finally repair that shoe yesterday, so at least those are no longer on my desk.

In addition to baking and cleaning, yesterday was Halloween decorating day!

This old guy is falling apart, but that just makes him more spooky, right?

Chad and I continued our spooky weekend last night after the boys went to bed by watching the season premier of The Walking Dead.

It was awesome. Chad has read the first Walking Dead comic compendium, so he has a hard time not talking about future plot lines with me.

This morning Chewie and I walked Mack to school, I got Cal off to the bus stop, then made a fall-themed breakfast…pumpkin-walnut Kodiak Cakes. I will most definitely make these again. They were amazing.

I decided to take a break from working out today since I plan to go to Restore the Core tonight and I’ve been doing some more work around the house. I’m also going to be heading out to run some errands in a bit.

I’ll leave you with another cute picture of my nephew Cody and his dog (I think they named him Woofy?) that my sister texted me a couple of days ago.

Cya!