Dylan came over after school today. I made Grandma Mary Ann's cake mix cookies for dessert (the kids had cheese quesadillas, I used steak and veggie leftovers from last night in my quesadilla). Despite having to use olive oil (no canola oil in the house), they turned out really well. Here's the recipe.

1 box of cake mix (I used triple chocolate fudge, but she usually uses lemon)
1 egg
1/2 c oil (I used 1/4 c oil and 1/4 c applesauce)
1/4 c water
1/4 c self-rising flour
(I added 1 bag of Ghiardelli dark chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 375. Drop by rounded 1/2 teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes on upper oven rack. Dust w/powdered sugar if desired.

I busted out the Halloween decorations tonight--no point in having them if we don't use them! My Dad made fun of me for decorating so early, but the kids LOVE it! Chase did all the clings on the front door this year, he was super excited to do that. And Cass is fascinated by all the jack o'lanterns. I need to get a few bats for her, she loves her bats!

I think we're recarpeting the first floor. Our family room is in dreadful shape and I found a great deal on some Mohawk frieze that should wear like iron. Exactly what I need with two young kids and 80+ lbs of dog...as this carpet has been the bane of my homemaking existence for about 5 1/2 years, I'm rather stoked at the prospect of seeing it go! I can live w/the stuff upstairs for a while longer...I'm debating about hard surface (laminate or hardwood) for our bedroom anyway. So much better for my allergies than carpet!

I got Cassie's 2 year pics done on Friday, they turned out fabulous! I'm absolutely thrilled with them. She posed like a little super model and had a ball doing it! It was a complete 180 from our last (hellish) photo shoot.

I'm off to snuggle w/the furball for a bit before sleepytime.