butternut and sweet potato bisque

This soup has been a fall staple for us for the last few years. It is so good! It freezes well, so buy a big butternut squash and make a double batch. I need Mark to use his muscles to cut the squash, but other than that it's super easy to make. [And make it with these brussels sprouts! They are addictive!]

Here's the recipe:
1.5 t. olive oil
1 c. chopped onion
4 c. peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 med. sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 c. corn kernels (may be frozen)
2 T. minced ginger
1.5 t. light brown sugar
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1. Heat oil over med. high heat. Saute onion 3-5 mins., until it begins to brown.
2. Add all ingredients, plus 3 c. water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until squash is tender (15-20 mins.)
4. With slotted spoon, transfer solids to blender and process to a smooth puree. Return puree to saucepan and stir to blend with liquid remaining in pan.

And, we just discovered these rolls and love them! They only have 5 ingredients...none of the funny stuff.

one-foot salute

Katie has a unique characteristic:

She will just hang out with one or both feet sticking straight up in the air! We call them her antennae - she will just be sitting in her bouncy seat and we will look over and see one or two little legs sticking straight up. She must have some strong abs under that baby chub.

family time

No plans.
Beautiful weather.
Great Saturday.

taming the rooster

We've nicknamed Meg's daily bedhead "the rooster tail". So in the mornings when she eats breakfast I tell her I am "taming the rooster" by wetting it and combing it down. Now if I forget, I hear a little voice calling out from the dining room, "Tame the rooster, Mama!"

totaled

It's official: the car that was in the accident last week is totaled. (It doesn't look like a totaled car, does it?) We went to get our stuff from the car and said our final good-byes. I am so grateful the car was sturdy enough to hold up so well and keep Mark safe. (His airbag didn't go off but the passenger side one did...the force of it was so explosive it cracked the windshield - can you imagine that hitting you in the face?)

squirrel and the nut

I started these dresses weeks ago but I couldn't decide how to finish them. Pumpkins? Pockets? Then I realized that the girls are little so they won't remember wearing these no matter what they look like. So I forged ahead and got it done before they can outgrow them...or learn to have an opinion about what they wear.

halloween

Meg had her first trick-or-treating experience last night - it was 90% fun and 10% scary for her. Our neighborhood gets really into Halloween - they blockade the street for trick-or-treaters and have house-decorating contests. One house was so scary that Meg wouldn't go to the door. She put her bag in front of her face (for protection) and started backing away.

I had Katie in the bjorn and as two women passed us I overheard one woman say to the other, "See? It IS a real baby!" I thought that was really funny.

We ran out of our massive candy supply within an hour. So we had to recycle Meg's candy! After we picked out our favorites, of course.