Life on a schedule?

I've been considering putting the kids and I on a schedule.  If you know me well, you're thinking "I thought those kids were already pretty scheduled!"  True enough.  I'm a schedule person - I can't seem to help myself.  I like to know what's coming up and what to look forward to.  I'm sure it's leftovers from my teaching days, but I need order!!
Anyways, back to what I was saying ... I'm thinking a weekly schedule kind of an idea.  I haven't done a lot of this yet and I find that the days stretch out ahead of me and all blend together and I find I don't enjoy them when they are all the same.  Wake up - eat breakfast - get cleaned up - play - lunch - clean up etc etc
So our weeks would be relatively the same, but with lots of wiggle-room.  We might have bible study on Tuesdays, gymnastics on Thursdays, arts&crafts on Saturdays, playdates on Fridays ...
So here's my question: is this ridiculous?  Or does everybody do this?  Do I just need to relax or should we just do what works for us?  Any parents of toddlers out there with some input?!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made some of these the other day.  Oh man, are they ever good.  And I have no idea why I made them because I am really trying hard to watch what I eat.  (And by that I mean I let myself eat one a day rather than one dozen a day!)  But I seem to have this crazy obsession with pumpkin in the fall and I want to use it in everything!  I've also made pumpkin spice muffins and I'm going to make pumpkin cornbread to go with chili over the weekend.  Anyways, if you're interested, here's the link:

http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2011/10/white-chocolate-pumpkin-spice-cookies/

You won't regret it.  Well, maybe you will :)

Kara turns three!

This morning we had our purple party extravaganza to celebrate Kara turning "fee".

We all wore purple clothes:

Curtis wanted to know why we invited Katy Perry, but I know he thought it was hot :)

We ate purple food:

Lunch was hamburgers in purple buns, purple french fries, purple milkshakes and purple cupcakes to top it all off!

Our friends even got in on the theme and bought Kara some beautiful purple gifts!  We bought Kara her own cooking tools and I made her a purple apron.  She was thrilled!

In all, a great purple success.  I can hardly believe we have been blessed with this girl for three years.  Where does the time go?  So thankful for her in our lives.

Finally ...

I've been trying to figure out why I have been avoiding this blog like the plague!  And I think (after weeks of serious contemplation!) that I was dreading it because it has been so long since I've written anything.  It felt like I would have to go back to where I left off and update everyone on exactly what we've been doing for 3 1/2 months!  And that was a project that I just couldn't manage the thought of.  So instead, I will just pick up from today and pretend like I never missed a beat.  And that way I will start writing again, and it won't seem so daunting, and you can stop hassling me to write something (you know who you are!!).

I did want to tell you about one big milestone that we hit in the last few months.  My son turned one.  We had a lovely lego party with some friends in town to celebrate his big day.

I have a lot of fun coming up with birthday party themes and ideas.  Kara's birthday party is tomorrow and she has chosen to have a purple party.  At first I thought that would be a dud, but it's actually great and there are tons of things we are going to do with the purple theme.  I promise, pictures of that party to follow (probably tomorrow) and not in 3 months :)

Jonas on the move ... sort of

Jonas will be 10 months old at the end of June but he is still not crawling.  You've got to feel a bit sorry from him because he's had absolutely no help from us.  I remember when Kara was starting to move around, I would get on the floor with her and help her arms and legs to move the right way and I would crawl for her to show her how it was done.

Kara in June 2009

But Jonas gets none of that.  When I see him starting to rock on his hands and knees I think "oh no, he's almost crawling!"  And that means a whole lot more work for me!!
But even though he's not officially crawling, he is moving around.  He has figured out how to push himself around on his tummy on the slide-y hardwood floors.  He pushes himself backwards and then finds himself stuck under furniture because he couldn't see where he was going.

If we could get him to go forwards instead, he would mop up his drool puddles as he goes, but because he goes backwards, there is a lovely little slug trail to show us where he has gone!

And finally, he has been doing lots of acrobats in his crib lately too because we've been finding him in all sorts of strange positions when we go to get him.  After his morning nap today, this is how I found him.  I was wondering why he was fussing so much in there!

Jonas sitting facing the corner of his crib, one arm out of his sleepsack, hunched over his stuffed bear, sound asleep.

Cookies please

So I've tried my absolute hardest to prevent Kara from having the same sweet tooth that Curtis has ... but I think I need to suck in my pride and admit defeat ... even if not gracefully.

Today Kara woke up from her nap and asked for a cookie for her snack.  I told her that she could have some watermelon first and that if she was still hungry, she could have a cookie.  Well, she wolfed the watermelon down and then said she was ready for her cookie.  I reminded her she could only have one.  And then the conversation went like this:

Kara:  I think I should have two puz I'm two Mom.

Me:  No Kara, only one.

Kara:  Dad, my friend, could I have two cookies please?!

I'm absolutely sure that if I had not been home, she could probably have had as many cookies as she wanted because she knows how to work her dad.  But thankfully, I was here.  

And as my heart nearly burst with the joy and laughter of her lovely two-ness, I handed her 1 1/2 cookies :)

Black Bean Couscous Salad

The first time I made this recipe, it was on the occasion of having my first vegetarian friend over for a girls lunch.  I was nervous and didn't have any experience cooking vegetarian meals (which sounds so silly now, but I really was worked up about it!)  This salad fit the bill because it was really easy and didn't have any weird ingredients in it.  Needless to say, I loved it and have made it regularly since then.  It works great for a potluck salad because it makes tons.  And it was my gateway meal into the realm of vegetarian cuisine which has opened up a whole new world to us. 

Hope you like it :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 8 green onions, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.
3. Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.