Poor Man Cookies

Today, we made poor man cookies!  I got the recipe off of pinterest and it was so easy and super fun for Blake.  You take any box of cake mix (I just so happened to have lemon) 1 stick of butter, 1 egg and a tsp of water.  Bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes, and there you have it!  We finished ours off with frosting and sprinkles! 

Blake has been becoming my little helper more and more... getting lunch ready, Putting the folded laundry away (droping it on the floor), feeding Lucy, and the list goes on, but I am glad that he is learning to participate, even if it isn't the most fun thing to do, but somehow we seem to make it all enjoyable, so far :)  Them mom gets to clean up the "helpers" mess! :)

Blake was trying to pinch me with the tongs every time I walked by...little turd!

Luke was just hanging out in his bouncy chair... someday he will be able to eat them too!!

Weeks in Review

I haven't posted much in the past month, but I have been super busy.  I finally feel like I am starting to get a handle on things.  Blake is doing much better accepting Luke as part of the family instead of an object that he asks me to take back to the store, and I feel like we are really starting to get into a good rhythm.  I am starting to actually get some things done during the day, and I am starting to feel accomplished. 

So much has happened that it is no wonder I haven't had a chance to blog...but it is my goal to do better with blogging.  That is why I started this blog in the first place!

Kyle turned 27 on June 3rd... We were talking about how we are now closer to 30 then 20 and it is amazing where the time has gone... we have our 10 year High School reunion next year...YIKES...Better start running the Lakeland hill!

Kyle is going to hate that I posted this picture!!

Kyle's youngest brother, Tyler, Graduated High School.  WOW... I have known him since he was 8... what an amazing young man he has grown up to be!

My aunt Dawn announced that after very hard core fight with Pancreatic Cancer, and becoming cancer free in November of 2011... it has now returned.  My heart has just sunk and it is breaking all over again.  She is one tough cookie though, and I would bet every cent I have that she will be in that 5% that win against this nasty cancer.

My brother and his girlfriend Erin both got JOBS...YAY!!!  They have both been unemployed since the end of 2011 and they both started jobs on the same day.  God has blessed them in so many ways, and he has done it again!!  Maybe now, he will have enough $$ to buy something that would make her a permanent fixture of the family...if you catch my drift??

We had our house and tile roof painted... Now, obviously if we had it painted, then we didn't do any of the work, BUT, Blake is super scared of Spanish men for some reason, and he thought that the "scary man" was going to come and get him and that he was going to come though his window.  After a couple days of that... we decided that it was just better to get out of the house.  So, we go to Grandma's, and they are having their house sided... HAHA  more Spanish men.  It was a rough week for the little guy :)

So, you can see that there has been a lot going on, and as always, it will only get more hectic as the summer approaches, but  am just getting excited for some warmer weather like we had yesterday.  We even brought out the little pool for Blake to splash around in!!

Happy Monday everyone!!

Two Kids on Two different Schedules

This is turning out to be just as hard as I thought it would be... good thing that I never glamorized it!  Although, taking care of your children every day is extremely rewarding, and I am so thankful to be able to stay home and be with them, it also has an "adjustment period".  I am beginning to wonder if its always going to be an adjustment now because my kids are always changing?  I am not sure, but for right now, having two kids on two different schedules, I can honestly say that by the end of the day, I am so ready to fall asleep that I don't think that I hardly say goodnight to Kyle anymore.  Luke wakes up every 3 hours or so, and he is in our room in his bassinet so that I can get to him quickly because I am so worried that his cries will wake up Blake, and then it becomes a completely different situation.  All and all, this are going well, just exhausting, but every parent with a new child thinks that...its just the way it goes, but it is so fully that somehow god helps you to forget your exhaustion during this time when you decide to have another child HAHA...I hope writing it down helps me to not forget :)

Blake is getting better with Luke... he gives him kisses every night before bed, and he is there to "help" when I change Luke's diaper, or need to feed him.  He still asks me several times throughout the day to "put baby Luke down and hold me"  He never asked me to "hold him" before Luke was born, but I can understand why he wants me to hold him now that he sees that I hold Luke all the time.  I just tell Blake that I have two arms to hold the two most wonderful boys I know, and I have a lap for an extra special boy.  So I usually sit on the couch and watch Little Bear with Luke laying over my shoulder and Blake sitting in my lap... sometimes I even start to doze off!


Blake is wanting to help all the time now... On a side note...I started pumping instead of breast feeding because Luke was not drinking enough milk before he would fall asleep, so I was feeding every hour to make sure that he has enough food since he had a slight case of jaundice, and we needed to flush out his system.  I still nurse him sometimes at night if I need too... but most of the time he is bottle fed breast milk, and that way Daddy gets to help too :) Anyways, back to my point... Blake is such a BIG help, that he thinks that he can even pump milk for Luke... this will be one of those pictures that I hold back until his senior year, and then somehow slip it into the yearbook!!

Brotherly Love

Although Blake is having a hard time adjusting to having a little brother, I can see that he still loves him very much and is becoming a wonderful helper.  Sometimes, just to be defiant, he will yell NO when I ask for his help, and that is when I know that he has had enough for a while.  I am trying to include him as much as I can to make him feel as special as possible, but sometimes, he just wants to be left out of it completely, so then I will turn on Little Bear or Curious George to give him some time to himself.  I am anxious for this weather to get better so that we can get outside and go for walks and play, but it looks like its starting to shape up, so hopefully soon Blake will be able to go outside and run off some energy. 

But, for now, I am enjoying the time inside, in my pajama's with my boys... I have "kids" now, not just a "child".  It feels weird to say "the kids" or "my boys", but I am loving getting used to it :)

Welcome Lucas Raymond

Luke is finally here... after months of anticipation, I get to hold my youngest son, and what a blessing he is.  Kyle and I kept waiting for something to go wrong because of everything that happened with Blake, but it was all perfect.  At exactly 6:00 PM on Saturday May 12th, 2012 Lucas Raymond Rogers came into this world weighing 7 Lbs 10 Oz, and 20.5 Inches long.  He is just perfect, and we are so excited to add another member to the family.

My dream is for Blake and Luke to grow up and be the best of friends... to have secrets with each other and to also fight like brothers do.  Blake Loves his little brother, but I can already sense some major jealously.  We are really trying to make Blake feel special and to make him understand that just because Luke is here, it don't mean that we love him any less... easier said then done, but I know that this is normal, and it will just be something that we need to work through as a family. 

Welcome to the world Baby Luke...We love you!!

A Green Thumb

So excited that we were able to get so much accomplished this weekend... well Kyle was, and I just helped when I could :) We got my garden rota tilled, and planted... 3 new fruit trees planted and a bunch of Misc yard work accomplished... I even gave Lucy a bath outside in this beautiful weather (I did that one myself) All things that I was hoping to get finished before this baby arrives, but wasn't sure if I would. Now, I feel much more at peace that those things are done!! Now its just the day to day stuff that I need to stay up on. I have this fear that my water is going to break, and I am not going to have time to clean up, so then we rush out of here, and I need to send someone up here to check on the dog and there are piles of dirty clothes, dishes in the sink, and who knows what else laying around. Just trying to stay up on all the house work so that I don't embarrass myself!!





There is nothing "Merry" about this Merry Tiller!!

After... Kyle did so much work!!


My Pear Tree... I have 2 other plum trees and 2 apple trees!!



Things I have learned since being at home :)

So, I knew that this was going to be a new adventure, and I have learned so much these past 2 weeks.  Let me start off by saying that I have a much deeper appreciation for nap times now!!!


I have learned...


That when you are at home all day, you pick up messes all day.  When we weren't here, it always stayed clean!


We go through a lot more toilet paper now since I pee every 15 minutes!


I need to go shopping for Milk at Costco now because Blake drinks the ever living daylights out of it!


You go through a TON of laundry and carpet cleaner when you are potty training.


I have time to miss my husband now, and I appreciate the work that he does so much more now that I am at home.


I enjoy taking naps with Blake, even though I wake up with his face smashed on mine and its all sticky.


Getting out of the house every other day or so is a MUST!


My neighbor, Tom, leaves his house every morning at 8 and returns at 9:30.


My other neighbor John, and his wife have a visitor staying with them this week who happened to bring 2 pit bulls to their house... Lucy barked at them through the dog run... lets just say that if she got out, or they came through the fence, she would be bringing a knife to a gun fight... I am extra cautious of when I let her outside now, and I make sure that they are inside... they would destroy her, and they even play overly rough with each other.

I never used to really care if the house was spotless when Kyle got home because we shared the household chores... now I find that I go crazy 15 minutes before he gets home to make sure all the hockey sticks are picked up and that the fruit snacks aren't stuck to the couch.

I have really learned that I LOVE staying home.  It is hard, and I can't imagine what it is going to be like adding another one into this, but I am enjoying my time with Blake right now.  I am glad that we have had these couple weeks together because I am learning so much from him.