Slacker...

So, one of the reason why I was so hesitant to start a blog is for this exact reason.... It has been 4 weeks since I have blogged. I knew I wouldn't be very good at being consistent!

Any who, in the last 4 weeks we have: 1. Found out we are having another girl. 2. Gone to Disneyland. 3. Started a garden. and 4. Celebrated our 6 year anniversary!!

1.     At 14w5d we went to the 4D ultrasound place to find out the gender of our little bean ( I though I was farther along). The first thing the tech says is, "Lets check the heartbeat and make sure everything is good."  "Bump-Bump," we hear the precious heartbeat. The tech then says the heart rate is about 130-140! I think Yay! Maybe it IS a boy! After about 10 min the tech says, " If I could just get the legs to uncross..." Jonathan and I both look at each other and all hope for a boy left. Both of our girls kept their legs crossed and made it very difficult to do the gender check. After about 20 minutes the tech tells us it is another GIRL!! We tell Zoie and Kaija they are having another sister... Kaija says we are having a baby (no gender attached) and Zoie throws an all out tantrum on the floor because she wanted a brother, I cried, Jonathan was quiet... but now we are super excited!! We are happy to be having a healthy, beautiful gift from our Heavenly Father.

     

The other day as I was driving in the car the song "Unanswered Prayers" came on. Although the song was about an old high school fling that "didn't work out", the message was loud and clear to me. God has a plan, and he knows whats best for us, and the children he entrusts to us. It hit me like a tons of bricks, and honestly I am excited to have another girl. It was definitely a test of faith and has strengthened my testimony .

 Hey, at least I know what I am doing... kinda. Plus, I have done some fun shopping!

 (it really does cure everything!!)

I am almost 18 weeks and anxiously waiting for this little girl to make some butterflies in my belly! I can't wait to start feeling her move around!!!

17 1/2 weeks!

2. Disneyland!!! We took the girls to Disneyland for the first time. They had a blast! And they were really good!!!!! We got to meet Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Tinkerbell, and Rosetta. Zoie was not too much of a fan of the rides, especially the dark ones. We had a 3 day Park Hopper... by day 3 the girls were DONE, they wouldn't even get out of the stroller to meet characters... But overall we had a great time! Seeing their faces light up was priceless. 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=589862982&aid=291785 

this link will take you to my Facebook page to see some pictures of our trip.

3. Jonathan and I decided to try out our green thumbs. We have no idea what we are doing. We have planted onions, corn, jalapenos, pepperoncinis, bell peppers, green beans, strawberries, and some herbs. We still need to make another box to plant our squash, zucchini, tomatoes, watermelon and cantaloupe. Yes, we have all that and know nothing about gardening! Should be fun! Last Sept we planted some fruit trees, the 2 citrus tree have died, but our peach tree is already budding some peaches! About 50! And our apple tree looks good too, though it may be too young to actually fruit this year.  So we are at 50/50... hopefully our garden is more successful! 

4. On March 12, Jonathan and I celebrated out 6th anniversary! It seems like it went by so fast, but took so long at the same time!!! We have had our ups and downs, as all marriages do, but I love him more than anything in this world! Together we have made a beautiful family, shared many laughs and tears, grown together and learned from each other. I have to admit, I am a pretty lucky girl to get to spend eternity with such and amazing man and father. While we were in California we went whale watching as part of our celebration. It was amazing! I loved it! We had a school of at least 30 dolphins swim with our boat and we actually saw 2 whales! Then the next weekend we went to Texas de Brazil for dinner... Unfortunately with our opposite work schedules we don't get much time together, and date nights are even more rare. So I really try and take advantage of the time we do get to hang out kid-less!!

Well, hopefully I will be better at blogging more often! I guess only time will tell! :)

My baby bump has officially arrived

About 2 days ago I woke up and had a pregnant belly! Finally past the stage of, "Is she just getting fat, or is she pregnant?" I even had to wear a maternity shirt today. I LOVE it!! Zoie is in love with it too. She is always telling me I need to rub my belly and she is always giving my belly hugs and kisses, and telling me she loves her "brother" (Please let this be a boy, for Zoie's sake!!!).

We have an appointment set for a gender check ultrasound next Friday morning... I am soooooo excited-nervous-anxious-scared... So many emotions!! Either way, I can't wait... or can I??

No. I don't think I can.

Here is the first picture of my baby bump... I'm 14 1/2 weeks. Or if you ask my doctor, I'm almost 13 weeks. I like mine better, so we will go with that!

In other news, I am surprising Jonathan tonight with his new truck. He knows we are getting it, he just doesn't have a clue when. He is currently frustrated with me because I "didn't call the bank today to get information about an auto loan". Little does he know, I am about 3 days ahead of him and the loan is complete and the truck is ours... I mean his. I cant wait 'till he gets home and sees it sitting in our driveway. It is so nice to finally get him something that he deserves! It doesn't get to happen very often, so I'm super excited for him!

Until next time...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from the Ashcroft's!

We are not huge on celebrating the holiday, but a little acknowledgment it definitely expected appreciated.  Jonathan scored some points when I woke up this  morning to these beauties.

 Zoie has a new fascination with sitting on the table to take pictures...

(when i asked him if it was my early V-Day gift he said, "kinda, but I just haven't gotten you flowers in a while"... extra points for that!)

I thought it would be fun to decorate cookies with the girls. It was fun family time (something I feel like we do NOT get enough of with our work schedules).

Here are some pictures:

(cheese!)

 Monsters Vs. Aliens was the competition for attention...

 even for Daddy...

 Kaija's finished product... doesn't it look tasty??

Tomorrow night, the hubby and I are going on a hot date to Lucille's... then coming home so I can go to bed, so I can get up the next morning for work... Oh the joys of being a responsible growd-up!

Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day! 

On the Verge...

OMG!!! So lately my kids have been SO. BAD. I mean, really bad. They hit and scream at each other, they don't listen to me, or my husband. They tell me no, they talk back. Seriously, lately they are the kids in the store that you see and say, "Wow, they need a good butt whoopin'!" Or, "If my kids ever acted like that..." Or, " Those parents have no control over their kids!! How sad!" Really, I. AM. ABOUT. TO. LOSE. MY. MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do NOT know how to correct their behavior! I have tried spanking, time outs, taking things away, sending them to their rooms, and explaining why something is not right to do. I give them "this" or "that" choices and I've even tried ultimatums with them. NOTHING. WORKS. ( I love my kids to pieces, I really do, I promise!) For example, for an ENTIRE week now Zoie has been trying to earn going to the store and spending her birthday money, and for an ENTIRE week she has not even come close to earning it. She knows she is trying to earn it. She asks me every other day if she has been good and if we can go get it, and every time I tell her she has not earned it for reasons A,B AND C (not OR, definitely AND). She just says OK, and continues on her way. UGHHHHHHH!!!!

So tonight we are at Smith's filling Kaija's prescription for a wonderful ear infection, Kaija is in the cart crying bc she wants to get out. I tell her no, she screams louder, whatever I can ignore that (kinda). Then Zoie is touching EVERYTHING on the shelves, so I tell her she needs to come stand by the cart and keep her hands to herself. I am waiting as the pharmacy tech is taking FOREVER to get the stupid medicine. I look back at the cart bc I hear Zoie and Kaija fighting. Zoie is standing in front of Kaija on her knees and Kaija is kicking her in the head. Does Zoie move?? NOOOOO, she starts screaming at Kaija and hitting her feet. I am trying to stay calm and collected, so I tell them to knock it off and for Zoie, who is now laying of the floor in front of the cart, to get up. She starts screaming louder. I. LOST. IT. BIG. TIME. I yanked her up by the arm, I don't think her feet ever touched the ground till I got right at her face level and gave her the sternest " THAT IS ENOUGH" I could muster without beating the snot out of her!!!! Mind you this entire time Kaija is STILL crying bc she still wants out of the effing cart. I turn around to FINALLY grab the stupid antibiotics and the lady says "you have your hands full". All the while, I am choking back serious MELTDOWN tears! I just give her a look like, "Really? I am about to beat the living snot out of my kids and you want to try and crack a joke?? Just give me my stupid medicine so I can get the eff out of here!"  How embarrassing!! I mean, I know moms lose their cool (If you don't, you must be a robot, really). But to do it in public, right in front of someone??? OMG, I swear I am a put together person (most of the time), but anyone who witnessed me tonight would definitely think opposite!

I, of course, call Jonathan at work and tell him about my embarrassing act of rage. I thought for sure he probably already heard that some crazy mom at Smiths was abusing her kids over his radio at work. Luckily, there were no nosey, self righteous people that witnessed it, or he would have for sure had to respond to the crazy lady at Smiths, only to discover it was his WIFE! We both agree we have a serious problem on our hands and HAVE to stop it now, before they get any older. I think the next option we are going to try is a very strict, structured routine.

Something like this:

8am-8:30am- Eat Breakfast

8:30am-9:00am- Get dressed

9:00am-9:35am- Draw pictures

...you get the picture. Maybe my kids are some special kind that need a minute by minute routine. Lets hope it works, because I am on the verge of a SERIOUS meltdown!!

Any advice would be great.

Any similar stories would be even better so I don't feel like such a  psycho parent, a failure as a parent  I am alone in this!

Lifes Little Blessings

So, I have been thinking about starting a blog for a while now. I finally decided to do it after the 5 millionth time Facebook told me my status was too long to publish. I figure this way I wont be limited in sharing the fun stuff our cute little turds do on a daily basis, plus I think I can share this with more friends and family that are not on Facebook.

So, today we went to the doctor and saw the baby! Our little bean is getting bigger! We could see the baby's arms and feet, and cute little alien face. Zoie is still set on the fact that she is having a little brother, despite our constant reminder that it could be a little girl. Zoie is so excited about the baby. She constantly gives my belly hugs and kisses and pushes her head up against my stomach to "hear her brother".  Today she gave me a HUGE hug, when I thanked her, she told me her tummy gave her brother a hug. ( I sure hope we have a boy, or she will be one disappointed little girl!)

Here are a few pictures of the little one on the way:

Kaija who has not worn a diaper in 4 days now (woohoo!) is totally opposite of Zoie, as we have been learning since she was born. Today I was reminded of how she accomplishes EVERYTHING that Zoie never did. I.E. opening drawers and cupboards, pushing buttons, putting things in her mouth, climbing, and PUTTING THINGS IN THE TOILET!! Today I found Tinkerbell taking a swim, luckily it was before I peed!! That girl! She keeps me on my toes!!

Its the little things that make life worth dealing with. Without these two cute girls, how dull would my life be?? I mean huge hugs and swimming Tinkerbell's are what its all about after all, right??

Anyway, I'm hoping the creativity in my blog posts get better as I learn how to use it! Until then, you will have to deal with my boring, plain writing style ;)