When Life gives you Lemons...........

So most of you know, that last year in June, my husband took a job in Everett, Wa. The plan was that it was only going to be a year or two, that's not reeeeaaaallllyyyy that long, so he was going to live out here and work and the boys and I were going to stay in Kansas. Well....that lasted about 6 weeks. We missed each other way to much. They boys missed him. He missed the boys. All around, we wanted our family to be together. So, we decided to make the "temporary" move to Washington.

On July 26, 2011 My boys and I set off across country with our dog, Duke, to join my husband in Washington.
It's been almost a year since we have been here and we have seen a lot of things, did a lot of things and met a lot of people that will become lifelong friends.  We have made so many memories and with the exception of Wrangler, Hunter and Trapper will forever have these memories of the time they spent here.  Do we miss home? YES. Do we want to be home? YES. Every trip home that is made to visit, makes it harder and harder to come back to Washington!

When it was recently brought to my attention that we are only out here for my husband to work because we "like" the money, I really had mixed emotions about it. I mean, yes, who doesn't like money??  And how many people honestly WORK at a job just because they love it so much.....? Most people WORK because the MONEY is what pays the bills, but, most importantly, SUPPORTS their family. The Money puts a roof over their childrens head and puts food in their bellys. Money also pays for school supplies, school field trips, school lunches, clothes, Dr, Dentist and Optometry visits and I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get my point.

It's a tough world out there and sometimes we have to do things that we may not want to do, simply to survive. Applying for jobs in our home state has been done. You then play the waiting game, and HOPE and PRAY that your resume looked impressive enough to get you an interview somewhere.  You can only do so much until you actually receive a job offer that is suitable for your family.  It's easy to point fingers and judge someones situation when you really have no idea what they are doing and what is going on.  

We have 3 boys and a baby girl on the way that our family and friends are missing out on their growing up. We KNOW this job situation out here is only temporary and we will once again be back in Kansas. Until then, Our Life in Washington can be viewed through photos, Skype and phone conversations. When these options are made available to YOU then it's up to YOU to make the effort to actually look at those photos, install Skype on your computer and see what we are up to out here in Washington.  It's not fair to say that we up and left everyone and everything just to go "make some money", when most people know how poor the job market is back home AND how bad we want to be home!!!

Again, you do what you have to do at that time until something else comes along.  Moving 1900 miles away was never in our plan, but we are making the most of it while we can.  Our children are enjoying it, learning new cultures at school, making new friends that they know when we make it back to Ks, they will have to leave these friends behind, but they are ok with that, because they say they don't know when they will get another opportunity like this.  Sometimes I wish that grown adults could see the world from a childs eyes. Then maybe they understand a situation and the good that comes out of it.  

So for now, we will continue our life in Washington, not missing a beat or an opportunity to go to the Ocean,    camp and fish up in the mountains, or drive to surrounding states and do some sight seeing there as well. Of course, we will miss everyone more and more with each passing day, but what gets us through this is KNOWING that we will be home again soon, and until then, we make the best of our time here!

31 Weeks...9 Weeks....63 Days..... 1,512 hours....

Whew......I am FINALLY into the single digits for the weeks remaining until I get to meet this little Baby Girl!!!!  

Today marks 31 weeks being pregnant........I have 9 weeks to go, or (as you can tell from the title) 63 days or 1, 512 hours!!!!  Hey, Who's counting!?!  

I had my last OB check on Monday, Baby Girls Heart rate was 152, a little lower than it has been, she must of been resting from her night time exercise routine of Baby Kung Fu. I am measuring right where I need to be. Baby Girl is still head down, but she is not engaged yet. Dr. Johnston seems to think that she is going to be a small baby.....hmmmm.....I wonder what she will weigh. She offered to do a weight sonogram closer to delivery to see how much she is "estimated" to be weighing, but I am going to pass. I think that since we already know the gender of the baby, the "estimated" weight and height should be a surprise! 

Dr. Johnston gave me the Ok to take a vacation in June to Ks. Of course, being 34 weeks pregnant, I have to take precautions as far as the traveling goes......lots of travel breaks to get my blood circulating, lots of water, which will mean lots of pee breaks....which will be lots of breaks to get my blood circulating.....I see a pattern here....... :) 

We will travel to Ks and then travel back around 38 weeks pregnant. That part does scare me a little bit...but hey, nothing like living on the wild side!?!?  Once I get back to Wa, Dr. will check me and see how far if any that I have dialated and then talk about an inducing. YES!!!!!!! 

So until then, I just keep doing what I am doing! Preparing this baby girl for the world as well as her Daddy!!! Our 3 boys are so excited they can't hardly stand it! I think this little missy is going to have not only her daddy wrapped around her finger, but also 3 boys too!!! We are all so excited to welcome Baby Girl to our family!!!!!! 

Until next time............

Baby Girl!! 

The Countdown is on.....

Soooo, here we are today, May 9, 2012 and I officially hit the 30 week mark!!  That means there are 10 weeks to go, or 70 days or 1,680 hours....that's a lot of numbers!!!!!! 


A lot has changed. I look like I swallowed a basketball already, I can't see my toes, I have increased our water bill tremendously by all my trips to the potty, I know what noises are being made at midnight, 2 am, 3 am and 5 am now due to the frequent night time potty trips. My appetite is HUGE now....and so is my Indigestion, but I keep eating only to have Spearmint Tums be my after meal dessert! With this little lady riding so high, breathing is a chore, I'm pretty sure I have internal bruising from all of her jabs at me, and I till have 10 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!!  I think she's going to be a feisty one!! 


My boys think it's super neat to see her moving around in my belly. I tell them that when I push on her, she is getting mad, so Trapper tells me to make her mad all the time, so he can feel her kick me!!!  Wrangler tells me that I need to "move" baby sister, so he can sit on my lap. Hunter keeps talking about when she will be 2 years old and doing the things that Wrangler is doing now. Trapper is making her "profiles" on all their Wii and Xbox games, so when she is able to play them, she will already have the things unlocked, so she can play the fun stuff!!!


As far as mommy and daddy go, I think we are still taking in the fact that we are going to have a girl. Everywhere we go, people see us, with our 3 boys, and they say..."oh, is the next one a girl"....so when we tell them "yes", we usually have to spend about 5 minutes talking to complete strangers about how our lives are going to completely change with a little girl in the picture....ummm, thanks, but YES, we know this!!!  We already know this because we have NOTHING girly and there is NOTHING girly about our family!!! I look at all of the toys our boys have, and they are 100% pure boy. Monster trucks, Tractors, Trains, Snakes, dinosaurs, dragons you name it, it's all boy...there is nothing girly at our house!!! 


So, as I sit here and think about what is going to happen in the next 10 weeks, and what all needs to be done, and all the preparation for this little girl, I start to panic a little bit!!! I have never been this unprepared or unorganized, I always have a plan put in place. But right now, I am just enjoying the little miracle growing inside of me. I know that things will fall in place, just like they usually do and there is nothing to worry about, other than how I am going to tie my shoes in the upcoming weeks!!!


Have a great week everyone!!

And....She has Clothes!!!!

So, I had decided that it was time I bought baby girl SOMETHING....I didn't care what it was. I had refrained from buying "the baby" anything the whole 20 weeks leading up to the sonogram. I really didn't have any reason as to why I didn't buy anything, I think I just was waiting until "the big day"!!!!! 


So, last Friday, I decided it was finally time to buy something. It could be an outfit, diapers, pacifiers, bibs, it really didn't matter, as long as I could purchase something to make it official that we were having a BABY GIRL!!!!!! 


So, Friday morning, I asked Wrangler if he wanted to go buy his baby sister something. He tells me No. He also tells me he is NOT having a sister, but he is having a "monkey"...... Interesting things come out of a 2 year olds mouth. 


I had seen on one of my baby forums that Macy's.com was having a huge baby sale, so I started looking there. I found all kinds of things to fill my shopping bag, and then it hit me.....UMMMM.......there is a REAL Macy's STORE right across town from us!!!!!!!  So, I say "let's go, we are going shopping"!!!!!! 


We get to Macy's and of course, there are way more outfits to choose from online, but it was neat to actually HOLD the baby girl clothes. I went through EVERY single rack of baby girl clothing they had looking for just the right items to buy. Wrangler was pushing the stroller around, telling me that all these clothes were for Jersey.....He was NO HELP. 


I found several outfits.....found a spot on the floor to lay them out and make my decision. I text my friend Bekah for some advice on them. I would have bought them all, but remembered that DADDY would probably of grounded me from the debit card!!!! 


So I narrowed it down to just a few. Wrangler did finally help me out some. Even though, he was more interested in ripping the clothes off the rack with the stroller handles. 


Here are some of my Macy's finds for "baby girl".......

I opted for this because My dad is on cloud 9 that this baby is a girl!!!

I thought this was just super cute!!! 

I'm thinking when we head to Ks, she will be able to wear this for the hot Kansas Summers! 

Not a big fan of all the pink, but I did think this was cute! 

I knew that this would be a big hit with the 3 big Brothers. Hunter told me this was his favorite shirt and she needed to "come home" in this shirt! 

After we had left Macy's, we ventured into the mall to Old Navy. By this time, Wrangler was done shopping....after ONE STORE!!!!  But, I knew that Old Navy had the big bouncy balls in the machine that he liked to get, so we compromised. I told him a few minutes looking for clothes for baby sister and he could have a ball. He agreed. 

So, I did manage to find a few things at Old Navy, although, I have to say, I was not real impressed with their selection. I have always heard that Old Navy had "the cutest little girl clothes....."......I didn't really think so.
I did manage to find the following: 

This was cute...and of course, we know she will be famous!!! 

Dad's Flower Girl.....yes, we know it's true!!! 

And of course, Daddy's Little Cupcake.....

So, that ended Wrangler and I's shopping extravaganza for baby sister. He fell asleep about 3 minutes into the car ride home. I was happy. Grinning from ear to ear and couldn't wait to show off her new clothes!!! 

Trapper got home from school first, so I showed him. He wanted to go buy his baby sister something...and I DID need a few things from Wal-Mart.......so off we went!!!!!!! 

"This is my little Black Dress"...... This one is one of my favorites too!!!! 

So that is what she has so far for a wardrobe. I am sooo excited and the next 18 weeks are not going to come soon enough!!!! 

I feel somewhat complete knowing that she has something of her's now in our home. 

Now...we just gotta work on that name thing again...............

Have a great day! 

Love~

The Kirkwoods' 

And It's A............................

So we were anxiously awaiting for March 2nd. Why?!?!  Not because it was the opening day of The Lorax.....not because it was a 1/2 day of school for the boys....BUT.....because we were finally going to be able to find out what this baby is that has taken over my body!! The boys wanted a sister. Even Wrangler said he wanted a Baby Sister. Hunter told me that he even Prayed to God that he would have a baby Sister. Trapper told eveyone at school that he wanted a Sister.  I wouldn't of minded either way if it was a boy or girl as long as "the baby" was healthy!! Now....my husband on the other hand, he is (was :) ) 

Anti-girl, and the thought of having a daughter made his hair start turning grey!!  (True Story!) 

So the time came, we picked the boys up from school, and while there, the office staff all congratulated me and told me that Trapper was soo excited and he told them all that "We are going to find out what my baby is going to be, I hope it's a Sister!!" Boy, did I EVER feel the pressure then!!!!! 

We got to the appointment and we were all able to go into the room. This is where it gets interesting!! 

Hello Mommy and Daddy

As soon as the "baby" popped up on the screen, I started to Cry. Hunter was like "Why are you crying???", I told him I was excited!!  Trapper couldn't figure out what he was supposed to be looking at on the screen, other than he was seeing bones....ribs....spine.....he thought it was a little freaky. Wrangler was standing beside me holding my hand and saying "you ok mommy? you ok?".....so it was a little emotional. Dad was just standing eagerly waiting for the "BOY PARTS" to appear on the screen!!! 

Trapper was a little freaked out here.......

The Tech makes her way down to the "potty shot", and the legs are Crossed. There is no way she is going to see what that baby is. So, she continues to take measurements. The longer we were in there, the more anxious everyone was getting. My good friend Bekah came with her daughter Jersey to check out the sonogram as well. When they came in, the first thing Jersey says is "Nelly, we got your cookies!!!". It was priceless!!  The boys were getting ansy, so Bekah took all of them out of the room, so it's just me and Dad. 

Peek-A-Boo Already!!!

I was asking all kinds of questions about the heart, the brain, the feet, lips, faces, kidneys, placenta......Bekah says I need to stay off of WEB MD!!!!!  It all looked good. We couldn't be happier, although, we really would like to have seen what we were having. So, she tries one more time to get the "potty shot", and sees that the baby has turned....only to be Sitting INDIAN STYLE!!!!!  What!?!?!  Are you kidding me?!?!!?  So after some jiggling on my belly, she gets the baby to move just enough to see that 

It's A BaBy GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I said "Nu-uh, Really!?!!?" And she said yes, went back over it and said Yep, it's a girl!!!!  So, THEN the waterworks came!!  I was crying again!!!  I was soo happy. In my excitement, I looked over and Dad, who had stood by my side the entire time, had sat down in the chair. He slowing took his hat off, and started rubbing his head and just sat there like "Oh NO, what in the HECK am I going to do with a girl?" It was a Kodak moment!!!! 

When we were all finished, we went out to the waiting area and the boys were asking all kinds of questions. So when I told them it was a Baby Girl, they were jumping up and down and hootin' and hollerin'!!!  They were sooo excited!!!  

Spoiled (already) Baby Girl

It was a great day for our family. Since then, the news has sunk in a little better to dad. I think he is going to be ok. We went shopping on Sunday, and I held up a little baby girl Skirt, and he just looked at it and walked off. I think if he has his way, she will be dressed in sweatpants and look like a rag doll all the time!!!! 

Now, the next 19 weeks just need to FLY by, because we are all sooo ready to meet her!!!! 

I hope the video plays for all of you!!!

Thank you for sharing in this special moment with us! We are extremely happy and Blessed to be welcoming such a beautiful baby to our family!! 

Happy First Day of March

Hellllooooooooo March 1st!!!!!!  

We welcomed this day with Snow here in Washington, but only a few short hours later, all the snow had melted and we had the windows open letting the fresh air in the house! And they say the weather in KaNSaS is crazy!!! ;)

Normally, my boys would be all for a schools out Snow Day, they were a little freaked when they read on the Local KOMO News Station that there were some schools with Delays and Closings today due to the snow...they were actually Praying that Mukilteo would NOT be on that list!!! It wasn't, so they were relieved!!!

The nice winter storm we had in January kept them out of school for 5 days, therefore, the make up days are scheduled for the end of the year, so now they don't get out of school until June 21st!!!  They said it seems like they will NEVER get out of school!!!  Ha!!! 

Today has been a long one, as I am anxiously awaiting for Tomorrow at 11 a.m. to get here so I can <Hopefully> find out the gender of this little baby in my belly!!!!! I was very busy today. Wrangler had a play day with Jersey Girl so that kept him busy while I did some much needed cleaning and organizing!! 

March 1st marks the countdown for Many events happening in March!!  

IN just 8 short days, my Great Grandma will be celebrating her 104th Birthday...NO, that is not a TYPO...she was born on March 9, 1908 and she is still as healthy as can be and going pretty darn well for a woman in her 100's!!!! When we visited Ks over Christmas, the boys and I got to spend some time with her. It was definitely too short of a visit, but it was good to see her. 

In just 7 short days, my Grandma D will be celebrating 80 years of life!!!  It seems like yesterday that both these gals were much younger, but they look GREAT for their ages. 

I guess it's true, being active and busy your whole life will keep you going...or if you ask my Great Granny.... "A Drink A Day will keep the Dr. away"!!!  And this is NO LIE!!!  We used to gather at her house on Friday's for "Happy Hour" where she would serve up mixed drinks-her specialty was "Old Crow Whiskey w/ Squirt"....She called it a "Snort"...... :) For those who didn't prefer the Whiskey...she would serve up Cranberry Juice and Vodka.....ohh, the memories we had at her house getting together with Family and catching up after a busy work week!!! For her 100th Birthday Celebration, her Family Dr. of MANY Years came to the party and brought her a bottle of Old Crow.......now that's a GOOD Doctor!!!! :) 

There are many more birthdays coming up this month, sometimes I wish I had a March Birthday...but so many of my family members have that covered already!!!

27 DAYS until we get to head to Ks for our little MINI VACATION!! We are on the countdown!!!!

Now the boys and I are off to frost the "funfetti" cake we made today and cook some Spaghetti for Dinner! 

HaVe a GrEAt Evening!!!!! 

Where has the time gone?!?!

So, it's February 28....Where in the heck has the time gone this year?!?! 
It seems like yesterday we were ringing in the new year with our boys. Now, they are bringing home flyers for Spring/Summer Activities, Year book order forms, Spring Break notices and etc.......
February was a month of LOOOOVVVEEEE!!!!!  :) 
My hubby surprised me with a beautiful pink sapphire necklace from Helzberg Diamonds...(Secretly named "Nelly's Diamonds") for Valentines' Day! I Love when he buys me things, he puts so much heart and effort into it, then as soon as he gets home, he is handing me the gift to open, because he can't contain his excitement! 

What did I get him? Haha...Tinted windows for his New Pickup....very romantic! :) He liked them though, so that's all that matters. 


Here is some news on my lovely Family: 


I got to experience BOTH my boys addressing their OWN Valentine's for school this year. It was so bittersweet watching them write out all the names. They had fun doing it. 


Hunter got to make a Valentine's Box, he was proud of it. Hunter ALSO had a "Valentine" this year, and he wanted to get her something, so we got her a box of chocolates.
It was so sad to see my little boy growing up wanting to get a GIRL a gift. 


Trapper...he was more worried about making sure his Teacher had a present. He teased Hunter all the time about "his girlfriend", but on Valentine's Day, Trapper Burst through the door and said "MOM...there is a girl FAlling IN LOVE with me"!!!!  I asked him how he knew that and he said "The card she gave me said "I like spending time with you, Valentine"....And he told her that Valentine meant "boyfriend" and she said I know. It was a priceless moment seeing him grinning from ear to ear with excitement!! 


Wrangler enjoyed watching the boys do their crafts for school, and we made chocoloate dipped heart marshmallows. He enjoyed it! He likes to go to the Dr. with momma to hear "his babies" heart beat. He is now officially Potty Trained!!!!!  Yay!!!! We went to Wal-Mart and he got to pick out some undies of his choice. He chose Thomas the Train. The first 3 days were rough, Momma was ready to throw in the towel, but the 4th day, he did great, and he has done great ever since!!  I am so proud of him and his desire to be a "big boy" like his brothers. He wants to go to school, he wants a Nintendo 3DS like his brothers, he has some great idols to look up to, I just hope they realize HOW MUCH he looks up to them!! 


We also got some very good news this month.....the Hubs put in for vacation to take our Spring Break Trip Home to Ks with us, and he was APPROVED for the Vacation!!!!  The boys and I are so excited that he gets to come home with us!!  He has been working 80 hours a WEEK for the last 3 weeks, with no signs of it slowing down any, so he is looking forward to the much needed mini vacation!!  


I am so excited to get to go home with him this time!!  Our friends and family are super excited that he gets to come home as well!!  They all missed him at Christmas, and it just wasn't the same being there without him! 


Today marks the 20th week of my pregnancy. It really hasn't gone by to fast or to slow...it just seems to be coming along. Our Anatomy Scan is Friday March 2nd. I can't wait to see the "little one" and am praying that the baby is healthy and there are no problems. I am also hoping that I may get a glimpse of the gender, to see if I am adding to my team of boys or if I need to brace myself for a little girl!!!! The hubs is rooting for Team Blue, but these other 3 boys are begging for a sister, so I hope they get their wish!!! 


March is full of exciting things to come as well!!  Birthdays, Gender Reveal, Spring activites are starting for the boys, Trip to Ks......I am looking forward to it!!! 


Happy LEAP Year everyone!!! 


The Kirkwood Bunch