The joys of cooking

You know as well as I do that officer's eat out pretty much every shift, well in my area they do.  A lot of places give discounts for them when they are in uniform.  So being the caring, loving, devoted wife that I am (please hold all laughter until the story has come to a safe and complete stop) I try to fix home cooked meals every now and then for him and whatever officers happen to be working, or I will fix a dessert or fresh baked bread and they will come by and have coffee.  Despite what it seems Susie Homemaker I am not.  Well this weekend I got a little break, Hubs was at work, Thing 1 and Thing 2 were at a birthday party so this mama got to fly solo.  What did I do with my hours of free time you ask...did I stay home and clean my house...nope.  Did I volunteer my time...nope.  Did I take a nap...nope.  I went and had lunch with Hubs and then went to the grocery store ALL BY MYSELF!!!  If you are a mother you understand the awesome feeling it is to wander up and down ever lane and not have to yell or fuss or scowl. But I digress. 

Before I went to the store I asked Hubs if there was anything imparticular he wanted or needed.  He actually made a request which he never does.  He wanted me to get the stuff to make a cream cheese danish.  Once again being the loving devoted wife, I get the fixings to be able to make two of them.  It is super easy, and quick and oh my gosh so good.  I go home and bake this thing and take it to the PD for the officers working.  I then tell Hubs that I will have supper fixed tomorrow night because I was going to Mother's to learn how to make Chicken and Dumplings. 

Now if you are a southerner or have meet a southerner you are aware that this meal is comfort food in a pot.  It is my all time favorite winter meal and I LOVE a plate full of them along with pintos, slaw and cornbread, you really can't have one without the others.  Again I digress. 

I take Thing 1 and 2 and head to my mom's and I will admit I am almost drooling at the idea of what's gonna be the end result.  So we get this pot of goodness made and I take them home and stash in the fridge for supper the next night. 

Fast forward to the next evening, I made a big ole bowl of slaw, had pintos cooking in the crock pot most of the day and made a big ole cake of cornbread (Hungry yet?)  I go to taste the dumplings and let me just say what I had on that fork was not at all what I was expecting.  Oh no.  It was disaster in a pot.  Then I go check the beans that have cooked on high for about 5 hours.  They were no where near done.  I go to take the cornbread out of the pan and it was stuck.  I call my mother because I am just shy of tears.  My mother answers and I just tell her that I think that i have just made the worst meal of my entire life.  What does she do...She laughs. 

Hubs comes home to eat and I tell him, that I will just pay for us to go out to eat.  He stands over the pot and takes a sniff.  He just shakes his head.  Thing 1 said "Daddy, I don't think the dog will eat that, I really don't think a possum would eat that."  Well ya know that stings a little.  I am on the verge of tears.  Hubs and kiddos are laughing and all I can say is, well at least I don't have a PD full of hungry men waiting on them. 

Needless to say the pot got set outside and the dog loved them.  I however will be buying a new pot before the next attempt at making them.

There really is a difference...

I will be the first to admit it takes a special something to be an LEO.  However, no matter how tough the man with a badge, he will be knocked to his knees like a little boy as soon as a cold hits.  One has hit dear old Hubs and let me tell you, there is a difference in man sick and mom sick.

I received a text earlier today that simply said "your man is getting sick"  the sender is a person I often refer to as a saint.  She is the only female at our PD and well they would fall apart with out her. The text made me cringe. 

I realize that it isn't that bad really but I would rather have all the sickness at once than for any of my 3 guys to get sick.  Somehow the mom handles it better.  That is why she is the mom. 

Hubs calls me to ask if we have soup.  We did not.  However after I stopped at the grocery on the way home, we did, and cheese for ooey gooey grilled cheese.   Then he ask if I can fix the vaporizer.  So I did.  I also put 2 cold pills and a bottle of water on his nightstand and the heating pad at the foot of the bed set to high. There is also a supply of tissue.

Hopefully this passes soon.  Hopefully it doesn't get worse.  Hopefully I can breathe in the a.m. because it smells like a menthol factory blew up in this room.    

You know your married to an LEO when...

I am realizing more and more there are certain things that are sure fire signs that you are married to a cop, that only other officer's spouses will understand.  There are a few things that LEO kid's understand more than anyone.

1) There are some stains you just don't question.  Given the line of work they are in, there really is no telling what exactly it will be.  It is better just to have a good multi-purpose stain remover and go on. 
2) When they say I'll be home by ... you know full well to add at least an hour to it.  Giving a time that they will be home is a sure fire way to get a call 5 minutes before shift change. 
3)You don't make plans the days they are working...see number 2 for explanation.
4) Date nights become family date nights, just because the kids go as long without seeing Daddy as you do.
5) Being hung up on while trying to talk on the phone doesn't mean their mad, it means they just got busy really quick.
6) Unanswered telephone calls returned 3 hours later aren't because they are being rude/or are doing something they shouldn't.  They don't like having to answer the phone mid arrest.
7) Birthdays and anniversaries and holidays are often not spent together or have to be celebrated on different days.  Life is planned around the schedule, the schedule isn't planned around life.
8)Telephone calls in the middle of the night may be the only time they get to call back.
9) Hearing I love you as they run out the door means so much more.
10) You learn that quality time is so much more important than quantity time

Some things that kids know

1) Dad is most likely gonna miss baseball games/award programs and school plays but they would much rather be there
2) If you are out and about and get in trouble...Dad will find out there is no hiding it.
3) You will be the kid in class with the cool click it or ticket pencils.
4) People think its cute when they ask you your dad's phone number and you say 911(especially when your little)
5)Time with Dad means a whole lot more because he's not always there.

Perks of the job

I pride myself on being a self sufficient mom.  Given the fact that being a LEO wife means you are a married single parent most of the time.  I don't have the luxury of not functioning when hubs is working.  I also don't NORMALLY get spooked when home at night without him.  I mean let's face it, I am 31 years old, I don't think the Bogey Man is really out there lurking.  With that being said let me say this, I live in a very rural area, there is a safety light in the neighbor's (who happen to be directly across the street) yard but it is only on about half the time.  I have a large dog that will let me know if something comes up that isn't suppose to be there, and well he will do his best to scare it off-he is slightly evil looking so I am certain it would work.  However, while getting ready for bed the other night, I was stepping out of the shower and heard a crash. It sounded like it was to the side of the house, but sounded a lot like something hitting my front door.  So being the brave chicken I am, I walk through the house to check on the kids to make sure they are OK, and make sure hubs hasn't come home early. 

Well the kids were snuggled up all nice a comfy in bed, and there were no signs of him being in the house. I admit, the dog wasn't barking, but still I was a bit antsy. So being a practical woman, what did I do.  You guessed.  I broke on the ole cell phone and sent hubs a text that basically said, something went boom come check it out please.

As you can imagine I was fully expecting a phone call back that said get over it and go to bed. Thankfully I didn't get that type of phone call at all.  I did get a call wanting to know what I heard and if the afore mentioned big dog was barking.  He of course wasn't which eased my mind a bit.  Then I hear the words that instantly settled me down.  "I'm pulling in the driveway"  You want to talk about relief.  Once I made my way across my house I see a second set of headlights pulling in. I walk out side and realize it's one of the other officers that hubs.  I walked outside and was assured that everything looked fine.  I asked Hubs what the other guy came with him for, because I was surprised. 

Hubs said well once I said I had to come home because you heard something and it spooked you and that you don't call for that kind of stuff, he said he needed to come check to. 

How is that for your own personal Calvary.  Thankfully everything was fine and I shortly there after went to bed and slept great...till Hubs came home and woke me up. 

Midnight shifts

Hubs has worked a variety of shifts and rotations since being an LEO.  We have endured the 2 week day/2 week night rotation.  I hated it.  Just when you get used to them being int he bed every night, the rotation changes.  The same goes for the night part of the rotation.  We had the every returning shift switch rotation.  If he worked Monday/Tuesday day, he worked night shift all weekend.  I loved that.  He was home just enough to be content, but gone at nights just enough that I could crash early and get caught up on rest.  Now that Hubs is Sgt, we are on a 2nd shift type rotation.  Hours are mostly noon to midnight.  This shift really does have its pros and cons.  One major pro...he is home every night.  One major con...he comes home at unGodly hours.  Thankfully he is usually home around 1230.  Sadly I am usually awake when he gets in.  Either I am still up doing the mom thing, or I am snuggled up with my Kindle reading.  If I am not awake when he comes in I am shortly there after.  This would be because even though the bedside lamp is on, the big bright overhead light usually comes on.

I will say however the biggest Pro of the shift, is that he is not a road officer now, he is more of a detective.  Do you know how much stress it takes off of you knowing your husband isn't answering calls as much.  I always tried not to worry when he was working but I mean let's admit it, your gonna worry.  Don't get me wrong I still worry, but just not near as much as before. 

I love the flexibility with his department.  We live just outside the city limits but he is still able to come home and see the kids if he is on a stretch of not seeing them for a few days.  I guess when delaing with the stress of the LEO lifestyle you gotta find bright spots where you can.

A day to be remembered

Today is the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on US soil in American history.  Innocent lives were lost, and lives were changed forever.  I think it is safe to say that all Americans that were of "remembering age" can tell you where they were at the moment they heard about the attack 11 years ago.  I personally was heading to class at the local community college.  I was 20 years old. 

This attack and the events that followed are what prompted Hubs to go into law enforcement.  He felt the call that day to do something and this was the end result. 

So on this anniversary let's pause and remember those who gave their life, either in the actual plane crashes or the rescue efforts that followed.  Let's also pause and remember the families left behind.

You just get to the point where...

You just do what you wanna do.  After being married to an LEO for almost 9 years (that is a long time in LEO time and modern day marriages) you get tot he point where you don't work your schedule around his as much.  You just go.  For instance, in the past several years I would have spent the entire weekend at home just the boys and I because Hubs was working all weekend.  It has recently gotten to the point though that sitting at home all weekend stinks as much to me as it does the kids.  Now my boys are 8 and 5, they are by no means social butterflies but they do have the need to get out of the house.  I will say those two boys and I stayed ont he go all weekend.  We went to Thing 1's trophy presentation for baseball, dinner out just the three of us, a trip to Walmart, an afternoon by the pool, a trip to Lowe's and Pizza Hut.  When the boys were younger, and honestly fought less we would go out more just the three of us, and honestly when it was just one kid and me, we would take off anywhere.  But as the kids get older the thrill of going and doing is there more.  Normally on the weekends that it is just us, I would take care of the errands, such as grocery shopping and things of that nature that I know is easier without the husband.  However now, the boys and I are doing more fun stuff.  Now don't be mistaken, I love nothing more than my family of 4 spending quality time together.   It is all about balance, you get let your life stop.  Now we don't do anything major, like long distance trips, but little day things to keep the three of us from getting bored out of our minds.  It's all about living, and really there is not a point one in sitting and waiting for life to come to you, you have to go get it.