Drive By Blogging

Just a few notes about life right now over here. Hope you are all having a great Monday.

- I am currently down 30 pounds and gained a total of 36 pounds during this pregnancy. I would like to be 30 pounds less than that but I will cheer for joy when I hit my conception weight. Need to keep up the calories to produce milk.

- Not too into the holidays this year. I mean, I am as far as it being just our little family. But, with all the 4 different Christmases we usually do, it's just way too much for me to do all that this year, especially without Cop Dad. I'll be lucky if I get shopping done for just the 4 of us. Christmas for Little Buddy this year is going to be alot of fun!

- Getting sick. Little Buddy just getting over whatever yuck he had. Fever for days and lots of him up in the middle of the night wanting Mommy and Daddy.

- Little Munchkin just loves to sleep all day. Not sure how much you can wake a newborn up during the day, not too successful with that. It's been lots of breastfeeding and little sleep. Though there have been a few fabulous nights of 5 hours, then 3 and another 2. I could handle that. Those are not that frequent but they should start to occur more frequently soon . . . . . . hopefully?

- Cop Dad's FMLA leave is done this Friday. Not sure how I'll handle the chaos without him. How on earth do moms do it? I have a new respect for any moms that have more than one small child and look "put together" and happy . . . . . . and awake?!.

- Little Buddy is going through some kind of phase where he is reverting back to some of his baby ways. Like crying A LOT!!!, lots of whining and he has suddenly gotten really, really, L-O-U-D! Eight pm is happy hour over here now :)

- Little Munchkin is almost rolling over by herself already. Wow!

- Wondering when the bags under my eyes will leave? They have been here since late pregnancy and got worse after my cesarean. I hope they are not here to stay.

- I feel so blessed to have one boy and one girl. I did not think I really cared because I am not a frilly pinky ribbons mommy. I caught myself talking to Little Munchkin the other night and telling her I was really glad I would be able to pass down my doll house furniture to her when we get her a dollhouse some day.

- I am very done with football season. Was done with it before it began. Not-a-fan.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tunnel Of Darkness

Thank you to everyone for all your kind and loving comments. I am finding it very hard to do much of anything right now as we all adjust to our new family, even showering. Currently, we are trying to figure out how to help Little Munchkin sleep during the night and not so much during the day. Very exhausted. This is why I call this stage, "The Tunnel Of Darkness." Another mom called it that one time and it seemed to fit so well that I now use it. You are in a whirlwind of things to do and get done and the whole way you are so tired (both mentally and physically) that you can hardly keep your bearings on the day, who ate and when, answering the phone, etc. Little Buddy definitely keeps us on our toes. Funny, when I had one I thought it was so hard. Now I think back at how it was so much easier in so many ways. I will hop on the computer periodically and check my e-mails and even see who's writing about what without much of a chance to read anything. Hoping our new little bundle can sleep through the night in a few months, (which seems like an eternity away). Until then, I will see ya around and miss everyone and blogging too. Oh, and sleep, I remember that wonderful luxury I used to enjoy. Hope you are all having a good November and are looking forward to the upcoming holidays. Heading up now to give my body, brain and my breasts a rest. Feeling very blessed and sleepy. Later!

She's Here!!!

"Little Munchkin" (as she will be referred to on my blog) arrived in this world on Friday, November 13th at 8:09 am by cesarean section. She has a full head of black hair just as I did when I was born. She weighed 7 pounds and 14 ounces at birth and is 19 1/2 inches long. We are very excited and exhausted and Little Buddy loves her so much, it has even brought us to tears a few times. I will be working on our official birth announcement just as soon as I catch my breath as we just got home today. The oddest part of the whole birth was that they had a hard time getting her out as she was transverse (sideways: head under one of my breasts and butt under the other) and had one foot up to her forehead and one foot straight down in front of her pressing on my cervix? Glad I was scheduled for that day as the night before I was extremely uncomfortable with cramping and contractions. Happy Birthday Little Munchkin!!!

Happy 40th Sesame Street!

Hard to believe that Sesame Street is turning 40! I will be 37 in February and remember watching it as a small child on our little black and white tv with a dial and rabbit ears back in the good old 70's. Is the show really just a few years older than me? Now my son watches it and I can still love and appreciate it 40 years later. I was trying to think who my favorite character was as a chid. I think I was torn between Grover and Ernie. I wonder how many more years it will be around? Happy birthday Sesame Street!

Practical LEO Gift Idea: Badge Wallet

I picked up one of these for Cop Dad a few years ago for Christmas from a local uniform shop nearby. He LOVED it and the fact that he was able to have the best of both worlds: Carry around all his credit cards, money, etc. AND he got to carry around his off duty badge and his commission card as well. You can find many different uniform and police stores that either carry badge wallets or who can order them for you. There are also countless police supply websites who sell them. The only thing you really have to think about is the bifold/trifold option and what badge style/number your LEO has. Cop Dad's PD had that info when I needed it, I imagine most would. This badge wallet is not the one that Cop Dad has, but you get the idea. I have a few other very practical LEO gift ideas to share and was going to do it in one big post but figured it was easier right now to do one here and there.

On Daddy's Pillow

Over the last few months of my pregnancy I have had Little Buddy nap with me in our bed in Cop Dad's spot once in awhile. It is very nice but does not always work. That plus I cannot stop staring at him as he sleeps. I was laying next to him the other day and he was so wiped out but but all I could do was look at him. I grabbed my cell phone and took this photo and sent it to Cop Dad at work. What is so mesmerizing about watching your children sleep? I hope once we are 4 instead of 3 we will still be able to take a nap together once in awhile.

Pre-baby Jitters

Not sure if any of the other moms out there can relate to having really bad pre-baby jitters in your whole house right before a second or third baby. Naturally before the first one, I get that, but the whole house seems very tense and stressed lately. It seems to be worse for the males too? I kinda keep to myself especially cause they seem really touchy. My two-year-old, hubby and even the male dog seem to be pregnant or PMSing or something. It's funny and frustrating at the same time and I just keep thinking to myself, "Wait a minute, who's pregnant here? Who's going under the knife on Friday?" Maybe my hormones are rubbing off? Anyone out there recall any of this when you were about to deliver? Ha! Cop Dad just leaned over to kiss me on his way to work and read this and said he thinks he is definitely having a harder time with the jitters and anxiety. Amen, least he can admit it and Amen too that's it's not all me. The song, The Final Countdown, by Europe, has been playing in my head for weeks now. It always does right before something big. 39 weeks today and 5 days to go . . . . . . . Agh!

Ode To The Cesarean (In Photos)

*Warning, this may be a little graphic for the very young or if you are easily grossed out.
AND, no these are not me but just miscellaneous pictures from the internet I put together, so any V birthers out there can see what C births are all about :) I'm stillllllllllll pregnant. Ugh!

A Guest Post From Cop Dad

Please help me in welcoming for the very first time (drumroll . . . . . . . . ) Cop Dad! Once in awhile when I am on the computer he hangs over my shoulder (when he wants to talk to me about something) and reads what's on the screen. The last time he was reading the comment I had left on Walking a Thin Blue Line's post titled, Social Life For LEO Fams. I felt a little nervous as his eyes made their way down the list. Not that I said anything that put him in a bad light or was untrue but that I was so very open and had put out some very personal things that we had learned through much trial and error over the last few years since he first became a cop. I was honest and do NOT think I know everything by any means, but also felt that if maybe someone could either read something that they could relate to (in my comment and/or anyone else's) or are struggling with and benefit from, then that is what this whole blog thing is about, right? Helping each other out and sharing with others what your journey is about. It has been invaluable for me to have a circle of fellow LEO wives and LEO's too who can talk about what their experience's are like and often times relate to, sometimes disagree, and sometimes just learn from others about what it's like to be married and have a family with anyone in law enforcement. And I think that the anonymity of blogging definitely lets you share more than in real life, at least for me.

Anyway, he liked my comment and agreed with it wholeheartedly. I then asked him if he would be interested in doing a guest post about the same general topic and he at first said no, then asked me a day or two later if I still wanted him to write one. I was thrilled. I figured that many LEO's that blog or do guest posts for their wives do not want to spill their guts about much of anything regarding home/family/marriage life, especially on the internet. That being said I felt that it would be very helpful for anyone who is married to an LEO to hear a bit of what it's like from their side, seeing as though we are almost always hearing it from the women's sides on here. He tossed around some really good titles and then the very last one he came up with was, "Don't Let The Badge Define You." I loved it right away, but then also told him that I wanted to really grab reader's attention and title the post "A Guest Post From Cop Dad." He agreed. Without further ado.

My wife asked me to write a guest post several days ago and I said, “No way, absolutely not, it will never happen”. Ha. Here I am. Don’t ask me why I decided to write this because I don’t have an answer. I don’t even know what to write about. I’ve been reading my wife’s blog more often lately and looking at her cop wife friends’ posts and another cop that writes blogs so I decided I would give it a shot. First a blurb about being a cop, then the important stuff about being a good husband and father.

PART 1:
I’m second-generation law enforcement. I was raised in a cop household. My father was a police officer for 30 years in the Chicagoland area. He started the police academy in 1978, three months before I was born. I grew up around the police department and wanted nothing more in life than to follow in my idol’s footsteps and become a cop.

Being a cop was a lot different back then. Cops were much more free to dish out some old school justice on the streets. The bad guy wouldn't even get arrested half the time but he would walk away from the encounter with a new found respect for the police. The bad guys certainly wouldn’t be taping the encounter with their cell phones, filing a lawsuit or calling to complain to a supervisor because an officer accidentally said the “F” word when yelling at him to drop his knife.

Today’s world is the most difficult time in the history of LE to be a cop. The above example of using the “F” word to a man holding a knife and then having a complaint filed was is no joke. In my department the complaint would go nowhere, but it’s just the fact that these bad guys think they are smarter than us. The world expects us to deal with the worst of the worst on a daily basis and then call them sir or ma’am. LE actually emphasizes in training nowadays that when yelling commands at a guy with a gun or knife or whatever that we should really work on not swearing and possibly throwing in the work sir or ma’am. Oh, really. Watching my language is my last concern. The first would be keeping a bullet from entering my body with any means necessary. But in their defense, their theory is that if you do end up shooting the bad guy then any witnesses will only remember the swear word that you said or the tone of your voice and nothing else thus making you look really bad.

That being said, this is still the best job ever. I love it. I get paid to chase and fight with bad guys and drive fast – very, very fast. Every day is different.

I really think you need a Type A personality to be a cop. I mean, who else gets off on telling people what to do and hoping to get into physical altercations if someone doesn’t listen. There is nothing quite like going to a house on a domestic and walking to the front door and being greeted by a pissed off intoxicated husband telling me, “You’re not coming in here asshole, this is my house.” I can’t help but smile to myself because I know what is coming next and the scary thing is that I can’t wait to do it. It usually starts with me saying, “No, this is my house now!” or “Get the “F” out of my way”! Followed by a palm heel strike to the chest, a straight-arm bar take down and the bad guy falling down and me putting him in handcuffs. It’s now always that smooth but you get the picture.

PART 2:
I tell my wife all the time, “You are the reason for my success.” It’s true. I’ve been blessed with an incredibly beautiful, patient, caring, loving, understanding and nurturing wife. Anyone else would have left me by now. I realized that and took corrective action on my part. But it requires constant work. I can’t let down because Officer Cop Dad takes over in my mind and I treat my family like bad guys.

Living the life of a cop is what I would imagine someone with Bi-Polar Disorder lives with. It’s constantly one extreme to the other: One minute I am chasing and wrestling some dirt bag from the city who just stole a bottle of vodka from the liquor store and two hours later I am cuddling, hugging, kissing and tickling my beautiful two year old Little Buddy being as gentle as I can be. These are two different extremes within two hours of each other. This is why it so important to work so hard on separating cop/work from husband/dad/home.

Although that Type A personality is exactly what makes us good police officers, it is also exactly what makes us lousy husbands. Luckily there are a lot of things that can be done to keep a marriage strong, but they require us not being stubborn and managing our pride. A list of the qualities that I feel are important to constantly work on for cop dads/husbands:

1. Separation of cop/work from husband/dad/home. It’s not easy but necessary.
2. Patience, Patience, Patience. Did I say patience?
3. Teamwork
4. Fairness
5. Understanding
6. Develop/sustain a healthy hobby (i.e. I like to jog/strength train)
7. Make any time spent with your family quality time. You never know how much you have left. Already this year we have lost 101 brothers and sisters.
8. Be careful of the amount of OT and side jobs you work. Nothing will detach you from your family faster than never being home.
9. Always place family first. Fact is, no one cares for you and loves you like your family. I’m sorry if you disagree, but you will never experience the love and sacrifice and loyalty that your family gives you from any other human beings.
10. Being a cop doesn’t define what type of man I am. Being a great husband and father absolutely defines what type of man I am.
11. See a counselor. It’s not easy. I had to swallow my pride and tell this person all of the embarrassing things about my marriage but it helped dramatically.

There is so much to cover I could go on forever, but I won’t. I would just like to say to my fellow cops: Don’t ever let the job come before your family…it’s just a job. And to my fellow cops wives: Just know that you are the reason for the success that most of us have achieved and without you we will most likely fall to pieces. Don’t give up on us.

Honest Scrap Award

I was just awarded this from Mrs. Officer over at mrsofficer2u.blogspot.com. A fabulous new LEOW blog pal of mine that is fun, nice, and full of kindness. Thanks!!!

The Honest Scrap Award comes with some rules too. In order to accept it you must list 10 honest things about yourself and then pass the award along to some other bloggers. Here are ten honest things about me:

1) I have a horrrrrrrrible sweet tooth. I hide bits of chocolate and such around the house sometimes.

2) I am drawn to people who are down to earth, and need that quality in any friend I make.

3) I wish I had a different build. I am short and large boned and even at my thinnest have big feet, fingers, head, wrists, etc. and am very muscular. "Strong like bull."

4) I love vegetables! Probably more than fruit, meat, or dairy. Please don't put fruit in my salad or fruit flavored anything on my food. No apricot vinaigrette on my steamed asparagus either. Blagh!

5) I am not a sitter. I cannot sit for long periods of time and watch TV or anything else. Life is too short. I have to clean or walk or garden or cook or anything other than sitting.

6) I am very sound sensitive and LOVE quiet and peace. Kids will be kids but I do not want to listen to your cheap, noisy pool pump 24 hours a day all summer or your dog barking outside for hours, or your pipes revving in your driveway regularly or your bass thumping at 2am, that kind of thing.

7) I have a HUGE problem with passive aggressive people. I am very upfront and honest and don't like wasting my time reading between the lines and find it to be very petty and dysfunctional.

8) I LOVE to laugh!!! I try to find humor in most things even when they are bothering me. Though it seems that God puts many uptight people in my path, not sure how to deal with that. I like when people can laugh at themselves too :)

9) I am a worry wart!

10) I believe that children are an important part of the world but not that they should be the center of the universe. I am always pointing out to my son that there are people trying to shop and eat and live around him and to use a restaurant voice, watch where you're going, etc. Nothing bothers me more than parents that let their children run wild and glare at the rest of the world around them.

I am passing this on to Natalie from Walking a Thin Blue Line, Dori from Simply Dori and Monica from Loud and Proud. Please post this award or some very juicy, honest details about yourself or just feel flattered and laugh and point at my list :)

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

This movie looks really cute. Not sure if it would keep my 2-year-olds attention, but it would mine. I love claymation and/or plushmation or whatever other "mations" they use for these types of films.

Squash Fans: Ever Make One Of These?

I picked up this carnival squash at the apple farm a few weeks ago cause I thought it was pretty to set out and then eventually be part of a meal too. Anyone out there have any experience with baking, roasting, or cooking one of these? I make butternut squash and acorn squash in the oven in covered Corning Ware with water then top with butter. Figured I'd do the same but thought I'd post just in case one of my mad cooking blog pals had a better idea?

Roar, Brrrr, Wah!!!

Well, the makeup went OK, but, "No penk nose mommy!" "Daddy turn!" So he wanted the whiskers (and us to have them too, lol) but absolutely no pink on his nose. Too funny. Then we headed out, Little Buddy layered in long underwear, regular clothes and then the costume on top with winter coat in hand. The garage door opened and we were all hit with a blast of a forty something degree wind. Then the crying started ( I should mention that somebody had Halloween fever and refused to take a nap, sigh . . . ). After much convincing, we finally headed over to Guillermo's house, a fabulous neighbor of ours with 5 kiddos. Then we knocked and did the trick or treat thing and once Little Buddy saw a tiny bag of "M's" all was right in the world. On to the next house, and so on, and so on. It was so cold, in the 40's with lots of damp, raw wind gusts that blew right through you. The winter coat went on immediately. We made it up our block and then down the other side back when Little Buddy started to say, "Go home mommy!" No arguments here, home we went, and I was excited to give out candy to the kids! Uh, Houston, we have a problem, Little Buddy did NOT want to give out candy to the kids. He is really good at sharing for the most part, BUTTTTTTTTT, this was clearly our candy and what are you thinking mommy, giving our candy to all these other kids? So, that took some talking, and tears and more talking, then repeat several times. Then remember, no nap, hardly ate lunch, and poor little guy had wind burn too. Finally we got him to gobble up some mac and cheese, cucumber pieces and a few grapes too. Then we turned on the Winnie The Pooh tape mommy just unearthed from the bottom of the trunk. Ate a few candies. All was right in the world :)

But, what would trick or treating be in the Midwest be without cold damp weather and your winter coat covering your costume? Ahhhh, memories . . . . . .