Sunday, February 28, 2010

Wonderful and Not So Wonderful

Today was a wonderful and not so wonderful sort of day day.

Going to church: Wonderful.

Going alone: Not so much.

Finding a dress I've been eyeballing at Target on the 50% off clearance rack: Wonderful

Officer Hottie thinking it makes me look "not as skinny" as I really am: Ugh.

Having a Mexican themed baby shower for two of my cousins: Wonderful.

Having three glasses of sangria: Wonderful.

Having home made flan and fried ice cream: Wonderful. And more wonderful.

My children (mostly) behaving during a baby shower: Wonderful.

My eldest son spiking a 106.2° fever during the baby shower: Not the highlight of my day.

Having three glasses of sangria: Now, with the prospect of needing to take my son to the ER, not so wonderful.

Hottie being able to leave work as soon as I talked to him: Wonderful.

Hottie not answering his cell phone or work phone for 40 minutes: Grrrr.

Knowing that if I really need to get ahold of him I just have to dial 9-1-1: Wonderful.

Being at a family baby shower and surrounded by other mothers and my loved ones: Wonderful.

Snuggle's fever coming down quickly with the help of ibuprofen: Wonderful.

The pediatrician taking two hours to call me back: Not so wonderful.

The pediatrician getting back to me at all: Wonderful.

So, if I'm keeping count correctly, I have 12 Wonderful's and only 5 Not So Wonderful's, so the Wonderful's will win this one.

My baby is going to be ok, although I'm taking him in tomorrow since a fever that high is not ok. At all. He smiled when I told him he would have to miss school. Little stinker.

Oh, and if you've never been to a Mexican themed baby shower, you should. It all started because the preggies wanted Mexican food and it evolved from there. Enchiladas, crispy burritos, guacamole, pico de gallo, Sangria (I think I mentioned that before), virgin margaritas, flan and fried ice cream ... and of course, a piƱata. Other than my panic at my son's fever, it was a great party. I've got a pretty awesome family.


Saturday, February 27, 2010

Favorites

These are my favorites.


And this is also my favorite.


And on this kind of day ... 


And this kind of day ...


I remember this kind of day.



And this kind of night.


And this.


And this.


And especially this.



And they are still my favorites.



Thursday, February 25, 2010

A Note about Cop's Wives Clubs

I'm trying to come up with another tag line for my blog. I have so much more to write about than just being a police wife. Sometimes Hottie tells me that I'm more into the police life than he is! Ha! But honestly, when I write about our kids or other random stuff going on, that has nothing to do with being a police wife, I feel a little like I've tricked y'all into reading. So I'm mulling that over ... any suggestions?

A few of you responded to a post of mine and said you wished you had Police Wife clubs in your area. We just started ours in November and it has grown tremendously. You can read here about my crazy process for getting the thing started.
If you don't have a group in your area, here are some of my suggestions for starting one. Please note these have worked for us and may not work for everyone but I think it's a pretty good formula.

I go to church with a few other police wives, and I feel very fortunate to do so. A couple of years ago, two girlfriends and I tried to meet together so we could encourage each other and pray for our hubbies. One husband was in the academy and one worked for a very large department in our area. Because of scheduling conflicts (sleep, work, etc.) we were only able to meet twice. Our time together was sweet but it was disappointing that we couldn't do it more often. However, after Officer Brenton was killed we knew we needed each other's support more than ever. So I talked to my mom and asked if we could meet at her house. I knew they had the room and no one would be sleeping during the day so the kids could run around and we wouldn't have to worry about making too much noise. I picked a Saturday and sent out an email and invited the gals I could think of who were married to police officers. There were five of us during the first meeting. Four of us go to church together and the fifth used to but they had since moved to another congregation. We had kept in touch though and everyone was excited to meet.


*First, if at all possible, find a place to meet where a police officer does not live. If you go to a church, ask the leadership there if there is someone who would be willing to open their home to some women and their kids once a month. This way you don't have to worry about childcare or waking up someone's hubby who was working all night long. It would be ideal to find someone who is a grandparent as they probably are a little bit child proofed and you won't need to worry as much about keeping an eye on your kids. Admit it...you like to visit and not have to pay too close attention to what your kids are doing. You're more like me than you want to admit!

*Second, choose a date and be consistent. We chose the third Saturday of every month so everyone could schedule it in advance. We don't have to try to figure out who's husband is off or who has what planned ... it's just a standing date and if you make it you make it. This has also made it easier on my mom since she knows we'll be invading her house and has been really great about making sure she hasn't planned something else to be going on there!


*Third, choose a purpose. The purpose of our Cop's Wives Club (we've been talking about changing the name to Christian Cop's Wives Club) is to encourage each other and to pray for our husbands. There is another group that just started meeting that focuses on fundraising. Pick a purpose. We chose prayer because really, we can visit and hang out anytime, but getting together with the purpose of praying is powerful and keeps us focused. That is to say, it keeps us from digressing. You know how it can get when we all get together. We can start to whine and complain and fall into that cycle of self-pity. Knowing that we're going to be praying keeps us from taking that road. And knowing that we're going to pray and that Someone is actually listening and able to help, also keeps us focused. We just choose a short period of time for prayer, 30 minutes, sometimes less, and go from there. God has been merciful to us too because our kids have been super good during those 30 minute periods. Last month there were 13 children and I swear we actually got through praying without someone screaming. God is good!


*Fourth, be honest with people about why you are meeting. You are meeting because you need to be with like-minded women who get you and get your husband. You need to be with people who, when you say, "My husband called yesterday and was trying to find a prostitute," don't look at you like you're in an abusive relationship. You need to be with people who, when an officer is killed while on duty, understand that in your mind it could have been your husband and that you're emotionally exhausted from planning his funeral. You need to be with women who understand what it's like to go to your in-laws on Thanksgiving without your husband, to keep your kids quiet during the summer because their dad is sleeping, to wake up with a sick child all night and then still have to get up and take care of that child the next day because Daddy was working all night. You just need to be with someone who says, "Hey! That happened to me TOO!" And you need to be with women who don't ask "Hey ... is it legal to ..." (a personal fav).

Those our just my top ideas. Our group has grown ... we have anywhere between 5-15 women who have come/been invited. We have a core group who is always there and then we have other women who come when they can. This group has been a lifeline for me. I know I've said it before but my experience with the law enforcement life has been pretty posh and even so I find that I need this group of women around me.

Go get those groups started! And ... if you meet the third Saturday of every month we can know that we are all meeting together. How cool is that?

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Big Fat Denial. I like it here.

I had one of those mothering moments today. Snuggles missed the bus. It actually showed up a few minutes early and I'm pretty sure it was a sub driver since she never once looked at our house to see if I was frantically waving from the front door for her to wait. Had she looked she would have seen me jumping up and down and telling her to wait. Usually the driver looks at our house and waves good-bye. Not today. I'm going with a sub. Anyway, Hottie was home today so Snuggles and I jumped into the car and I raced to get him to school. When we got there I said, "Have a good day! I love you!" and puckered my lips for my usual goodbye kiss. I got something that was a mixture of a smirk and a kiss and a whisper all at the same time before he bolted for the door. WHAT? "Wait I second," I yelled. "What was that?"
"Um...mom."
"Give me a kiss you little stink."
Then he smirked again, looked around, and gave me a kiss.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?! I'm not ready for this. Not even close. Not my Snuggles.
I'm going to live in denial and pretend it was a fluke and that for once in his life he was worried about his breath. I can do that, right? Live in denial?
I'm just not ready to face the fact that my dear sweet first child may be embarrassed to kiss me.
I'm not ready for this.
This is what he looks like to the rest of the world. Look at that dirty happy face. His cheesy little grin. His missing tooth.


When I look at him, this is what I see. I think I will forever see him this way. I love you my Snuggles.


Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Beautiful Blogger Award

Ok, can I just say that I feel super cool and popular right now? I just got a blogger award from April and I feel a little bit awesome. I've never received one before so now I'm going to spend the day chanting "They like me! They really really like me!". Yes, it's a little pathetic ... Thank you so much!



The rules of this award are:
  • Thank the person who nominated you for this award
  • Copy the award and place it in your blog
  • Link the person who nominated you for this award
  • Tell us 7 interesting things about you
  • Nominate 7 bloggers and link to their blogs

Seven interesting things about me ... Ready?

1. I am the oldest of six children and my brother's and sisters literally call me Hen. (Hence, the Mama Hen). I always thought it was because my nickname is Gen and when we lived in Mexico when I was younger they realized /G/ is pronounced /H/ in Spanish ... I thought this until finally one year (like last year) my brother, Spud, finally laughed at me at and said, "Yeah, that isn't it at all. We call you Hen because you are constantly trying to mother all of us and boss us around." Oh, oops. Well, whatever. I can't run from who I really am man.

2. I always wanted to be a mom when I grew up. When people ask me what I'm going to do when all my kids are in school full time I say, "Be a mom. And sleep in. And have morning sex again." I have no desire to ever reenter the workforce. Maybe I'll take some college classes ... but only if they sound like fun.

3.  Just like April, I'm a list maker. Everything has a list. This morning, Snuggles wasn't eating his unfinished dinner for breakfast (yes, I'm that kind of mom) and I told him he would have to stay home from school until that hamburger was gone. When he seemed to like the idea I began making a list of things he would do as soon as it was actually finished ... folding the laundry, dusting the living room, cleaning the toilets. Needless to say, my list making set him straight and he gobbled that burger up. I make lists for budgets, I make honey-do lists, I make my own chore lists, I make grocery lists, I make vacation lists ... I find a strange comfort in having a list lying around.

4. I love birth. Everything about it. Placentas, contractions, vernix, dilating, effacement, pushing ... and most especially the little squeaky baby at the end of it all. I especially love, and am an advocate for, natural childbirth. I had my fourth baby at home, attended by a midwife, and it was the best birthing experience I ever had. A friend told me the only down side to having a home birth was that I would love it so much I would want to have another baby so I could do it again. I'm done having babies, but she was right. I wish I would have been brave enough to have all my babies that way.

5. I'm addicted to sugar. Seriously. A naturopath once told me that I was addicted to sugar the same way a crack addict is addicted to crack. That's pretty sad. Sugar gives me migraines. Sugar and me ... it's a bad relationship. But I keep going back for more. I just can't say no. 

6. I don't want to come across as preachy, but I love Jesus. I love what He did for me. I love who He is to me. I love what He does in me. I love how He speaks to me.  I love that I have Hope because of Him. 

7. I heart a cop. And a cop hearts me. And I love that people care enough to read about that.

Here are 7 blogs that I frequent and I think you should check out ... oh, and I'm giving them the beautiful blogging award too!

Ok, I couldn't come up with seven. I actually frequent quite a few police wife blogs but most of them have received the blogging award already. The blogs I've mentioned here have some great stuff to say and definitely deserved to be checked out.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Mushy gushy

I really don't like going so many days between blog posts. I feel so out of the loop and out of practice. This was a busy weekend for us though so I hope you can put up with my musings for just a moment ...
I'll begin with Cop's Wives Club on Saturday. We had five people, including myself, which was a small group but it was perfect. We all were able to be part of the same conversation and share some more intimate prayer requests than we would have been able to had everyone made it. I actually felt a little dumb as I started crying when talking about mine but since the group was small I only felt loved and encouraged. I am so thankful for our group of wives that meet once a month. I wish that every police wife were able to feel as encouraged and I am every month. I am so thankful for where Hottie works; he gets along with his entire crew, he has a great schedule, his pay is great, his benefits are great, his stress level is minimal. I know life isn't this way for many police officers and by default, for their wives either. My fears and worries are based on what happens at other departments and from what I hear other wives go through. They aren't based in my own reality. And yet I need my group. I need a place where I can be real and be loved and be encouraged and where I know everyone gets me. And then on top of it all we can all come together and pray. And I know the God who created all of us, the God who protects our husbands and our marriages, hears us and is with us. That is a comfort I pray all spouses of law enforcement can experience. I know that's kind of whimsical and flowery ... but it's true.
I  had to miss the first meeting of the other Police Wives Club I was invited to as my baby brother, M2, proposed to fabulous English Sarah on Saturday and so Sunday was spent with friends and family celebrating. On Saturday night the happy couple came by our house to show off the ring and chat. They were so cute. Remember when you were first engaged? I remember I couldn't stop staring at my ring, or Hottie's face, and the smile that made my cheeks hurt. I imagine we looked a little something like this ...


I mean, how cute is this? How cute are they? They do have a tough road ahead as fabulous English Sarah must return to fabulous England and my cute American brother must start applying for visas and getting all of that sorted out. However, I am very much looking forward to having her as part of my family. When they left our house OH grabbed me and said, "I felt like you were so far away! I just wanted to grab you the whole time they were here!!" And THAT made my heart pitter patter. A lot. That man still wants me and looks at me the same way he did when he proposed. How cool is that?!
So all my random musings from the missed days of blogging basically point to Jesus loves me and Officer Hottie loves me. I just think that makes for a winning combo.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Excitement

Do you ever get excited when you're on the phone with your husband and he gets all police man with someone? Not excited like adrenaline worried excited, but excited like hot and bothered excited? Before you write this off as my trashy post of the week, bare with me ...
The other day, for example, Officer Hottie and I were chatting when all of a sudden I could feel him drifting. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about; it's like talking to him and then all of sudden I'm talking to ... myself. Usually when this happens I just pause and wait until he says, "Why aren't you talking anymore?" and then I know it's ok to continue. This time though I pause and I hear his phone shuffling around and then I hear him say, rather aggressively, "MOVE YOUR VEHICLE." And then I hear someone saying something back that I couldn't understand and Hottie says, "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, I TOLD YOU TO MOVE ... " And the rest I'll leave to your imagination. He actually ended up hanging up on me (that was the first time if you can believe it) and I found myself feeling strangely teenager-ish about the whole incident. It was a mixture of, "Gee, I'm so glad he never talks to me that way" and "Oh my gosh. That is so hot."
In real life, at home, Hottie is laid back. He's kind of the big teddy bear type. When he first started academy one of my friends said, "Oh my gosh. I can't imagine having him pull me over. I'd want to pinch his cheeks or something." I guess what I'm getting at is that he's not a "cop" in real life. I get to see him be the authority with our children, but even discipline is shrouded in kindness and love. Hearing him take charge, hearing him make someone listen to him, hearing him be the boss ... well, it just did something for me.
That's all I'm saying. There's just something about a man being a man. There's something about watching (or hearing) my man take charge. I can see why women are drawn to powerful men. I can also see why I am so thankful OH keeps "Work Hottie" and "Family Hottie" separate.
What about you? Have you witnessed your husband in action? Did it scare you or thrill you? Or both?

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

New Blog

I've taken a little bit of inspiration from my dear friend Alison and have decided to start blogging about some of the things I cook for my family. I am not an organic, low fat, low carb, no sugar, healthy and nutritious kind of woman. Although I do try to serve at least once veggie or fruit with dinner. That must count for something. I do love to cook and I really love baking. So I'm going to share my recipes, or at least how I've modified or adapted a recipe, that meet my families needs. Those needs being 1) That children will eat it and 2) That it can be reheated and still taste great so Officer Hottie can, and will, take it to work the next day.

I hope you enjoy it! Check out my first post ... Turkey Meatballs!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

When Daddy gets home...

A typical evening after Daddy gets home...



It starts off innocently enough with Fuzzy nuzzling in to make himself comfortable. Notice the runny nose? Officer Hottie doesn't. 



 Snuggles wants some time with Daddy as well. So Fuzzy scoots over to share.



No need to leave anyone out now. Lady Bug and Little J need attention too. Those poor middle children. Notice that Fuzzy is taking care of the runny nose.




And then things start to get crazy.




This never happens when Mom is the only adult at home. Mom does not like being jumped on. 




I repeat, Mom does not like being jumped on.



And still they smile. And still Hottie is smiling. That man of steel. He was sore an hour later.


Happy Valentine's Day. I hope your home is filled with as much love as ours!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Rainbows are awesome like that

Do you ever have one of those kinds of days? You know, those days where nothing really terrible happens but you just want to cry and you aren't really sure why? Today is one of those days for me. I really don't know why. It was embarrassing too because my brother's girlfriend arrived from England last night and I drove to my parent's house this morning to meet her and had to apologize..."I'm so sorry. I'm on the verge of tears." She, being the fabulous darling that she is, gave me a huge hug which set me that much closer to losing it. And as soon as my phone rang and I saw that it was Officer Hottie I did, in fact, lose it. A slobbery blubbery mess. And when he worriedly asked me what had happened my answer was, "I have no clue."  To which he reminded me that I am a girl and he loves me in spite of that. Or maybe that's why he loves me? Regardless, most of my day has been spent on the verge of tears for no apparent reason.

Sarah (fabulous English girlfriend) was talking about how she loves chocolate and  how Lindt Milk Chocolate with Milk is her favorite. I'd never heard of it but thought that it sure sounded interesting. (*Side note: My brother, we'll call him M2 since he is the second of the boy twins and their names start with M, bought Sarah a Costco bag of Mars mini candy bars. It was all I could do to keep my hands off) After the conversation I began thinking about how much I wanted chocolate. And pizza. And a burger. And wine. And mac 'n cheese...with bacon. (It is possible that perhaps the emotions could be triggered by something cyclical. I don't want to make any crazy assumptions or anything, but...) So after I left my folks I decided a trip to Target was in order where I found Lindt dark chocolate with chili AND Sarah's "best chocolate". I also grabbed a bar of Dove dark chocolate, in case the chili chocolate didn't quite hit the spot. It did. So yum. As soon as we left the parking lot I saw a huge giant rainbow. Two rainbows in fact. They were gorgeous. I started crying. And then I felt like God was telling me, "Hey, I love you. I'm thinking about you. You're an emotional mess and I still love you. See? See how much I love you?" And then I felt a lot better. The two squares of chili chocolate helped quite a bit too.

The rainbow ended over a local drug house ... or I assume it's a drug house. The people that live there always sit on the porch with their cans of Coors light and cigarettes and no shirts on. With a giant pit bull sitting next to them. I suppose I'm jumping to a conclusion ... the rainbow reminded me God loves everyone as much as He loves me. He's awesome like that.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

A Goodbye

The other night Officer Hottie attended the wake of one of his coworkers wives. She was young, they have two teenage children, it was sudden (although not unexpected) ... all of those horrible things that eat away at me when someone passes away. There is little comfort in death, except the Hope we have in Heaven, and I truly am hopeful that Pam* is there.
I only met her once, and based on that one meeting I really really liked her. It was just weeks after OH started with the department and one of the officers was transferring to another city so his sergeant, Pete*, was throwing a goodbye bbq. Since OH had only been there a short time, and since the officer leaving was the one who had encouraged OH to apply there, we really wanted to go. We showed up to this gorgeous immaculate home with our three children and a six pack. We were the only ones who came with children. Not even Pete and Pam's children were there. Our piddly little six pack was added to the cases everyone else had brought. I was mortified and felt totally out of place. And Pam gushed over our children. She held our daughter, who was only 5 months or so at the time, she got me a towel so I could wipe up spit up, she sent Pete to the attic to retrieve boxes of toys their children had long forgotten about, she turned on Nickelodeon, she dug through the fridge to find hot dogs ... she was so gracious and made me feel comfortable and right at home. When we had to leave because our children were melting down (which she insisted was OK and didn't bother anyone), she helped us find shoes and invited us to come back. Pam was the kind of hostess that I hope I am.
When Hottie called me on his way home from the wake he said, with great affection, "I treasure you." When he arrived home he kissed me a little bit more and a little bit longer than usual. When we finally climbed into bed he said to me, "Don't leave me." I realized he was feeling the same feelings I've been having since Officer Brenton was killed. He was experiencing that mixture of terror, sorrow and pride. No one likes to have death hit so close to home, and watching his friend grieve his beloved was a difficult experience.
I wish Pam were still here and Pete and his children did not have to walk through this terrible time. I am thankful I was given the opportunity to meet her, if only once, and experience her kindness. I don't think she could ever have understood how opening her home to my family the way she did could instill such gratitude and thankfulness in a young insecure mom. She will most definitely be missed.

*Not their real names

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

I am getting into photography and for Christmas Officer Hottie bought me a new camera. I love it. Just recently (very very recently) I got brave enough to take it off the automatic setting and try being a little creative. I have a long way to go but I'm having fun.



My attempt at shallow depth of field. Don't ask me what that means.


Another attempt at shallow depth of field. This is in our neighbors yard. I saw it while dealing with this...


They found a worm and were watching it try to escape. I don't know why the worm was freaking out...I mean, really. What is so terrifying about forty fingers trying to help you get home? Chill out dude.

My apologies that this post has nothing to do with being married to a police officer. Except OH knew what kind of camera to get me because of the cameras they use at crime scenes. I totally just tied it all together.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Happy  Monday! Thanks for all the well wishes for our anniversary time away. It was fabulously wonderful. Our children were well taken care of, I was well taken care of and the house stayed clean for more than 15 minutes. I really couldn't ask for more. To top it all off the message at church yesterday had to do with marriage so Officer Hottie and I sat in church and giggled and smooched like honeymooners. Sorry to all of you sitting behind us. 


Last night after the kids had gone to bed I was catching up on my blogs and I came across a new blog, Requesting Backup which I found to be utterly hilarious. She only has a few posts so I read through them quickly before checking out her blog roll where I found Wives Behind the Badge. (Ok, now that I've given her the credit I can't find it on her blog...hmmm...oh well.) At any rate this is exactly what I've been looking for, as far as a non-profit for law enforcement go! They are based in S. California, so they aren't super close, however I feel like they can offer a lot of guidance. I have to collect all my thoughts and questions before I actually contact them as, yet again, my imagination has gotten far ahead of where I am actually at. I am hopeful though that we can have some fundraising underway by the summer. I meet with a new Police Wives Club on the 21st and my understanding is that their primary focus is fundraising and I know that most of the gals from Cop's Wives Club will be on board with doing some sort of fundraiser, or at least supporting a cause. Speaking of CWC, it is less than two weeks away and I can't wait. I miss those gals. I really wish it were more feasible to meet more than once a month. I find that I am so encouraged and ready for life after our time together is over. So in one weekend I have my much loved CWC and the meeting with the new group. Of course both meetings are on Hottie's weekend off...so goes life, right? 

On another note...

The other week while we were sitting at the dinner table Little J says, "Mom, I want to be a firefighter when I grow up."
I say, "You do?"
And he replies, "Yeah, because then I can take naps and play video games and stuff."
Oh my...Daddy has taught him well!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Nine.


Today is our 9th anniversary. I was sitting at home, alone, having done half my workout before I realized, "Hey! I'm alone!" Officer Hottie is at work. I'm pretty sure this is our first anniversary he hasn't taken the day off. He did want to take it off but he waited too long and one of the gals from his crew is at refresher training so he couldn't. But his sergeant let him take tomorrow off so we'll still get lots of celebrating in. Although I want him home with me today I have lots of plans. Mostly they include turning up the music really loud and cleaning my house from top to bottom. It's just that with four kids this place gets turned upside down and I get so behind and it is rare that I am the only one home so I plan on taking full advantage...after I finish this post of course.

Since I'm thinking about the nine wonderful years I've spent married to Officer Hottie, I thought I would share a little bit about how our relationship began (because I'm sure you've just been dying to know...right? Right? Hello?)

The first time I ever saw OH I was working in a Bible bookstore. He had just returned from a stint in Hawaii with YWAM and was with his little sister. I only knew she was his little sister because he said to me, as I was ringing up his items, "I hate it when my mom makes me drag my sister with me." It was the first time in all my life that I remember realizing a guy wanted me to know he was single and that the girl with him wasn't an issue! He had a humongous beard and was wearing flip flops, in November, and a yellow beanie with braids. And when he walked away from my counter, I am not lying when I say I thought, "Wow, I could marry that man." And then I thought, "Weren't you paying attention to what he was wearing?! His hat had BRAIDS!" I tried to brush it off since I had no idea who he was. I'd never seen him before so I didn't know if I'd ever see him again. Soon after that, while attending classes at the local community college, I began talking with Kev, a frequent bookstore customer, and it just so happened that he and OH were good friends. Kev started bringing OH in to the bookstore with him on his almost daily visits, I realized later because he had a crush on the girl I worked with and didn't want to look like a stalker. OH would come in and look at CD's, or books; every once in awhile he'd chat with me. During a break at college one day, Kev started asking me questions about what kind of music I liked, what kind of movies I wanted to see and when I told him he would respond with "Oh! Officer Hottie really likes that band too!" or "Wow...OH has been talking about seeing that movie." (I should note that Kev would hate people thinking he actually referred to OH as 'Officer Hottie'. Sorry Kev...but not really.) One day I told him I'd been given tickets to see Audio Adrenaline (pretty sure I just aged myself there) and Kev told me I should ask OH to go with me. My response? "I don't ask guys out. Ever."
Funny thing...next time OH and Kev happened by the bookstore I was asked to see a movie. The conversation went something like this...


OH: You know what movie I've really been wanting to see?
Me: Which? (giggle giggle, hair flip)
OH: Scream 3 (I just aged myself again)
Me: Are you serious? I totally want to see that movie. I just told Kev that at school today! (clueless grin)
OH: Really? (Not so clueless grin.) Well...would you like to go see it? With me?
Me: Oh my gosh! Yes! (dang...too eager) I mean, yeah, sure, that would be fun.
OH: Cool.

And then no asking for my phone number. (More on that in a later post) So a week later when he came back into the bookstore and said, "Hey, we were supposed to see a movie, weren't we?" I decided I should just give him my phone number. Home and cell. Our first date was February 11, 2000. We went and had fried rice for lunch and then went to see Scream 3. Later OH told me he'd never seen any of the Scream movies and really could care less about seeing them ... And yes, I did take him to the Audio Adrenaline concert. It was awesome.

Less than a year later, February 3, 2001 we had a blip at the bottom of our wedding program ... I think Kev worked pretty hard to get that first date to happen.



So here we are, nine years of marriage later, and this is what I would like to say to my husband...

Thank you for nine wonderful years of marriage. Thank you for putting me first; above work, above life, even above the kids. Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for being faithful to me. Thank you for working so hard to provide for me. Thank you for letting me stay home to raise our children. Thank you for turning on the fan every night. Thank you for loving the Lord; for serving Him and being faithful to being the man He has called you to be. You are the one I want. You make my heart race. You take my breath away. My stomach does flip flops when you walk in the door. It is an honor to be your wife, to stand by your side, to be the one you come home to. It is a pleasure to raise your children. I am proud of you, of your accomplishments, of the man you are. I want to be alone with you. I like you. I want to grow old with you. You still my favorite flavor...I cannot get enough.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Mama Guilt Monday : No field trip for this Momma!

Thank you to Cop Mama for Mama Guilt Monday...

Snuggles has his first ever first grade field trip on Friday. He cannot wait. And I'm not going. And neither is OH. Because we've farmed the kids out for the week so we can have some alone time to celebrate our anniversary. Alone. In the quiet. Without kids.

"Why aren't you coming? Can't you just come for a little bit? It's just for a few hours...Mimi can take me to school and pick me up. You can just come for the field trip. You aren't even going anywhere! Why aren't you coming?"

My mama guilt-o-meter is dangerously in the red zone. We aren't going anywhere. We are sending the kids away and coming home without them. And we're staying here. But I'm not giving into the guilt. Because I'm dreaming of sleeping in past 6:00 a.m. And breakfast in bed. And not rushing to put my t-shirt back on because someone is crawling into bed with us. And not having to pick any Cheerios off the floor. And not changing any poopy diapers. And sleeping through the night. And listening to the quiet. And not sharing my dessert. And not having to take someone to the bathroom as soon as the food arrives at our table. To name a few.

I hope his teacher takes pictures.