Mommy Musings

I'd like to say that this was the most wonderful, magical Christmas ever.  I had spent most of December focusing on the little things, and not letting myself get swept up in the stress of the holiday.  I wanted to just enjoy it. And for the most part I did.  Truly.  Even though life kept trying to throw things my way to derail our plans. First off, Skip had to work all of Christmas week....including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was hard on the girls, who kept crying to me and asking why their dad couldn't have a normal job like everyone else:( So I was determined to make it as fun for them as possible. We made lots of cookies and treats together {which is really the best part I think} and they delivered them to our neighbors on Christmas Eve morning. My family came over for a huge feast on Christmas Eve and lots of present opening.  Despite the glass dish breaking in the oven and filling my downstairs with smoke, we had a fabulous time. Sufficiently sugar...

I complained on Facebook before about the mess our day is turning into.  Our front door won't open from the outside.  Skip's car has been under recall for almost a month, though Toyota refuses to hurry up the process and get it fixed.  Meanwhile, we are not allowed to have anyone other than the driver in the car.  Which we were dealing with until there was a problem with my car starting today.  Plus I'm waiting on some news for a career move that I fear is only going to set me back to square one. So I had cake for lunch. In the grand scheme of things, these are not really major problems.  Skip's car will get fixed eventually.  He was able to take off to get mine fixed today.  We already bought a new door handle and dead bolt, so I'll figure out how to put those on later.  We've already had offers from some of my best friends for help. Tomorrow it'll all be smoothed over. But I'm choosing  to focus on these little problems today, because ...

A few months ago, one of the officers in Skip's department died of a heart attack while playing in a charity basketball game.  He was a father to five daughters, and far too young himself, and it hit the department hard.  It had been a long time {blessedly} since they lost anyone who was still on the job, not retired. In the days following his death, especially at the wake, I got to see that brotherhood is not just something they say.  The thin blue line truly is a family, a way of life.  Officers posting themselves at the house, helping out with whatever the family needed, a sea of blue at the wake.  Even during such a sad time, as a cope wife, it warmed my heart to see the way they all came together. Last night Skip and I attended a benefit dinner his department put together to raise money for his family.  We guesstimated about 700 people packed into one of the most beautiful venues in the area.  Bagpipers played sea few songs {including the Marine C...

#weseeyou Thinking of our NYPD family as they lay Brian Moore to rest today. #bluelivesmatter

Last night was a special night that I'll hold dear to me forever.  I had the opportunity to attend a speaking event with Taya Kyle....widow of American Sniper Chris Kyle.  To say I was excited was a complete understatement.  Taya has given a voice to military wives, in a way that was never done before.  Her story is all of our story.  I wanted to stand up in the middle of American Sniper and yell, "Yes!  Thank you. I have said those exact things.  Finally I'm not alone." I loved her additions to American Sniper, and I was looking forward to reading an entire book of her own words. I got there as soon as the doors opened and was lucky enough to get a front row seat.  I read about a third of the book while I waited, in awe of the grace and strength she showed throughout the book.  At 7:00 she came in, and with tears in her eyes, graciously received the standing ovation we gave her.  The co-author of the book, Jim DeFelice was there as well...

We had such a lovely Thanksgiving...mainly because Skip was off!  It is such a difference when he actually gets to spend the holiday instead of having to go to work.  We kicked off the morning with a little relaxing with my parents before heading out to see Disney's Frozen on Ice!  I had gotten tickets a few weeks ago.  I had originally thought about going on Black Friday, but the Thanksgiving tickets were half price, so I went with those:)  It actually was a great way to spend the morning waiting for dinner! Emmy actually got a little bored with the show about halfway through, which surprised me, but Charlie {who I thought would fuss} loved every second of it. The show really was cute, and worth every penny when I got to see their faces light up! It was around 1:00 when we got out, so we picked up some Sonic and ate in the car on the way home.  We spent the afternoon hanging out with my mom and watching football....GO LIONS!  We went over to my sister...

Skip and I recently got to attend the wedding of one of the cops he works with.  We celebrated with them the night they got engaged, and we had been looking forward to their wedding for months.  My mom came up for the night to stay with the girls, and because of that I was able to head out that morning and get a fresh haircut. Yay for not having to do my own hair that night!! I had bought this amazing dress from ThredUP a few months ago and knew it would be perfect for the evening.  And at only $10 it was definitely a steal!! We posed for what looked like prom photos and headed out! It was a fabulous  wedding and so great to spend time with a lot of Skip's co-workers.  They are all great guys and girls and I love getting to see them all together.  Plus any kid-free time spent with my husband is really special!

In addition to our Memorial Day being so wonderful, our entire weekend was pretty awesome as well.  Skip worked the day shift Friday, and then was off all weekend.... yes that's right, Saturday and Sunday too!  A real treat, let me tell you.   We kicked off Friday by heading in to Brooklyn for the wedding of one of my college girls.  Unfortunately we missed the ceremony due to the crazy  traffic in Manhattan.  At least there was plenty to look at while stuck in traffic! George Washington Bridge The Intrepid Freedom Tower The actual wedding was gorgeous and so much fun .  I love a night out with my man, and getting to spend time with these girls and their husbands! Thankfully there was no traffic on the way home...just an insane thunderstorm.  Always something right! Saturday was a relaxing day spend taking Emmy to dance, just hanging out in the afternoon, and an in-home movie night with Skip once the girls went to bed.   Sunday morning was sp...

I rarely, if ever, do a "weekend recap" post here on the blog.  I'm not opposed to them, it's just that our weekends are usually not very note-worthy.  Skip is normally working more overtime that normal...and the girls and I really just become home-bodies because of that.  It also has been much too cold to do anything more than that, so our weekends are pretty boring. But not this past weekend, it was wonderful  and something I really needed to help get me through this last push of winter.  First off, Skip was home....on a Saturday and Sunday....both of them...all day long.  If you're a cop wife, you know how very rare that is.  I'm pretty sure he hasn't been off on a weekend since well before Christmas.  And yes, I understand that he is off two other days during the week, but with Emmy in school full-time, that means she gets to spend much less time with Skip now.  It's also nearly impossible to try and do things together as a family.  ...