In Memory of Deputy Samuel Kent Brownlee

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Colorado lost a law enforcement officer on November 23.  His name was Sheriff Deputy Samuel Kent Brownlee; he was a 43 year old husband, father of two and a step father to two more.  Law Dog did not work with Deputy Brownlee and I did not know him personally, but I do know that this man is a hero; the newspaper describes him at a “giant boy scout”.  Just two weeks ago, he ran in to a burning building just to make sure there was no one else inside.  Last week Deputy Brownlee was dispatched to a domestic dispute that lead to a high-speed car chase, then to a wrestling match and ultimately to Deputy Brownlee being shot three times with his own gun.  I am not even going to waste my energy talking about the dirt bag that caused this; another police officer shot and killed him.  If you want to read the whole story, you can read it at: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16734674.

When Law Dog became a police officer I was often asked, “Don’t you worry about him getting killed?”  My answer was always no.   I look at my husband as Superman, when he puts that uniform on he becomes invincible.  But the reality is he is not, no one is.  Incidents like this make me realize how dangerous this job really is.  One simple call can change so many lives forever.   I for one, will hugging my husband a little bit longer before he leaves each night and making sure he knows just how important he is to me. 

My heart goes out to Deputy Brownlee’s wife Heather and their four children.  Your husband is a true hero and his life will be celebrated in our household.  Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.

The Science of Shift Changes

I am kind of mad at myself, I was so excited about blogging and I have let my blog fall off the face of the earth.  My work picked up and LawDog’s schedule changed, not to mention a whole host of other things that have kept me from keeping up on my blog.  I started catching up on my blog reading today with Ammo in the Dryer and A Police Wife; it got me energized to get back in the game.

Since September, I have been back to being a single mom 4 nights a week, this time it was a little difficult for me to adjust.  I mean I am used to doing Tubbs and Crockett’s bedtime routine by myself, but I sure miss LawDog being around in the mornings to help out.  I am definitely not on my A-Game, I can’t believe it took me two months to adjust. 

Good thing I am on track because it just so happens that November 10th marked one of the most coveted days in Denver law enforcement……shift selections for 2011.  Selection day(s) are the two days that will determine his shift, days off, sergeant and team for the next year, but most of all it will determine his happiness (or lack thereof) for the next 12 months.   Now, as an outsider, I completely understand that there is a lot riding on this.  I mean, to most it is a shift change, but to the family that it affects, it can turn your world upside down. 

Does your husband take this as seriously as mine does?  I mean it’s like a Fantasy Football Draft, they may as well publish a stats cheat sheet on all of the officers.  My God, LawDog gets so stressed in the days leading up to the selection day.   He worries about not having weekends off, and I have to remind him, that he hasn’t had weekends of in five years, what is another year without going to do?  Then he plays the game of predicting which shifts others are going to pick, if so-and-so picks this shift, then these two are going to pick that shift and I am NOT working with those two.  

Finally, the selection days arrive; Law Dog actually gets to make his selection early morning on day 2.  One of his closest friends is posted at the PD, calling him every twenty minutes giving him status updates about who picked what.  By the end of the first day of selections, we know a few things: number one, he will not have weekends off, number 2, that he is not going to pick the shift and days off that he currently is on and number three, there is only ONE shift left that he will be happy with.  Let the sleepless night begin.   Everything was riding on the five guys that picked before him the next morning. 

I knew it was a big day for him; I sent him off a kiss and told him to call me as soon as he was finished.  I was secretly praying that the ONE shift stayed available for him, because if not, he was going to be bitter and it was going to be a long year.  Sure enough 8:15 AM my phone rings,  I pick up and say an apprehensive hello and hear I GOT IT!  Not only did he get his shift, but he is really happy with his sergeant and ecstatic about his team, in fact he calls it the "dream team". Thankfully, the five guys that picked before him all took watch 1 (daytime) shifts. 

If you are not married to a police officer, all of this stress may seem silly and may not make sense to you.  Your world probably stays pretty predicable year in and year out, with the occasional turnover of a co-worker or boss.  You don’t really have to think about things like, would I want that guy in the next cubicle to be my partner on an armed robbery or a high speed chase, or would I want that woman from the second floor to back me up if we ran on a gang fight?

If you are married to a police officer you will understand.  There really aren’t a lot of people that I would trust my husband’s life with, I'll sleep better knowing he is with the dream team.  For me and my family, ahhhhhhhh the world is right for 2011!

One Sweet Birthday Present

via www.amazon.com

I love finding new police gear for Tubbs and Crockett.   It’s so hard to find, I purchase pretty much everything I come across.  Clothes, toys, you name it I will buy it…unless of course, it is completely lame.  So I will share things when I come across them.  Lucky you today is one of those days. 

Crockett just turned three.  So Law Dog and I decided it was time to purchase a bike.  Like any parent I start doing some research.  My research usually consists of consulting with my BFF because she has a five year old so she has just been through it.  I mention that I want to get Crockett a bike for his birthday.  I am thinking the kid loves anything Cars, so it is a no brainer to get the Lightening McQueen bike with training wheels.  Then BAM, my BFF hits me with, training wheels are evil.  Once your kid starts with them, it is really hard to get them off.  OK so what are you supposed to do? She introduces me to the Glider or Balance bike…..a bike with no pedals.  Wait, a bike with no pedals?  I had never heard of this before. So I start doing some research.

I’ll be honest, I was sold as soon as I saw this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga72-ASP1uM

Now, I want Crockett to exude the awesomeness that this kid has.  I immediately order the glider bike.  I am hyped about it, I tell everyone I know about it….a bike with no pedals, it’s amazing.

The glider bike arrives during Crockett’s birthday party and I am thinking that this couldn’t be more perfect.  Law Dog and Opa go in to the garage put it together and bring it back in just in time for presents.  Crockett gets a Lightening McQueen helmet and a bell from Oma and Opa and he gets a vanity plate from my BFF.  I can’t wait to see the look on Crockett face when he actually gets the bike.  Law Dog puts the bike in front of Crockett.  Crockett seems excited, but everyone at the party starts saying…..where are the pedals, there are no pedals on that bike (it was like a Seinfeld moment).  We take Crockett outside, strap on the new helmet, put the bell and the vanity plate on the bike….I mean the kid is ready to go.  We sit him on the bike and he throws a fit, “There’s no pedals on this bike, I want pedals!!!”  He won’t have anything to do with it.  A week passes, he still won't have any thing to do with it.

The upside to the story I have a five year old neighbor who started riding it around last Saturday, within two hours she had picked it up.  By Sunday, the training wheels were off her bike.  I just lent the bike to my BFF so her daughter could use it.  I expect her training wheels to be off within the next week.  So it is a great buy, I highly recommend it.  Just don’t make a big deal about the pedals. 

Now for the police gear, I later found a Police Balance Bike, super cute…enjoy!

Another One Bites the Dust

image via gstatic.com on google images

I am kind of bummed tonight.  I spoke with Law Dog earlier and he mentioned that one of the guys from his academy put in his resignation last week.  It wasn’t just anyone, it was a close friend of ours, so close Tubbs and Crockett call him Uncle J.

This got me thinking, I wonder how many police officers make it through the academy.  How many make it through their first year?  How many make it through the first five years?  So I Googled, I couldn’t find any real statistics on it so I am going to report on my experience.  For those of you with husbands or boyfriends in the academy right now, take a good look around during family night because close to half of those people won’t make it through the first five years.  Some officers started the academy and quit within the first week because they just didn’t have the determination to make it through.  Some got kicked out of the academy because they couldn’t shoot or drive.  Some officers decide that this isn’t the career for them like the officer who resigned because he decided to become a firefighter instead.  Some get fired for doing really, really stupid things, like the guy who got smashed at a professional sporting event and decided he would show off to all of his friends by walking up to a police car (in another city) and letting himself inside.  Some get the “option” (quit or be fired) for doing less stupid things like getting too many civilian complaints.   Finally, others get killed, like tragedy that happened to T a female from Law Dog’s academy.

When I went to family night during Law Dog’s academy, I remember driving home thinking that I couldn’t believe some of these guys were going to be cops.  Let me brag about my husband for a minute.  Law Dog is a pretty intense person with a lot of street smarts; add that to his size and you get one good cop.  Ladies, Law Dog is the type of cop who wants to break the door down so he can be the first one in, the one that most cops want to show up to be their back-up.  I am profiling now, but some of the guys in Law Dog’s academy couldn’t intimidate a fly let alone a criminal.  Uncle J, an ex-marine, was a lot like Law Dog.  Even though he is smaller in size, he has a confidence about him that just begs someone to push him too far.  I rested easier knowing Uncle J and Law Dog were on the same shift in the same sector and would be backing each other up.  There aren’t many people I trust my husband’s life with; Uncle J is one of them.  Even though Law Dog and Uncle J didn’t always see eye to eye, the PD lost a good cop this time.  Uncle J will be a lifelong friend of ours because we have a friendship that extended beyond the PD. I just wonder,  who’s next?

PS, like my new blog look?  It's coming along!

10 Things About Me

Yep, that's right, this one is all about me! Mrs. Fuzz sent me the Beautiful Blogger award, so I am supposed to come up with 10 things about myself.  So here it goes:

1.    My favorite part of the day is the five minutes after I wake each of my boys up.  I love it when they are groggy and they want to snuggle. 

2.    I am a stickler for routines.  I started out as a BabyWise mom and it has stuck with me since day 1.   With such limited time and being a single mom 4 nights a week, I have to micro-manage my schedule.  I HATE it when I get off schedule.  My BFF tells me I need to lighten up, she is probably right.

3.    I have a really, really bad Starbucks addiction…one Venti Iced Chai please.  $4.24 for a drink, when did that happen?  Law Dog has to work overtime to support my addiction. 

4.    I do a Boot Camp class at 24 Hour Fitness every Monday night.  Basically I pay to get my ass kicked.  My instructor Kim is brutal, so brutal….yet I go back every week.  I haven’t been to the gym since Monday because I just started walking normal again today.

5.    I struggle everyday with the decision to have another child.  I think I am over-thinking it. 

6.    I have a really bad habit of buying jeans.  Similar to #3, Law Dog works over time to support this habit.  I recently found a new brand that I really like Miss Me, check them out I love the Boot Cut fit.

7.    I am not creative, but I want to be.  I haven’t even started a baby book for Tubbs or Crockett.  So, I want to start a hobby, digital scrapbooking.  We’ll see if I can get the juices flowing, I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

8.    I am a huge procrastinator.  Every year on December 31, I make the resolution to stop procrastinating…. and to control my Starbucks addiction.  But, I procrastinate starting to work on my resolution…..it’s just a vicious cycle.

9.    I recently started reading books again.  I’ll be honest, since college, when I pick something up to read it is usually US Magazine.  I am a Nicolas Sparks fan.  I just finished Dear John and I am ready to start The Lucky One.  I am a sucker for a good romance I guess.

10.    I wish Law Dog and I could have a date night more often. He’s a pretty cool guy to hang out with. Sadly, we have been out on 5 - count ‘em -  5 date nights since our wedding in October of 2006. Friends and family always say…you need to make time, blah blah blah.  They just don’t understand our crazy, hectic schedule.  It’s alright, I know things will calm down eventually….right?

Finally! A Police Officer Around When I Needed Him

Found on Google Images

I consider myself a road warrior.  I mentioned before I am a working mom, but the real kicker is I spend close to three hours a day in the car with my BFF, her daughter (5), Crockett and Tubbs.  I am up at 5:30 every morning to get myself ready, get kids up, dressed,  fed and on the road by 7:00.  We get to work by 8:30 work til 4, workout, then pick the kids up and get home around 6:30…… day in and day out.  I would be lying if I said it isn’t completely wearing on me. 

Anyways, back to being a road warrior.  I have been doing this commute for the last 5 years and in all this time we have only been pulled over once.  The time we were pulled over, we were in our neighborhood; it is a funny story I will have to blog about that one.  Anyhow,  I have seen a lot of serious accidents on my highway commute, I have spent countless hours waiting in traffic jams, and I have called the police for things like a random mattress on the road or a cow on the wrong side of the fence.  But what never ceases to amaze me is the amount of people who have serious cases of road rage or are just plain bad drivers.  I see a lot of things where I think, “where are the cops when you need them?”

Yesterday was no exception.  I was flying solo in the car, I left work around 4 because Tubbs has to get his stitches taken out.  So I make a right turn to get on the entrance ramp to the highway.  This particular entrance ramp is an uphill climb.  When I round the corner to get on the ramp I notice there is a bit of a jam because a semi truck is up in front making the climb to get on to the highway.  It is completely obvious to me and the five cars ahead of me that we are just going to have drive 10 mph up the ramp to get on the highway.  No big deal right?  Apparently it was a big deal to guy behind me.   He could plainly see the semi, but still decided to be a d-bag and pull in to the shoulder of the ramp, go around me and then cut me off (granted we were going slowly).  Being the road warrior I am I have a lot of patience.  So I hit the brakes and let him in, thinking to myself what a d-bag.   All of a sudden, I hear WHOOP WHOOP and see some lights flashing behind me.  Startled, I look to my left, the car behind the d-bag was an unmarked police car.  He makes the d-bag pull over, looks at me and says, ma’am go ahead in front of me”, and hold the rest of the traffic up to let me go ahead of d-bag.  I couldn’t help but smile as I approached the highway.  Finally, the cops were around when I needed them! 

This incident was really minor; the d-bag didn’t have road rage, he was just got in a hurry and made a stupid choice not realizing an unmarked police car was behind him.  I mean, what was the value in getting one car ahead anyways?  Hopefully the lecture (and maybe a ticket) he received from the cop will stop him from making a lame decision like that again. 

I have no idea who the officer was, but Thank You Mr. CSPD Officer.   You made my day and you made me really proud to have a husband who would do the same thing. 

Chicks Dig Scars

Since we are still getting to know each other and I am going to be sharing the most entertaining moments of our life, I thought I should formally introduce my crew.

My husband, who I affectionately call Law Dog, plays the leading role of Daddy by day and drug dealer by night (well, for the time being).  Nice combination right? I call him Law Dog because we have to watch Tombstone every time it is on TV, and he rewinds the part where Kurt Russell bitch slaps Billy Bob Thornton about 10 times before we can move on.  He thinks to do something like that, you have to ooze confidence, and confidence is something that Law Dog definitely does not lack.  If you haven't seen it, you should check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7J6dRkJjOI

In his downtime he can be found chilling out on our '08 Sea Ray Fission.  He grew up on the water in his hometown of Miami, FL, but he manages to stay satisfied on these little patches of water we call lakes around here.  Someday we will get him out of the land locked state of CO.

We have two boys; I think we learn more from them than they learn from us.  I get reminded daily what rookie parents we are.  In fact, we made our first trip to the ER on Friday night...more on that in a bit.

Our oldest just turned 3, in keeping with the police theme, I will call him Crockett.  He is adorable and brilliant; I am his mother so I am a little partial.  He enjoys anything related to the movies Cars or Toy Story, riding his new glider bike, and learning where all of the states are on the US map.

Our youngest is 18 mos.  Since he is Crockett's partner in crime, it is only fitting to call him Tubbs.  Tubbs is a baby giant; he has been off the growth charts since he was born.  I predict he is going to be bigger than Crockett by the time they are 4 and 5.  Tubbs loves following Crockett around and attempting to do everything he does. 

In fact, Friday night Tubbs and Crockett decided to chase each other around the living room.  Tubbs was taking a lap around the coffee table when he  tripped.  On the way down, his forehead met the base of the couch where it comes to a corner.  I heard some crying, looked down and saw a child bleeding profusely from the head.  I froze, my mind went blank (rookie), and thankfully Law Dog (who isn't normally home on Friday nights) scooped him up and took control of the situation.  He washed the wound, applied pressure to it, loaded Tubbs in to his car seat and instructed me to run over to the neighbor's house and drop off Crockett.....and I just sat there in shock...useless.  Law Dog drove the car to the hospital like he was in a high speed chase.  I repeatedly had to remind him that we were in a Subaru Outback, not a patrol car and that we didn't need anymore accidents tonight.  We made it to the ER and everything worked out alright Tubbs got to eat his first popsicle, watched Phineas and Ferb, and took three stitches in the forehead.  He will be rocking a Cars band-aid on his forehead for a while....I think it makes him even cuter; again, I'm partial.

Kids are pretty resilient.  I am sure this is the first of many stitches for Tubbs and Crockett,....chicks dig scars, right?

Let the Sisterhood Begin!

My dad was a firefighter, my grandfather was a fire chief, my brother is a firefighter, and so are my brother-in-law and one of my uncles.....but I married a cop.  After growing up in a firefighter family, I thought I knew what I was getting in to.  You know, adapting to crazy schedules and hearing stories of heroic rescues, but being married to a cop is very different (not necessarily in a bad way). We are five years in to this career now; not a rookie and not a veteran, just somewhere in between.

To set our stage, I will rewind almost 6 years ago when I met my husband.  When I first laid eyes on him, I never thought I would be married to him.  He's tall, dark and handsome; the type of guy who commands attention when he walks in to a room.  I thought surely is looks are as deep as he gets, but I was wrong.  After having a conversation with him I learned he was educated, a world-class athlete, and he was in the process of applying for police departments around the country.  Aside from wanting to be a cop, this was my dream man.  I was in love and luckily so was he.  Over time, the cop thing grew on me; soon I was in full support of helping my man get on to a police department.  Thus began the whirlwind of where we are today.  To make a long story short, very short, he: was hired on to a PD, proposed to me, went through the academy, married me, went through field training, became a father, became a patrol officer, became a father for the second time, and now he is currently working on a narcotics unit.  I will fill in all the gaps as I start blogging.

My husband is my hero....our hero, life with a police officer is completely unpredictable and never boring.  When my husband started in the police academy I looked for groups and blogs for police wives and I couldn't find much that was active; shame on me for not starting something back then.  So reading Mrs. Fuzz's blog A Police Wife gave me the kick I needed.

I know there are thousands of wives out there who wouldn't think any less of me when I say my husband picks up prostitutes and buys drugs for a living...or...yesterday I opened up the cabinet to get a bowl and there were two guns sitting on top of the plates.  Let the Sisterhood begin, I need some followers ladies....and gentleman!

P.S. I know the look of my blog is lame, but it will get a face lift very soon....stay tuned!