Some goods…

Today I received a Christmas card from none other than… NKOTB. Yes, Danny, Donnie, Jon, Jordan and Joe love me. 😉 It’s appropriate they sent me this since I am getting concert tickets from my man for their NKOTB + Backstreet Boys tour (NKOTBSB). I am takin’ a road trip (Holla Stacy and Nancy!) to Houston to see them since, once again, they are coming to Dallas on a Sunday. I don’t do concerts (or much of anything else) on Sunday. Every time I have seen them I have traveled to do so because they have come here on a Sunday (Oklahoma City and Kansas City– shout out Sara!!). So, yeah… I’m famous.

We are tight like that...

Isabel did a powerpoint presentation for a class about herself. One the part about “THE PEOPLE I ADMIRE” she wrote:

The people I admire the most are my parents! They do EVERYTHING for me. They are the best. My parents have 5 and sometimes 7 kids. The reason I said 5 to 7 is because my 2 step sisters live in Canada, and they visit sometimes. My parents treat us all equally they love us all equally! Even though we can be a handful sometimes, but they can handle us! They are the people I admire most.

Awwwwww!!! And she had pics of me and her and her and Sei. 🙂

The other part I loved was from MY FAMILY:

My family is AMAZING!!!!!! My family has 9 people in it and that is a lot. My family from youngest to oldest and age is……. Livie or Liv is 4 almost 5, Taj is 7, Isabel aka MEEE is 11, Karlea is 12, Kelsea is 12, Alec is 14, Tristan is 15, Tori aka MOM, and then Seiuli aka DAD! My family is the best in the whole entire world! I LOVE THEM ALL!!!

It made me feel awesome. I thought it was cute she put Karlea as younger than Kelsea. They are 18 minutes apart. haha

Seiuli is nominated for the 2nd quarter in a row for OFFICER OF THE QUARTER.  In the letter the chief wrote to him these are of few of the things that supervisors and/or peers made the following comments about him:

• “He has been an outstanding influence on our shift.”
• “He comes to work every day with a great attitude, and his reports and investigations are accurate and detailed.”
• “His ability to translate Spanish has proven invaluable.”
• “He also has made tremendous impact on our DWI enforcement. Again he will either take the lead on these investigations or assist in providing translation.”
• “He has a true passion for his job, and is a leader among our people.”

There was more, but you get the jist… He is awesome. I am proud of him. And I sleep with him. Just sayin’…

Things I don't like:

Seiuli was getting dressed for work tonite… a regular weekend thing. But this time as I watched him (heh- I watched him get dressed. Jealous??) I noticed a few things that I DO NOT like.

Exhibit #1:  A tourniquet that is carried “on his person” in the event one is needed for him or even for another fellow officer.

Exhibit #2: 1st of all, ignore the background. Note the black band across his badge? Yes, that is because yet another officer in Texas was killed in the line of duty. They wear the black until after the funeral. Today an officer in San Antonio died after being hit by a drunk driver 2 weeks ago. He had been out of the academy for 7 weeks. That’s the 14th fallen officer in Texas this year and the 3rd in October. 😦

Exhibit #3: The tag on Seiuli’s bullet proof vest lists his blood type (O-Neg) and the fact that he has no allergies.

However, I DO like this (if you don’t look at the messy closet background…)

What we've been up to

We’ve been busy here with football, gymnastics, scouts,… life.

Here’s a quick update:

Tristan and Alec are both playing football. They are having equally good seasons. Tristan plays starting right guard and is the kicker/punter. Basically if a kick is needed, he’s the one doing it. He really is great at it. One game they won 32 to 6 and he scored NINE of those points. He had 2 field goals and 3 points after touchdown. One of those field goals was about 40 yards. His name was even in the paper for it. 🙂 I was so proud. 🙂

Alec is on the kick-off return team and starting safety. He has grown so much in the last year. He doesn’t look so tiny in the his uniform anymore. He is playing great and I don’t find myself stressing as much when he’s hitting someone. He also has straight A’s this 6 weeks. 🙂 His grades have actually ROCKED ever since he had mono last school year and missed 3 weeks of school. Weird…

Isabel is in gymnastics again. She isn’t competing. She’s just doing tumbling and loving it. She just goes once a week for fun. There’s no 15 hours of training, no pressure. She’s doing back tucks and lay outs. It’s a lot of fun to watch her. She says she misses gymnastics- except for vault- but isn’t ready to dedicate her life to it again. I just want her to have fun. She will be playing basketball again this winter. She is in middle school this year which is still crazy to me…

Taj is also taking gymnastics. He just moved up from the beginner class to intermediate after 4 classes. I don’t know if he’ll stay with gymnastics because he’s mentioned the desire to take karate as well. Whichever he chooses we will let him do. He needs something for him, that HE enjoys, since the rest of his life is school and being dragged from football game to football game. 🙂 He’s loving 1st grade and is our dog’s best friend. Indy whines at the door when he leaves.

Livie is our mini-gymnast as well. She loves picking out which one of Isabel’s old leotards she wants to wear. We have about 10 of them, so she hasn’t worn the same one twice. 😉 She is also in pre-k every day in the afternoon. I picked the afternoon session because there was no way I could get her to her school by 7:50 am and Taj’s to his at the same time. I am so thankful they will be in the same school next year. She LOVES pre-k and won’t even let me walk her to the pre-k door anymore. I have to watch from my car! Holy 4 going on 14!!

Seiuli is doing great. He loves his job which makes me so happy. He had the most DWI arrests last month. Have I mentioned he looks hot in his uniform? He just interviewed for a part time job during the week because he works weekends so he’s home ALL week which usually leads to him and me sitting on the couch watching HBO. Such a friggin’ waste of time!! He’s been wanting to get a PT gig, and this one kinda fell in his lap. PLEASE say a prayer that he gets the job!! We need this!! In our spare time we like to talk about our 10 year anniversary vacation we are going on next year. We are hoping for a cruise, but will probably end up in San Antonio. haha

I am doing the same ole, same ole. I play basketball a couple of times a week. I think I’m playing better than I was when I started up with these ladies. At least I HOPE I am!! I’m a little more confident. I have a hard time driving the lane because I’ve always been so short I was always an outside shot. I also always led in assists, so driving wasn’t my thing. I wish I could get over my fear of having the ball crammed down my throat. haha I am still a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. That is a lot of fun and a great way to earn extra money.  I enjoy it a lot! And it’s nice to make money even when I’m not doing anything. 🙂 Oh- and I found out today that I have been accepted to return to Texas Women’s University in the Spring ’11. I’m not sure if I will start in Spring or wait until Livie is in kindergarten in the Fall, but either way I will be going back to school!! I am excited and nervous and… I need a new backpack. 😉 I put dental hygiene and secondary education as my 2 majors of choice. I need to meet with a counselor to go over my 106 hours I’ve already earned to figure out which direction to head in. I’m thinking education…

So, that’s what we’ve been up to around here. Busy as usual, but I like it that way.

Why cops should be paid more

Like my title? I think this may become a regular post…

Last nite my husband was on a call. He had to go to a gross motel where people were doing meth. The meth-heads let him and another cop into their room. There was baggies of meth everywhere. The male meth addict was sitting on the bed when out of no where he says, “Can I wipe my a$$?”  Sei was like, “WTH?” The guy repeated himself, “I was taking a sh** before you got here, so can I wipe my a$$?” Seiuli told him, “Too bad. Just stay there.”

The guy stands up, pulls his pants down, grabs a napkin off the table, bends over and wipes his friggin’ butt right there in front of 2 cops and a female meth-head. Then he tosses the napkin back on the table. OH.MY.HELL Y’all.  When Sei was telling me this I nearly threw up. How nasty is that? Sei was like, “Did you seriously just do that? You are such a meth addict. You’re a 45 year old man and you just wiped your butt in front of people...”

My poor husband. How the heck does he get images like that out of his head? I wasn’t there and I’m disgusted. This is why my husband tells gross jokes. You have to joke about crap otherwise it’ll eat you up. So, right after putting the image of a meth addict wiping his butt into my head, he told me a meth-head joke. I won’t repeat it here, but… eew.

On a more serious note… Meth is so bad. I’ve seen before and after pics from mugshots Sei would bring home in Utah. But here’s a video. It’s pretty unreal.

Things I would like to try but I'm pretty sure I would suck at

1. Roller Derby looks awesome. But I would suck at it. Why?  I’m tough enough. I’m definitely competitive enough. But I’m too nice. I can’t just take someone out for the heck of it. Even in basketball when I’d elbow a chick in the face I would apologize- not until after the game, but still... Heck, I apologized for saying mean things to that mom that was mean to me– and I wasn’t even mean!! I talk trash, but when it comes down to it I’m a really nice person and don’t like to hurt people.
2. Motocross. I would sooooo have done this before I had kids, but now I’m like, “Crap, if I break my neck who’s gonna take care of my kids?” Same with bungie jumping and skydiving. I’m no fun. So, I just watch the X-games.
3. Playing the drums. I would love it, but I think I have like adult-onset ADD or something. I’d totally forget I was keeping the beat and just space out. Rick Allen (Def Leppard) can jam with one arm and I don’t think I could do it with 4. I tried to start practicing on the guitar but I suck at that too. It’s the practicing that kills me. I lose interest too quickly. If I was like Sei and could just play without learning then I’d be awesome. I was not blessed with a musical gene in my body- although I rock at remembering the words to songs and we all know how handy that can be… if I’m ever on a game show or something.
4. Being a cop. The biggest thing that would make me suck at this is… I think guys should protect girls. lol I do. I’m a reversed feminist. I totally think there are some jobs that are for girls and some that are for guys. For the record- that male nurse I had after giving birth to Liv kinda wigged me out.  Say I’m a cop and there was a bad guy and I was right there and then a male back up came… I’d totally be like, “Yeah, you got it. I’ll wait back here...”  And can you see me trying to cuff some 6’4″ 300 lb guy? What I would LOVE is the detective work. I can’t wait for Sei to do criminal investigations so I can solve all his cases at home. I’m an expert ya know, because I watch Investigation Discovery… haha

My man is leaving me.

My husband started at the LPD Dec. 2007. He was a sheriff’s deputy in Utah County for 6 years before moving to Texas and joining the PD. He was on SWAT and all that good stuff that makes a wife worry more. He’s been tased, maced,  and he’s married to me. He is TOUGH. So, needless to say I feel safe with this hot, tough man.

But he’s leaving me.

For nite shift that is.

Yep, that’s right. He’s going back to his old shift. He’s been on weekday-DAY shift for 6 months and I hated it when he started because I was used to having him gone WEEKEND nites and home during the day. But now I’ve been spoiled with him in bed with me and weekend dates… Idk what I’m gonna do.

I’m NOT a chicken. I don’t mind being home at nite without him. I mean, hello, I have a GUN. (Hear that bad guys? I have a gun and even though I’m married to a cop I still believe in: 9 mm, then 9-1-1.) Anyway… moving on. I’m not scared, but sleeping alone at nite (not counting a kid or 2 who may end up in my bed) sucks. I have trouble. I feel kinda uneasy. I end up having conversations with myself. Thankfully, Sei listened to me when I told him I wanted a home security system  so when we bought our house Sei called up ADT and they hooked us up! It makes me feel better to know that I have a security system installed.  And it works well. I’ve set it off on numerous occasions. Once when Sei and I weren’t home Tristan set it off and didn’t know the code to turn it off.  ADT called the house to make sure everything was ok. Niiiice.

Anyway… I know NOTHING is gonna take the place of Sei and his guns (biceps) being there at nite, but I do feel better knowing my alarm is set and on.

Again… BAD GUYS: I have a gun and I will use it. Just sayin’…

Don't mess with Texas women.

Random stuff

** Today my husband comes home from Hawaii complete with seashells, tshirts and a ukulele. (I’m not sure what we need a ukulele for, but whatevah.) I apologized for being a bad wife. I really do feel guilty for being so bio-tchy, but… I was more frustrated with myself for not being able to STOP being bio-tchy, which made it worse. Whatever.
And Omar– I would LOVE to hear it from a male’s perspective. Because from a chick’s perspective if a rich friend asked me to go to Hawaii on a whim I would have: 1) Stressed about it and felt horribly guilty 2) Found sitters for the kids 3) Prepared meals for while I was gone 4) Paid all the bills that were due that week 5) Found back up sitters 6) Called every couple of hours and finally, 7) Brought back rad gifts.
This is what Sei had to do 1) Say “Sure rich friend, I would love to go to Hawaii with you.” 2) Pack 1 bag that he left in the driveway. 3) 3?? Yeah, right. Like there’s a 3.
Seems a little unfair.

** I am finally getting a new cell phone. I’ve had a cheapy phone from Walmart for about a year since my other cheapy phone got water damage somehow. I am getting a cool one that plays music and has a camera!! Years ago Sei was going to give me a phone for Christmas with a camera and mp3 player. The camera even has it’s own little light incase there isn’t enough indoor or outdoor lighting. I told him not to- I didn’t get why I would need a camera, etc… Then I started blogging and I understand the NEED for a camera!! So, today it should arrive in the mail and I can be a cool bloggah!

** Speaking of cell phones, Tristan asked for a camera phone for Christmas. I told him if he has straight As thru Christmas that yes- I would get him one. BUT since he will prove to me he CAN make straight As I’ll be expecting awesome grades all year. He has been a new kid. He does his homework without me BEGGING and BEATING him. He’s doing awesome- straight As so far. It’s only been like 5 weeks, but still… He wasn’t a “bad” student before at all (As and Bs) but he was LAZY and did as little as possible. Sounds sooooo much like me.

** I’ve been reading a lot of “Cop Wives” support sites online. Ok, apparently the divorce rates among law enforcement officers is really, really HIGH. It’s like the LEO are man-hos!! They cheat right and left. I guess I already knew that since there was a big thing in Utah Co. where Sei was a deputy where one of the property clerks was giving out, um… “favors”, to SEVERAL of the deputies- many of them married. When Sei told me he was so grossed out. I have a pic of her, but that would probably be bad for me to post. Let’s just say… she’s already posted on this blog somewhere years ago… There was also another married deputy getting really, really close to another female deputy and he would be in the gunlocker closet with her and stuff. Sei called him out and told him it was inappropriate and making everyone uncomfortable, etc… I was proud of him for doing that. He told the guy that he knows it would break MY heart if he was behaving like that deputy was. True dat. I’d be waiting for him in the gunlocker closet myself- with a baseball bat. 😛

** Livie is 2 years 8 months old and sooooooo not wanting to potty train. She knows when she’s pooping but she hides. I tried to sit her on the toilet once when I knew she was about to poop and she screamed bloody murder, stiffened her legs all weird and WOULD NOT sit. Then when I put her diaper back on her she pooped. I’ve never had one rebel against me. In fact, Taj basically trained himself. Any ideas?

Conversations with myself

I’m not new to nite shifts. Sei used to work 7 nite shifts every month when he was a deputy in Utah. So, for 5 1/2 yrs I spent at least 1 week alone at nite. Alone = no husband, lots of sleeping kids. In fact, when the Olympics were in SLC he worked 28 straight nite shifts. That sucked. He was also in Texas for 2 weeks before we moved down, so I’ve done the nite shift thing. But it never fails- I have strange conversations with myself in my head. I know I may sound paranoid and freaked out, but really only 1 side of me is. The other side is practical and just wants to go to sleep.

 

 

 

Me: What if someone breaks in?
Me: Why would someone break in?
Me: Because Sei’s not here.
Me: Sei’s worked nites before. Why would someone break in tonite? No one knows he’s not here.
Me: There’s only 1 car in the driveway.
Me: The other car could be in the garage.
Me: That’s true. I didn’t think of that.

Me: Yes I did.

Me: What if someone breaks in?
Me: The alarm is on. ADT would call the cops.
Me: Does the alarm work if someone breaks thru a window.
Me: …?
Me: Well???
Me: I’m not sure. I’ll have to check. But I’m pretty sure I’d hear a window break and then if the alarm didn’t go off I could set it off with my keychain. And I can dial 9-1-1 on my cell phone with it still hidden under my pillow. I got mad sightless dialing skillz.
Me: Good thinking.

Me: What was that??
Me: Livie dropped a book out of her crib right above us me.
Me: Why does she sleep with so many books?
Me: I don’t know.

Me: I don’t wanna turn off the tv.
Me: If I don’t turn it off I won’t go to sleep.
Me: It’s too quiet with the tv off.
Me: I’ll turn on the fan. It makes noise.
Me: Good thinking. Oh, but wait- will I be able to hear the window if someone breaks in?
Me: Ugh. I am so tired. I should have taken that sleeping pill. Please shoot me.
Me: DON’T SAY THAT!!