So here it is...November....nearly 4 months since my last post. I will apologize in advance for the long posting as I try to catch up and try not to miss good.
My summer started off decent I suppose. For so many years I had been looking forward to attending the week long Regional Law Enforcement Explorer Academy in St. Louis as a level advisor. It was all set and I was registered but then we fell upon a manpower issue at work and what I had been looking forward to was suddenly in jeopardy. I was told that I could only go on my days off, but it seemed pointless to pack my bags for an overnight stay to have to come right back to work soon after. Then we learned that the manpower issue was almost certainly going to be resolved because the release was almost certain to be signed by the doctor so I was told to pack for the week. I was excited.
I got to the academy on the evening of the start date after the kids had all checked in and were starting to wind down for the evening due to work, but that was no big deal. I was ready for what was in store. It was great. One of our first morning sessions was to listen to various speakers on being prepared for the this job. The most heart wrenching speaker we heard though was the mother of Kelli and Jessica Uhl. These were two sisters that were killed in a horrible vehicle accident several years ago on Black Friday at the hands of an Illinois State Trooper who was driving far too fast and he was found to have been on his mobile computer and his cell phone moments before that fateful crash. Their mother wasn't mad at police officers in general. She told us she still respects us and in fact works with Below 100 giving presentations around the country to help officers see the consequences of bad decisions. https://www.facebook.com/JessicaKelliUhl?_rdr=p
The activities continued. The kids were taught defensive tactics, they were taught traffic stops, they particpated in roll plays, they ran an amazing obstacle course, and were taught some various movements by the St. Louis County SWAT team. There was also some good ole Explorers vs Advisor kickball action too! My week abruptly came to an end on my third night there. I was told that the person that was supposed to get released by the doctor was not getting released and I would have to work the following night due to a manpower shortage. I was upset but what could I do. I packed up, turned my stuff in and left so I could prepare for my shift the following night. Don't be fooled in to thinking it went as smoothly as that all sounds. I was more than upset but there was nothing I could do except be upset since it wasn't going to change a thing. On my way home I called my husband and told him what was going on. He told me that was great (he missed me, and the boys were nuts!) buuuuuuut our dog ran away. Crap. Then I hit a possum on the highway. Anything else????
We posted on local Facebook sites that our dog was missing. He was gone for almost 3 days I think when our amazing neighbors saw an ad on a Facebook yard sale site saying someone found this dog, which happened to be ours. The lady wouldn't give our dog to our neighbor, which I understand, but I was sleeping and had NO clue this was even going on. Eventually my neighbor got mad and went detecting in our tiny little town. She sure did find the house, which was a decent ways from ours and our boy ran right to her van and jumped right in. She kept him at her house until I woke up and told me the story. He was physically okay. Mentally....who knows. That boy was nervous shedding chunks of fur all over her house. I am almost certain she is still finding his fur in her house despite cleaning like a mad woman!!!
August also brought some news I had been waiting for. I had been selected to test for the Maryland Heights PD despite the fact that I lived outside of the residency requirement. I was excited! I had been waiting for this for so long. If I was selected for the open position I stood to make almost $25000 more a year! I also would have had the opportunity for secondary employment to make a decent chunk more. The test came and I did great! I surprised myself with how well I did on the PT test. I did as well as many of the kids that were still in the academy. The afternoon I followed up with the written test, which was odd. It was a video model. I don't feel that test really showed what a police officer really knows about law enforcement. It was hard because they were scenario based questions. For a seasoned officer that is tough because one department may do things different than another department and policies on what to do also may be different. It was hard to bring my mind down to academy level intelligence and forget what I would actually do in a situation. I apparently did okay. About a week later I was contacted and told I made in to the interview phase. It was also a strange interview. It was a group interview with me and 5 other applicants in front of a civilian police board. We were asked questions by color. We each got the same question and had a minute to answer. I also was not a fan because it didn't provide me with the opportunity to show who I was because the questions were so vague and didn't really apply much to law enforcement. I did okay. I was told I finished 9th out of over 30 applicants but they were only going to conduct a background on the first 6. I was then contacted a few weeks later and told that they were going to begin a background investigation on me. I never heard anything back, but that's okay, I ended up taking a better position within my current department anyway. So I am staying put!
In August my husband and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We spent a weekend in St. Louis, went to a ball game and stayed in a swanky hotel right next to the stadium. Its hard to believe I have been married to this man for 6 years. He is a blessing in every way and the most amazing father I could ask for for our boys. He is their hero! Mine too! We have had our ups and downs, mostly ups, but we are in this for the long haul!!
In late June we finally made the decision that our renters of our old house were way to behind in rent to us so we began the 30 day notice. This eventually ended up in us taking them to civil court and winning a judgement of over $3000.00. I hope to see the judgement someday as was promised, but I am not getting my hopes up until I see it. I wish sometimes people could understand that we aren't some big company that can "afford" to not have rent. We need that money to provide for our family. I understand they have a family too, and we were willing to work with them if it was truly a financial issue but alas there was no luck. They left the house the beginning of September and that house was listed with REmax in NO TIME. We worked our tails off cleaning carpets, removing property left behind in the yard, planting grass, painting rooms and wall, staining the deck and just making it show ready! We were discouraged at first because the buyers looking were not impressed with the house. Finally we received an offer and I am so HAPPY to say we should be closing on the property in the next 2 weeks. I am beyond excited to not have to worry about two mortgages anymore. This has stressed me out beyond belief. We have put more money on our credit card then I have ever done before and its not because we wanted to, its because we had to. I will be so happy to take that money from the house pay off and pay this credit card to ZERO and be left with a mortgage and a truck payment for debt. I can't stand debt!!!
As if I wasn't stressed enough I was at work one night and we got called to a house that we had been going to on a seemingly Regular basis for the last few weeks. It was a kid who had zero respect for any one, especially cops. We ended up detaining him for safety because of his sporadic actions and I was the one to do it. He pulled away and I regained control and detained him. When he was sitting on the ground the punk looked right at me and said that would have been easier if I was in better shape. I wanted to cry. No joke. I have struggled with my weight since middle school and I was now at a time where I was at my heaviest due to some medication changes and not nursing little dude anymore ( that part more of an accumulation.). It broke my heart. I had been trying. Was this what the other people in town thought of me. Am I just the fat girl cop? I don't know... I am still working on it and hopefully someday I can look him in the face in a body I am comfortable with and say Ha!
While all of this was going on I took a Mommy only trip to sunny San Diego to see one of my best friends. I had been forward to this trip for months. It had been planned since May! It was great! I rode in a taxi for the first time in my life to the airport so that was cool. Did I miss my boys, Yes. Did I enjoy my plane rides of peace and quiet and not having to worry about my energetic toddlers stomping on me or throwing a fit. Oh YES! That was ahhhhhhmazing!! I think I even caught a nap! I arrived in San Diego on 9-11. It was obvious they were on high alert. I don't know if this was normal but on this day, the San Diego PD did not look like someone to mess with. There were officers posted in strategic locations with their patrol rifles ready to go...not slung. They were prepared for anything.
We got to my friends house and we all took a nice relaxing group snooze on the couch. Just me, Elizabeth, and her two year old! Peace and Quiet! I woke up and she was gone. Lol. She came back with her teenage son and said she didn't want to wake me up. So sweet. I knew that was where she went, I just didn't realize it was that late. We spent Saturday at Mission Bay Beach. I also got to see another one of my friends and her family here. I learned how to paddleboard as seen below. It doesn't look difficult...but it is. The amount of leg strength and balance needed astounded me. I am happy to say that I didn't fall in once though. The day at the beach ended with my friend's husband trying to throw me in to the water. I think deep down he thought "she may be a cop, but I'm a guy...I can do this!" He could not. He did break my swimsuit clasp in the process though. Oops. I needed a new suit anyway. The next day we chilled and watched the Chargers game. I say we watched it. I watched, they Yelled!! Then it came time to leave. I got to the airport, boarded my plane and flew to Phoenix for my connection. Oh great...My already late arrival flight was now delayed 2 hours. I did not into my nice comfy bed until almost 4 AM. So much for an 11 PM arrival! 2 days later it was back to reality.
So funny work/dumb blonde moment story: What happens when you don't move your 31 "duty" bag away from the already turned patrol SUV tires? Yep, you run over your bag. As I was backing my SUV up to park it for the day since the shift was beyond over, I thought the wheels were straight and that I had plenty of room to back out and not run over anything. I had my bag, AED, and PBT all sitting near the passenger side. I was basically being lazy and not wanting to carry 1000 things through the parking lot. As I back up I feel the tires go up on something and then I heard a loud POP. CRAP!!! I finished backing and expected the worst when I looked. All I could see was broken pink plastic. Whew! All I destroyed was my water bottle, not the important stuff. I also blew out the side of my bag. My coffee mug survived though, as did my ticket book...although it is a little bent up now. I went to change then realized my tablet was in there. I had a panic attack. I opened it and shoot....the screen was shot. There was no hope for it. So long story short, we cancelled the contract on that tab and signed a new one so we could get an iPad for $50. I like iPad's better anyway and I got to feed my 31 bags addiction with a new bag...so Win Win????
October brought us a huge blessing. We were contacted by a local police ministry who asked my husband and I if we would be willing to attend a law enforcement marriage seminar in Elkhart Indiana. He sweetened the pot by telling us a couple at his church had graciously offered to pay for our hotel and conference registration. So we agreed. I would be lying if I said our marriage is perfect, because it isn't. This came at the most blessed time. We were in a rut and just couldn't seem to get out of it. A weekend away from the kids learning about coping with a law enforcement marriage was just what we needed. We had an amazing time.
The conference was split between spouses and cops. It took the registration people a minute to realize that I was not just a spouse but an officer too. We sat with another local couple that was also sponsored by the church. The seminar was eye opening. The keynote speaker was Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. I don't know if you know who this man is but he is pretty much a legend and an idol in the police community. We learned about active shooter and why we shouldn't call them active shooters because shooters have skill that these mad men will never possess. We should refer to them as active murderers. Makes sense... That is what they are doing. He told us about the siege in Beslan when terrorists invaded an elementary school and killed so many innocent kids. This man was an amazing speaker and we were honored to have the opportunity to stand in his presence. We bought a few books that he autographed, each with a Bible quote of strength and determination. Then when he found out we were both in law enforcement and we were raising two small boys, he gave an autographed copy I his children's book called Sheepdogs. Grossman pioneered the sheepdog reference. The sheepdog (police/military) will always be there to protect the sheep (citizens) from the wolves (those who wish harm on the sheep) no matter what. A sheepdog is willing to risk their own life to save his sheep. This man's words will stay with me forever.
The following day was a fun day. A man that leads a police ministry in the Elkhart area conducted his annual law enforcement appreciation day. There was food galore, zip lines, rock walls, games for kids, spear throwing, and obstacle course, and of course some fun shooting. We both got to fire a 50 cal round which was pretty awesome!! We also got to shoot a modified 9mm that was full auto. It was so awesome. We left Indiana feeling blessed that we were able to attend this weekend with the help of friends and family.
Below is my man shooting the 50 cal
"Respond to (address) for a chicken running at large. I thought he was going to crash the patrol car. We both looked at each other and had the same bewildered look. A chicken?? What?? Sure enough... We get in scene and there was a darn chicken running around the yard. He asked me what we should do. How should I know, I have never caught a chicken. You are the farm boy, you catch it. We decided to play detective and look for chicken coops instead and let the owners capture their own chicken. By the time we found the owner there were two chickens at large. End of story... They found their home.
So November brought so many blessings to our family. I was told that beginning next year I would be the School Resource Officer for the middle school and take the place of the officer wanting to come back to the road. This was a blessing. This means a mostly m-f,8-4 job with a few weekends and fill ins here and there and most major holidays will be off as well. Summer's will consist of 12 hour shifts on park patrol duty which is pretty open to interpretation as we have parks all over town. In the summers I will lock bathrooms and handle any calls that originate in a local park. I go to training for a week at the end of this month!
November also brought Veterans Day. I am astounded every day by our neighbors that we are new besties with. One day she watched the boys so I could go to an appointment and she found a canvas she had lying around so she had the boys put their handprints in a heart and then she had them give it to my husband for Veterans Day. Her oldest daughter also made him a few pictures to show her thanks. He loved it and was so touched that they thought of him in advance to do this type of craft. He also loved the pictures her daughter made. She is raising such a sweet and polite child!!
November also brings the start ooooofffff DEER HUNTING!! My hubs went out opening morning and killed this handsome fella below. The deer dropped in the water and when he got to him the only thing showing were his antlers so my hubs had to drag him by the rack out. He was so proud. He is having the rack mounted!! What was maybe the best of all of this... Someone reported my photo to Facebook for graphic violence. They didn't sustain it but still....really... Graphic violence. Since when does hunting to feed a family constitute graphic violence. Humans have been hunting animals since the human race began! Hunting is a means of population control also so that the animals aren't overpopulated, diseases, and starving to death!! Besides... Deer is some darn good eatin!!!
I will close this post out with a few little links that I have been working on. I have recently signed up on two websites called instagc.com and mommyknowsurveys.com. Each site allows you to take surveys or complete tasks in order to earn a buck or two here and there. My goal is to earn enough between the two sites to give the kids a good Christmas since both can be redeemed for Amazon cards! Here are the links:
instagc: http://www.instagc.com/mindyschmelz
I was also chosen by Influenster to review the new Vicks Smart Temp thermometer for free. I am not sure how I feel about it yet. The only way to see the temperature is to have it bluetoothed to the app on your phone, there is no display on the unit. If my kid is sick I don't want to deal with opening an app to see their temperature. It does have cool features on the app though because you can create a profile for each family member and track their symptoms and temperature readings. I guess that part is cool, I would just rather have a display on the unit as well. It worked pretty easy once I figured it out so overall it's cool, but I don't know that I would spend $30 on it!
Okay so I think that is about it. Sorry for the short novel! Hope yall enjoy. Suggestions on things that you would like me to talk about in regards to my job are accepted. I take what I do for granted but I know people always have questions!!!
