1. You can tell what type of fire it is by the smell of smoke 10 miles away.
2. You have ever had a heated debate over the color of fire trucks.
3. You have ever spent 10 min trying to force open a door only to have someone come along and open it by turning the handle.
4. You have ever slept in a hose bed.
5. You’ve ever clung to the air horn chord for dear life because the driver is insane.
6. You have ever said, “She’s hot tonight” and not been talking about a girl.
7. You have ever had “yoda ears.”
8. You have ever smoked and there wasn’t a cigarette in sight.
9. You have ever stomped out a fire with your boots because you couldn’t wait for water.
10. Your kids are afraid to get into water fights with you.
11. You have ever uttered the words, “I can break the door if you need me to Cap,” before actually testing to see if it is locked.
12. If you have more toy fire trucks than your kids do.
13. You run towards a dangerous situation and not away from it.
14. You have ever been dressed from head to foot in rubber and it was not a sexual experience.
15. Your idea of ventilation is done with a chainsaw and not a Bag-Valve-Mask.
16. You take great joy in smashing the windows of a car parked in a fire zone or in front of a hydrant.
17. You take pride in the fact that you haven’t washed your gear in years.
18. All the shirts you own say you are a firefighter.
19. The smell of a fire excites you more than sex does.
20. A great stop has nothing to do with a moving vehicle.
21. You roll around in anything that just burned to make your new gear look old.
22. You have ever juggled hot coals with your gloves.

I posted yesterday and “regular” friends came out. I’m beyond the norm in this aspect as I train 2 cops and have 2 girlfriends that are dispatch and a fire/cop. I’m very imbedded in the service industry. lol

My “regular” friends have been there for many years. But I’m not sure they understood our relationship to begin with. Hubby has always been pretty demanding of my time. We just like to spend time together, period, we are each others best friend. But that is being tested in a good way as we get more friends that are more similar in nature to us.

There are so many great things about having friends in what I call the service industry. They get the fact that I can cancel at a moments notice because the day was too traumatic. They also understand that if I get time alone with him, he takes total precedence. But they also know that I need to get away and play. They know how much I love him, respect him, but need to just go out and be a girlie girl with them and have no worries.

I’m thankful that my girl can hook up with me on a Sunday night. lol Can you believe I’m planning a girls night on a sunday night? But it works. She’s off at 1800 and I’ll cancel my morning clients/classes. Hubby will be home and can get the kids off to school in the morning.

This is a huge perk of being where I am. The only thing I’ll have to talk hubby into is going home on Sunday night. I’m sure he’ll come out with us for a little bit, I can’t say no. lol But I’m getting a hotel room for my girlie and I. I need that connection that I’ve never really had all my life. It’s important to have girlfriends and at the age of 36 I am just now getting real girlfriends that are worth it.

Of course there are many, but I’m going to focus on one that is so much better than the norm!

I’ve gotten to be good friends of one of the girls on dispatch. She’s PD dispatch and the way we got to be friends is around about and I don’t want to type it all. lol But she’s a good friend and there are so many nights like tonight that I’m up texting/IMing/or facebooking with her. Tonight we hit a huge HIGH.

Um, I am working on being a work from home ONLY Mommy by the time the kids get done with school mid-June. I will keep my seniors class as I totally love teaching them. But I will drop most other training.

My dispatch girlie is on a crazy schedule like hubby. She has nothing off for a long time cause she is competent and takes so much OT. But alas, I got her to confess to an early shift schedule on a sunday night. Guess what? Hubby is on his 4 day. If we go skiing then it will just be a little later, but I can take the Monday off and he can get the kids off to school.

Can you see why the crazy schedule works? Oh, then let me explain further. My longest best friend has kids and hubby has to work regular job and the second longest best friend has to get kids off on Monday and get to work teaching. OH MAN, I’m spoiled. I love this schedule and I see how funky things happen to friendships. Thankfully I have my new friends that are on funky schedules or understand so they are not offended when these things come out.

My dispatch girlie and I will hit it for sure. She gets off early that night. But I’m pretty sure my “regular” friends won’t be able to make it.

“Regular” friends deserves a whole new post to itself.

This month actually has been a scheduling nightmare in so many ways.  Adding me being sick for 2 weeks and it’s just drug on.  Hubby thought his night drill was next month so it didn’t get put on the calendar.  But it’s tonight.  Shift this week is Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday.  Drill tonight (Monday) is 5-midnight.  Well that means he won’t get home before 1am if they truly go til midnight.  Then he has to be at work by 8am?  I’m not happy about that.

I’m sure it’s multi-shift and probably with other departments as well, but why is it at the beginning of his shift?  Such poor timing.  He’s going to be so tired.

And yes, I’m stuck working it out as a single Mom again.  This is why I’m working my butt off to be working from home exclusively by the time the kids get out of school.  I just can’t do this anymore.  How am I supposed to meet my clients that pay me and really need me and also get my daughter from soccer practice?  I just may need to call my Mom and ask her to help.  I hate to have her come all the way up here, but she certainly will and I just don’t have another answer for it.

So I have to do the family thing alone and miss him as well.  As I worry that he’s not getting enough sleep and having to go to work.  Yes, such is life, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.  Thankfully I have stuff planned for dinner that is easy to make and can be done ahead of time.  Plus will make a good amount of leftovers so he can take it to work.

Well this Fireproof came highly recommended, even by some of you here on my blog. And I’m a movie junky, so believe me I can sit through a lot of things like poor acting and such.

But this is like watching a lifetime channel movie. WOW, the acting is disrupting to the storyline. And I am not religious, but not offended by religion. But this was quite over-the-top for me.

Yes, lots of good stuff in it, but I’m so glad I didn’t have hubby watch it. Now we have gone through our own serious issues (not cheating, but total lack of communication) and I can agree with a lot of the stuff going on when the religious spin is taken out. Again, good messages going on and boy can I see so many aspects we’ve gone through. It’s just a difficult watch. lol

I told hubby just 2 days ago that we are going on vacation. I just got a big check and I really need to pay off bills, but the two of us have got to get away and regroup. Get away and focus only on us. So I told him that and of course he’s all for it as we hate to spend time in the sun with no responsibilities. ROFL But watching this movie right now is just reinforcing that it’s very important we do this as soon as possible.

We buried my Great-Uncle last week and that is 2 loved one’s in the last 7 months and our Chief. I have to stick hard to my new life motto of no regrets. You don’t get to go back and say and do things, you must do them right now.

I’m watching the end and it’s ending really well. Thankfully I get to see hubby a few minutes tomorrow so I can say some things that should be said. Every relationship should be Fireproof.

I married a quiet man

I married a sincere man

I married a good man

I married a hard working man

I married a man who some have cried over

I married a man who some mourned over

I married a man with many loves in his life

I married a man with a very big family

I married a man who has left me for others many times

I married a very unselfish man

I married a man who gives more and gets less back

I married a man who does not expect a thank you for a job well done from anyone

I married a man who will lay down his life to save yours

I married a man who may not come home to me one day

I married my HERO!

I married a FIREFIGHTER

By Peggy Redline a firefighters wife.

Wow, so this is my first post here and I am so excited about this blog. I’m so glad I was reminded of the opportunity to share my story as a wife to a Firefighter here for everyone to read and hopefully give support to other firefighter wives.

My name is Heather and I have been happily married to my Firefighter man for 7 years (We celebrated our anniversary on Valentine’s Day – yes I am an hopeless romantic, lol!) He has been a Firefighter for 5 years now, and we have three kids – Girl 10 years old, Boy 5 years old, Girl 3.5 years old.

We are a busy family, my husband Shaun works as a full time career Firefighter 24/48 hour shifts, and he is also a part time security officer. We also homeschool our children, and I run an online business. Whew! Just typing all that out makes me tired, LOL!

Just recently we have added another thing to our to do list – medic school – hence the title and my reason for being here making this post today.

Today is my husbands first day of medic school. It truly is a wonderful opportunity and a great blessing and we are both so grateful. However as you can tell our plate is so full right now and finances are as well, so there is a little bit of stress that goes with his first day of medic school. I can’t help but feel a little panicked on the inside.

I have been doing a lot of praying over it to, we prayed for the door to be open or closed and we would have accepted it either way, well the door stayed open and we believe this is the path that God has chosen for us. I am also really doing my best to put my faith in God, and talk with those who I can trust about my worries, and I can already tell God has really just lifted us up and is watching over us and protecting us. I know He will guide us through this trying time, and I wouldn’t doubt He has opened this door, even if it is going to be difficult, for a reason.

Last night Shaun and I were talking about how things might be tight financially, and it was so funny Shaun came home from work and was like “I’m a little worried about the finances.” – I guess we are on the same wave length. But as we were talking last night he was saying if we are happy he wouldn’t mind having less money, he just wants our family to be happy, even if it means less date nights. That really made my heart warm up! I couldn’t help but think what an awesome man I have, just him saying that took a lot of pressure off of me.

I am hopeful though, and ever so grateful for the opportunity! I am excited to be posting here often. Also I would love any tips or advice, even encouragement ya’ll may have! You can leave them here by posting in the comments section. I look forward to reading them.

God Bless,
Heather Bixler

***
Heather is a Christian Stay at Home Mom of three and happily married to her loving Firefighter husband, Shaun. Her hobbies consist of blog design and blogging. She also keeps herself busy homeschooling her three children and shopping at Target.

I swear it always happens. The kids end up gone for the night and hubby is always at work now. It happens so often now it’s not even cool anymore.

So why can’t this work like this when he’s home? He was home last night and daughter was at friends, but son’s friend waited to call him until tonight. Now I’m up watching cheesy tv alone and off to bed really soon. I’m bored. lol

Thankfully my dogs are here to keep me company and I’ll let them sleep on the bed tonight. I don’t usually let them at night anymore cause the little things take up too much bed and I’m left uncomfortably trying to sleep. It’s nights like this that bug me.

I know I buy hubby t-shirts from stores and I’ll post some of my fav’s later, but for this post I wanted to hit one that has stuff for us.

There are general love for firemen shirts and stuff, or fire wife’s gear. If you are a fiance or girlfriend there are even products specifically for you. Tshirts, hoodies, spaghetti tanks, thongs, coffee cups and more.

Choose your favorite saying “I Like it Hot so I married a Firefighter, is one of mine Then it’s in a bunch of different formats and colors and products. The spaghetti tank is my next purchase as I think Summer. lol

Today marks the anniversary of his official hire date. 2 years since being hired and 1 year since probation got over.

We’ve wanted this for so long that it seems like so much longer. It’s truly what we’ve been meant to be a part of and I always knew it. His talent and expertise are not wasted here. He is appreciated for what he brings to the table and those that can help him with his career have noticed. This is what I’m most proud of. He knows his stuff, this isn’t a job to him. He truly cares and I’m happy that others see this as well.

This is only the beginning of a long career as I push him upward. Finishing up his college degree is going to start soon so he can start moving up the ladder. lol

But for right now I just want to wish my incredibly sexy and loving Fireman a happy anniversary!

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