Rekindled Pride Christmas Stocking Review

Posted on December 17, 2011 by HotWife

It’s always flattering to have a company find me on the internet and I love to chat with other business owners. I’m very excited to bring this review to you for multiple reasons. Let me tell you a little about the company first and you’ll see a couple of those reasons right away.

Rekindled Pride was started by two professional firefighters in Idaho. We all know that gear can only be used for so long before it becomes unsafe. Instead of it ending up in a landfill or wherever disposal happens, they have chosen to give it a new life and new purpose. Recycling the life of each set of bunker gear into products that will get much love. Ok, that’s cool number one. I consider where they are in Idaho to be local since it’s only a 6 hour drive down I-90 to get to them. I love local companies! That’s cool number two.

christmas stockingThey sent me a few products to review, but Christmas being right around the corner I’m going to rave at you about this Christmas stocking

It’s all cleaned up and fresh smelling, sorry no smoke smell left over ladies.  But what it does have is the character leftover from it’s previous duties. Each stocking will be 100% unique depending on the gear it was made with. You can’t see it on mine because my picture taking abilities are second to none (insert sarcasm), but there are subtle stains throughout the stocking and some wear marks in the fabric.  It’s obvious that it’s real bunker gear and not just fabric pieced together.

I love that it has much  more character and story behind it than just another cute firefighter Christmas stocking. While we don’t know any of the work done in the gear, it’s still a pretty cool tribute in itself. Makes me think of all sorts of ideas for hubbies bunker gear when it’s time to trash it. ;)  Of course, I’d have to find someone to sew for me but now we’re getting technical lol

Even the back looks great.  If you were one of those people that prefers to match decor then you could fit this easily in with a country Christmas theme of blue and silver by flipping it around.

So how do you know this is actually passing the “got to have it” mark? Both my teens thought it was cool and Dad will love it.  Now that is a serious recommendation beyond the fact that I love it.  There’s still some time but it’s going quickly. Go run and place your order now and surprise your husband with the coolest stocking ever.

But if you wait a little bit I still recommend grabbing yours quickly. Put it away for next year and surprise him. You can plan to stuff the stocking with many things in the next 12 months. Mine was about 18″ long with an 8″ opening so you can fit many different stocking stuffers in it. That’s important for me as I love filling the stockings and I always end up buying too much stuff and can’t fit it in the stocking lol Yeah, we all have our things we’re good at.

I’m hiding this from hubby as he needed a new stocking. I’m tempted to get it embroidered on the cuff but I’ll wait and let him choose. I’m thinking gold thread would look pretty cool.

Now for a little bit of how the world got small this week with this transaction. When I replied to the email I included names of people I knew in her area and of course said where my hubby works. It’s just general practice as I figured they all take so many classes in Spokane they possibly ran into each other. NOPE, however her cousin works in my husbands dept. Not just works with, BUT is my hubbies LT. Sure you’re saying that’s quite ironic right?

When I tried to explain the connection to hubby he already knew I was talking about his LT. Umm, fail, major, major, major fail. I’ve obviously failed in training him if he’s not telling me of products he knows about.  However, I could possibly not have smacked him in the head with the fact he’s supposed to pass info like this on to me. So we’ll let him get a half pass.  I’ll now be hitting facebook pretty hard to make sure others don’t know of stuff I’m missing out on.

Well we ain’t stopping with just the work connection. She said she grew up in the area and named the development she grew up in, also giving LT’s wife’s maiden name. OIY, I then go into knowing she has to be related to a girl I grew up playing soccer with. I knew this girl had younger sisters. YEP, she’s the youngest. Thankfully I’ve been online for a few years so this doesn’t creep me out completely anymore, just makes me smile.

Yes, those are just two more cool things I loved about this review!  I’m looking forward to testing out the dog toy and collar. I’m going to save it for a couple of weeks as I want my little girl to go to her grooming appointment before she models the collar.  Also, I think I’ll be tacky and put them in the girls (dogs) stockings.  How cute would Christmas morning pictures be?  The Lab would love to prance around with a new toy and the Maltese is a fashionista so she’ll love the new collar.  Now that you have a mental picture, you know you’ll tune in to see them soon!

Thank you to Rekindled Pride for sending me the products to review.

Posted in Family, Shop | Tagged | 5 Comments

Do You Have a Routine?

Posted on December 11, 2011 by HotWife

My routine is to get used to a new routine constantly. lol No really, I swear that is how it goes. Just when I’m getting used to the schedule, he’ll have a spurt of vacation or K days come up. But over the years I have started getting into more of a routine that’s quite comfortable.

Since I work from home (except for my fitness class) I have room for the routine and schedule to change. Which has it’s definite downside. I allow it to change even though I really shouldn’t. Weeks like this last one really put a hurt on things and I do have bills I’d like to pay and things I’d like to save up for. Letting things slide are not going to allow that to happen.

A definite part of the routine is I get up with the kids, pack the lunches and make them breakfast. This way life is constant in the morning and I don’t have to wonder what they are eating and if they took everything they needed with them to school. No, I’m not saying I do this better than hubby, but I’m going to wonder most of the day about things if I can’t ask them first thing in the morning. I try to sleep while they are all getting ready if hubby gets up with them. I’m not a sound sleeper so it doesn’t work well. I’ve found I may as well get up and let him sleep.

The daytime is what changes the most. I am off to teach class 3 mornings a week and then on days he’s working I’m mostly online. I try to pack as much in on days he’s gone so I can shut the computer more when he is home. I’ve also learned I better cram things in or they won’t get done. If he’s home we could run off for the day doing errands, on a lunch date, shopping or going to the range. Or all of the above and then also hanging with friends that are off as well. We play his days off mostly by ear unless there is something pre-planned.

Of course evenings are always different. There’s no routine there at all. Are the kids in sports, is he working, was anyone hungry, do we have a doctors appt? Too many variables to even think about a routine. But right now if he’s home he’s been going and picking the kids up from practices so it’s a great trade-off for my always getting up with them in the morning.

But that is all up in the air at any moment of course. OT, drill I forgot to write on the calendar or any number of variables come into play just like they do for you. Not to mention the fact that maybe he didn’t get any sleep the shift before so any plans we may have will be canceled if he can’t stay awake.

Are you lucky enough to have a routine that you usually stick to?

Posted in Everyday, Family | 5 Comments

I’m Occupy Broke

Posted on November 23, 2011 by HotWife

Right now, I’m sorry I have’t had the energy to post, but I’m literally lost by the occupy tweets and posts I’ve seen. I don’t usually get so political here, but if you are going to jump down the cops throats that are out there protecting my husband on every call and that have shown up when I call 911, then you SUCK.

You can read the twitter crap here.

If you feel there wasn’t something correctly portrayed please let me know. I’ll be more than happy to share more posts before and after. But those were how the conversation went.

Policemen DO NOT want to push violence on anyone and anyone that thinks that is a complete unthinking moron. All cops want to get home to their loved one’s. Just like all the soldiers overseas want to get home to their loved one’s. Oh, she made an analogy, that’s not ok. It’s the same thing to those of us that love those of us that are out of there protecting you.

I was in an incredible mood because my kids rock. Grocery shopping sucked as the holiday season idiots are out, but then the kids fixed that. Then I got home late tonight and saw that so many are against cops for the few incidents.

Please don’t forget. Those cops, those firefighters, those husbands, those dad’s, those brothers, those wives, and those sisters are TOLD to be safe and get their butts home to us that love them more than anything else in the world. If you think your demo that is breaking the law can come between my knowing he is coming home safe, then you need a reality adjustment. Come on over, I’ll improve you over coffee.

Posted in Everyday | Tagged | 8 Comments

Volunteer Wife with a Newborn

Posted on November 11, 2011 by HotWife

Being a volunteer wife was so very much more difficult than this paid gig. Hands down, no comparison. I fully understand this new mom’s frustration with it all.  Grab a coffee or glass of wine depending on your time of day, this is going to be a long one :)

Q: I want to know what advice you have for a volunteer wife with a newborn who is, well…let’s just put it out there. I’m bitter. I’m proud of my husband (as evidenced by the pile of fire service related baby gear I have purchased for my 3month old *girl* ….), but I’m tired of being at home alone all day with the baby while he’s at work, and then being home alone 2 nights a week, plus a weekend day, plus the time he’s on duty at the station (ours is a hybrid department with volunteers on duty outside of daylight weekdays) – he’s in fire school those 2 weeknights and weekend day…and when they start burns, it’ll be all weekend.
He’s missing out on seeing our little girl grow, I’m exhausted, and he’s not even getting paid for it!!

I like the guys on his crew, and I like their wives and girlfriends, but we are the only ones with a child so far…so I don’t exactly have a lot of built in support there, plus, since he’s a probie…there’s a certain amount of distance there.

My family all think he’s being selfish and he should quit – I’m at a loss to explain that if I really put my foot down, he would quit…and be resentful and awful to be around because of it. This is important to him. So how do I deal with it?

A: I’m very thankful that when my husband joined the dept as a volunteer my youngest was already one and a half, possibly closer to two. But that doesn’t mean he was home much while they were newborns. He had to work a ton of extra hours and side jobs so I could stay home with the kids. Working jobs he hated. He sadly missed a lot and that is something we stay-at-home-moms have to realize. We get to see everything, it’s a burden and a blessing. They do feel bad that they miss major events, they just carry their emotions so differently.

Addressing the time alone. Are you also stuck at home because of only one vehicle? Or can you set up playdates and get out of the house to visit friends?  How about going to the library for a reading time/interactive class with other moms?  Check community bulletin boards for a new mommy meet up or post one of your own. It’s too bad there aren’t moms in your department you could try to hook up with. That would be the easiest option.

Also, it sounds like you could use a date night and/or a girls night. Set a date. Can’t get a sitter, then your date is at home as soon as the baby goes to bed.

Money was beyond tight when the kids were little, but I bought a family pass to our local zoos and the kids and I went each week at least once. My kids are teens and still talk about the animals by name lol We created our own priceless memories and it gave us stuff to talk to Dad about when we got the chance to see him.

I assume that he is working towards getting on paid somewhere. Think of this the same as going to school.  He really does need to put his time in if he wants to get a full-time position somewhere. The experience and connections are priceless when it comes down to being hired. It sucks, but it’s an investment in your families future.  The time he will get to spend with the family when he gets hired on is amazing. Sure he’ll also miss things then as well, but my husband now gets to go to so many more sporting events than he ever could have when he was working construction.

It’s rough when they don’t get paid for it. HOWEVER, if it’s like our volunteer dept was at all, someone could and would literally die if he didn’t go on calls.  Our dept was quite small and didn’t have a lot of active volunteers. Yes, there were times I did become “selfish” and tell him to turn the pager off but it was rare. Our dept didn’t have any set work times, it was on-call 24/7/365. Since, I rarely pulled the “turn the pager off” card it didn’t cause a problem. He knew I was about to lose my mind if he didn’t stay home lol

As far as the family goes, OUCH. DOUBLE OUCH! I can’t imagine not having had my families support fully and you really need to explain that to them like you did to me.  Is it better that he becomes bitter and resentful and possibly divorce? Or is it better to be supportive of what he wants to do and have him be a happy husband and daddy?  You need their support now probably more than you ever have before.  Let them know that.

My Mom always wants events at her house. It’s a huge deal to her. Yet, while he was a volunteer she wouldn’t complain if we had it at our house so he could go on calls. Especially when we’d know ahead of time that quite a few volunteers were going to be out of town over a holiday.  Even if we went to their house (11 miles away, but was out of district) we sometimes would take two cars so he could leave for a call if necessary. Or he’d show up later than me after returning from a call.  This was when we were getting close to being merged with our paid dept and the call volume was really high for the amount of volunteers we had.

One thing that helped me often was to think of the military wives. If we think this is rough, imagine how rough it is for them. How many wives have had their babies and their husband couldn’t be there at all, let alone not meeting the babies until they are a year or even older?  Just a little perspective that couold help through basic rough days.

But that doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to be hurt or even angry. Especially with your lack of sleep and hormones that are still a wreck. Let him know that things are rough. If he sees you always keeping it together then he probably thinks it’s all under control and going smoothly. I’m positive you’ve left hints, but as my husband told me out right when we first got together, “I don’t get hints, you have to tell me”. Boy, we had no idea back when we were 17 & 18, how much that statement would help us over all these years. I’m pretty sure that goes for all guys. Communicate how you are feeling and it will help ease your pressure so much!

Alright volunteer and paid wives, what are some ways you’ve worked through the newborns and babies?  LaDonna this one is definitely one you have a ton of advice for I’m sure.  Please, please feel free to pass on any posts you may have put up on your blog that can help her :)

Posted in Everyday, Fire Questions | Tagged | 16 Comments

Got Some Spare Time Guys?

Posted on November 11, 2011 by HotWife

I haven’t posted a video in a while and I’m obviously losing my knack at finding the funny ones on youtube. I kept getting dancing stuff that wasn’t all that funny.

But look at what I did find!

Posted in Everyday | 2 Comments