CTO Class in Conway

I have got so much to catch up on, but just haven't had the time or desire really to sit down and blog!! I promise I'll get it all on here eventually though.

I'll start off with my CTO (Communications Training Officer) class that Teresa and I went to last Wednesday-Friday in Conway AR. I ended up having to work until 2 am again last Monday night and then Tuesday I spent doing laundry and packing both myself and Grace up for our week. I didn't work at all Tuesday because I had so much to get done. I met Teresa at the pd at 6 Tuesday night after dropping Grace off with Mom. Teresa and I set out for Conway and Mom and Graced headed for Granny's house.

We made it to our hotel without any problems and were able to get settled in and into bed, however, neither one of us slept at all that night. Needless to say we were exhausted when we got up at 6 IN THE MORNING to get ready for class. Let me just remind you that T and I both work evening shift and although I'm usually up with Grace around 7:30 or 8 my mind doesn't usually have to be working until later. We drug all day long! The class was absolutely wonderful though! We had an amazing amazing teacher, Tracy Ertl, who is from Green Bay, WI. She even came complete with the northern accent! She was hilarious and made the class so much fun. She's the one in the picture above with me and T.

This picture was taken in the car Tuesday night on our way to Conway. I will admit that I was a little apprehensive of the class because you just don't ever know how it's going to go for 3 whole days. I'll say that I'm re-energized and enthused about training again at work. I was starting to get a little rigid about it and losing the desire, but now having taken this class I've learned some great new techniques and approaches to training that will make it better for both myself and my trainee!

Tracy, being from way up north, had never had REAL BBQ until her first visit to Arkansas last September and she instantly fell in love! The class we took, along with several others, are put on through the APCO (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials), and they are a mostly non-profit organization so Trace actually has to pay for all of her expenses any time she travels somewhere to teach a class. She is truly passionate about teaching and what she does and she told us that's the reason she does it! She is also holds a full time position at her agency in Green Bay as a dispatcher so she also practices what she preaches! I could go on and on and on about her, but I'll stop! Anyways, back to the BBQ! She told us Thursday about an hour before lunch that she had to have some BBQ and that a bunch of them were going to eat at Whole Hog Cafe if anyone else wanted to join. Oh yum! They have some of the best BBQ ever and there's one here in Fayetteville in Fiesta Square and another one in Bentonville, but I'm not sure exactly where. So, out of the 29 people in class, I'm pretty sure that 22 of us all ate together and it was really neat. Tracy got her BBQ ribs and she happened to be wearing a white shirt that day so she fixed herself up a make shift bib out of paper towels and dug in! She was hilarious! She also told us that she absolutely loves Arkansas and ever since her first visit in September she's signed up for every class here!

Ok, moving on. If I counted correctly there were 14 different agencies represented at the class and Bentonville PD and Tallahassee FL PD were 2 of them. Teresa and I made great friends with those girls! Thursday night we went out to eat at Outback with Chelsea, Ronya, Maria (all from Bentonville) Connie, and Casey (from Tallahassee) and we laughed so hard and had such a great time! After dinner we all headed back to Chelsea's room at the hotel to study for our test Friday.

Teresa, myself, and Ronya studying hard! Ha! Ok, in all reality, we really did study and all passed our test with flying colors!! We are all now certified communications training officers! Yay for us!!!

As much as I truly enjoyed the class and new experience, I was ready to be back home in my own bed and more than ready to see my hubby and kiddos!

Like I said, I've got so much more to share with you guys...just not now! I've gotta go take a shower to get ready for work!!

Officer Daddy

I just had to share a few sweet pictures of two of my favorite people in the world!

Gene was getting ready to leave a few minutes ago for work and every time Grace sees him with his gun belt on she goes straight for the flashlight! She knows exactly where it is, and the button to turn it on is on the bottom of it so she pushes it on and off shining it in her Daddy's eyes!

Grace's Officer Daddy!

Sweet sweet sight!

Happy Monday everyone!

Silly Saturday

I started this post last night, but I was too tired to type once the pictures finished uploading so I'll just finish it now! We've had a busy and great weekend! Friday Grace and I both got haircuts and she has bangs again now. She's had her hair cut several times, and I always kept bangs on her but decided last time I was going to grow them out. Well, she won't keep her hair up for very long and she hates it when her hair is in her eyes so I decided to go back to bangs until she gets older. After haircuts we did some shopping and it was a long day! Steph came out to the house when she got off work and hung out and Gene had to work till 10 so we were just hanging out talking and playing with the kids.

Yesterday Stephanie and I went to a bridal shower for my good friend Crystal that I work with that is getting married in April. After that we went to lunch and I came home to get the kiddos and some of the Old Navy stuff I had to take back because it didn't fit. I then spent a Wal-Mart gift card I was given on my birthday. After that we headed home and Gene fixed dinner. Grace was being pretty crabby because she hadn't had a nap and after screaming and gnashing of teeth (ok, not really that but..) while laying on the couch Colt went over to play with her and she got into a better mood. She was sticking her fingers in his mouth and spreading it apart and she would just laugh and laugh. It was too cute!

Once again, spreading the cheeks!

This picture I actually took one day last week while she was watching a movie and it was too cute not to post, although I meant to put it first and it got out of order. Oh well!

We played in our bedroom for a long time and she was acting goofy. Her new thing is licking. I'm not real sure where it came from, but she loves to lick everyone! Last night, she was going back and forth between Corey, Colt, and myself. She was faking us out by saying "kiss me!" and she'd give you a kiss and hug and then she'd lick you! Corey's kind of a goose too sticking his tongue out at me!

"KISS ME COTE!!!"

Ok, so now she's kissed him and she's now trying to lick him and he's trying to hold her off!!

"KISS ME MOMMA!!"

And again with the licking....who knows?!

Awww...sweet sibling love!

So, that's about it. I just did a lot of shopping and me and the kids are about ready for spring/summer! It's back to work for me again today and I've gotta work until 2 am. I'm working regular shift on Monday then Tuesday I'm just working 2-6 and then Teresa and I are driving to Conway for a trainers' course in Conway for 3 days. I'm excited about the class and am hoping to learn some good stuff.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

Sleep Update

Grace has slept beautifully the last two nights. PTL!! I'm still not sure what her deal was, and honestly I don't really care as long as she's not sick and that she's sleeping fine now!!

I've had a good week so far at work. Sunday was pretty uneventful, other than working a 12 and Grace not sleeping! Monday was ok too, other than a few patrol supervisors who don't feel that we as dispatchers are competent enough to do our jobs. Oh, we had issues but they were worked out and when it came right down to it it was a problem with the radio systems and not the radio operator (me!). I stress out when people start to think poorly of me as a dispatcher and feel like I'm screwing up, especially when I'm really not! We worked it out though and the patrol supervisors were nice again!!

Last night was good, busy, but good. We had disturbance after disturbance after disturbance!! People were just not getting along! We had a call of a 15 yoa kid that ran away from home so an officer went out and took the report. Well, about 20 minutes later the kid had shown back up at home and was trying to pick a fight with not only his family but also the neighbor kids. Oh boy. So, they went back out there. The problem was resolved and the kid went to his room, or so we thought. No kidding, about 10 minutes later the 13 yoa sister calls and says he's now slitting his wrists trying to kill himself. Oh boy. So....they went BACK out there yet again. This time though they hooked the kid up and took him to the ER. They ended up admitting him and we cited him out on our charges. What a mess. I will never understand some people. I'm pretty sure there's something else going on in that house for this kid to not want to be at home around his dad. Who knows. I would like to say it's not my problem, but really it is. Or it at least becomes our problem to solve! Anyway, Hank Brockmeyer, who has become the boyfriend of the girls in dispatch, was one of the officers that had to deal with this kid last night. We were so stinking busy last night that only a few of the guys got to eat dinner and Hank was one that didn't get to. He was in the drive thru line at Sonic and had just paid for his food when I dispatched him back over to the kid, so he didn't get his food..or his money back. I was able to leave work though and run over and get it for him! Now, when I say the boyfriend of the girls in dispatch, I mean that he looks out for Crystal, Teresa, and myself all the time! We text back and forth with him all the time and he comes up and visits us and brings us anything we need! He also went out with all of us the weekend of my birthday and was our dancing partner because my husband and Crystal's fiance are not exactly the dancing type!! We had a blast and he's just our favorite little man!! Plus he has a little beagle named Tater that he brings up to visit us every Thursday on his day off! We just love our little Tater!

Ok, back to the work week. They have put in a workout room at the pd that is open 24/7 and is free of charge for any employee to use. It's got several weight machines, a cardio glide, a bike, and a couple of treadmills! Last night Teresa, Crystal, and myself went and worked out after work for about 45 minutes. It was great! I felt so good afterwards and I'm not too incredibly sore today! So, we've decided we're going to work out every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night. We only have 2 and a half weeks left in Biggest Loser and I'll just say that we will not be winning. Oh well, I've still only lost about 9 lbs. Better than nothing, but I'm hoping now that we're working out I can start taking it off better!

I started tanning yesterday too and I'm going to leave early for work today and tan again so I can start getting ready for summer!!!

Have a great rest of the week!!!

What the hay?

I'm not sure what's going on with my 2 year old. We're having a little issue at work with an employee and this person didn't work Saturday night and nobody knew if they would be in last night so I had already said since it was going to be late notice probably that I could stay till 2 am. Well, this person didn't come in and we didn't know for sure until 9:30 last night. It's awesome. Not.

Anyways, so I stayed and worked until 2 am this morning. I actually didn't leave until almost 2:30 because one of our officer buddies came up to hang out for a bit and the midnight shift patrol lt. had come up to visit so I hung out for a few minutes.

When I got home the living room curtains were open and as I was walking across the porch I could see through the window that Gene.....and Grace were both sitting there.....awake. It was 2:40 am. Great. When I walked in Gene said she'd been up for about an hour and a half and that she'd had a nightmare. This never never happens. To add on to the fact that I'd just worked about 12 and a half hour shift and I was dog tired, she didn't want anything to do with me. She wouldn't come give me a hug and didn't want me to take her back up to her room to bed. I was sad.

She just kept saying "Daddy take me upstairs." So, off they went. I went to bed, however, I tossed and turned and couldn't go to sleep until about 3:40. I then woke up to them coming back downstairs and back to the recliner. They stayed there for about an hour then ended up in our bed around 5 am. Gene and I were both so incredibly exhausted and she was wide awake. We both fell asleep before her and then when I woke up around 8 she was finally asleep. We slept till about 9:30. That's it. I'm still really tired.

So...she's already been a wee bit cranky as have I! I'm hoping that today ends up being a good day. I'm going to stay positive. In all reality, I've been a lot more tired than this and done just fine so it's all good. I'm just completely puzzled as to why she was so wide awake for a good portion of the night. Who knows.

Guess who's in a better mood?!

Miss Grace Elaine Johnson is in a better mood, that's who!!

Thank goodness for that!! We've had a really good morning, and she's not been fussy and bratty once! I'm hoping it'll last all day. This picture was just way too precious not to share! I wanted her to smile for me, but she was being a little bashful and hiding in her ladybuy beanbag.

Of course there's also one of the "running man" because she wouldn't stand still long enough for a snapshot!

Last night Gene was watching tv and I was in our bedroom folding clothes and when I came back into the kitchen I saw her sitting there playing with her baby. She sat and played with her for a long time by herself! I don't know yet if we'll end up having another baby or not, but I've been working with her on the proper way to hold and play with her babies so she's not so rough with them...just in case we do!!

I have to go back to work today, but Gene is off so she'll be home with him and hopefully she'll be good! He babies her though a lot more than I do, because she's obviously his baby and a girl and such a daddy's girl at that so he's a LOT more lax with her. Sometimes it's a good thing and other times I wish he wasn't so much! Oh well, he loves her and he's a wonderful wonderful daddy and that's all that really matters!

Weekend Wrap-Up

It's Saturday night and I've had a pretty good weekend. Yesterday I didn't do just a whole lot. Corey was home sick from school Wednesday, Thursday, and yesterday so we scheduled him a doctor's appointment. I ran him into the doctor then came back home to pick up Colt and we all headed into town to get my father-in-law a birthday present because yesterday he turned 59! Our only stop was Target and after finding a birthday gift we picked out about seven different outfits for Grace. You just can't beat $4 for a pair of shorts/shirt. Not only that, but it's super cute stuff! Gene had to work last night until ten so the boys and I wrapped Stan's gift when we got home then we all walked next door to give it to him. It's very rare that all three of the kids are still long enough for a picture, but last night I managed it!!

This morning the boys went to their mom's and we went next door to have lunch with Stan and Jeanette for Stan's birthday. After lunch Gene, Grace, and I headed to the mall to meet up with Mom to help her find some new glasses. She's decided to do away with her contacts and just wear her glasses full time, but she needed/wanted some new frames, so we found a CUTE CUTE CUTE pair today at Lenscrafters! I can't wait till they come in, and I know she's super excited too! Below is just a cute random picture of Corey and Grace!!

The boys met us up at the mall so we could do some clothes shopping with them for spring/summer, so while Mom, Grace, and I glasses shopped Gene took them to find some stuff. After we found the perfect pair of glasses we headed for Gymboree to spend a gift card Grace got for her birthday. She got the absolute cutest bathing suit and some cute little flip flops!! Mom also bought her some adorable bermuda shorts and a striped tank to go with them, but the shorts are too big so I'll have to take them back. :(

We also found some stuff for her at Children's Place and some shoes at Payless! That little girl is set for spring/summer now!! I just can't wait for the weather to get warm again so she can wear some of them!

After our whirlwind adventure at the mall we had to go grocery shopping. Yuck. Pretty sure it doesn't get much worse than a Wal-Mart trip with a 2 year old that is having some intense "2 year old moments!" However, hubs was with us so that helped! We accomplished all we needed to and ventured home. Previously mentioned hubs made us dinner then I cleaned up the kitchen and did laundry!

Gene ended up working outside with his dad clearing out brush and burning. Grace and I hung out inside and took a few pictures together. If you ask if it's ok for you to take her picture to put on the computer she's usually ok with it, so we've started using that line!! Anyways, we snapped a few decent ones!

Like I said, Grace has been having some intense "2 year old moments" and this has been a pretty rough week. I've lost my patience with her more times than I care to admit, and she has been spanked more times than she probably cares to admt. I've cried, she's cried, and overall I've just felt overwhelmed by her tantrums. I think there are several factors, including the time change, schedule changes this week and being off routine, not having a nap at all, possibly working on some 2 year molars, and generally being a 2 year old. I'm really hoping that this week is better. We'll see. The best stretch of time we've had was tonight while her daddy was outside and we were hanging out. She was in a good mood and minding, and I'm hoping that lasts. Right now though, I'm going to give her a bath and put her to bed. She's completely exhausted and should sleep good tonight!!

Pray for my patience and her 2 year oldness!!