Thank you to some awesome fellow police wives for helping me to compile this list! We've all been there right. Your officer is working, usually, it's on night shift and something happens- you can almost sense it before your officer leaves. Or maybe you have a few rituals you might do while your spouse works night shift. I remember years ago, after we bought our first house, my husband left for evening shift as he usually did and I went to let the dog out one last time before bed. I had the front door slightly open as I called for my dog. Moments later not only did my dog rush Click for more
3 ways to help your officer get a better “nights” sleep
The requirements of being a law enforcement spouse
I am a woman that loves a man who has a career in law enforcement. Not to be confused with loving just a police officer because our loved ones are WAY more than just a police officer. I will always choose to love this man no matter how hard this career choice can be on our family sometimes. But sometimes his job as an officer, has me signing up for clubs that I didn't ask to be a part of, like the "attending holiday events alone club because, yes, my husband works on the holidays." Nonetheless, I still love this man and take pride in what he does for a living. As the Click for more
Last minute gift ideas off Amazon for law enforcement
Last minute shopper? No problem. Is Christmas is RIGHT around the corner? We've got you covered. Or maybe it's your officer's birthday- here are great gifts you can snag off Amazon. All law enforcement related, of course, from cold wear gear to home safety. I tried to hit a variety of price points so you have plenty to choose from. Amazon is not always 2-day shipping anymore (but most items are if you have Prime), so you should give yourself a few days more than that to ensure proper delivery time. So here we go! Last minute gifts ideas for law enforcement off Amazon: Hot Logic mini- Click for more
10 funny police elf on the shelf ideas + 5 bonus ideas
My family and I have had an Elf on the Shelf for about four years now. To be honest, we used to think "that damn elf", but the last two years we have really tried to make it fun for us and the kids. Don't get me wrong, we still have those "oh, crap" mornings where we forget to move the darn thing, but we have gotten better at coming up with something on the fly. Being that this is a police wife blog, I had to come up with some funny police related ideas for your elf on the shelf pleasure. I even had some fellow police wives help me out by sharing their pictures, too! But don't worry, I Click for more
7 holiday traditions that make law enforcement life a bit easier
We all live the realization that being married to a police officer means we don't exactly live a traditional, 9-5 lifestyle. So scheduling can be less than ideal, especially when trying to create holiday traditions as a law enforcement family. I remember our first married year as husband and wife and having to plan Christmas with all our loved ones. Gosh, was it not enjoyable, to say the least. It felt as if no one understood our "open pockets of time" for celebrating. Some days we would only have a few hours in the morning to celebrate or in the evening, so it never seemed to jive with Click for more
Black Friday ONLINE deals for law enforcement families
I am part of the Amazon associates program. I receive a small commission if you purchase anything through my links. Chances are there is nothing you need during these sales, but shopping online deals can be great if you are already planning on purchasing gifts anyway. This post is similar to the one I do for Prime Day deals (with law enforcement related items). First, I highlight some awesome police and police wife owned small shops that are offering great sales this holiday season. Plus, a few shops that are just huge supporters of law enforcement. Then, I found a few select Click for more
The most practical gift guide for law enforcement
This post is sponsored by Galls. All work is honest and my own. All product images belong to Galls. It's that time of year when we are always wondering what amazing gift to buy for our spouse. Do you get something he/she needs, wants or a splurge item? This year my spouse and I are giving more practical gift items. I would much rather buy him something he needs and will actually use. We tend to save want items for birthdays and small occasions throughout the year. For the most practical law enforcement gifts, I love turning to Galls. Galls has an awesome gift Click for more
How to throw an easy + DIY police themed party (with FREE party printables)
Our cute little guy just had his 2nd birthday and we could not wait to throw him a police themed birthday party! He loves being just like daddy and carries around his little K9 pup all the time so we knew this was the perfect theme for him! But with three kids, a blog, and an officer that works an unpredictable schedule, I knew I needed to make the planning of this party pretty easy. I LOVE Pinterest, but all of those crazy over-the-top parties were not what I could accomplish. So I want to show you how EASY it is to plan a police themed party, on a budget! You can make it look Click for more
How to establish routines as a law enforcement family
Thank you to Go-Magnet for sponsoring this post. All opinions are honest and my own. With constant schedule changes, rotating shifts, and a lack of consistency, it is really hard to create routines as a law enforcement family. I can't tell you how many times we have rescheduled something due to my husband's schedule. We plan ahead as much as we can and have learned to be really flexible. Ultimately, I know I can't control his schedule and I don't try to. So instead, as a family, we focus more on the routines we can create at home. Schedules and consistency at home are much more Click for more
14 Day Solo-Parenting Challenge for Police Wives
You get that text message, your officer will be late again. He is missing bed time with your little ones. Or maybe he has to leave in the middle of a birthday party. We have all been there. Our kids are crying and as police wives, we have to hold everything together. We have to wipe those tears, be brave when we are sad too, and keep moving forward even when we are unbelievably tired. We hold the line at home. We are married but on the days our officers work, we feel like single parents by default. It can be down right hard and there is no changing it. So why not challenge Click for more
Father’s Day gift ideas for the officer that has everything
I received product from G-Shock in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are honest and my own. Honestly, every single year my husband becomes harder and HARDER to buy for. Father's Day seems even more difficult because it is only a few short weeks after his birthday. Meaning, he has just received gifts he may have wanted or we showered him with homemade/ kid created crafts. So I am forced to get pretty creative and find gifts for my officer that will totally surprise him even when he has all he could ever want or need. Or even when he says "I don't need anything". :/ We all Click for more
What to wear to a police academy graduation
Whether you are a proud girlfriend or wife, you are VERY excited to see your officer get pinned on his up and coming police academy graduation! It may be you standing front and center pinning your officer. You will take a TON of pictures that day, no doubt about it. But what in the world do you wear for this special occasion? It is a VERY popular question that MANY police wives and girlfriends have asked, too. So before we dive in to some of your options, let me recommend a few things: Pick something comfortable! I can not stress this enough. You may be standing or sitting for Click for more
Legit work from home jobs for police wives
While working from home is NOT everyone's cup of tea, it is surprisingly a very popular question that I get asked from many of you. I think so many of us are desperately trying to figure out a work and home life balance. Many of you want to be home with your children and I completely understand that. But many of you feel that working from home will give you a sense of relief and reduce stress around your work and home life. Juggling around the law enforcement schedule is no easy feat for anyone. It can be hard on the officer, police wife and children. It can certainly be done- Click for more
7 must-have apps to have as a first responder spouse
"There's an app for that!" Oh, those words that I am sure we have all heard, right? If you have a smartphone then you have apps, I am sure of it. With thousands upon thousands of apps to choose from, which are best for you? Well, only you can decide that but the ones I choose are always ones that make my life a bit easier, reduce stress and fit my police wife and mom lifestyle best. As police wives we are constantly dealing with rotating schedules, days and nights apart, and literally trying to schedule events with our officers through text and phones calls on weekly occasions. Click for more
How to keep the safety of your home a priority as a police wife
This is a sponsored post on behalf of The Gun Box. All opinions are honest and my own. Have you ever felt this pressure as a police wife to keep your home and family safe when your officer is working? I always have. It is not pressure from my husband or anyone else, but this feeling that weighs heavy on my mind when my officer is working. This feeling that rests in the back of my head that I want to be as prepared as possible for any situation as a wife, mother, female and police wife. I almost have this higher feeling of responsibility because my officer is working. And since my Click for more
25 ways to keep your children entertained when your spouse is on night shift & sleeps during the day
Remember the days when your officer would come home after a long night shift, head straight to bed and you would keep the house perfectly still in fear of waking him? Nah, me either. Those memories are in the FAR distance. Now all I know is that on most days my house sounds like a circus and the word 'quiet' is pretty nonexistent. Keeping my kids quiet, well okay, fairly quiet, takes A LOT of planning my end and I am left most days feeling like I wrestled lions. So I think it is fair to say that having to keep our children quiet when our spouses need rest for their very important job is no Click for more
How to have a non-traditional Valentine’s Day
It's about that time of year when your newsfeed on Facebook is going to be flooded with these "perfect" looking Valentine's Day dates and gifts. Flowers, chocolates, surprise gifts and more. Yet, as first responder couples, we are usually at home, alone, while our officer's are working. Is it not discouraging to read all those lovey-dovey posts knowing you don't get to be with your loved one? In my early years as a police wife, I would feel down right lonely. Even though I would say Valentine's Day was a Hallmark holiday, in the back of my mind, I always wished I could be celebrating, Click for more
Why self-care is so important as a first responder spouse
I don't think I truly grasped the importance of self-care until I become both a police wife AND a mother at the same time. One day it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was so busy caring for everyone in my family that I forgot to care for myself. I was tired, extremely stressed & found myself never doing anything for myself because I put myself last. I was completely burned out. That had to change. As first responder spouses, we take on many jobs. Anywhere from living and parenting solo so much of the time to manager of our home and errand runner. Week after week we learn to balance more Click for more
10 easy ideas for police academy care packages + how to make them
A care package is the perfect way to show someone you care no matter the occasion! I feel very fortunate that when my husband went to the police academy, he only had to drive about 5 miles down the road. Just about everyone else in his graduating class drove from towns much further away than ours. So I don't have first hand experience with my officer being away during this long stretch of time, but I do know that experiencing the academy as a new law enforcement family can be difficult and care packages can help with that. Or maybe you are going through a new season of life or your officer Click for more
I’m Afraid Your Teddy is in Trouble Today Book Review
This is a sponsored post, but all opinions and reviews are my own. Besides being a police wife, I am also a mother of three little ones and a part-time reading teacher. So when I read I'm Afraid Your Teddy is in Trouble Today by Jancee Dunn, it combined my love for picture books and law enforcement. I am always looking for books that involve law enforcement to read to my children because police related books are few and far between. To my children, their father is their hero for the job that he does. So they naturally gravitate to books that involve law enforcement. They feel Click for more
Christmas Gift Ideas for Police Wives
The holidays are nearly here and with that, I know my husband is going to be asking me what I want for Christmas. And a list of gifts for police wives, just like this, would be so helpful for him year after year. I don't always like telling my husband exactly what I want (not helpful, right?) but telling him is exactly what most men find most helpful! I guess I always like an element of surprise but, sometimes, I just don't know what I want. I enjoy buying gifts for other people (mostly our children) so I rarely take the time to think about myself. Police wives are always behind the scenes, Click for more
How to feel protected when your protector works night shift
Night shift, well, any shift for that matter, can leave you feeling a little less protected when your spouse is on duty. But there was something about sleeping alone that always left me with this feeling. This unsafe, unprotected, uneasy feeling- feelings that I knew I needed to get a grip on. In the beginning of police wife life, I hardly slept and when I did, it wasn't well. I checked my phone constantly (I still keep an eye on it but not obsessively like before) and watched the news for any pertinent information regarding law enforcement (bad idea, very BAD idea). Every little noise had Click for more
The ULTIMATE Meal Planning Guide for the Law Enforcement Family
Does the thought of making dinner after a busy day and rotating shifts make your head spin? Ever wonder why some people have it all together when it comes to meal planning while some of us are just lucky to have made it to a drive-thru? Have you ever thought about having meals planned out for the week ahead and how it can make your life easier? Meal planning as a law enforcement family can actually be stress free while saving time and money. As police wives, we want to feel organized each week especially with crazy schedules in law enforcement. You probably want meal time to be worry free Click for more
How to Redirect Your Fear as a Police Wife
Fear is something that can control you, if you let it. It will absolutely consume you and your life will be negatively affected. Fear from your husband's job exists- it is a real thing. As police wives, we allow that fear to come into our lives because our husband's job is our life. Whether or not, we want to believe that, it is true. We live our lives around our officer's schedule and when he has days off and days on. Fear is not something we always discuss openly. It is an emotion that is often times bottled up inside of us and we are overwhelmed with it's place inside our Click for more
HOW TO MEAL PREP FOR YOUR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
**The ULTIMATE Meal Planning Bundle for Law Enforcement Families is finally here!! It is jam packed full of tips, tricks, printables, and guides to help you successfully meal plan for your law enforcement family. You don't want to miss it! Grab your copy here!** I try my hardest to make as many meals as I can that my police officer can take to work with him. IT. IS. NOT. EASY. He tires easily of sandwiches, salads aren't “enough”, and he often can't eat his meal in one setting if he has to go to a call. I got tired of opening his lunch box at the end of a shift and STILL SEEING Click for more
The 10 Best Ways to Make Use of Your Time When Your Officer is Working
It is no secret that being a police wife can be a lonely "job". I often go from a high of spending quality time with my officer and our children on his days off (whenever they may be) to a low of feeling lonely and missing my spouse like crazy. There doesn't ever seem to be a happy medium. Our time apart seems insurmountably greater than the time we have together. When my husband started on the force, I was a First Grade teacher and we had no children. I worked many, many hours during the week getting as much done in my classroom as I could. I dedicated most of my free time (when Click for more
How to Blog as a Stay at Home Mom (of 3)!
If you would have told me a year ago that I would be blogging, I would not have believed you. Writing is something I have always enjoyed, but I didn't always have time to get it done. After having three kids and being a stay at home mom, I wanted to finally make the time for ME. I wanted to make time for myself and have something I was passionate about-other than my family. ;) I put so much time and energy into my family, every single day. Don't get me wrong, that is what I LOVE doing, but I also had energy to do something that was just for me. Something that didn't have sticky Click for more
5 TIPS FOR KEEPING POLICE UNIFORMS CLEAN
5 TIPS FOR KEEPING POLICE UNIFORMS CLEAN Those dreaded uniforms. I mean that in the nicest way possible and only from the laundry point of view. Those uniforms mean so much to me. They display his badge, his blood and sweat, his smell, his hard work, and so much more. I love the way he looks in it. I can look at those uniforms and they paint a picture for me of what he did on his shift. I am PROUD to see him wear it. But, washing them, no thanks, not my favorite. Here are my top 5 tips for washing your LEOs (law enforcement officers) uniforms: -BE PREPARED: Wash them with as much Click for more
Law Enforcement Life: Confessions from a Cop’s Daughter
I have always wondered, as I look into my children's eyes, how they view our lifestyle. The law enforcement lifestyle, that is. At such young ages, I know they see a difference. They ask questions about why their daddy is working at night when their friend's daddy's are at home. They question why he sleeps during the day and why we can't have friends over during the day to play. They noticed these things more when we moved into a neighborhood full of families. We play with neighborhood children whose families don't live the law enforcement lifestyle. I always answer their questions as best as Click for more