Mommy Octopus

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Ideas For Packing a Busy Husband’s Lunch On-The-Go

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Ideas for A Busy Husband's Lunch on the go

My husband has a very busy job in law enforcement and very often doesn’t have time to eat adequate meals during his 12 hour shift.  I try the best I can to make sure he has a lunch everyday, or even a bag full of snacks, during his shift.  Everything I send him has to require no heating and can be easily sustainable in a cooler in his car.  Here are some of the items that I have found to be easily packed for a busy day and many contain lots of protein:

Husband Snack Ideas

  • Boiled Eggs – peeled and lightly salted
  • Sandwich
  • Quest bars
  • Cheese Sticks
  • Hormel Pepperoni Stix
  • Oscar Mayer P3 Portable Protein Packs
  • Nuts – Aldi has a good selection for less
  • Lunch meat wrapped in lettuce
  • Crispy Chickpeas 
  • Triple Zero Yoplait Greek Yogurt
  • Canned Pineapple or other fruit with easy open lid
  • Cottage cheese packs
  • Salads in a jar
  • Small container of peanut butter and apple slices or a banana
  • Protein Bars
  • Jerky
  • Pork Rinds
  • Fresh Fruit
  • Pre-cut Veggies and Dip

Drink Ideas:

  • Water
  • Powerade/gatorade
  • Bai5
  • Protein shake

Other items you may want to consider packing:

  • napkins
  • freezer pack
  • fork or spoon
  • love note 🙂

Do you have any great ideas to add to this list?  Leave a comment and tell me!

We Made Bags!

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The kids and I worked on decorating some chip bags today for hubby to take into work tomorrow for Police Appreciation Week.  120 and ready to pass out to our local officers.

Especially with the tensions in law enforcement right now, I feel it’s extra important to show our appreciation.  I do not even want to imagine a world without our officers.  Sure there are bad officers.  There are bad builders, plumbers, teachers, lawyers, politicians, doctors, etc.  But a few bad ones do not outweigh the thousands of great ones!

A big THANK YOU to our officers for your sacrifices.

National Police Week Ideas

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National Police Law Enforcement Appreciation Week Ideas and Free Printables

National Police Week is sneaking back up on us again! This year, it is May 10-16, 2015. I’ve been working on putting together some new ideas in addition to our law enforcement appreciations bags from last year.  In the past year, so much negativity has been brought out towards our officers.  Being married to one, all the hatred really hurts.  There are fantastic guys and gals that go out every day to keep us all safe.  It’s great to take a few days to just say thank you and offer a little token of our appreciation.  Even a simple “Thank You” says a lot!

Family Christian Collage - Law Enforcement Appreciation Ideas

If you are looking for some great store-bought gifts for your local officers, Family Christian has a couple to consider. I recommend both the Courageous DVD and the Grace Card DVD.  We have both of these and they are fantastic.  I honestly don’t think I could pick a favorite between the two.  Both are encouraging for not only officers, but fathers as well.  Another item that I’m considering grabbing for our guys are these Beatitudes Bookmarks.  People often forget the “Blessed are the peacemakers” part.

Law Enforcement Appreciation Day All That and a Bag of Chips Pun Gift

If you prefer something homemade, I’ve put together some goodies that don’t cost as much as the bags I put together last year, but I know they will still appreciate it!  I’ve made some fun printables to go along with these so you can print and make as well.  All you need is a printer, some small bags of chips, and some kit-kats!

To download the free printable, simply click on their name below to view and print the PDF:

Here’s a photo of the Kit-Kat one.  It’s really basic but cheap enough that you could make a bunch easily.

Law Enforcement Police Appreciation Week Ideas Kit-Kat Take a Break

 

And of course a reminder of our bags from last year:

And the printables:

Do you have any other ideas?  I’d love to hear them!  How are you saying “Thank You” this year?

Happy 13th Anniversary to Us!

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Screen Shot 2015-03-30 at 5.16.35 PM13 years ago today, I said “I Do” to my best friend.  It has been a wild and crazy ride in these 13 years but worth every minute.  When we got married, I had just turned 18 and everyone thought we were insane, but we made it work.

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Today for our anniversary, we decided to do something we would both enjoy!  We headed on over to the Athens Gun Club and spent about an hour working on some target practice.

20150330_124923_resized I have to say that my shooting has definitely been improving and of course hubby can always use more practice to keep on his toes.   Above is my result 🙂

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If you’re interested, Athens Gun Club offers free sessions for ladies on Thursday and you can also score a free session on your birthday!  Discounts for law enforcement and teachers as well!  I took a picture of their rates in case any of y’all were curious.

We wrapped up our middle of the day date with lunch at Freddy’s and some frozen custard.  I’m so happy to call this man my husband and look forward to many more years!

Thin Blue Line Christmas Ornaments

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Thin Blue Line Christmas Ornament for Law Enforcement Officers

I typically put together goodie bags for my hubby’s shift at Christmastime and this year I was trying to figure out what to make.  I finally decided to make homemade ornaments!  They were quite simple!

I found the black ornaments at Hobby Lobby for $6.99 for a pack of 6.  At the time, they had 50% off Christmas decorations, so I got them for just $3.50 per pack and I bought 3 packs.  You can always check the Hobby Lobby website for a coupon as well.  The ribbon was $1.99 and I used the 1/4″ in King Blue.  So for $12.49, I took care of all of his shift!  Woo hoo!

(Side note!  If you are reading this and have a loved one on my hubby’s shift, please act surprised!)

Thin Blue Line Ornaments

To attach, I used a hot glue gun.  You’ll want to make sure the glue gun is nice and hot before you start.  Go a few inches at a time, applying glue and then pressing the ribbon on top.  I found that it worked better using less glue so it didn’t squirt out the sides of the ribbon.

Once done, you could use glitter glue to write 2014 on them or add any other embellishments that you like or just keep it simple.  You could also switch it up with a red ribbon for firefighters.  Enjoy!

thin blue line christmas ornament

Who Is Mommy Octopus?

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With my recent post about making a Survival Kit for Law Enforcement Officers, I’ve received a ton of new readers on Facebook.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!  I thought it was time to introduce myself!

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I’m Erin!  I’m a stay at home mom of 4 and wife of 12 years to my husband who is a Corporal with the local sheriff’s department and we live in NorthEast Georgia.

This blog was created so I can share deals and tidbits with my friends and grew from there.  We now have over 16,000 Facebook fans and I’m increasingly surprised about how many people take the time to read this little blog.

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We love going camping, enjoying the outdoors, and we also homeschool.  Our days are filled with fun and adventures with a little blogging on the side.  Thanks for taking a moment to stop by our little world and enjoy the ride 😉

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Police Officer Survival Kit – Appreciation Week Goodie Bags

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Survival Kit for Law Enforcement Officers Police Sheriff with FREE Printable



In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15th falls, as National Police Week.  This year, the week is Sunday, May 11th through Saturday, May 17th.  That’s next week!  My husband works for the local Sheriff’s Department so I’ve been coming up with a Police Officer Appreciation goodie bag to pass out to his fellow deputies.  My goal is to make 50 bags from our family, but I think it would be super awesome if some of y’all wanted to make some as well! 

Materials needed:

  • Paper bags
  • Ribbon spools in a thicker blue and a thin black
  • Hole Punch
  • Individually Wrapped Candies of the following: Lifesavers, Starburst, Payday, Hershey Kisses, Gum, Tootsie Rolls, York Peppermint Patty, Snickers, and Mounds.

First up, the printables.  I have uploaded them so they are easy to print.  2 print per page and then you cut them to glue to the white bags.

Free Printables:

Next, simply put together the candy needed for each bag. Police Officer Appreciation

Fold over the top of the bag and punch 2 holes.  Using the same length of the black and blue ribbons, cut off enough to thread through the holes and tie in a nice bow.  Ribbon can easily be found at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or even some Walmarts.  Now all you have to do is drop off with your local department and make their day!

Thanks so much for helping to support our officers!  What are you doing during police officer appreciation week?

Athens: Support the 2014 Police Unity Tour

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Melissa Christian and David Gabriel are riding in the Police Unity Tour for the third year in a row, and they have pledged to raise $4,000 for the Tour. To help raise the $4,000 in pledges, the Foundation will sell whole Boston Butts and Full Racks of Ribs smoked by infamous BBQ artisan cook Todd Pulliam.

Tickets must be purchased in advance. Boston Butt tickets are $35 each. Each Boston Butt will feed 8-10 people. Rack of Rib tickets are $20 each. Each Rack of Ribs will feed 2-3 people.

Each ticket entitles the bearer to pick up one fully cooked Boston Butt or one full Rack of Ribs on March 8, 2014 at one of two different pickup times, 11am-2pm for lunch or 4pm-6pm for supper.

Pickup will be in front of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department at 3035 Lexington Road in Athens, Georgia.

About the Police Unity Tour
The Police Unity Tour is a fundraising event in which thousands of bicyclists made up of active law enforcement officers and survivors of fallen law enforcement officers ride for hundreds of miles to converge on Washington D.C. to kick off the start of National Police Week. The purpose of this ride is to raise awareness of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty, and to raise funds for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Museum.

The motto of the Police Unity Tour is “We Ride for Those Who Died.” Each Tour participant rides in honor of a particular fallen officer. Gabriel and Christian are riding to honor the memories of Elmer “Buddy” Christian and Ivorie Klusmann.

Buddy Christian was an Athens-Clarke County Police Officer that was killed in the line of duty on March 22nd, 2011. Buddy Christian was also the husband of Melissa Christian.

Ivorie Klusmann was killed in a single vehicle crash while responding to backup another officer on August 10, 2013. Officer Klusmann had served with the DeKalb County (GA) Police Department for only 10 months. Officer Klusmann is survived by his two children.

Who Is Mommy Octopus, Really?

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I had a reader the other day email me asking this question.  I figured I’d make a post for everyone to see so you know that there is a real live person behind these posts 🙂

My name is Erin and I’m the one behind “Mommy Octopus”.  This picture was taken when my youngest was about a week old.  I’m usually the person behind the camera so there aren’t many of me.  I live in the Athens, GA area and I absolutely LOVE it here!  Great people, great places, great food!  It’s a wonderful place to be.  My husband works for the local law enforcement and we have 4 crazy kids.  I’m actually kinda shy in person at first, but once you get to know me, I won’t shut up!  I homeschool my children and although it’s challenging at times, it’s also very rewarding. 

I enjoy going to Disney World, crocheting, photography, and reading when I have time.  I am a member of ICAN of Athens , Redeemer Presbyterian Church, and our local homeschool playgroup. 

I’m not what you consider an “Extreme Couponer”.  I’m more of a realistic couponer.  I get the items my family needs and usually some extra if our budget allows to donate.  Since my husband is the only one bringing home the bacon, we have to stick to our budget.  It’s hard at times, but we make it work.  Mommy Octopus blog was started after I was emailing friends and family deals each week.  I decided to just post all the deals in a central place and then it grew from there! 

So that’s me!  Hope you enjoyed finding out who is behind all these posts 🙂  Now the question is, Who are you?

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