Let’s see what’s new this year.

We’ll kick it off with this Hurrying Downstairs bear (Hallmark, 1996) which is reminiscent of last year’s (er, all time?) favorite, “Fire Pole Dancer Santa.” This little bear strikes me as a bit more innocent — and not drunk. Or stripping. He has a front spot this year.

I bought a lot of six of these Faithful Fire Fighter (Hallmark, 1993) dalmatians. That’s right. Six. Mainly because I forgot I grabbed one just before Christmas last year, so now we have seven on the tree. They’re pretty darn cute, dotting the tree. I felt pretty awesome for finding a lot of six, no box, for the price of one regular Hallmark ornament though. Best price record!

I bought Donald the Firefighter at the Disney Store in Times Square when I went to NYC for BlogHer Writers ’11. I think that trip made a new shopping goal for trips we make: trying to find a firefighter themed ornament. It could be fun!

I kind of love this Firefighter Wreath (Hallmark, 2006) ornament. I’d kind of like to have a real sized one on our door. An old hose, a bell, a glove and an axe. Well, minus the axe. I think an axe on your door says, “Hey! Break me down!” Let’s not go that far.

These three small ornaments are nothing spectacular, but deserve to be featured as they are new to the Fire Tree. On the left we have North Pole 911 (Hallmark, 1995). It’s a mouse, and as such, it’s very cheesy. In the center we have Hallmark Miniature Series Ornament Fire Brigade #3, 2006. It is very small. I have another miniature on the tree somewhere — and have lost it. I may have to start a miniature tree for these specific “miniature” ones. I’ll consider it for next year. Last we have Firefighting Bear (Hallmark, 1994). The whole “Red Hot Holiday” is very Holiday Innuendo Guy.

This is the Snoopy I mentioned scoring right before Christmas last year. I love him lots. He’s hanging out right in FireDad’s eyesight when he’s relaxing in his recliner.

Of course we have the annual ornament from Robert’s Fire Catalog from 2010. I’m sure 2011 will join us this year, even though it’s blue.

And now? The best find of 2011. Sadly, it’s not as funny as last year. But it’s a hard find. And it’s mine.

Mmm-hmm. That’s a Santa’s Fire Engine, Here Comes Santa, from 1985. I won’t really get into the ages that FireDad and I were in that year, but know that FireDad already knew he wanted to be a firefighter. So it’s a welcome addition to our Christmas tree. There are about a dozen or so of these on eBay right now, ranging from $0.01 (overseas, beware) to $45.00! I think $12.00 — shipped — is a fine deal for an old ornament!

I realized this year that I need to start a spreadsheet (yes!) for all of our firefighter ornaments, specifically the Hallmark ones. While I enjoy having seven fire dalmatians on the tree, it wasn’t a purposeful purchase. Keeping track will help avoid wasted shipping. Then again, what’s the harm in more firefighter ornaments? I mean, I’m pretty sure Santa already has two more Hallmark ornaments in the plans for this year, as well as that stinkin’ blue one. I’d say that I’m banning myself from eBay until after Christmas is over, but we know that won’t happen. I have my eyes on a 2003 “Ruff and Tuff Hero,” which I haven’t been able to score as of yet. If you get it for me, I’ll love you forever!

I think I have to start another post as well for the other firefighter Christmas stuff we have around the house that can’t actively hang on the tree due to size. Look for that soon!

Fire Tree, 2011 is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Question: What kind of bugs do firemen really dislike?

Answer: Fireflies.

You’re welcome.

Firefighter Joke on a Popsicle Stick is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

And so, here we are.

He wasn’t really pleased that I was taking a picture before we left for camp. But, come on, that brick wall was the perfect photo opp. Don’t make that face at me, Mr. Mustache Man!

And so, there it is. The mustache. It’s funny to me. Not the mustache, but how used to it I am. The family photos on the wall from this past fall? When I look at them, I think his upper lip looks… well… weird. The mustache has grown on me. Well, it grew on him, but I’m used to it now.

Apparently I am finally married to a real firefighter.

Speaking of mustaches, however, the boys found fake mustaches in the bookstore at camp. BigBrother was very excited. “We can surprise Daddy when he comes down to camp! It will be SO funny!” And so when FireDad walked in the door, we went running upstairs to be-mustache ourselves.

Can’t see? Let’s look closer.

FireDad was deeply amused. He thought it was a fantastic surprise. The boys wore their mustaches for the rest of the day, though I was a mean mommy and made them remove their fake ‘staches for their program. I thought it would be distracting for the other kids. And parents. Funny, but distracting. “Mommy, why do you have umpteen photos of that kid with a fake mustache but only one of me?” I did it for the kids, folks.

But yes, the boys thought they were hilarious.

As did I. I’m surrounded by mustaches.

I almost bought FireDad some mustache business cards for BlogHer ’11, but basically ran out of time. It’s a shame. It’s just as well. He’s been threatening to spend the entire time in the Pacific ocean with aviator sunglasses and just a Speedo. You have been warned.

State of the ‘Stache: Where It Stands is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

A few friends sent this video last year with the title of “What firefighters do when no one’s watching.” I have no idea what DSTv is, but this commercial sure caught my attention.

Here’s hoping that a few more views and a good night’s sleep kick me out of the funk that this week has brought. At the very least, tomorrow is Friday. Amen. Glory hallelujah.

Why I Wish My Husband’s Fire Department Had a Pole is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

Now I have an easy way of curating all of the awesome fire stuff I come across during my Internet jaunts. I’m so excited. What have I found today? Well…

First of all, can someone crochet this hat for me, pattern found on Etsy. Not really for the boys. For me. #46 please.

Speaking of crocheting, I think someone needs to make a FireFamily set of these firefighter sock monkeys for us.

And I’m ten kinds of sad that FireDad said, no, we cannot have this bed. I am sad.

So, yes, I’m addicted to Pinterest. If you find something firefighter related, be sure to @ me on the site.  Follow me, but beware… I am addicted.

Pinterest + Firefighters = Love is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

343 who will never again hug their spouses, their mothers.

343 who won’t ever tuck their kids in at night; some of whom never met those children.

343 who had no idea what was going to unfold that day when they went to work, to do their job, not to be a part of history or be brave and heroic and be the stuff of legends.

343 who live in our family’s heart and minds everyday, but especially on days like today.

343 who lived their lives like this:

“Firemen are going to get killed. When they join the department they face that fact. When a man becomes a fireman his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work. They were not thinking of getting killed when they went where death lurked. They went there to put the fire out, and got killed. Firefighters do not regard themselves as heroes because they do what the business requires.”
-Chief Edward F. Croker, Firefighter Chief of Department, FDNY ((1899-1911), 1865-1951)

I won’t pretend to have the answers. I don’t. I won’t tell you how to feel; I don’t even know how I feel about what happened then and what has happened now. I do know that senseless hatred caused the death of 343 firefighters who were part our family. I know that eight years and one day ago, Bush proclaimed that the mission was accomplished… and the man of my dreams was able to come home and begin a life with me. I’ve been a military wife. I am a firefighter’s wife. I don’t have the answers.

But I will always remember.

[Though I don't have the answers, I encourage you to read Morgan's piece about all of this. I nodded. She said much of what I think, what I believe. I think, perhaps, she just made her upcoming-BlogHer-hug even bigger because of this piece. She's fantastic, even in the not-so-trivial stuff.]

343 is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

In fact, there was a fire this week. FireDad and one of his fellow mustache-growing firefighters agreed that the fire went so well because they are now be-mustached. I think perhaps they may have sucked in too much smoke to come to that conclusion, but I’m just glad that everyone was safe.

So, how’s it look?

I’m kind of getting used to it. I still sometimes look at him and think, “There’s something different.” Or I almost say, “There’s something on your face.” Well, yes. There is. It’s a mustache. But it’s catching me off guard less and less. In fact, when I look at the photo above, all I can see are my husband’s amazing green eyes. Dang those are nice eyes. And the mustache is fine too.

Apparently another fire wife on our shift told my husband to shave his mustache because he doesn’t “look as cute.” At which point he grunted and gave the face you’ve become used to seeing in this series (see above; it’s a slightly disgruntled, faux-tough-man look) and said, “Good! I’m sick of looking cute.” Too bad. You still look cute. You just have something on your lip.

Lastly, because everyone keeps asking why he’s sporting a consistent disgruntled, faux-tough-man look, I made him smile while I was taking the first two pictures. However, I didn’t look at my settings before and after I snapped, and he looked like a big shiny ghost man. With a mustache.

But I promise he smiles. With a mustache.

State of the ‘Stache: Five is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

As I’m really the only one that FireDad is mouth-kissing, I can let you know that it has finally passed the “ow, it’s poking me in the lip and it hurts really bad” stage and entered the “it’s kinda soft but still partly poking but it hurts less” phase. So, don’t kiss him yet.

When I took today’s picture, one week since last week’s picture, I asked him why he was making a grumpy face as he was in a rather good mood. His response:

Because men with mustaches look like this!

He’s weird. But he’s weird with a mustache now.

Weird with a mustache, and the best darn firefightin’, grocery shoppin’, Dyson sweepin’, barbecue chicken cookin’ husband out there.

State of the ‘Stache: Week Three is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

I finally managed to take a picture yesterday as the sun was gleaming in the window after dinner. I took a few photos and let him choose his facial expression. He went with this one. I don’t know why he wants to look disgruntled. It must be a man thing.

[Evening sun through our front window is beautiful, no?]

So, yes, there’s growth. If you look closely at the sides, there’s lots of blonde in there. He actually had to trim it up before he went for his haircut on Tuesday. At which point he asked me where to trim and if it was even. I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler, so I’m not quite sure I was the one he should have been asking, but I pointed out a few stray hairs and gave my best guess at symmetry. I don’t think I’ll be going into business as a Mustache Consultant any time soon. It’s hard!

His next photo will be on Wednesday or Thursday and I’ll post on Thursday or Friday of next week. I’ll also be sharing something funny with you that I bought for FireDad. To be honest, I’m having so much fun with this mustache experiment. Who knew facial hair could be so fun?

State of the ‘Stache: It’s Growing is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.

“Mommy! I have a loose tooth!” *wiggle, wiggle, wiggle*

Wiggly teeth make me gag. So, I gagged, but I told him that it was exciting.

He was, of course, very excited. And over the course of the past few weeks, he has been wiggle happy.

“Look at it today, Mommy!” *wiggle, wiggle, wiggle*

More gagging. More pretending it was awesome and a great life adventure.

I think my aversion to wiggly teeth comes from my traumatic first tooth loss. I was pushing my imaginary friend on my swing set. What? I lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere and had no siblings. Who was I supposed to play with? Anyway, so there’s five year old me, pushing my imaginary friend on my 1980′s swing set. It had a plastic seat, not like the rubber seats at the playgrounds that we didn’t have in our rural area. The seat was yellow. Or, the seat was yellow until it bashed me in the mouth and became splattered with my red blood. I lost two teeth — front uppers — that day in a bloody, teary, snotty mess. My imaginary friend never even apologized.

Flash forward 24 (almost 25!) years. I would catch him wiggling it with his tongue while I read a book or as he absent-mindedly watched some TV while I cooked dinner. I would have to avert my eyes. When I helped him finish up his tooth-brushing before bed to make sure he got all the crevices and such, I would take a deep breath and just dive in. I thought I would get used to it, that my stomach — which can handle catching vomit in my own two hands — would stop flip-flopping every time he wiggled that darn tooth. Nope. Just like I will never be a firefighter (fear of fire, fear of heights), I will apparently never be a dentist (fear of wiggly teeth).

Of course, it was inevitable that the thing was coming out. It just kept getting wigglier and wigglier. I am thankful that my mother-in-law not only works for a dentist but finds joy in yanking teeth. When FireDad and I came home from our awesome weekend away (come back tomorrow for more on that), BigBrother ran up to us and grinned the grin of a child who was so excited to have lost his first tooth.

Photo Credit: Nina.

Thankfully, I was ready. As soon as he wiggled that tooth in my face that morning, I ordered him a special tooth fairy pillow from Etsy. I remember my Tooth Fairy pillow. It was just a white heart with little yellow rosebuds and a pocket for the tooth. BigBrother is the proud owner of a … you guessed it… Firefighter Tooth Fairy Pillow. The pocket for the tooth? The boots on the tooth’s back. Oh yeah.

The Imagination Boulevard has many other kinds, not just firefighters. Police officer, hunter, cook, pirate, baseball player, angry football player in orange which means he must be a Bengal. They’re freaking adorable. But I’m deeply pleased with the awesome that is this particular Tooth Fairy Pillow. So is BigBrother.

I woke up this morning before the boys and started the (much needed) coffee. I tip-toed into BigBrother’s room and sat on his bed. I rubbed his back for a few minutes and he made his way through his stretching routine as his eyes slowly blinked open. There was a moment of nothing — no movement, no sound — as he stared at me. It was a brief moment. And then the light bulb went off over his head, causing him to jump up, a smile crossing his newly jack-o-lanterned grin. He reached behind his pillow, grabbed out his firefighter Tooth Fairy pillow and jumped off the bed when he found a dollar tucked in the firefighter’s boots.

(I have no photos of this sequence. I could tell you it’s because I wanted to live in the moment. But it’s totally because of the time change throwing me off my game. By the way, did you change the batteries in your smoke detectors? So, pretend this picture are from this morning!)

And so, I have survived his first tooth loss. He looks absolutely adorable — as long as I don’t actually look at the gaping hole in his gum. Then I kind of gag again. It’s a good thing he’s cute. I think the cute overrides my gag reflex. So far. As long as I don’t have to see blood.

Let’s just hope Nina is available every time one of these boys has a very wiggly tooth.

He Lost His Tooth and I Kept My Lunch is a post from Stop, Drop and Blog. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? Like our page on Facebook! If you have questions, contact me or hit me up via twitter.