Summer Time Crazy | Raising the Boys

Summer is coming to an end. The evenings are still long and the heat still lingers, yet school is just around the bend.

And the arguing still persists.

The screaming.

The yelling.

The "keep your hands to yourself."

The "just leave your brother alone."

The slamming of doors. The banging on the walls.

Oh, the sweet, sweet sounds of summer.

Don't you just love it?

Guys, I love my children. I do.

But I need them gone. I need to find where my patience ... and sanity went to. Because Summertime is legit killing me. My brain doesn't function.

I'm constantly raising my voice - even though I've been trying SO hard not to. I really am. I try to be patient when the middle boy gets frustrated.

"Use your words, tell me calming what the issue is."

I try to remain calm my my eldest (ADHD/Autistic) boy loses his shit when he's told to correct a chore he didn't do right.

"Take a deep breath, I just asked you to move those dishes out of the cup cabinet."

I try, y'all. I really do.

But after the 25th time of saying something calmly. Saying something differently. Saying something positively - and it still doesn't work.

I lose my shit.

You know what the worst part is? I was away from them for 17 days due to military training. Seventeen days I missed them and wished I was with them.... but secretly enjoyed my quiet evenings alone in my barracks room.

You homeschool parents are my heroes. You truly are. I am counting down the days... the hours, the SECONDS until I can push the boys into their classrooms and "Hunger Games" peace sign the teacher and then RUN away.

End of August. The end is near ... the end is near.

How do y'all keep your sanity during the summer? In general?

Make the Most of your Move | PCS Time Take 2 | My Hot Mess

We made this trip before. We went across the country - from the east coast to the southwest.

Saying goodbye to our home.

This time, we are going from the southwest to the east coast.

But this time -- with the children.

Yes. You heard that right. The first time we went across country we were blessed to have gone alone - minus the two dogs and cat that tagged along. But the boys (only had two children back then) were with their grandparents.

Hotel Life

My husband and I were able to travel and enjoy each other in the peace (except for the meowing and whining) while we visited adult stops along the way.

This time - not so lucky. Not that we didn't have the choice, but we figured we hadn't had a real family vacation in a while and decided to make the PCS move our vacation. Mostly to take the kids to Universal Studios to enjoy the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The boys are ALL about some HP.

The husband and I didn't want to make the same stops we did on the way to Texas so we had to look at the map and figure out some fun family friendly stops while ensuring we stayed within 7-9 hours of driving a day AND make it to North Carolina in our allotted time.

Headed out.

What we came up with was -  Houston, Pensacola, Orlando and then Fayetteville (home).

Why those places? Well, Houston because my eldest is a Texans fan and we thought visiting the football stadium would be awesome. Pensacola ... well, we thought we'd get to see the beach, but really it was a nice place to stop for the night because going all the way to Orlando would have been a horrible LONG drive. And Orlando, because of course, Universal Studios.

The longest of the drives was going to be El Paso to Houston. 10 Hours (without stopping) - why is Texas so BIG?! LOL I had the little girl, two dogs and the eldest to help me out with the littlest. Dad had the middle boy. Mostly to keep the boys from arguing with each other. Save both of our sanities for the multi-day trip!

We almost didn't get to do the Texans' stadium because when I emailed to ask how we went about getting tickets or reservations, they replied the next day stating they were sold out. I was completely bummed and emailed them back explaining our situation and you know what? They were amazing. They squeezed all five of us into the tour and the eldest (and the middle) enjoyed themselves thoroughly. I cannot thank them enough for letting us join in even though they were full.

How do you travel with animals you ask? VERY CAREFULLY. And it requires planning - which we are NOT good at. LOL We had to ensure every hotel we went to allowed dogs. We stayed at Marriott all throughout the trip as we wanted to grab points, use points, and well - the military gives us a per diem, we were going to use that per diem.

Every where we ate had to be fast food or a place where we could keep an eye out on the dogs. We either popped the back window for them or kept the car running while we ate. Though the latter was difficult because cars are smart now and won't let you lock the car doors with the key fob. We had to keep someone in the car, lock with the door locks and then climb out the back window (which would obviously have to remain unlocked) so that we could give the impression that the car was locked ... when really, anyone could have stolen our car with the dogs inside.

In Pensecola, we decided not to go to the beach so that we could get to Orlando a day earlier and actually enjoy Fourth of July at the park instead of on the road. We did stop at a pretty awesome Outdoor World (in which the dogs were allowed inside because Bass Pro Shops is pet friendly). The kids enjoyed the fish, ducks and other sights inside the store. It also gave us a chance to stretch our legs AND feel like we saw SOMETHING in Pensacola!

 We left in the morning to head to Orlando - still a 7-8 hour trip. Did I mention that the boys didn't know a damn thing about where we were going? All they knew was that we were headed to Fayetteville to live in our new home. They had no clue about Orlando.

 We decided to surprise them just outside the Orlando area - at a rest area. Yes, my middle child was NOT happy about "just getting shirts" in his box. LOL until big brother finally let him in on the surprise (since middle can't read ... LOL). My little girl was just excited to be out of the car seat! haha!

Four days at Universal and we had a blast. We enjoyed the Jurassic World area and even got to watch baby raptors get hatched and NAME ONE!

Yes, we were nerds and matched our outfits for our trips. Only mom and dad and the baby (who was forced) met Blue, the raptors. Our middle child wanted to see her so bad but chickened out last minute.

Of course, we spent the majority of our time in the Harry Potter world. We did get a small break in the fact that we got a special needs pass for our eldest (who's autistic) in which if the line was longer than 30 minutes, we just got to get a mark to return in one hour. So that helped us out big time with riding the newer rides and seeing more of the park.

 We also really enjoyed our oldest being 12 and sort of a sissy. We (as in my husband and I) thoroughly enjoyed the family member waiting/child swap area! We got to take turns on rides that the littles couldn't go on, leave the littles with the eldest when he didn't want to go on a roller coaster and get to ride multiple times since the kids all didn't want or couldn't ride. It was amazing.

Only bad thing? The afternoon showers. Florida has afternoon showers in the summer ... like every damn day. I totally forgot about this and didn't bring the ponchos. It wasn't that big of a deal, until it was the last day where it POURED and we got SOAKED. Tensions were on high and we tried to still have fun. The littlest had a blast in the water ... she didn't mind at all.

We made it to Fayetteville for my birthday ... in which we were awoken by the fire alarm. So much for sleeping in for my 35th birthday!

Needless to say though, we had a blast on our trip across the country. My biggest tip to y'all PCSing is to most definitely make the most our of your forced move and vacation. Each military member is given a set time allotment to move, so many days (depending on length/distance), given so much money to live in hotels and to EAT.

Take that and make the most of it!

Clearing Military Housing | PCS Time Take 2 | My Hot Mess

The movers came.

The movers packed.

The movers loaded the truck.

And the movers left.

Now what do we do? We still have 4 days to stay in the home and figure out how to keep the kids busy, get the home to military housing cleaning standards, care for an old ass dog that is sneezing blood everywhere, and oh, yeah - say goodbye to everyone.

First things first - I put the kids to work. I made them scrub the walls. Yep. I'm that mom. I was next to them the entire time telling them to go over the spots again. Surprisingly - they both did a great job.

I also got super lucky to have awesome neighbors who let the boys hang out at their place while the packers and loaders were here. So they pretty much were out of my hair for the majority of the packing portion. I may have bribed them a tad to clean properly, but hey - it got done.

The tablets also came in handy. I loath the electronics. I really do. Especially the tantrums that follow electronic time because they're "not ready" or "just one more minute mom?" I hate the tablets but the tablets helped out mom and dad in ensuring the kids were out of the way and we were able to clean the rest of the home.

Keeping the kiddos busy was the hard part. So we broke down the cleaning into a few days so that we cleaned in the morning and the afternoons were saved for fun stuff to do.

We went to our fair share of movies.

Had FroYo a little too much

Enjoyed the many splash pads.

When inspection came, we were nervous. We had spent 2-3 days (off and on) scrubbing that home. But there were things we weren't sure if we were going to get away with. For instance the hole in the rug that was there before we got there (and annotated on our move in slip), but had heard numerous horror stories about having to pay a fortune on things that weren't our fault.

We lucked out. The woman said that new flooring was being put in so we didn't have to pay the carpet cleaning and we had done such a good job cleaning, we didn't have to pay a cleaning fee. SCORE!!! That's $300+ we have extra in our pockets now!

What did we clean to ensure no fees?

• used the vacuum attachment to suck up all the dust on the baseboards (I know, gross. But that's not something I did on a regular basis) 

• scrubbed the walls -- we used magic erasers (but those fell apart real quick) and the yellow and green sponges with water and soap. We scrubbed the walls and baseboards. Like on our hands and knees scrubbing.

• wiped the top of the doors down 

• cleaned the doors and the crevices of the doors 

• swept/vacuumed the floors like 5 million times 

• mopped the floors with Pinesole (if it's one thing the Army taught me, it's as long as it smalls clean - it's clean) 

• scrubbed the stove and used the self cleaning option 3 times to ensure an easy wipe down of the oven 

• bleached and scrubbed the fridge (inside and outside). I didn't even know the fridge came apart in so many pieces until my husband started pulling pieces out. I was in awe. I really don't see a need to step up my fridge scrubbing skills with him around. 

• wiped/magic eraser down the window sills 

• power washed the porch and the garage - not to mention the front stoop 

• paid a teen to mow and weed-eat the backyard (and pick up dog poop) 

• cleaned the windows - figured out that the windows are an easy open to clean both inside and outside quickly. Again, didn't know that until husband showed me. Why isn't he doing more of the cleaning in the home on a regular basis?? lol 

• vacuumed and wiped down the ceiling fans 

• vacuumed the inside of all the drawers in kitchen and bathrooms 

• bleached the shit out of the toilets and showers 

• wiped down all counters (bathroom and kitchen) 

• crossed out fingers that we did everything that would be inspected.

Again, we got lucky with the carpets. Since it was the original carpeting (BARF) it was time for it to be ripped out and replaced. So, you're welcome newcomers.

We also moved at a good time since military housing has been in the news as of late. The whole "they expect us to keep the homes in mint condition and then charge us for things they should be doing for upkeep" bullshit. We moved at a great time - to say the least.

Hopefully, with all the backlash the military housing has been getting from media and now, the government - moving will continue to be easier for military families who are forced to move so often.

I also hope this post gives a little insight and what you should clean for an easy move out inspection and how to keep the kiddos busy!

Till next time,

Marathon of Remembrance | "Werkit Out" Wednesday

This Werkit Out Wednesday is a tad different. It's not sharing a workout rather explaining my experience of my first marathon.

I know right?!? A MARATHON? Why Shari? Why?

Shit, I don't know why. I really don't.

But I do know it was an experience that I wanted to share with you. Something so important to me that it took my a while to put my thoughts together to share it RIGHT with you.

The White Sands Missile Training Range Bataan Memorial Death March Memorial Marathon was held on Saint Patrick's Day this year. I put my green beer on ice, as I decided that this marathon would be one of the most important "races" I would "run."

I did it not only to meet the REAL heroes, the survivors. But I also did it to see if I could do it. I now realize I REALLY did it to prove to my children that even though your don't want to do certain things in life, you have to suck it up and do it anyway.

And hell, you might even surprise yourself in the end.

Leading up to the race - I wasn’t as nervous as I thought. People asked me about my thoughts and if I was prepared but I didn’t have any words. I really didn’t have a goal time, I just wanted to survive.

I really didn’t “train” persay for it and I really didn’t know what to look forward to. I know so many badass people who didn’t make the walk. Granted they went in military boots and wearing heavy rucks - but I wasn’t the nervous I am accustomed to.

It was a “will I make it?” Kinda feeling.

I luckily eased conversation with a friend who would be doing it as well into “would you want a walking partner.” And luckily she said yes. I didn’t want her to feel like she HAD to so I had asked what her goal was & when she said to see the survivors and finish... I knew I could ask if she wouldn’t mind a tag along.

As the days ticked by, our two man “team” turned into four of the most awesome people. But honestly, Team RWB Eagles showed up from around the country and we had THE BEST showing of support out there.

I was so ready to get sunburned and sweating my butt off, but it snowed the day prior to race day.

Like what the what?!

Now I had to rethink how I was going to pack my bag. I originally only was going to pack water, socks, sun screen, and my hat with a few snacks. Now I was packing gloves, a knit hat, my jacket... etc. I was freaking out.

I wanted to run/walk the course but now my pack was fluffier and heavier.

Thanks Mother Nature.

In the end, I carried way more than I really needed to. I had a first aid kit, mole skin, more socks and snacks then needed, but I guess better to have and not need than not have and need?

I had heard so much about meeting the survivors of the real death march so I was so excited to see these heroes. I wait through the ceremony and when the canon went off we began to shuffle out the gates, but no survivors.

I was incredibly disappointed.

I wanted to shake their hands and I wanted to thank them. But no survivor was to be seen. As we were herded down the road, I did pass a few wounded veterans as well as meeting them again further down the trail. But no Bataan survivors to thank, the whole reason why I wanted to do this memorial challenge.

We hit the dirt path and my frustration melted away knowing that I had a long journey ahead of me and I was still doing this for all the fallen heroes who can’t any longer. Our four man, makeshift team was in good spirits.

The sun was beginning to hit the horizon and the colors painted the sky orange, red and purple. The jagged mountains in the background were gorgeous with the early morning sun hitting them and the snow capes tips glistening. It truly was a sight and I kept kicking myself for not bringing my REAL camera.

Shit - I was carrying everything else in my bag, why no my big camera? My iPhone was going to have to do.

We continued up and down the dirt pathway. Sharing stories and laughs. We jogged a little. We walked a little. We didn’t have a goal to hit, we just wanted to complete the challenge. We passed an amputee and we were silent as we had just been complaining about our knees hurting.

We stopped at many water/aide stations to grab snacks, water, gatorade, use the bathroom and rest just a tad. The asphalt up a long, gradual hill nearly claimed my motivation, especially since my team were “angry walking” faster and faster! Haha! I’m a slow walker - that’s for sure. But then a man with a speaker playing 90s music danced up next to us and gave me my motivation back.

Yes - I screenshot the watermarked image. Thank you Marathon Foto, you guys are
some of the real MVPs of the day.

We climbed higher and higher, turning back into a dirt path and the snow became more present.

 

The yellow, desert poppies were in full bloom, popping up out the snow covered desert. A Blackhawk (medical) flew over by and wondered why my ride left me behind - I kid.

I’m a sucker for aircraft!

The Border Patrol on their horses looked so majestic in the poppy fields.

It’s amazing the people who came out (voluntold or not) to ensure our safety. The Border Patrol, the Soldiers/airmen, the military police and the many others I didn’t recognize. The volunteers at the water/aide stations were amazing, Smiling and cheering us on even tho I was one of 30,000 people they’ve seen and would see throughout the day.

When we hit mile 14, a water station with burgers and dancing volunteers continued to cheer us on. People stopped to enjoy food but we didn’t. We weren’t feeling food - but I did stop to change my socks. The first time since I started.

One tip I was given by many Bataan finishers was bring lots of socks. I packed 6 and had plans on changing them often... but only changed at mile 14 and honestly - didn’t need to. But I was also wearing trail running shoes and not boots. Which, I believe, saved my feet. I did have a few hotspots on the ball of my left foot so, it’s possible the sock changed saved it from becoming anything more.

Mile 17 crept on us and my heart began to pound. Only once before did I ever walk more than 17 miles. And it was 18 miles. For the army. In uniform and boots. With a pack on my back. It was for the German Armed Forces Badge that I so desperately wanted to get silver in.

We hit mile 18 and we continued on. The unknown was ahead of me. Would I make the entire 26.2 miles (and a tad more)? I had no clue. I hadn’t ever walked further than 18 miles in my entire life. I never wanted to. I mean who actually WANTS to? A marathon was never in the books for me. Never on a check list. Never had crossed my mind.

But I made it to mile 19 - and get this, my feet didn’t fall off. Mile 20, mile 22.... I was still moving. I hurt. But I was still moving. By this point we weren’t running anymore. We had hit loose sand and my mind began to play tricks on me. My back hurt. My knees were aching and my buddy and I had stopped talking. It was getting hot - despite the snow we had seen higher up.

The loop of trail and sand heading back to the asphalt hill just seemed to last forever. We kept playing leapfrog with another pair of walkers and we’d share a few words of humor or anguish...then continue on our way.

At mile 23, we finally hit the asphalt again and it was all downhill back to the finish line - now remember, my GPS tracking watch had died at mile 10. I was purely going off of the signage and my partner’s watch. She said mile 23 and all I kept telling myself was just a 5k to go.

Just the Fort Bliss parade field loop left (where I run with my stroller pushing momma friends).

Mile 24 seemed to last forever as we caught up with some of the half marathon wounded warriors, but was very humbling. Here I am, complaining about my back and my knees hurting and aching - and a hero who’s lost two legs in combat is walking thru the sand with his team because he can no longer pedal his hand crank bike. His team members steadied him as he slowly and wobbly took each step by step thru the sand.

His service dog ran ahead of us, living the life in the gorgeous day. She was smiling, tongue dangling as she ensured the trail ahead was clear for her best friend.

Mile 25 finally appeared and my partner forced encouraged me to run the final mile. She was ahead of me and continued to push me to the finish line.

And then I heard it, “There’s mom!” “Go SHARI!”

My family was waiting for me at the finish line. Camera in hand, cheering me on. I heard my name a few other places as I ran the final distance to the line.

My teammates (Team RWB), my friends and my family all get credit for getting me to that finish line.

At the end, I was congratulated by a medal. Something I didn’t think I was going to get. In the past, no medals were given to the finishers. It wasn’t about the medal - it was about honoring the heroes’ who endured hell. But today, they gave medals to all of us finishers.

And guys, I couldn’t even put it on my neck for at least 30 minutes. It felt heavy - not only in weight but in doubt of ownership.

Bataan (the REAL Bataan) has so much disparity tied to it. Many American and Philippino soldiers died as they walked miles upon miles - not knowing when they’d finish. Not knowing where they were headed (evidently to another prisoner of war camp).

They didn’t know what awaited them.

They endured harassment, abuse, and illness trying not to be the one who was too slow and end up being shot to death.

I at least knew it was 26 miles. I knew I’d get a beer and burger at the end. I knew I’d be going home at the end.

This is what it's about, a true survivor finishing the honor half marathon memoriam walk.

I finally put the medal around my neck. I felt proud to have accomplish my longest run/hike ever. I felt love as my family congratulated me. I felt good. I didn’t have blisters. I had made it.

I came in at 7 hours and 3 minutes. I finish 218 out of 976 finishers. Just to bring light of the difficulty and the difference between participant and finisher ... we started off with 1236 in my category. (There were 8688 total participants this year)

Yeah.

Is it something I'll do again?

Nope.

But I did it. And I whole-heartedly encourage anyone to attempt the march as well: it’s humbling. It’s exciting. It’s a gorgeous trail. And it’s satisfying.

Do it.

But be prepared. I definitely packed way too much stuff. But I’m glad I had the stuff than not to have it.

I had packed 6 extra socks and used 1. I had packed a first aide kit, but didn’t need it. I brought lots of snacks but only ate my gummy energy blocks. I packed hydration and energy tablets - and used one. I had a scarf, head wrap thing and never had to use it to protect me from wind or dust - but it came in hand protecting my neck from the sun.

If you've never done a half marathon before, I highly encourage you to do so before tackling this monster of a challenge ... and most definitely run miles on dirt/sand/gravel. Go for a hike up some trails that have elevation changes. Run hills ... this is one thing I absolutely hate but wish I had done. Be prepared for weather changes ... so train in shorts/pants/capris/hats/gloves/tanks etc. One huge rule for all runners is that you train as you race. Don't change up anything race day.

Most of all, find people who will support you along the way. Whether it was an early morning text from a friend saying, "You've got this!" or "Breath, you'll do fine." To a walk/run buddy to chat with. There was the camaraderie of my Team RWB and of course, my family and supporters waiting for me at the finish line. 

You really can't succeed this challenge without support.

Even though this wasn't on my bucket list, it is now scribbled onto it and SCRATCHED out. Because I'm never doing another Marathon again! 

What is something you said you'd never do, but did and ended up learning from it??

Oh, and if you're wondering - yes, us Irish folk did get our St. Paddy's Day beers and celebrated the holiday in good old fashion glory ... at the bar.