Making the Most of Your Time | Girl Boss

Y'all ... I have a problem with staying on task.

I guess you could say I'm ADD. 

Maybe that's where my kid got the craziness ....

NO...

No, he got that from his father.

I swear it. Never from me. I'm awesome and perfect.

LOL

I digress.

Anyway, ... wait see? I can't even keep my thoughts straight in this damn blog! ha!

Today I tried something new. I decided to set my phone alarm to keep me on track. Sometimes All the time, when I'm on the computer, I seem to bounce from one task to another.

I'll be editing, then I'll check Facebook, then 15 minutes lost, I'll get back to editing. Then I get bored and start something personal, then 30 mins lost, I'll get back to editing or what the hell, I'll switch to blogging. And by the time I know it, the eldest is home and the baby is awake from the nap and now I'm juggling afternoon snacks and telling the baby to stop messing with my photo props, and eldest that no, he cannot play the xbox until his homework is down and then ....

SHIT.

I forgot to thaw the meat for dinner. And oh by the way, the editing that was due today is not done and now I have to spend the evening away from the family to finish editing and get the gallery up for the wonderful family that hired me but now I'm not close to my family because I'm locked in the dark making some other family happy.

Exhausting, right?

I mean, everyone makes being a work-at-home mom seem so simple. In actuality, it's not. When you go to an office, you're family is already taken care of. Whether they're at school or daycare. You are not interrupted by crying, hungry babies or angry, hormonal kids not wanting to do homework. You are in an office with other people who are stuck in an office doing their jobs. So more than likely, you can get your job done and complete, minus the phone calls or noisy co-workers.

Work-at-home moms rock because they still have to do laundry, watch the kids, make dinner and all that jazz. And that my dear friends, is why nap time is so extra special to work-at-home moms so you HAVE to be able to manage it perfectly.

So the thing I did differently, as I mentioned above before I went on my soap-box, was that I timed my "nap-time work schedule." My littlest sleeps from about noon to 3pm. So that gives me three hours to get shit done. Today I still multi-tasked but this time I timed it.

When I put the baby down for nap at noon, I threw in a load of laundry. Then I got to work at catching up on a personal photo album since, surprise! As a photographer, your own photography gets pushed to the side (i.e. editing vacations, scrapbooking, printing, hanging...ect). So, one of my goals is to catch up on my photo albums. For an hour I did just that using, Shutterfly. Then at 1pm, I began to edit client work. I did about 30 mins of one client and 30 mins of another client. That got me about 20 images, give or take, on each client done. Basically, they're almost complete. 

Then at 2pm (after throwing the wet clothes into the dryer), I forced myself to come on here and blog. Why do I say forced? Because Facebook was REALLY calling my name ... so I cheated a tad and looked on Facebook for about 10 minutes ... this is why I am now whisking through this blog hopefully not too crazily because when my "For Real STOP!" Alarm goes off, I HAVE to stop because a) my eldest comes home from school and b) if I don't wake the baby from his nap by 3pm, he won't sleep at night. GAH! 

The struggle is real folks.

And there it goes, my alarm. So I HAVE to get off people. So hopefully maybe this blog will give you a little insight in work-at-home moms. I don't want to scare you off entrepreneurs. 

I don't. 

Because seriously, working for myself is the best decision I've made. Seriously. I hate to think about working for someone else and on their schedule. I can take vacation whenever I want. I can stay home with the kids. I can partake in school activities and I can have weekends to enjoy family instead of catching up on household issues. 

Guys, be your own boss. But just realize that you'll probably work more hours in the day/night and your boss is the biggest bitch out there. ;) I'm telling ya.

Good luck y'all!

Meeting New People | 'Werkit' Out Wednesdays

Okay, so granted the above pictures are my family ... and this post is entitled "Meeting New People."

HOWEVER,

I am using this picture because we are wearing our Team RWB shirts.

(and the fact that I just met a new group of people and shouldn't use their photos on a public forum without their permission ... but I mean, that's just morals right? LOL)

We became members in NC, and when we found out we were moving, this was one of the groups I made sure to check and see if TX had a chapter. And come to find out, El Paso has their very own chapter. So we were stoked.

This was our first run in Texas. It was a 10k which involved us carrying our passports because we ACTUALLY crossed the US/Mexico border for the run. We couldn't pass up this awesome opportunity. This was also the longest run our eldest did.

He complained the whole time.

I mean, the WHOLE TIME.

But in the end, he was first place in his age group. LOL (probably the only 9 year old to run the race, but none-the-less, he was first)

But I digress.

Team RWB has literally surrounded our lives and we didn't feel so lonely when moving. Because well, we still had a "family." Even though we were leaving everything and everyone we knew in NC.

Sooooooo.....

It took a while for us -- ME -- to join in on their awesome activities here in El Paso. But when I saw that some of the ladies get together for a stroller workout. I knew I HAD to go. And thank goodness for groups like Team RWB.

I was immediately greeted and accepted into the crew with like-minded women who have to juggle working out and little children. They get it that sometimes you have to stop your workout to pick up a sip cup. Or you have to walk a little bit because your little one wants to flail their legs around "run" with you, just like you.

Boy! If my legs fly out to the sides like that when I run ... I've got to work on my technique.

But it's cool. Because Team RWB is all about making sure veterans (and their families) stay community involved and know how to integrate into civilian life and to just be around like-minded people. It's awesome. I'm sure I didn't say their mission exactly right, so check out their website HERE.

But the whole point is, get out there guys. I hate meeting new people. I'm a quiet person and I normally won't talk to you until you talk to me. I've always been like that. But I had step out of my comfort zone and just get out there.

Because who really wants to be cooped up in their house all day and not talk to an adult until their spouse comes home from work? I mean, I don't. Do you?

Also, getting out their with other people who share your own hobbies and beliefs sets an example to your children. They get to socialize while momma is werkin' it to better herself as well.

So get out there guys.

Meet new people.

And hell, if you don't like the first group of people ...

Try again. You'll find your "weirdos" eventually. I promise.

I'm still looking for my "weirdos" here ... but I know I'm heading in the right direction. Even though I may have come off a little TOO hardheaded strong-willed when I had to step up and defend Fort Bragg because another woman had a completely different experience than I had ... I really wanna take her back to Bragg and be like, "See? It's rally not THAT bad..." LOL <3 hope she looks past my loud mouth and doesn't hate me just yet ... haha!

Good luck y'all!

Y'all I'm exhausted with School Shopping! | Raising the Boys

You know what?

"F" it.

School shopping is for the birds.

I don't want to do it.

Nope. No way.


Oh wait.


It's required?


Son of a bitch.

Y'all. I'm exhausted. School shopping is ridiculous. Add in a hyperactive child and an angry toddler. Yeah. Not anyone's dream activity.

This year, I have to admit though, we didn't have to grab as much shit as we have had to in the past years. Luckily, the "communal" buys this year was limited to gallon size baggies (for what? I don't have the slightest clue), one (yeah, you heard me right) ONE container of sanitation wipes, one hand sanitizer, one liquid soap, and four boxes of tissue. I mean, that's not bad. I didn't have to purchase "candy for prizes" or "beans for crafts" or "colored construction paper" or "a sketchbook for art" or a flipping "recorder" that he's only going to use one time. So I lucked out.

This year though, he won't be wearing a uniform, so we had to buy new clothes, but surprisingly that was cheaper than buying uniforms and shoes that were "one solid color that doesn't have a brand on it."

Well Shit .... just got done with Open House ... apparently he WILL be wearing a uniform. You'd think they would've mentioned that when I went into the front office to REGISTER him! DAMMIT! So off I go back to Marshalls and Walmart to return clothes so that we can purchase $15 embroidered polos. 

DAMMIT.

But y'all, I'm exhausted. We had to keep our elbows up in the isles of Walmart and grab things before other people's little buggers snatched things out of your hands. We had to fight the dressing rooms and keep a tired, hangry 2 year old. Our skinny ass son had to try on freaking 20 pairs of jeans until we could figure out what would actually stay up over his butt. We had to clean up a broken emoji biggie bank that is made of clay and within a toddler's grasp. We had walked the isles numerous times trying to find a fucking "ghostbusters pencil box that is so awesome." We had to negotiate the fact that not all Walmarts have the same thing and this pencil box is the same colors as the Charlotte Hornets.

Lemme tell ya, that picture above, it's not all the shit we got, but it's the important shit. And all in all we only spent a grand total of:

$236

We got off luckily this year. I know we did.

Parents.

God speed and good luck with your own

horrible

school

shopping experience.

What the "H" in ADHD really Means | Raising the Boys

This is my eldest.

He has ADHD.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Crazy right? He doesn't look like he has a "disorder" here. 

Or in general.

But none-the-less, he is considered "special" in school. He misbehaves. He talks out of turn. He can't sit still. His brain runs one hundred miles per hour ... every. single. day.

He fixates on a topic and learns everything about that topic and makes sure everyone knows about that one topic. He rolls his eyes if you don't know. And his tone is sharp when correcting you.

To an outsider he looks like a spoiled little brat who consciously acts out in public when he doesn't get his way or if his little brother takes something of his.

He gets labeled the problem child and he sees the school counselor every week and is over-emotional at the slightest of disturbances. 

He'll cry over spilled milk.

He'll smack the shit out of you if you do him wrong.

He'll growl at you when he has to do something he doesn't want to do.

He'll throw stuff across the room when angry.

I have physically restrained him. And I've been to the brink of tears over one of his public melt downs in Walmart.

We go to countless doctor appointments from therapists to psychiatrists to nutritionists and child psychologists. 

He was suspended in kindergarten 
  TWICE.

But because he looks normal, he and our family look chaotic in a not so chaotic society.

Here's the thing folks, my son frustrates the hell out of me. He's messy, disorganized, forgetful, and

HYPER. 

"Oh he's just being a boy." I would hear all the time.

"Medication will zombie him out." They would say.

"Can't you just control him?" Others would glare.

Until they saw him in action.

Why does he HIT out of anger?
He's HYSTERICAL, can't you calm him?
Why does he HOARD all the toys?
What a HORRID way to act in public.
What a HELLISH boy.

I was HURT.
I felt HELPLESS.
It's a HEAVY burden to carry.
How could people be so HEARTLESS to this boy.
It was completely HORRIFYING.

Yes, lots of "H" words could describe what he was going through, what I was going through, what others thought of us. But HYPER never was one that people understood.

Because face it, all children are hyper. And all children are to act a certain way. And that way is to be normal.

But what is NORMAL?

The normal now-a-days isn't what it used to be. ADD and ADHD have become more talked about and more recognized than ever. Some still believe it's a made up disorder. A way of medicating children to be zombies or because parents can't handle their spoiled brats anymore. Parent's don't know how to say no. Parent's are too easy on their children. Parents are weak now.

Blah, Blah, Blah.

Well, wake up. ADD/ADHD is real. It's a chemical imbalance that is a chronic condition marked by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and sometimes impulsivity. 

ADHD is a common behavioral disorder that affects about 10% of school-age children. Boys are about three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with it, though it's not yet understood why.

Kids with ADHD act without thinking, are hyperactive, and have trouble focusing. They may understand what's expected of them but have trouble following through because they can't sit still, pay attention, or focus on details.

http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/adhd.html 


So get your head out of your ass and see my son as he is:

Happy
Handsome
Healthy
Humorous
Hopeful
And did I mention Happy?

He's a happy little boy who is struggling to find his place in the world. He's constantly fighting spontaneous behaviors and deciding which one is the proper way to act and which ones aren't. 

But he's my boy and I'm hopeful that he will someday understand that his happiness doesn't come from what others think of him. He is a unique superhero who's constantly fighting the "bad guys" and honestly, he's my hero.

That's what the "H" really stands for.

Do it, Distractions and all | 'WerkIt' Out Wednesday

Alright folks. I dragged my ass out into the garage to work out today.

I didn't wanna do it.

Nope. 

It was 11am and I had been sitting on the couch, watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood ... or some shit like that and I just didn't wanna move.

But guess what?

I jammed my boobs into a sports bra. Squeezed my butt into workout capris and walked my dragging ass out to the garage. Toddle in stow.

And I worked out.

But I did have a midget Darth Vader interrupt me multiple times. 

Yep. 

But I did it. 

How was your workout?

PCS? What the WHAT?! Part 3 | Moving Day | My Hot Mess

Part 3 Y'all

So let me irritate that the movers came to my house the day before I was to return home from my annual training with the Army Reserve. Well, I fixed that because I was pretty pissed about this training and me not being able to make it up at another date. So, I switched my flight to come in earlier, the day OF the mover's packing day. 

I got off the plane to come home to this. My house basically already packed up. But let me back up a few ... 

Before I headed out on my training trip, I made three check lists for my husband and mother-in-law to use as reference to keep hidden from the packers before they snatched it up and put it in some random box. These checklists included clothes, shoes, and toys for the boys. My own clothes, along with my husbands. Folding chairs, a small table, sheets, hygiene stuff, ect. Basically stuff that we would still need once the movers took everything else. I mean, come on, we were going to be away from our shit for 4 weeks! 

The above picture is the result of those checklists. My husband piled everything we didn't want the packers to pack on our bed and told them. DON'T TOUCH!

In theory, this should have worked. Except my husband didn't expect the packers to move so fast. He forgot to grab the baby's shoes ... he forgot to grab the boy's socks, underwear and a backpack for travel. He forgot to grab the paper plates, napkins, plastic spoons and cups that I had bought especially for our week in the house without shit. The packers took our scissors and our tape. 

Guys, hide your scissors. You never know how much you need those until they're gone.

I'm serious.

The packers did however forget to pack my table place mats and EMPTY trash can. But packed our tools and FULL garbage can....

Luckily, we did swipe one screw driver from them before they threw into a box. 

Screwdriver is a must people. I'm telling ya!

Fun times making forts from all our boxes and playing pretend. What nerds. My Nerds. But Nerds none-the-less.

In a blink of an eye, our shit was all in boxes and we were forced to spend money (that we shouldn't have) on essentials again. Paper plates and all that shit. Tape, socks, underwear, diapers, wipes, ect. I mean, I DID write a list of stuff to hide, but I'll let it slide to my husband. There was a lot on his plate. And things slipped by. (But I did actually enjoy the  "told you so.")

See, I've done this before. Not really ... but I have. I'm a military brat. I've watched my parents do these moves multiple times and overseas. I didn't have to stress about anything and I'm not going to lie, there's a shit ton of stress when you're actually the one in charge. And even more stress when you're just along for the ride.

The fact that is was my husband PCSing and not me, meant that I couldn't attend certain briefs and everything was under his name and he was responsible for getting the information and I was left twiddling my thumbs waiting for the next glitter of information to float down my way.

Super stressful. Again, this was our first time ever doing this. We'd lived in our house for 12 years. I thought we got rid of a lot of shit with our yard sale and decluttering while trying to sell the house. But nope ... there was still a ton of crap I kept asking myself why we kept it.

But alas, the packers packed it and it would soon become a Texas problem rather than a North Carolina problem.

After two days of packing ... the moving truck came. This shit was getting real. We were moving. We really were moving. It all felt like a dream. Like, someone was going to pinch me and say, "Surprise! Just Kidding!"

But nope. It was real. And in four hours, the movers had our shit packed and all we had left was large, echoing rooms and bare walls to stare at.

 We did keep our computer and apple TV so that we wouldn't be too bored. I mean, what would the boys do for FOUR days without TV?! ;)

I guess the better question was, what would mom and dad do with the boys for those four days?! haha! They were heading to gramma's house while we moved to Texas and set up the new house but because of the dates the movers came, it was cheaper to wait to purchase airfare in the middle of the week. So, they waited for the fun four extra days. Plus, we had to get out of the house before the 29th, since the new owners were going to be moving in!

Tips I SHOULD have done:

1) Not had army training. Apparently I pride myself in being stubborn and hard headed, but when it comes to taking orders from my command, I take them and go. I mean, you have to. It's the Army. But I guess if I had pushed the hardship issue, I could have rescheduled my training.
2) Made my family put everything we wanted to keep into the storage unit. Yes, it would have been a pain in the ass. But it would've been helpful and then I wouldn't have been running all over the place snatching shit outta the packers hands. Which brings me to the next tip...
3)  Paid more attention to the movers. I figured they knew what they were doing. And in reality they did. Nothing went missing and nothing really truly got broken, but (now I'm talking about future here) I would have followed them from room to room and made them pack the rooms individually. When I began unpacking in the new house, kitchen shit was with bathroom shit and room shit was with garage shit. It was a mess. So I would've told them to pack by room and when the room was done just close the box and not put anything else in it.
4) Have the kids be OUT of the house. I read about this, but it just didn't seem feasible. But really, I could've just had my mother-in-law take them to the park or mall or something.
5) Labeled the boxes better. We had a lot of stuff in storage in the garage to have the house "clutter free" to sell. So a lot of stuff was just thrown into boxes with no rhythm or rhyme. Again, this plays into following the packers around. I felt very strange not doing anything while they were there and didn't want to impede their job, but you ultimately will be the one unpacking so you want the packing to be as organized as possible.
6) I gave water to the movers. But should have listened to the other bloggers and bought pizza or something for them. They took an extremely long lunch (in my opinion) and seemed they could've been done in one day rather than a day and a quarter.
7) Figure out meals for after the packers pack. We ate out a lot and honestly, that's all you really can do. But we did keep out pots and pans to cook with. This also cut back some of the food the packers wouldn't pack. (they don't do liquids or food). But since we were exhausted and hadn't planned out meals, we just didn't cook.
8) Take Xanax.  I'm kidding ... or am I?

Lemme tell ya, it was an empty feeling when we sat in our home as a family for the last time. It's truly very sad. But more on that next time!

Till then, happy packing!

PCS?! What the What?! Part 2 | PCS Binder | My Hot Mess

This is Part 2 of my PCS adventures ... y'all ... there's going to be a lot of parts because I've never done this shit and lemme tell ya ...

This.

Shit.

Is.

Bannas.

First things first. Let me put this whole mess into perspective. 

My husband is away for recruiting school. I mean, that's the reason why we are leaving in the first place.

I'm home with my mother-in-law who was able to come out and help for a month. Guys, I'm super lucky for that. Yes it's another body in the house to add to the chaos, but not many military spouses get the luxury of help from family!

Also, I'm preparing to leave for my annual training with the Army Reserve. Oh by the way, the movers come the day BEFORE I head home. So, I'm a panic mess. 

Rule number one, don't tell a stressing military spouse/boss/soldier/momma that "don't worry, everything will work out." 

NOPE.

I repeat. 

NOPE. not the best thing to say. Also don't tell her/him that she's freaking out. That spouse has every right to freak out, y'all. THIS. SHIT. IS. STRESSFUL.

Any way, trying to relieve the stress, I searched the inter webs for anything that would be useful. I came across. Military Printables, an Etsy shop with many printable things to help ease life. Low and behold, I found a printable for PCSing. What the what?! For $15, I bought that shit and printed it out.

 Next came the laboring task of putting everything in a binder and then started to collect all the important documents that didn't need to be packed by the movers. Things like, car paperwork, shot records, passports, tax returns, veterinarian paperwork, birth & marriage certificates, and any other important thing I could think of.

Now the owner of Military Printables is a genius. "JD" as she's known on her Etsy shop is described as

"A lover of paper, design, and all things printable. I love art and getting organized (on a budget, of course!). Living day by day on the roller coaster of military life."

And I love her.

No, seriously.

I carried that binder everywhere and it was easy to tell the movers, "NO! DON'T TOUCH THAT!" LOL

She has packing checklists in there, PCS per diem info, budget tasks, charts, and graphs, and shit. Everything.

Granted, I didn't use everything I printed out, but at least she gave me some sort of starting point. Face it, I'm never going to be super organized.

Nope.

When I was made, "organization" was thrown in last minute and that's basically my life today.

No Joke.

But hopefully this helps y'all out like it helped me!

God Speed!