San Francisco Here We Come!

Marc and I are escaping for a much needed vacation tomorrow morning. We are taking this one on our own. We will surely miss the babes, but it will be nice to have some time for just us.

Have a great week!

Super Nanny, Nanny 911 and Doctor Whoever, What Now?!

We had a very long evening last night. Thank you, Sydney Elaine. We've had trouble getting Sydney to go to bed each night for a while, but it really kicked in to high gear last week and hit a peak (I hope) last night. She is adamant about not staying in her room. After trying all the "tricks" suggested, we are at our wits end. We know it is a phase, but we are tired and left without a plan.

Step 1: Establish a routine. Yeah yeah yeah. We've had the same routine since she was a little less than a year. It has only varied slightly with the birth of Nathan and, of course, during vacations and visits to the homes of others. (CHECK!)

Step 2: Eliminate sugary snacks and caffeine before bed. Seriously? My kid is four. She doesn't eat a lot of candy and she definitely doesn't drink caffeine, unless of course you count the two cups of coffee she drinks before school. NOT! (DUH and CHECK!)

Step 3: If the protest, return them to bed over and over. We've done this one a hundred million times. One night, I did it with ipod earbuds in so that I wouldn't get ticked after 1.5 HOURS! NEXT!

Step 4: Sit in the hall and return the child. It goes with Step 3, is just as useless, but at least I get to read a little.

Step 5: Create rewards for good behavior. Great. Sydney is interested in the computer. So, we bought the same educational game the school has and created a reward system that enabled her to earn time on the computer each weekend. It worked for two weeks. Then, she told me she didn't care. Perfect!

Step 6: If they are scared, eliminate the "bad." So, she decided a while back that there were porcupine bunnies in the house. So, mom made a "trap" for them out of a plastic basket and a recorder. Nothing caught and nothing gained.

Step 7: Take away privileges. We've taken away fruit snacks and other junk I cannot recall right now. "Take 'em!" She says.

Step 7: Take away her toys. Her room is now empty.

Step 8: "Spank her butt and that'll fix it!" Some have said. Yep, we tried that too. It didn't work and now we feel bad about it. Thanks!

Step 9: ________________?????????????????????? I have no idea what goes here.

I need help. Ideas please! I really don't know what to do.

Big News!

Some of you already knew and many of you found out yesterday on Facebook, but I'm moving! We are moving back to Fredericksburg to be closer to family. The biggest news of all is that I am going to be a SAHM for a few years.

Just a very short two years ago, I wrote an irate post to Anonymous about school, etc. While I still believe in that post, several things have happened over the last few years that have made us stop and think about the value of family, our time together and how FLEETING it really can be. While I want to teach my children the value of pursuing whatever you desire, we find it equally important to teach them to stop and appreciate what is around them. Now, I am and have been extremely thankful for all I have, but we were faced with, what feels like, a golden opportunity: to strengthen our family bonds and provide our children with a familial community.

I've struggled with this for a while, hold off on school and stay home or tough it out. As much as I wanted to tough it out, and attempted to for a bit, I found two obstacles: the LSAT and my heart. I took the LSAT twice. I cancelled my scores the first time and the second time, I blew it. I have crazy test anxiety and while practice tests would be acceptable, the real deal would throw me into a volcano of emotion. So, I've gone around the bushes, over the hill and through the woods to get to the simple conclusion that I likely have my whole life to continue my education or perhaps not. What I do know is that, where my kids are concerned, I don't want regrets.

So, for now, school is on continued pause and I'm gearing up for a new adventure. I'm excited to spend more time with my children and family. I'm thrilled that we will not be living directly on top of our neighbors and that my kids will have their aunts, grandparents and great grandparents close. I'm terrified, but hopeful that I will be okay at this difficult job.

Please wish us luck, health and happiness! *Crossing fingers, eyes and toes*

Still Around

It has been a few weeks since my last post and I'm still around. We're keeping quite busy this summer and trying to enjoy every minute.

This month, we visited my Dad's and Marc learned how to change the brakes on the truck. Yay! That was a blessing. Thanks again, Dad. Dad and Jenn also celebrated an anniversary. Happy Anniversary!

We went on our second camping trip with Rachel and Matt. This time we headed back to Deep Creek Lake. Marc and I hadn't been in ten years and it was quite different. The campsites are very close and the area in general has grown too much for our liking. We did have a great time, despite losing sleep because of rude neighboring campers. So rude and loud, in fact, we had to call the Rangers twice to get them to stuff it.

My photography class is over. I cannot believe it. It was a blink. I'm more familiar with my camera, but still terrible at taking pictures. I'll keep practicing. Ha ha! Didn't expect to run out and shoot a cover of Vogue. Although, it would have been nice eh?

We had to cancel our third camping trip this past weekend due to inclement weather. What a great call! It poured. What a relief! I usually like to push those things and take a "wait and see" approach. I would have been so sorry and WET! We went bowling instead.

We have our fourth and, most likely, final camping trip coming up next weekend. We're looking forward to it. We're going camping with Aunt Lois and Uncle Robert. I went camping with them a ton when I was a kid so, I'm really looking forward to the "blast from the past."

So, we have an official date night tonight. Woo hoo! Our last date night was a few months back. We had originally made reservations at Charlie Palmer, but it is gross and I'm tired. So, we're going old school tonight: The Outback! That's right. I'm going to stuff my face with cheese fries and a bloomin' onion. Then, we might hit a movie. I can tell you we WON'T go see 'Julie and Julia,' which I have been dying to see, because Marc would NEVER! Boo! Oh well.

The kids are shooting up like little weeds. Sydney has been ultra sassy the last few weeks, but this week has been lovely. It was a nice reprieve. In fact, yesterday, I took an impromptu day off work, picked up Sydney and went to meet Ashley, Shenan, Mom and Granny Joyce for a birthday lunch. Granny Joyce had a great birthday and I was glad I got to spend the afternoon with her.

Well, that is the update. I'm looking forward to the weekend. I hope you guys have a great weekend!

Not the Mama!

Last night, we were having dinner and Syd was having a whining spell. Marc decided to tell Sydney that she would have to trade places with us, if she kept it up. She looked confused. Then he elaborated, "Tonight, you will give us a bath, read us stories and tuck us in. Tomorrow, you will go to work and we will go to school and play." I couldn't resist and joined in. We went on and on about how she'd have to take out the trash, clean the dishes, do the laundry and cook for us. Before we knew it, she was crying. We thought she was kidding at first, but when we realized she was actually crying, we stopped. "I don't want to be the mommy! We will change back." She said.

She told us that being the mommy and daddy is a lot of work. After dinner, she was happy to have bath and story time as usual. Hmmm...for a minute, Marc and I thought we had it made. :)

Seven Days

I am Jessica and I am an addict. It has been seven days since my last Starbuck's bar drink. The first week was the hardest.

I'm in no way making fun of those with serious addictions and I am in no way kidding. I was/am literally addicted to vanilla mochas and mocha fraps. I easily spent 90% of my "fun money" at Starbucks. Was it fun? Did I enjoy it? Yes, but still. I was hitting Starbucks twice a day and I don't have to tell you how quickly that adds up. I've decided that I can have coffee, even Starbucks coffee, but I had to get it in check.

So, for weeks I attempted to replicate the mocha. WEEKS! I tried everything I thought might work, but no luck. Finally, I got guidance from my barista. Seriously, why didn't I ask before? Now, I cannot find my espresso maker because it is in a box and I had to improvise a bit. After a bit of guidance I finally did it! Each day it improved. This morning, it is perfect! Now, I can add the whip! Since I have labored over this for weeks, I will be happy to share my recipe with anyone who wants it. Email me at jesstadlock@gmail.com

Aside from that, we have been up to quite a bit lately. We went camping this past weekend. I am taking a photography class. All things I'd like to elaborate on, but I have to get to work. Bleah! I'll check back. Hopefully, it won't be another month! :)

Freaky Friday

Talk about Freaky Friday, man. Seriously! This week is nuts. First, Ed McMahon. Then, Farah Fawcett and now, Michael Jackson. What the crap?!

Now, I know there is all kinds of commentary going about about the King of Popl right now, good and bad. I just have to put my two cents in. I am surprised at how sad I am. Honestly. Michael Jackson turned out to be a tormented person, which makes me quite sad. Some of my first memories are of me dancing to his songs in my grandmother's bedroom in front of a mirror, of course. I wanted desperately to see him in concert, but I was too young. I was enthralled with Michael. I wanted to dress like him, dance like him and any opportunity to watch him on tv was special. I've cried to more than one of his songs and have been known to throw out a "He he" at odd times. Whatever personal demons he had, it does not discount his talent in my eyes. He was my first icon, who was replaced by Tina Turner. :) I hope he has finally found peace.

Alright, enough about Michael. Let's talk about me. Ha ha! I've been trying to keep notes on my crackberry so that I won't forget things I want to blog about and we'll see how it turns out.

First, last week, I had a rough week. It was nutty at work. I was getting hit from all sides and finally lost my temper on Thursday afternoon. It wasn't pretty. I left work, cried and headed to the salon for a wax. Yeah, talk about insult to injury! BLEAH! I hate being a girl sometimes. I picked the kids up and thankfully, they were in an okay mood, at least for a short time. I was running errands trying to get stuff together for the weekend. We hit Bed, Bath and Beyond for a rolling pin and Sydney starts tuning up about how hungry she is. "I'm really really really really....hungry." She says. Okay! Good grief. I'm literally standing in the parking lot looking around for food and I have two choices, Chili's or McDonald's. There was no way I was eating McDonald's so, we went to Chili's. Sydney convinced me that she just could wait for her dinner and she's never so emphatic about food so, I decided to get chips and salsa. The kids ate like little piggies and I didn't get to eat. So, I boxed up my dinner. Sydney was getting a bit sassy anyway so, I was glad we were ready to leave.

We hopped in the car. I had a few more stops to make and I knew the first had better be Starbucks because I was so sleepy. We headed in that direction. The kids were playing the "Ack" game in the backseat. I don't know why it is so funny, but I didn't care until I heard a real vomit sound and Sydney screamed. Oh boy! I pulled over and discovered that Nathan had vomited mac and cheese all over the back of the car. YUCK! Seriously? Geez. Sydney was crying, Nathan was crying and I was gagging. At this point in my day, I just started laughing. It was just getting to the point of ridiculous. I cleaned up the mess and decided that all of my other errands would have to be cancelled, with the exception of the Starbucks drive thru. That was not up for discussion.

We made it to the Starbucks with the windows down. Thank goodness there was no rain that day. We pulled around to find that the line was quite long. I considered backing out, but I waited too long to decide and then I was trapped by another car. Oh well. So, we sat. Sydney and Nathan were playing games again and I was thankful for their good spirits. Sydney had taken her shoe off and was playing with her umbrella. She was pretending it was a fishing pole and she'd pick her shoe up off the floor by the shoestring and squeal, "Look what I caught, Mommy!" It was cute and pretty creative.

There is a service station next to the SB drive thru. Sydney likes to yell greetings to anyone who will look in our direction, and those who don't. This day was no different, until she decided to show them what she'd caught on her "fishing pole." Before I knew it, she'd tossed her shoe out the window and into the bushes. I was mad at first and then I saw the surprise on her face. I wanted to crack up, but I had to keep my stern mommy face on. Throwing things out of the car is not good. Getting out of the car to retrieve them out of the bushes while everyone in the drive thru is watching isn't much better. Funny, but embarrassing. That is how that day ended and I was glad. What had been really just a nasty, frustrating day turned into a gross, but silly day.

I went to see a movie this week with Allie. We saw 'The Proposal' and it was fantastic! Honestly! If you haven't seen it yet, go right now. Get up and go! It was sooo good. I laughed out loud and often. I had a great time. Good dinner, good movie and good company. Awesome! Thanks, Allie!

Well, we are gearing up for a visit from Dad, Jenn and Josh this weekend. We're excited. It has been a bit. I'm not sure what we'll do yet, but there doesn't seem to be anything too fun going on in this area, surprisingly, tomorrow. We might just hit the pool. I do have some dinner plans, which reminds me I need to get a list going.

I hope you have a great weekend!