Bravo to my husband, Dave, for being dance dad of the year!  Every Monday night all school year he and Thomas took Charlotte to her half-hour hip hop class when I was at work.  He watched her do the recital routine week after week leading up to the big performance.  Of course he knows the other moms much better than me, as I made it to a grand total of one class.  We have never seen Charlotte without bangs since she was a baby, so it was amusing to attempt the “no bang” and “bun” requirement for her hip hop routine.  Thankfully a neighborhood friend and Nana helped make this look happen for the dress rehearsal and actual recital respectively.  I was impressed with the performance.  A spectacular production and execution by the little girls with lipstick and a lot of hair gel.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 59

For 40 years, my mom has juggled a lot of balls in the air skillfully.  Already an elementary teacher when she had Sara and me in 1978 & 1973 respectively, Jo Ann Thomas managed to work outside the home and still pull off a Martha Stewart routine for her family.  Cooking and entertaining came naturally to her.  When my parents put an in-ground pool in our backyard in 1976, our house became the hot spot for summer get-togethers and birthday parties.  I have seen my mom walk out of the back of the house balancing birthday cakes, hot appetizers and trays filled with cool drinks for decades.  It’s what she does.  She never sits down and always puts her family and her guests comfort above her own.  When she completed her doctorate in education at Illinois State, my mom was still teaching and cooking and cleaning all with two girls and a husband demanding her time and talent.  She never let us see her sweat, so to speak.  Always well-dressed, my mom has the innate ability to pull off a fashion statement for any occasion no matter how casual.  Now she devotes the same energy and enthusiasm to her four grandchildren.  All the while well-dressed and organized.  Here’s to you, Dr. Jo Ann Thomas, this Mother’s Day!  Thanks for setting the bar so high with love and devotion.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 59

I am an aunt again!  Monday morning at 1:52, Ava Mae arrived after a pretty rough few hours of delivery for my sister.  Sara, my only sibling who’s five years younger, gave birth to my 3-year-old nephew early as well.  Though she came 3 1/2 weeks ahead of her due date, Baby Ava weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and did not need medical intervention.  Thankfully.  Like her brother, Liam, she was 19 inches.  Sara’s plan to finish out the school year teaching her second graders did not happen.  In fact her baby shower set for this Saturday has to be rescheduled.  The same thing played out when Liam was born–he came days before the shower!  So much for my plan to be in Peoria for the birth.  It takes over three hours to drive there and when Sara started having contractions Sunday night and went to the hospital she was already dilated to a 4.  So Aunt Tara will have to wait to hold the chubby-cheeked beauty until the weekend.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 59

I can read Dave so well the slightest comment or mannerism might tip me off something’s up.  Well I thought that until last night.  The man pulled off the biggest surprise of my life when some 50 of our closest friends and my parents managed to secretly plan and execute a surprise 40th birthday party for me.  I was stunned.  It never entered my mind when out for dinner that a friend’s call inviting us to stop by a local nightclub was scripted beforehand.  I fell for all of it and was clueless when Ron Steele and Rick Coleman asked about my weekend plans–something male co-workers rarely do.

When the stream of guests started parading out singing Happy Birthday moments after we arrived, it was like an out-of-body experience where the room went silent and I mentally tried to connect the dots.  My parents, Dave and our co-workers, Bible study and neighborhood friends… why were all these people here at the same time and same place?  Admittedly I was crabby this week when to really throw me off Dave suggested I help pick out my present!  Seriously the guy had to sneak numbers from my phone, enlist others’ help to set up a private Facebook party page and reschedule the whole thing when a work event was planned the same night.  Let’s just say his awesomeness quotient went up a thousand points.  Best. Husband. Ever.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 59

Returning to the newsroom after Monday’s 6pm newscast, I was warned not to listen to a voicemail left for me.  A co-worker who took the woman’s call transferred her to my phone and knew what she said wouldn’t be pleasant.  Here is the message waiting for me:

“Hi, Tara Thomas, my name is (name withheld) and I’ve always enjoyed you and I hold you quite high as a news anchor but today you have outdone yourself.  I know you’re coming to the end of the line with your time at the TV station but you look terrible today and you can do much better.  You’re a wonderful news anchor, sorry to say that to you, but I think better for you.  Goodbye” 

And to think with a spray tan and coral jacket on, I thought my look was an improvement over last week!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 58

Here is a Facebook message I received recently from a viewer:

Hi Tara I am thinking you are a relatively conservative dresser. The shirt and jacket were crooked. Maybe not a big deal praying for you.

My thought:  Devote your prayer time to more worthy subjects and circumstances! LOL

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 58

I noticed last Thursday the right front tire on my SUV looked a little flatter than the other one on that same side.  But I forgot to tell Dave or have it checked.  Whoops!  As we were driving to church Sunday morning the car kept veering to the right unless the wheel was gripped tightly to fight it.  As my husband was experiencing this he questioned why the vehicle would be so out of alignment.  “Oh yeah, I think the right front tire is low,” I said, remembering.  Naturally he was not thrilled I would fail to act on something that isn’t safe to drive with.  He dropped the kids and me off and headed to the nearest gas station to check it.  Dave later informed me it took three minutes to put enough air in the tire to restore it to the correct pressure.  That makes sense since the traction light came on a few times when I had turned corners.  And one other thing, he filled up the gas tank since it was on empty.  Yeah, about that…

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 58

It has to happen at some point after weeks of trying to convince yourself your children have to be more responsible for keeping their rooms clean.  You cave and do a complete overhaul behind their backs.  Let’s see I found Charlotte’s TV remote zipped up inside a little make-up bag stuffed in a bin with papers and broken crayons.  I think before it was over I carried 6-7 bags of stuff (junk) to the basement that I still have to sort through a second time to determine what stays downstairs in their play room and what goes to the garage sale stack. 

I refuse to let her room, or her brother’s, get that way again.  Because it took me four hours to make it presentable outwardly and inside every nook and cranny.  I can’t stand cluttered drawers and closets.  Now she has fewer square feet to cram her stuff into because the bottom twin bed that goes with her bunk has been returned since her brother has a new bed and no longer needs that part of it.  Thought later how stupid of me not to show you the before pictures since I only captured the afters.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 58

I talk loudly.  Many times when there is a microphone problem in a room where I’m speaking to a group, it’s no big deal because I can project at the same volume.  Teaching aerobics strained my voice in college because I shouted over the blaring music, but was still heard.  My mom could find me in a group of children without looking–she could hear my voice over all the others.  I get it from my dad’s side of the family.  My mom recalls having a headache after spending the evening at her then boyfriend’s house because of all the loud talkers.  As fate would have it, two shouters now live under my roof.  I gave birth to them.  And Charlotte let us know right away she would be seen AND heard in the delivery room.  Thomas, however, was calmer and quieter upon world entry and has since found his voice and uses it excessively.  Perhaps to get a word in with his sister around, he has adopted the shout over you approach.  It all has a domino effect.  When Dave and I are trying to have a conversation we have to boost our volumes to overcome the background noise that is our chatty children.  Then they get louder and we yell back at them to quiet down or crank the radio up to drown them out.  I need an aspirin just writing about it.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 58

The massive undertaking of pricing a year-long accumulation of stuff to sell for this year’s garage sale has begun.  Including a truckload full brought up by my parents that includes all the boy clothes Thomas and then my 3-year-old nephew, Liam, outgrew.   I actually enjoy the process to some extent.  My mom passed on the organization gene to me.  It’s only that moment when you stare at a giant pile of Tupperware containers to label individually the task can seem tedious.  Truth be told it’s a lot of time and physical effort for not a ton of money.  The nice thing is my mom and dad are letting us keep what we make from unloading their once-treasured items.  Going through the many bins is a walk down my family’s memory lane.  I kept the plastic silverware caddy my mom carried out countless times for parties around our backyard pool.  All of it is being priced fairly, but some of it perhaps too high for any takers.  Because I’m not totally ready to part with that particular item.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 58