If Charlotte were an actress, she would be a scene-stealer.  You get what I mean.  The one performer you can’t take your eyes off because she is too over-the-top or like watching a train wreck.  One example played out today.  I was chasing her around a checkout station at a packed Walmart.  The chase came after she was standing in the cart doing monster screams with her hands over her head at a family that lives down the street.  They made the mistake of getting in line behind us.  Charlotte wants to be sure all eyes are on her.  Last night we were supposed to be having $1 hamburgers at a place my parents frequent when she had a meltdown.  The loud crying and whining led to Dave carrying her kicking and screaming out to the car.  He later had sore arms from the wrestling match that safely secured her in the carseat.  Neither of us has rodeo experience, mind you, but I think thanks to Charlotte we could probably handle the calf roping!  Fortunately, I tend to remain quite calm when I am an unwilling participant in these mini-dramas.  Dave feels especially embarrassed since so many people know who we are now that I have shared much of our dirty laundry (and pictures!) on the internet.  I told him I don’t care.  If they’re parents, I reason, they’ll get it.  If they don’t have kids, they can feel good about all the badly-behaving children they will pass never riding in their carts!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5

Cooking and crafting are not my strong suits.  Getting a homemade gift from me would look like Charlotte did it.  But the crazy thing is, genetically-speaking, I should be a domestic diva.  That’s because my mother is like Martha Stewart with a lot more warmth.  Case in point, the past five days with my family in Illinois have included a lot of her special touches.  Presents were wrapped in red velvet paper with big gold bows.  Hot chocolate was topped with whipped cream and nutmeg shavings.  Tall glasses of peppermint ice cream were served with a brownie in the bottom and a candy cane.  A crystal dish filled with candy was placed on the bedside table in the guest bedroom.  Meals had been planned on paper and carefully prepared.  Sadly, the only time my husband gets a home-cooked meal made by someone else is when my mom serves it (his mom lives in Washington state).  Oh, she also has an incredible green thumb and has been known to spend an afternoon making a wreath or flower arrangement that rivals a professional florist.  I have killed more than one cactus.  No, the many talents of my mother were not passed on to me.  How she had the time to raise two girls (with my father’s help, of course), have a teaching career that included getting master’s and doctorate degrees and an elementary principalship and still excel as a homemaker is a mystery.  She is a superwoman.  One year she sewed monogrammed beanbags for all of my birthday guests.  Need I say more?

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5

I don’t want this blog to turn into a pity party for me.  Though I have to admit, I actually feel better about myself after reading such supportive comments from so many viewers after one biting negative one comes in.   But I could not resist sharing another with you.  It made me laugh and my co-workers.  Here’s the back story.  On Christmas Day, I wore a wide-collared, gold jacket  from a European-based, trendy chain store called H&M.  Don’t think I spent a lot of money on it.  It was a hand-me-down from a local salon owner and it still had the tag on it!  I have only worn it twice but it has generated more feedback than my less flashy, regular wardrobe.  So far, two women think I look beautiful in it, one lady thinks it looks like Charlotte wrapped me in Christmas paper, a guy thinks the collar makes my head look small and this:

My husband wants me to ask you never to wear that jacket you had on Dec.25th 2008. the gold flowered one with the HUGE collar. He says you look like the predator in the movie predator.Like its skin…or hide…I guess…Just thought you would like to know if something “just doesn’t work”.

Just his opinion….

Honestly, I don’t know if I will ever wear it again on-air.  The clothes should not distract the viewer!  Ha, ha

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5

Lately I feel like an NFL player at the twilight of his career. The bodily injuries resulting from two kids are mounting. Charlotte, who flops her head around like a bobblehead doll, head-butted my lip the other day. I now have a dark spot on the upper right side. My right arm and shoulder have been sore for weeks. Carrying an 18-pound “infant” around in his portable carseat is no easy task. Did I mention his 32-pound sister still wants to be held… and hoisted into our bed?  I often do it from the lying-down position. So, yes, my rotator cuff has permanent damage. Oh, and my right knee is shot. It’s a combination of the extra, I don’t know, 50 pounds I’m carrying around on my body and the multiple bags I drag in and out of the house and work daily–a diaper bag, a bag with all the paperwork and bills I need to get to, my breast pump bag and a lunch bag to keep my calorie intake up thereby compounding the aforementioned weight problem! Yes, being a parent to young children is like an ongoing basic training course–you know at some point it will get easier but you never seem to adapt. Dave’s back is messed up. It could have happened from a number of things–shoveling and snowblowing the drive for the 20th time, taking down all the outdoor decorations, catching Charlotte as she catapults on top of him from the couch, restraining Thomas when he thinks Daddy’s lap is a jumper, carrying me out to the car so my feet don’t get wet–are you kidding? That would land him in the hospital, for sure. I just wanted to make you smile.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5

When you least expect it, you discover your child IS taking in more good than bad.  Case in point this morning, Charlotte woke up and politely said, “Did Santa come?”  Upon discovering he did, she pointed at the kid kitchen left by the tree and said, “This is for Thomas,” then claimed the doll all-in-one center as hers.  What?  She is willing to give up one of only two big ticket items from Santa to her little brother–without prompting.  While gently opening her presents from us, she picked up the wrapping and took it to the trash–again, without prompting.  Who is this child?  At one point this morning she said to me, “Thank you for my presents.”  I could not have scripted some of this better.  Of course we had our share of challenging moments but overall Christmas with ”sissy” and ”brother” went very well–no broken toys or teeth, no poopy pull-ups and a nap for all by 2pm.  Merry Christmas and to all a Good Night.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5

Her voice inflection is so irritating. All I hear when she speaks is blah blah BLAH? blah blah BLAH ?blah blah BLAH? She needs to speak in a more soothing lower, slower manner. I have to change the channel when she is speaking.

This email with the subject line “Tara Thomas” greeted me when I returned to my desk tonight after solo-anchoring the 10pm news.  The woman who sent it to the entire newsroom staff included her name and phone number, too.  I won’t reply.  I won’t call her.  I will just take it as a reminder that I will never please everyone and I will never get a big head because someone is always waiting to deflate it.  After 13 years of anchoring local news, I am used to the criticism.  Sadly, though, it is almost always another woman behind it.  No, we have not come very far in breaking through the glass ceiling.  Just when you feel good about being able to work full-time and having a family to come home to someone will tell you why you aren’t doing your job well enough or why your kids are suffering.  I guess she didn’t go that far.  She just doesn’t like my voice.  But she must have been watching to be reminded of how much it annoys her, right?  So that’s saying something.   

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5

I am reminding myself to slow down and soak in the moments as they happen–especially this week.  Today when I left for work Thomas was sitting in his Bumbo chair watching the train go around the Christmas tree.  Charlotte was negotiating with Daddy about making snowman sugar cookies in exchange for eating her lunch.  Some day trains and cookies won’t keep them occupied.  Their heads will be buried in whatever gadget is hot for teens and they will shut out Mom and Dad as much as possible.  Last night at one point Charlotte and Thomas were playing horse on Daddy’s back (with my assistance, of course).  Earlier ”sissy” and I were running around playing tag and Duck, Duck Goose trying to avoid running into Daddy and “brother” who were doing tummy time on the living room floor.  These are scenes that won’t play out for too many years.  I don’t know who is more excited for Christmas, Charlotte or me.  I can’t wait to see her face when she discovers Santa stopped at our house.  Of course she has been reminded multiple times that the reason we’re putting up the tree and “celebrating” is because it’s Jesus’ birthday.  Another memorable moment… she was helping me put stamps on Christmas cards and unprovoked, out-of-the-blue, she pointed at the stamp and said, “That’s baby Jesus”.  Those are moments you wish for!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5

A letter emailed from a reader of this blog:

Dear Santa,

I’ve been a good mom all year. I’ve fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor’s office more than my own doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out — over several Christmases.

Since I had to write this letter with my son’s red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles; and who knows when I’ll find any more free time in the next 18 years, so now – -

*** Here are my Christmas wishes ***

*I’d like a pair of legs that don’t ache (-in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don’t hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

*I’d also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

*If you’re hauling big-ticket items this year, I’d like fingerprint-resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn’t broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

*On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, ‘Yes, Mommy’ to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don’t fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

*I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, ‘Don’t eat in the l iving room’ and ‘Take your hands off your brother,’ because my voice seems to be just out of my children’s hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

*If it’s too late to find any of these products, I’d settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

*If you don’t mind, I could also use a few miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

*It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing, and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his red crayon back. Have a safe trip Santa, and remember to leave your wet boots by the door, and come in and dry off, so you don’t catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don’t eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours always with love and appreciation, A Mom

P.S. One more thing . . You can cancel all my requests, if you can keep my children ‘young’ enough to believe in Santa.

. 

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5

Remember when a big snowstorm meant BIG fun?  I recall wrestling with neighbor kids in the yard when school was cancelled.  It was back when pro-wrestling was popular and I lived around a lot of boys!  I was never so energized in my life then when during a slow and sleepy shower I heard the DJ announce my district was closed for the day.  But you move away from home, live on your own and discover how dreadful it must have been for your dad to go out and clean off your car when it was covered with a sheet of ice.  You realize how tiring it was for your mom to get you bundled up from head to toe and off to school before she had a chance to get ready.  Sledding, skiing and skating were all enjoyable activities until you became a parent and thought about how unsafe all of them can be when accidents happen.  A little sliding on ice in your car used to make you laugh when your friends were with you but now you’re hauling little ones in carseats and you find yourself gripping the steering wheel so tightly it hurts.  Yes, I dread the coming weather weeks.  Winter is not all that enjoyable when you grow up!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5

I am waiting for today’s report from Daddy.  Did Charlotte make it through the afternoon with dry underwear?  She has mastered going number two on the potty but still pees in her pull-up.  She pees a lot in her pull-up.  I have been told by multiple parties that she won’t be fully potty trained until she wears ”real” underwear.  It makes sense.  So Monday I hyped the big girl panties thing and promised a sucker if she kept them dry.  Daddy informed me later that her teacher failed to convince her to pee on the big potty so she peed on her tights, black dress shoes and the bathroom floor.  Daddy also mentioned that when the teacher was sharing these details with him Charlotte had a mischievious grin on her face.  Alas, my child craves attention be it positive OR negative.  So after a pull-up Tuesday we’re back to big girls today.  And I showed her the sucker that awaits!  Of course she wanted it right then reasoning that she was dry…  I just got off the phone with Daddy.  She peed in her panties today TWICE.  Apparently she is too busy playing to make it to the toilet in time.  Note to self, pack more spare clothes in her backpack.  Note to teachers, thanks for all you do–esp. the pee and poop part.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 5