We are like a pack of wild animals at home this week.  Wrestling around on the floor and eating with our hands, not always at the table.  As I type, I am still in my pajamas with bloodshot eyes and a hairdo that would really scare the viewers.  This disheveled look didn’t keep me from traipsing through the snow with Charlotte to visit the neighbors, so she could play with the children.  I was invited in, too, and was pleasantly surprised to discover they were in their pj’s as well.  Isn’t it great to be able to let yourself go for days at a time?  I cuddled with Thomas on the couch twice today.  He nuzzles under my neck like a bear cub.  Charlotte clings to my back in bed like a sloth.  Some times both of them hang on me; one on my chest, the other around my legs fighting for higher ground.  Yesterday at the dentist, Dave had both Charlotte and Thomas on his lap… in the chair.  Only one of the three would open up to be checked.  Guess who?  The leader of our pack.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17

If you’re like me, you got the organizational gene.  You get excited about a new planner.  (Yes, the paper kind you can write on and carry in your purse.  Virtual organizers aren’t as much fun!)  It bothers you when you open a linen closet and the towels are shoved in as opposed to neatly stacked by size.  You even line up the cans, labels forward, in the cupboard.  So spending hours organizing the kids’ rooms yesterday was exciting for me, yet a bit of an exercise in frustration knowing how quickly this orderly scene can/will come undone: 

Left side

Right side

Little Miss Muffet is pleased to have easier access to shoes and sunglasses, tights and princess heels.  But in a moment of 3-year-old angst, unable to locate a matching shoe, she told me today that she wanted her room back the way it was.  Tough!  By the way… all her mini-skirts, shorts, t-shirts and other summer attire has been stored high above her reach.  Dave and I are tired of battling a little girl who wants to dress like she’s going to the beach in the dead of winter.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17

It’s 6:47pm Sunday and it feels like midnight.  We left my parents’ in Peoria at 7:30ish this morning to crawl our way back to Iowa through drifting snow and black ice.  The smart thing would have been to stay until conditions improved.  But we did the dumb thing and left.  What normally takes 3 1/2 hours took 5, though we did stop at the Coral Ridge Mall to let the munchkins wear down.  It never fails.  When Thomas is sacked out in the backseat, Charlotte is fired up and demanding.  When she finally crashes, he crabs so loudly I’ll bend my arm like a pretzel behind me to hold a bottle in his mouth so Daddy can concentrate behind the wheel.  The back of the SUV was crammed with all the stuff we opened from Nana/Papa, Aunt Bird and Uncle Will.  Dave devised a plan of attack before we arrived home.  Take nearly all the older toys in our living room and basement, stuff them in plastic bins and move them to storage BEFORE we unload the car or find a place for what Santa left.  Good plan!  Yet tough to execute when a hyper 3-year-old and rambunctious 17-month-old are running circles around you.  At one point Thomas shoved his new plastic putter (Gator Golf) in the middle of the Christmas tree and somehow got the middle section to spin.  I was too tired to yell or react much, so I just watched in shear awe of the feat.  Charlotte, meantime, was trying on every shirt and sock and princess piece she received.  I helped her fasten the white collar to her Snow White dress only to discover the back wouldn’t close because her new Hello Kitty shirt and leotard were underneath.  She’s wearing it to bed, the leotard.  I did get the candles out of the windows, stockings down and artificial tree packed away.  Dave will tackle the lights as soon as he can find them under the ice and snow.  We’re both off this week, which is exciting and scary all at once.  We will all be sick of one another soon.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17

I took Dave’s advice and downplayed the children’s Christmas performance planned for Sunday service this past weekend at church.  So badly did I want Charlotte to participate, revealing my enthusiasm would have surely killed it.  So I played it cool and only strong-armed her into wearing the dress with the Christmas tree Nana had purchased for her last year.  It finally fits and she only wore it once before for pictures.  Off Sissy and I went to the pre-service practice at 9am.  Running a few minutes late, I took her into the sanctuary to discover her Sunday School class had yet to arrive.  Darn it!  I should have dropped her off in the classroom and vacated the premises.  Instead they filed in and she flatly refused to join them.  Think, Tara, think.  Ah ha!  Arrange for a teacher to come over and to insist Charlotte needs to be up with the children on stage.  It works with a few whines and little resistance!  I leave, circle around outside to the center doors and spy on her with my camcorder charging in a nearby plug.  (Of course I discovered the near-dead battery minutes before we needed to leave the house! )  Once the rehearsal’s over, I hide in the church restroom to avoid being spotted by her.  Don’t want to take any chances at this point.  Fast forward to 10:15am and Daddy joins me in seats strategically close to where she’ll stand for the performance, but three rows back so as not to tempt her to join us.  I should have known a little diva resides in this one.  She filed in with the kids, took her spot and joined in on songs she doesn’t know–even looking at the screens as if she were attempting to read the words.  She really chimed in on Happy Birthday to Jesus.  It was great.  Her smiles, glances our way, innocence and confidence all at once… this was my first time seeing one of my children publicly perform.  Dave and I were so excited and overjoyed, really.  Honestly we would have been fine if all of it had been too much for her and she bailed.  But we secretly thought she might enjoy it and her slight strut upon exiting confirmed that was the case.  I told her after the service how proud we were and how wonderfully well she did.  “I thought you would like it,” she said with a sly grin.  Don’t worry.  I don’t have it in me to be a stage mom.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17

So many of you seem to enjoy these, here are some recent good AND bad ones sent to me:

Please let Mark know that his weather reporting is very interesting.  What is Melissa’s last name?  He seems to be very happy so she must have a good influence on him. (Melissa is Mark Schnackenberg’s fiancee.)

Could you please tell me who cuts and colors your hair?  I really like it and wonder what salon you go to.

I love Tara Thomas, and have seen her in person.  She is beautiful, but on TV she looks horrible.  Her hair is unbelievable.  She has beautiful hair, but is told to wear it that way.  Looks like someone there doesn’t want any of the girls to be prettier then who ever is making the rules.  All the “hairs” on the girls are the same stlye.  Bad.

PLEASE take Tara Thomas off the air.  Her voice is so irritating.  I am switching stations thanks to her.

Tara, please quit referring to President Obama as Mr. Obama!

Hi Tara-I am a big fan of yours.  You have become more beautiful every day.  You look smart and sophisticated yet you are relaxed and totally at ease.  So, Tara, please stay where you are, in Iowa.  Keep up with that wonderful laugh of yours.  You are such a sweetheart. (Of course I had to end on a high note!)

Blog readers Brooke & Eric DeGroote visit me at work

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17

Co-workers bring chocolate-covered cherries to share and you’re mad when you go back for a second one only to discover the brown plastic container is empty but left out.

Your 3-year-old spots men who look like Santa everywhere you go and many of them look nothing like him.

The weather forecast for December 24 & 25 includes freezing rain, blowing snow and flooding potential… of course one of the days you planned to drive across state lines.

You and your spouse agree to not buy one another gifts, but you’re secretly plotting to get him something knowing he’ll do the same.

The diet is on hold as you struggle to keep your pantyhose up from weight gain caused by a lot of holiday cookies and little willpower.

Your husband considers taking the outdoor lights down on Christmas Eve so that’s one less thing he has to do when Christmas is over.

The thought of your children coming down the stairs to see what Santa left is so exciting you can hardly wait!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17

Dave and I realize the role of Santa is not an easy one to play, especially for our parents.  Nowadays, the thousand-part toys have been cut down to big plastic ones you snap together and reviews on-line will even warn you which assembly-required items to avoid.  But it comes down to what your kids want and what a lot of us are willing to do to make it happen.  So Saturday I found myself wandering through the toy aisles in Target in search of a family to complete the dollhouse Charlotte’s getting from Santa.  This all came about after a conversation with a preschool classmate led her to believe she, too, was getting a Barbie castle from the jolly one.  Instead we found a much-sturdier, 4-story wooden house that is supposed to accommodate dolls up to 12-inches tall.  So there I stood staring at a boy figurine from High School Musical in a box with a girl named Taylor.  He has an afro.  Will it fit in her new house kitchen?  The Bratz dolls have those big heads and look so stiff.  Will they bend to take a bath in the mini-tub?  A call from Dave out front with the kids helped me conclude I will have to buy the people for the house at a later date.  Charlotte was on a dance class holiday party sugar high and Thomas was asleep.  This Christmas toy shopping thing is tough when your kids are ALWAYS with you!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17

6:15am Charlotte says to me, “Mommy, can I watch a kids’ show?”  The day has begun, no turning back.

6:35am Thomas drags the laptop out to Skype Nana and Papa.  Charlotte races upstairs to put on a ballerina tutu for the video-conference call.  I notice two chocolate stains on it.  Add that to the laundry pile!

7:45am Rushing to get the children in the car for a couple errands, put my bare foot in one boot and step down on a fruit snack wrapper Thomas shoved in there.

8:20am Thomas falls asleep in the car.  Not dropping Charlotte at preschool until 9.  My planned nap with him later WILL NOT HAPPEN.

9:00am Charlotte is lining up with the other students for class.  Her Hello Kitty backpack has so much stuff shoved in there she could star in a future episode of that show featuring hoarders.

1:00pm The nap didn’t happen and I’m blabbing on the phone with a friend when I should be in the shower.

1:15pm Stuffing myself into a too small black velvet skirt, no time to change as I’m just going to make it to work in time for a 1:30pm meeting.

5:35pm Laughing that a guy called the newsroom to ask if I got a raise since, he says, my clothes are much improved.  A manager explains the Dillard’s thing to him.

6:45pm Sad to hear that Daddy and Charlotte have had a bad night since she’s overtired and ultra-stubborn.

8:10pm Reading The Velveteen Rabbit to Charlotte and skipping a lot of the sentences due to her lack of interest, in part because of the basketball game she keeps watching with Daddy.

8:35pm Back at work with a big piece of cinnamon bread dropped off from a local business.  Looking forward to going to bed, by 11:30pm if I’m lucky!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17

I thought about this question in the car moments ago driving back to work from my dinner break.  What have a I done lately to show Dave how much I love him?  Let’s face it.  It’s easy to put your relationship low on the priority list of life’s demands.  Hmmm…. I asked him how his classroom evaluation went today and even called him earlier and left a voicemail about how well I’m sure it went.  I texted him when I was home sick Monday.  This is what I wrote:  “I am dizzy and watching TV.  Thinking about how much I love you.  So happy to have a family with you!”  Oh, here’s a good one.  The other day I downloaded a new ringtone for Dave’s number on my cell phone.  The Superman theme!  If that isn’t high praise, I don’t know what is.    Now Dave’s turn… this is me coming up with these.  He asked me for a hug twice last night.  He said “I love you” out of the blue when we were watching TV recently.  And, can’t forget this one, on Saturday he told me he would take the kids to Charlotte’s dance class insisting I get a manicure/pedicure during that time.  He didn’t have to ask me twice.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17

Some times the right thing happens at just the right time.  After slacking in the diet and exercise departments the past few weeks, I confirmed the other day about 10 pounds have crept back on.  I felt so much better about myself earlier this year when I was eating better and working out regularly.  Enter my friends at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.  I’ve been asked to take part in the new Resistance Interval Physical Training (RIPT) program at Covenant Wellness Center in Waterloo.  The 10-week program runs from January 11-March 19.  Classes are three times a week, Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays and are offered three times each of those days (5:45am, 12:10pm, 5:30pm).  Here’s the deal.  I will participate for free in exchange for blogging about it.  And if you’re within driving distance, can fit it in your schedule and want to join me… please do!  Call Covenant at 272-2313.  Sorry I’m not sure how much it costs!  But I do know you get a Wellness Center membership for the 10 weeks along with conditioning classes, strength training and nutrition planning.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 17