What a night!  I come home after the news and could not resist watching the Rielle Hunter Oprah interview on the DVR.  So it’s nearly midnight when I go upstairs to change and do my bedtime routine before lying down.  Dave was stirring and asked me the time.  He stayed up, which was nice.  Then a massive hamstring cramp came on in his left leg and he could do nothing but stay on his back and attempt to relax the muscle.  I dutifully grabbed the heating pad, wrapped it around the spot, raced down and brought up a banana per his request and whipped out the laptop.  Would you believe in 3 minutes I called up a video demonstration of how to treat a muscle cramp?  This led to another trip downstairs to fill a bottled water with electrolyte-infused drink mix in an effort to rehydrate him.  As I was playing nurse, a loud bump came from the next room.  It was Sissy falling out of bed and landing between her twin and one side of the bunk bed built over it.  Poor thing!  She was initially inconsolable.  So there I was with Dave sprawled across the bed, Charlotte beside him with tears streaming and an up-too-late experience that led me to desperately need a nap before work today.  Thankfully, I got one.  Oh, and Thomas slept through the whole thing–for once.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21

No doubt since my latest birthday is fast approaching, thoughts of aging have settled in.  I am not one who really sets goals, yet on one past birth date I recall (while jogging around a high school track) telling myself that a year later I wanted to be in a new job at another TV station.  That happened.  This time around, I just want to keep what I’ve got going with family and work… well, going.  Everything is great on both fronts right now.  No major complaints.  Too bad time has to pass and potentially/eventually mess with it.  I met Dave when he was the age I am now.  At the time, he seemed pretty old.  Blink my eyes and now I’m there.  He said this is the first year he’s started to feel old.  I reminded him he has more energy than me–and he’s 13 years older.  Is it weird that I comb the obituaries and only pause to uncover a cause of death when the deceased is under 80?  Anything 79 & below is premature, I reason, so I want to know why.  Otherwise, to make it 8 decades you’ve had a pretty long life.  But that means Dave has to live to be 93, for me to reach that threshold with him still around.  Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself… I’m still more than a couple years away from 40.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21

Update on my family’s sleeping arrangement.  A new bunk bed arrived as an early birthday gift for Charlotte last week.  “I will sleep in this bed all night,” she proclaimed.  So far that hasn’t happened.  She falls asleep in the twin bed on the bottom, but ends up in our bed at some point.  Lately she has been practically on top of me and even said, “Mommy, scoot over,” in the middle of one night as I was already hanging on the edge.  Some nerve this kid!  Thomas is still in his crib and, outside of a few late-night shouts for us, stays put.  Amazingly, he has NEVER tried to climb out as I expected.  Still debating whether Sissy’s toddler bed will someday soon be his or sold at the neighborhood garage sale.  Of course he was thrilled to discover the rungs he can navigate to the top bunk of her new “jungle gym” in her bedroom.  Perhaps he will occupy one of these beds in the near future when he won’t stay in his room and we lock him out of ours but keep Charlotte’s open to him.  Yeah, right.  Like that would ever happen.  More likely he’ll end up in between Daddy and Sissy in our king.  One big happy family with parents who need to keep their weight down to fit in their own bed.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21

cable TV, a remote control, my DVR, microwave dinners, disposable diapers, control-top pantyhose, my cell phone, plastic bags, internet access, under eye concealer, hair highlights, a portable DVD player, my digital camera, a garage door opener and a push-up bra.  How ’bout you?

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21

I was pretty excited to wear this red blouse Thursday.  Ron was off, so going it alone on the evening news means more exposure and apparently critique of my attire.  I left the set during the 6pm weather segment, came into the newsroom and discovered this email:

To: Tara Thomas
Subject: Who picks out your cloths?

Sorry, but looks like you have on a robe tonight.

I decided to reply:

I picked it out of my closet.  Sorry you don’t like the look.

In addition, I decided to bring up the email to Mark live, on-air.  I explained the email, mentioned it was a silk blouse and apologized for appearing to the gentleman (whose first name I said) as under dressed.  I asked for Mark’s opinion.  He doesn’t like to give one when a woman and clothes are involved, but said I looked great when I reminded him these are the kinds of concerns that will be brought up to him when he gets married this summer.  And speaking of the influence a wife has on her husband… the guy who emailed me, well HIS wife called the newsroom to say they both thought I looked great.  She was essentially apologizing for her man’s behavior.  In addition, she emailed me directly with a similar, sincere confirmation that I was stunning in that outfit.  But perhaps the ultimate proof this man is a lot of bark and little bite when it comes to women.  Here is his reply emailed back to me the next day:

I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to offend you. (The color was beautiful!)

One more point, being honest, when I looked at myself in the monitor with the scallop collar and sash tie… well, I get why he thought it looked like a bathrobe.  But don’t tell him that.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21

Pumped for tonight because Dave and I get to spend it alone in an Ames hotel!  My parents are here to stay with the kids so Dave can accompany me to a statewide conference where I’m speaking early tomorrow.  And the bonus is we get a little getaway.  You know how it goes.  We’ll start out talking about our day then we’ll switch to the usual topic… our kids.  Again, I can’t help it.  You talk about what you love, right?  Dave will not be attending my speech, for two reasons.  After that Cresco experience I detailed in an earlier post, it’s setting me up for a breakdown.  Not to mention, this is an association for university WOMEN.  Not sure Dave would feel comfortable being the only one in the room with the shaved head.  Then again… he’s okay with me talking about his vasectomy and past marriage.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21

Our neighbor’s dad died Tuesday so tonight we went to the visitation–with the kids.  I knew Charlotte, ever the inquisitive one, would want to know details about the man lying in the coffin.  Since before I had her, I decided touchy topics like death would be ones I would not avoid.  I explained to her that our friend’s dad was in Heaven with Jesus and that he was no longer in his body.  “So he’s like a statue,” she observed.  I liked that.  I went on to explain, when questioned further, that everyone dies some day but this man was sick so Jesus wanted him in Heaven.  Perhaps a lot for an almost 4-year-old to take in?  My response is I think it depends on the child.  Charlotte, in my humble opinion as her mother, seems to be able to handle some of the more mature material out there.  That is a mixed blessing for a parent because you know if things aren’t addressed on your end, she’ll seek out answers from someone else.  I would like to be the one to shed some light on death or sex or whatever issue is raised before she gets the dirt from so and so at school or down the street.  I am the queen of too much information in this blog, so fittingly that seems to be my parenting style.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21

And I took a big risk.  The conservative statistic for our country’s second marriage failure rate is 67%.  Throw step-children in the mix and I’m sure that number is higher.  Yesterday’s con reference to a dating pool filled with divorced people was me being realistic.  No one who’s never been married seeks out someone divorced with kids as the ideal mate.  At least no one I know.  All my single co-workers complain about the available people out there with too much baggage, in other words divorced and usually with children.  These are people in their mid to late 20′s.  So my point was simply to say Iowa is not going to fulfill the desire of many single 30-somethings looking for a life partner who hasn’t already walked down the aisle.  As for me, I definitely did not search for an older man with children from a previous marriage.  But we were introduced and I’ve never left his side since.  So the challenges Dave and I have faced as a result of his situation are the means to an extraordinary end.  I’m married to the guy I think is my soul mate, well worth the risk involved.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21

The good news first:

1) You can live in town, as I do, with a view of a cornfield out your back window.

2) Traffic is so minimal, you expect to make a green light even when you’re 10 cars back.

3) The public schools offer a quality education for free.

4) You can always find a restaurant with little wait time, a doctor who will accept new patients and a trustworthy neighbor who will watch your kids on short notice.

5) Even if you’re still crazy enough to leave your door unlocked and your purse in the car, odds are a crime will not happen to you.

Now, the bad news:

1) It’s too cold for too long during the year and when it warms up it’s still too windy.

2) State income tax is a tough adjustment when you move from a state where none exists.

3) All the children’s productions come here on a weekday since weekend dates are reserved for bigger cities.

4) So many people marry young, if you end up here single in your 30′s you’ll likely date someone divorced.

5) Did I mention the weather?

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21

No matter that he’s a boy or 26-months younger, Thomas wants to mirror his big sister.  When Charlotte “fixes” Mommy’s hair with a spray bottle and comb, she has to share my head with a little brother who tries his best to use the hairbrush.  He almost poked my eye out with the comb handle during the weekend.  When Charlotte accidentally hit her forehead on the corner of her toy chest and ran into my arms for comfort, guess who marched over and banged his head against the lid then “fake” cried about it?  Apparently Thomas is willing to hurt himself to ensure Sissy isn’t getting more attention!  I couldn’t believe it.  When Charlotte plays daycare with her dolls, she lets Thomas pick up the babies but insists he be called “Kyle” the entire time.  And he goes along with it!  Who needs reality TV?  My two are pure copycat comedy.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 21