It’s official.  I have received word from up north that Ernie, our shelf elf, is on his way with an ETA of midnight at our house.  (Of course that’s when I’ll be home from work digging him out of his basement box he’s been hiding in all year.)  The plan is for Ernie to discover Christmas gifts already purchased by Mom and Dad for Charlotte and Thomas, wrap them with our paper and put them under the tree where he’ll be perched to greet them tomorrow morning.  Then Dave came up with a brilliant plan–one far exceeding the pea brain intelligence of an elf.  He said Ernie could take some of the wrapped gifts away at night should bad behavior prevail.  I love it!  Gifts today, possibly gone tomorrow… talk about your month-long incentive plan to be good!  I can’t wait for Ernie’s beady blue eyes to shine when the sun rises.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53

Charlotte grabbed what she thought were her jeans from a clean laundry pile this morning.  They fit but were too short.  Why?  Because they were her little brother’s.  The 26-months-younger boy she used to tower over and out run and out weigh is gaining on her.  He wears the same-sized pants (5 or 5T).  He is only about ten pounds lighter and not much shorter.  This threatens her reign a bit.  Putting up the aforementioned laundry today I walked in Thomas’ room to discover the pictured hangar on the floor.  That’s when you know your youngest is growing up.  When he’s tall enough and strong enough to reach up and pull down a shirt so hard it snaps the plastic hook off.  What’s next?  Punching a hole through the wall when he’s mad at his sister?

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53

You know how it goes.  Your kid talks to other kids to compare notes about how holidays are being celebrated in their homes.  Ernie, a shelf elf, came into our lives last year after I got word from Charlotte that families we know had one.  It made sense to bring this character around to use as leverage for good behavior–especially one who hangs out in person but can’t be touched for fear of breaking his magic.  Now comes the report from my daughter that one neighbor’s shelf elf is back and up to elf hijinks.  Here I thought the elves didn’t appear until December 1.  So that means our Ernie has either been detained by Santa or dead.  Apparently this same elf down the street, Jeff, brought a letter detailing he’d been promoted to a team leader.  That means Ernie will get a promotion, too, my 6-year-old pointed out to me not in those words.  Great.  Now in addition to secretly moving the dude to a new location every night ’til Christmas, I have to come up with documents and details about his so-called life in The North Pole.  It gets better.  One of Charlotte’s classmates explained in her family EACH person gets an elf.  Really?  No way is my house going to have four shelf elves creeping around.  Hit the road and get back to toy making!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53

Why people pull up to get gas, then don’t drive a few more feet to the farthest open pump when another car is behind them.

Why people talk about how they exercise all the time and don’t eat fast food, but they smoke and drink every weekend.

Why people say they don’t watch TV.  So you never saw news coverage of September 11, a presidential inauguration, the Super Bowl or radar tracking severe weather near you?

Why news anchors look so much better in person.  If I knew how to remedy that, I would have a much brighter future in my current position.  

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53

Be sure to take your time whipping in and out of parking lots this holiday season.  Considering I almost took out our chief meteorologist Thursday night in our station lot.  Mark Schnackenberg and I both walked to our cars at the same time after the news.  As I backed my SUV toward his car parked directly behind me in a perpendicular spot, I realized I had enough room to clear his 4-door vehicle so I gunned it.  Just then I saw a man in my right side mirror leap from behind my car.  It was Mark.  Once I saw I wouldn’t hit his car, I failed to look over my shoulder where he was OUT of his car walking.  He thought he forgot something and turned around once he realized he hadn’t.  I rolled down my window to apologize laughing so hard my heart hurt.  He laughed, too, once he was okay.  Sadly 24 hours later he burned a big chunk of skin on his left hand when wiping off the stove top he had no idea was still on.  Poor guy!

Don’t miss The Holy Walk in Postville.  This Sunday, Dec. 2 from 5:30-7:30pm.  Meet at St. Paul Lutheran Church parking lot, 116 East Military Road, to be bussed to the Lull’s Park Walking Trail.  The walk takes 20 minutes, followed by a soup and sandwich supper at the church.  A portion of proceeds go toward Hall Roberts Swimming Pool renovation.  Call 563-864-6001 for more info about this family Christmas tradition.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53

Kara was my best friend in high school.  We shared our lockers, took the same classes and talked on the phone daily.  She came on our family trips–to Panama City Beach, Mackinaw Island, Notre Dame and Chicago.  College and jobs eventually separated us, but we still touch base.  Today Kara is a married mother of two and an engineer in Indiana.  Sorting through old photos, my mom came across the top one of us at our high school’s Sterling Merit awards dinner.  Who knows what we were pouring over when the moment was captured.  Sharing some inside joke or reacting to one of my sarcastic remarks, for sure.  It was fun to recreate when she and her mom came to visit us at my parents’ house in Peoria this weekend.  Love you, Parrot.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53

So Nana/Papa found an upright, Kimball piano for $200 in Peoria, buying it from an older couple near where they live.  My parents rented a small moving truck one-way and drove it up today with stuff they want me to unload at our next garage sale.  Charlotte was so excited as she had no idea the musical instrument she hopes to play was coming.  But whether it gets to the basement, that’s the rub.  I recruited a recently graduated co-worker and two of his friends to move the piano from the truck to our basement for $100–after a local moving company was going to charge $95 an hour with a 2-hour minimum plus gas.  I didn’t want to pay more for the move than what the piano costs.  Well it was so heavy we had to get two neighbor guys to help, five men total, move it just to our garage.  Papa oversaw the process–with two knee replacements Nana wanted his hands off it.  I still paid my co-worker and his friends the promised amount.  So now I’m out $100 and the piano is still sitting in our garage.  Guess I should have gone with the professionals.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53

Tom Adams, Mike & Leona's son

I want my kids to understand, through tangible experiences, that life should be about giving as much as taking.  Not just have a conversation where we talk about children who go without food or people who don’t have money to buy clothes or gas or groceries; but actually show them through hands-on approaches.  Baby step one last night when we volunteered as a family at the 30th Annual Mike & Leona Adams Thanksgiving Dinner in Waterloo.  The free event started in 1982 when the couple wanted to give back to the community.  30 years later the tradition continues after their passing. 

Incredibly 750 people were served last night.  We showed up with about 15 minutes left since I had to do the 6pm news and the dinner ended at 7.  Charlotte was able to jump in the line and pass out butter packets.  Dave & I walked around taking and tossing finished plates, wiping down tables and putting up chairs.  Thomas pretty much drove us nuts but did eat a roll and some corn.  His heart for serving will hopefully mature from here!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53

I learn a lot sitting in the cafeteria with my first grader.  Today two kids at our table, a girl and a boy, asked Charlotte how to spell i-cup.  What is an i-cup, I thought.  Is that some new gadget they’re using these days in classrooms like an iPad or iTouch?  Surely this wouldn’t be on their spelling list since it’s so unusual.  Then I got it when Charlotte quickly spelled it and they all burst out laughing.  “I-C-U-P,” she said.  Get it?  I see you pee.  Gotta love grade school humor.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53

Fortunately I am okay with making a fool of myself on a regular basis.  In fact sometimes you’re ability to laugh at yourself defines how people interpret it.  “You’re so crazy!” is a phrase I often hear after someone’s witnessed a foible I smile about.  Another embarrassing incident happened Saturday.  All my black tights and pantyhose were dirty, so I picked a nude-colored pair to wear under my black leggings.  Make sure to keep your purple turtleneck and gold vest pulled down in back, I thought to myself as I was getting ready for the UNI basketball game.  I could feel that the elastic band on my hose was sticking out above my pants.  All went well and my back side stayed covered most of the game.  Then as we were about to leave I spotted UNI President Ben Allen and his wife, Pat.  Such nice people I had not seen in a while.  I walked down to talk with them and discovered one of my neighbors and her son were seated right in front.  So I bent down to say hello and chatted for a couple minutes.  Dave, seated a few rows up watching me, later explained that not only were the top of my pantyhose in full view of all the fans seated in multiple rows around us, but my big white tag with the L for large also was hanging out.  Wonderful.  I’m sure my rear end obstructed the view of the court for some.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 53