Sent to me by Mark Schnackenberg’s mom, Suzanne:

Cup of Tea… 

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me.  I was maybe 2 1/2 years old and had just recovered from an accident.  Someone had given me a little ‘tea set’ as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys.  Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought him a little cup of ‘tea’ which was just water.  After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.  My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of ‘tea’, because it was ‘just the cutest thing!’  My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of ‘tea’ for Daddy and she watches him drink it up.  Then she says, (as only a mother would know…    ‘Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?’

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3

Sent to me from a blog reader:

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3

There is usually one hour out of every weekday that is my own.  The kids are at school and daycare.  My husband is at work.  And I am in between the morning rush and the afternoon work shift.  It is a relatively short period that I so appreciate.  Having this little window of time to myself, I’m convinced, keeps me sane.  Today I am spending it with my laptop but most days it’s filled with a little TV watching, a lunch that requires little prep or even a long gaze out of the sliding glass door at the birds on my husband’s feeder.  Some times my mind considers minor details like what I am going to wear for work or what I need to add to the grocery list.  But most days I try to keep my head clear of a thousand things I could be worried about.  Funny how pre-children I had countless hours of this solitude.  But one look away from my screen to a room filled with toddler toys and baby gear reminds me how different life is now.  I would not trade the chaos of kids for anything.   

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3

I hate to steal her concept but I did have something of an “Aha” Oprah moment.  This past Friday night I realized after typing my blog entry that what I always knew would come to pass truly has–my children are my priority.  Here I was two days away from interviewing Tom Brokaw who would be doing “Meet the Press” live from our studio and the only thing on my mind was how to tame my toddler.  It occurred to me that TV news is my job but my kids and my family, that’s my life.  I have never been one to feel much of the working mom guilt that is supposed to come along with the constant struggle to balance two worlds.  It is only natural to convince yourself, though, that babies come before business despite never putting it to the test.  I passed.  Clearly, sitting down to talk politics with Tom was not even on my radar when I considered what to share on this blog.  The station was buzzing with excitement and preparation for Sunday and all I could conceive of writing about was Charlotte’s craziness or my plans for the kids’ Halloween costumes.  That will have to wait.  Daddy’s at home with the kids.  Mommy’s working.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3

My intention yesterday was to write a glowing report about Thomas being such a good baby.  I never found the time to do it.  So today’s entry, unfortunately, is not so positive.  I would put this morning up there as one of the top five most frustrating since I became a mom of two.  For starters, Charlotte never gets enough sleep.  We know this because when she is well-rested she is an incredibly fun person to be around.  When she’s tired, she is either constantly whining or pushing every emotional button she knows how–and she has located a lot of them in her short time on Earth, let me tell you!  So she was in overtired mode today and did a few things that got a rise out of me:  slapped me multiple times in the face when I was cuddling with her on the couch, practically jumped on top of Thomas and me as I was nursing him in our bed (our heads knocked together and Thomas got a 30-plus pound crushing), sat in her brother’s vibrating chair swinging her legs with a sly grin, dumped cups of water on her head in the tub after I told her we didn’t need to shampoo her hair since Daddy did last night, oh, and "accidentally" stepped on Thomas’ head when she was running and jumping around him as he was lying on the floor.  Wait, I forgot to mention she tore a page out of her Lion King book!  Thomas handled all the chaos like a champ.  Thankfully, he does not seem too bothered when his big sis squeezes him a bit too tightly and smothers his face with hers.  I have to admit I can’t wait for tomorrow morning.  Daddy is planning to take one or both little ones on a shopping trip so I can get more than 5 hours of sleep.  All hail Walmart!      

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3

It’s so weird how every time you see high school students up close they seem so young compared to when you were their age.  I thought I was Little Miss Mature during those days but, of course, had so much yet to learn about real life.  What brings this up for me is an experience I had this morning.  I spoke to the entire West High School student body in Waterloo.  My topic was academic achievement and it was part of an assembly honoring students in that category.  Before I was called to speak, I looked around at the "innocent" faces in the crowd.  These kids have no idea what they’re in for… mortgages, car payments, grocery bills, sick kids and job changes.  But isn’t that the beauty of youth?  You are so clueless, you’re overconfident.  I can’t imagine Charlotte and Thomas in their teen years.  I don’t want to be the too cool mom who isn’t strict enough but I don’t want to be the mom who nags them so much they avoid me.  The good news is I have a few years to strike a balance.  The bad news is their years of teen angst will be here in a blink. 

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3

Some random thoughts as I sit at my work computer a few minutes before I have to go put on my false eyelashes–seriously!  You never know how much bigger you look carrying baby weight until you see yourself in pictures.  You can be so tired it’s hard to keep your eyes open at home with two kids but when you drop them off at daycare it seems you get your second wind and you skip a nap to eat ice cream and watch Oprah on the DVR.  You used to think you were out of shape or looked tired until you had kids–then you REALLY understood.  You never know the day will come when you skip putting on lotion and shaving your legs because it just takes too long.  You cannot believe Christmas is weeks away when it seems like last week you were taking down your artificial tree and wondering why it would not fit back in the box it was stored in.  You keep telling yourself you WILL get a nap tomorrow but you are aware of the piles of unfolded laundry lying on the floor.  You thought having one child was a lot of work until you had another one!!!    

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3

It’s 8:43pm and in about ten hours I will be standing on the podium at a downtown Waterloo convention center doing a sound check for the women’s conference I am emceeing tomorrow.  Sadly, I still don’t know what I am going to wear in front of the 1,000 gals who’ll be attending.  This is not like me to wait until the last minute but I had never before tried to seriously shop with two kids.  The earlier attempt after church Sunday, even with my husband’s help,  failed miserably.  Charlotte was running away from us and Thomas was screaming in his stroller.  So today on my way to work I dashed through a local store and managed to make it to work 20 minutes late with two dresses, a jacket, boots, bra and handbag in tow.  No idea if any of it will fit and still have not had a chance to try it on!  These last ten hours should be interesting.  In addition to stuffing myself into one of these outfits, I have to figure out how I am going to get out of the dress and bra I eventually choose to pump three times during the event.  Wish me luck! 

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3

How is it possible that a toddler and her baby brother can take up so much room in a king bed?  This morning I was finally able to get Charlotte back to sleep and Thomas happily quiet and nursing in our bed for a "nap" at 7:15am!  Funny thing is that once we were all situated I realized if I moved one inch to the right I would roll off the side of the bed.  Charlotte had positioned herself practically on top of her brother as I was teetering on the edge with him between us.  As I was attempting to get comfortable while trying not to suffocate Thomas, I realized the lengths sleep-deprived parents will go to for an hour of uninterrupted shut eye.  I jolted awake at 8:30am and actually felt pretty good.  My massive head cold is lifting and I ended up getting like 6 hours of sleep before 9am–a good start to the day.  The crazy part is I felt so energized by the extra sleep I was able to pick up all three floors of the house and leave it looking organized.  Score one for Supermom today, folks!         

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3

Okay, I admit I was driving too fast.  Racing to work this afternoon with a lot on my mind, I spotted the police car alongside 218 after the policeman inside had clocked me as over the limit.  As soon as I passed, I saw the lights come on and heard the sirens.  Minutes later he was approaching my car.  I had already fumbled through my purse, found my license and insurance card and rolled down my window.  "Officer, I am sorry.  I know I was speeding," I said.  "I am late for work and I have a lot on my mind.  I am trying to figure out when I am going to pump my breast milk.  I have a story shoot and I don’t know when I am going to have time."  Honesty is always the best policy.  I believe that.  It was hard to tell through his sunglasses how he processed all this.  I’m assuming he was thinking something like… too much information or, if he recognized me, the news lady is nuts.  Either way tonight I am thanking the Waterloo PD for giving a stressed-out, working mom a verbal warning. 

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 3