I’ve probably touched on this before.  The fact that having kids gives you an immense confidence boost.  At least I believe it does.  Think about it.  A woman who may get walked on by her boss or cut off by an aggressive driver, put her in the backyard when she discovers a neighbor boy is bullying her son and the claws will come out.  She won’t back down defending her child or being his advocate.  I love that about motherhood.  The way it fills you up with so much love and pride for another human being in an entirely different way than you’ve ever experienced.  I remember years ago when a co-worker told me there is something so comforting about lying down in bed knowing his girls are safely and soundly asleep in their beds.   I really didn’t get it.  Couldn’t relate.  Now it’s an emotion I experience regularly.  That moment when you close your eyes and thank God you’ve been granted another day to spend with them.  It’s an empowering force, really.  To know you’ve been charged with suh an awesome and incredible responsibility.  Believe me it makes anything you’re doing at work pale in comparison.  Who cares if I’m decent at reading a Telemprompter, I’m way more pumped about being able to get two seemingly healthy and happy kids off to school each weekday.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38

How many news people does it take to jump a car?  Apparently 5 after what happened last night.  Mark (you know, the weather guy) noticed I left my lights on.  So the car was dead.  In my defense that’s because one vehicle Dave and I share shuts off the lights automatically and the other one, that we drive because it’s more fuel efficient, does not.  Ron, who drives a pick-up, did not have jumper cables.  Mark didn’t either.  Of course I didn’t.  But our 20-something producer Michelle busted out with a set and a flashlight.  Impressive.  I am so clueless about cars, I was actually scared to turn the key when they were attached thinking this might be the one time when something blows.  Mark, who was hanging under the hood in a dress shirt and suit pants, and Ron, who did produce some big wrench from his flatbed, were good sports and put up with my damsel in distress routine.  Our editor, Dylan, even came out to look for the negative and positive charge spots.  Of course we snapped pics with our phones.  It’s what we do.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38

My voice is in a perpetual state of hoareness because I talk too much.  See, I freely admit this.  Those who conversate with me on a regular basis know this so well it’s a running joke.  I’ve mentioned before when Dave calls me and I launch into a thousand comments and stories, he has to interrupt to remind me that HE called ME so he gets to talk first.  Saturday and Sunday at the air show, I had the privilege of helping emcee nearly five hours from the announcer’s stand.  I walked away with a sunburn, a new appreciation for aviation AND a voice that a couple times did the Peter Brady squeak thing.  Remember that episode of The Brady Bunch?  “When it’s time to change…”  Bottom line, I need to shut up more.  Dave joked he would take home the air show ear plugs we got for use around me.  Knowing how much he does have to listen to me, I wasn’t offended.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38

This email came to me Tuesday from a faithful blog reader and viewer who happens to be a guy.  Thought you would enjoy my reply.  Honesty is always my policy:

Subject: Lookin’ Good!

Really like your hair! Not sure what you did but it looks a lot sleeker. Normally I wouldn’t bring it up, but it seems you get so many comments about it as you’ve talked about – thought you’d like to hear a “nice” comment anyway!

My reply:

Thanks… want to know my secret? I haven’t washed it since Saturday! Seriously. And that’s b/c my son hasn’t started preschool yet so I have not been working out. The sleek hair ends tomorrow when I hit the gym!                   

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38

All through grade and high schools, I was all about hot lunch.  Part of it, as you know, is that like now I just loved to eat pretty much anything set before me and the other part was growing up with two parents working outside the home who understandably wanted me to eat what the school was serving.  Now I want Charlotte to embrace the school cafeteria food, too.  So far, so good.  She’s eating almost everything, or some of it, on her tray.  How do I know?  Because I was thrilled to join her for lunch today and plan to do it regularly.  I was more excited than she’ll ever be scouting out the menu and using the nutritional info provided to pre-count my points.  She filed in with the other kindergartners and showed me how to go through the line.  Telling me to be sure and slide my tray along the metal bars, not hold it.  “This is where you get dessert!” she excitedly said pointing to pumpkin bars lined up in little cups.  Man they were good.  We sat with her preschool friend, Drew, and a table of boys.  No surprise there.  Like it or not, Charlotte likes to hang with them.  It was really a lot of fun to see all the kids she’s been talking about in person.  But I screwed up on the exit.  I accidentally dumped my marinara sauce container, napkin and paper salad dish in the can where you’re supposed to pour your leftover milk.  Whoops!  Even Mommies have a hard time following new rules.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38

I am unable to share a first day of preschool picture of my 3-year-old, Thomas.  It’s tough to capture the moment when your kid jumps out of the car barefoot and runs away from you in the school parking lot screaming, “I don’t want to go!”  Yes, that is how it all played out.  Not the smooth process I was hoping for.  I grabbed him and carried him in with snot on his red face and tears streaming down.  Fortunately, one of his favorite teachers got up when she saw him and took him in her arms.  He asked for a hug from me and went with her.  Moments later, outside the classroom, I didn’t hear him.  He was okay.  A later report from the school director confirmed he was fine.  In fact, she said he was talking about seeing The Wiggles in concert during the summer.  Of course he was.  He talks about it regularly!  Daddy picked up the smiling boy this afternoon who was playing outside with his friends.  Then they got Charlotte from the neighbors, since it was an early out day, and were going to a pizza buffet to celebrate at last check.  Hopefully tomorrow won’t be a repeat.

 Wanted to let you know about an exciting family event coming to Cedar Falls.  Max & Ruby:  Bunny Party will be at UNI’s McLeod Center on Tuesday, September 27 at 6:30pm.  Max & Ruby is a popular animated TV show on Nickelodeon that’s based on a children’s book series.  (Charlotte & Thomas love them, watch them regularly and act just like the sister and brother bunny duo!)  Click here to order tickets.   

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38

Charlotte was so tired from kindergarten, she slept until I woke her up at 7:55am.  Considering the bus is scheduled to come at 8:14, it was best to give her a few minutes to pull herself together.  And amazingly she did, even putting her hair up in a loose bun and adding a teal headband to match the color in her outfit.  I was impressed.  Thomas walked out with her to the stop near our house and I hung back on the drive in my flamingo pajamas, sitting in a lawn chair.  If you’re wondering if half the time outside of work I look ridiculous, the answer is yes.  When the bus pulled up and the kids started filing on, it was a memorable scene.  Thomas standing by the door, watching Sissy and the big kids leave him behind.  “Charlotte!  Charlotte!” he shouted up to her.  “Go back to Mommy, Thomas!” she hollered back from inside.  And he happily trotted back to join me for some more time with just Mommy.  My mom had a good point.  It was nice for Charlotte to start school before his preschool resumed.  It gave him just enough time to realize life without her or other playmates at home is not as entertaining as an action-packed session of preschool.  He listed three friends he’s excited to see tomorrow when it starts.  Don’t you love it when you have a day that goes so well you feel like you’re getting the hang of this parenting thing?

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38

The 17-Day Diet I faithfully followed earlier this month worked wonderfully–until Day 18.  It’s like I reward myself with food for being so good at controlling my food intake.  A sick cycle, I know… and one I have been through for years.  So today it was back to Weight Watchers and a talk with the leader who trained me to become one, Alysia.  I needed to take off my employee cap and go back to sitting in the audience.  Once an emotional eater, always an emotional eater.  I get away from the weekly weigh-ins and meetings, convince myself I can do it on my own when I have success, then make the mistake of abandoning the process that brought me such success.  Alysia suggested I go back to checking in every week, on the scale preferably at a center.  It was the support and reminder I needed.  That this calorie counting and exercising thing can’t be temporary.  It has to be permanent.  I have three points left and it’s 8:48pm.  That’s encouraging.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38

One baby was a challenge for me.  Then that number doubled and I was really overwhelmed.  This year add another school in the mix and I am feeling highly disorganized.  I tried to give Dave a brief rundown of how the coming week’s schedule is going to go.  Monday Charlotte and Thomas go to Tate’s house, Tuesday Darlene will be here to meet Charlotte off the bus and hopefully stay with a napping Thomas, Wednesday she’s going to the Beckers as Thomas will be back in preschool… on and on.  Understandably he didn’t retain a word of it and told me to let him know about each day as it comes.  That’s the best approach, actually.  With two young kids and four different schedules, we need to focus on the day ahead and not much beyond.  I have learned so much about myself from my children.  One thing, when you try to raise your kids to be independent they take it almost too far.  I moved halfway across the country for college when I was 18.  Similarly, Charlotte does not want me to pick her up from school and has convinced me to let her ride the bus home from this point forward.  Fine.  You get what your genes produce.  First it’s ditching me for the bus, and like I did to my parents it will probably be a far-away move after high school.  No word on when Thomas is moving on.  He still sleeps in between us so will likely stay in this zip code for a while.  Speaking of her brother.  The moment Charlotte stepped on the bus Friday morning he announced our schedule for the day… get Jessie, get a donut and go to the library.  So we went to Kohl’s, as promised, and got him the Toy Story cowgirl followed by a donut and milk stop then the library visit.  I even took him to the park and to get the car washed since we were being so productive.  In the parking lot of HyVee, I saw a mom loading groceries in a minivan that had that sticker on the back window with stick figures for each member of the family.  She had so many stickers it covered almost the entire space.  I stared and counted, Dad/Mom/kid/kid/kid/kid/pet/pet… is it bad that my first thought was, glad it’s not me?

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38

All went off as planned for Charlotte’s first day of kindergarten.  We joined her at the bus stop (Mommy, Nana, Papa & Thomas) along with a quarter bus-load of neighbor kids and parents. 

She marched on and plopped down in the front seat.  I also walked up the bus steps, talked to the driver and videotaped the moment.  Yes, I am one of those moms who records interview-style clips of my children doing everything from riding their bikes to reacting to Christmas presents.  An invasion of privacy, perhaps.  An inevitable result of being a mommy who happens to be a reporter, definitely.  Charlotte wouldn’t bite, though, when I ambushed her with the “How do you feel” bit as the camera was rolling.  A two-car caravan followed her bus.  Papa and Nana near the back bumper, followed by Thomas and me close behind. 

The playground reminded me of the time I spent a week in Europe on a high school foreign language trip.  Teachers were holding up signs guiding students to their line-up locations.  Much like the tour guides were waving silk scarves and umbrellas in the middle of a sea of tourists at The Louvre in Paris.  Yes, it was that dramatic and I loved it. 

Charlotte and most of the kids I observed handled the high stakes with ease.  They filed in calmly and didn’t look back.  I took the day off so Thomas and I could pick her up this afternoon.  That was fine until she realized most of the neighbor kids were riding the bus home.  She said something about not being as lucky as them.  See what I mean.  This kid started blowing me off when she was 3, so I’m used to it.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 38