I think every working parent leads a double life.

The hard thing to get used to is how fast you have to move from one life to the next.

LIFE#1: MOTHER

Up until the moment I walked out the door today, my son Calvin wanted me all to himself. “Help me write a story, watch me play guitar, help me find the CD, I need more milk please, Mom, Mom, Mom!!” 

    As I tried desperately to get his little sister, Clara, down for a nap so I could get dressed and brush my hair before work, she wanted snuggles, one more book, more grapes please, and her favorite bedtime toys.”I need ELMO! I need my BABY!”

LIFE #2: PROFESSIONAL

The second I walked in the door at work, my other life hit me in the face.  there was someone literally waiting for me at the front door to record a radio promo.  No problem. Be right there!

      Before I could even set my bag down, another producer handed me some notes to brief me on a satellite interview I’d be doing 10 minutes later.  I ran into the audio booth, recorded the spot, slapped on some 5-minute makeup, took a breath, and did the interview, hoping it looked as though I’d been preparing all day long instead of for the last 30 seconds.

    On my dinner break I made a run home to see how my other life was going.  Calvin tried to run his fingers through my stiff anchor-sprayed hair.  “Mom, what’s wrong with your hair? Did you use too much gel?”   He started messing it up for me.  “I want you to look like a rock star.”

     I hope I can get it back into place by 11pm.  My other life and duties are calling right now.  Parents out there, I’d love to hear from you and know I’m not alone!

Thanks for reading (and watching)

Trish

Have you ever noticed how happy everyone is on a Friday?  Hardly any amount of stress or fatigue can  disrupt the enthusiasm for the weekend.  You just kind of “roll with the punches” because you know tomorrow you’ll have your feet up enjoying the first half of the weekend (unless  you have a honey-do list)
I can’t wait to relax tomorrow.  But as one pessimist I know once told me “Hey, all Friday means is that you’re only a couple of days closer to Monday.”  Gee thanks.

Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for watching.

ANYONE OUT THERE? 

Just curious - who’s actually reading this blog? (besides my family and friends - hello Mom, Dad, Auntie Corky, Meredith, Bob, etc!)  I am trying to update it every day or two.  Pretty soon I’ll learn how to add photos, so watch out - it’s about to get a little more colorful!

    I’d also love to hear your thoughts about the newscasts - your honest (but courteous please) feedback is appreciated!

BITING YOUR TONGUE 

Ever had a moment when you were really glad you bit your tongue?  Todd and I did tonight. 

 It wasn’t so much the written content of the story about the dominatrix who agreed to quit offering her services in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood that did us in. 

It was the video of her - equipment. 

In live TV, it’s not unusual for a lot of random thoughts to pop into your head - thoughts that wouldn’t necessarily be appropriate or wise to say on the air.

Tonight, we needed quite a bit of self-”restraint.”

Todd confessed, he was tongue-”tied.”

Sometimes you just have to “submit” to the boundaries of broadcast decency.

Have a great day and thank you for checking out our station and site.

See you at 5,6,7 and 11pm.

TS

Despite the fact my family and I moved from Arlington Texas for this new job, my daughter, Kennedy, believes something else - that this ENTIRE move has been about finding her the perfect “princess room.”  My wife, Valarie, and I initially told her we were moving to find a princess room to make the transition just a little easier.  Oh boy!!!  Listen parents, be careful when you do thosse kinds of things.  Now, the princess room is just about all she talks about.  So, Saturday, it was time for daddy and daughter to paint the princess room.  There my 3 year old was, dipping her entire little brush or roller in to the paint pan and then splattering it all over the wall, the floor, and ME.   Kevin Gregory had told me “Don’t worry.  After a few minutes she’ll get bored.”  Yeah right.   90  minutes later Valarie finally had to take her out so I could focus a little better and move a lot faster.  

Her efforts to help probably added a couple of hours to my job.  And you know what?  As frustrating as it was I wouldn’t have had it any other way.  She was so cute… even when she got paint all over my hand and arm. 

We’re almost finished this “daddy-daughter” masterpiece.   I’ll post a few  before, during and after pictures.  It’s really kind of neat because I know it’s a memory that will last a lifetime.  I’d love to hear any similar experiences about your children.

Thanks for reading.     :-)

      It’s always tough when you’re new in town to find your new circle of friends.

 It’s especially tough when you’re not quite 5, and dying for kids to play with.

Calvin has certainly been missing his old friends in Iowa, and craving someone to hang out with who’s not his baby sister. (especially since she’s hit an age where she doens’t always go along with what he has in mind!)

This weekend, Calvin struck gold.  

A neighbor boy, just a little bit younger, invited us over to roast marshmallows in their backyard campfire.

They came up with a great game.

Scream FIRE!!!!! and run like your life depends on it across the yard.

   This lasted at least an hour.

 At one point our red-cheeked boy yelled to my husband Ian, “Dad, look, I’m playing with my FRIEND!”  

Cal could have died and gone to heaven right then and there, but then we hit him with round two:  Friends of ours (Ian’s old college roomate and his wife) with a hilarious 8-year-old daughter came over for a late-night hang out.

   Abby and Cal were two peas in a pod.

He has not just a friend but friends.

Life is good again.

      In case any of you are wondering why you haven’t been hearing from my partner-in-crime, Todd, in this blog world lately - TRUST ME - he’s been trying!   Something’s a little bit awry in his blog, and as you may have noticed our team has been making some changes to this site.   Keep checking back, and very soon I think you’ll find some interesting stories from both our worlds… we are having a great time working together and getting to know our new surroundings!

Thanks for taking time to read - we’d love to hear from you!

Trisha (and Todd)