TALKER. SHEINELLE JOINS THE TABLE.
>> GOOD MORNING.
>> THIS IS BREAKING NEWS
INVOLVING OUR VERY OWN HODA
KOTB.
KOTB. >> A LOT OF YOU ASKED WHEN HODA
IS COMING BACK, AND THAT WAS
JUST CRAIG.
JUST CRAIG. WHEN IS HODA COMING BACK?
WE HAVE THE ANSWER THIS MORNING.
TAKE A LOOK.
>> HI, GUYS.
GUESS WHAT?
GUESS WHAT? TIME TO GET MY ROOTS DONE.
I’M COMING BACK TO WORK.
I’M GOING TO BE THERE ON
SEPTEMBER THE 3rd, RIGHT AFTER
LABOR DAY.
LABOR DAY. YOU GUYS, I’M SO EXCITED.
LOOK, I’M NOT GOING TO LIE, THIS
PROBABLY HAS BEEN THE BEST SUM
SUMMER OF MY ENTIRE LIFE WITH
THESE TWO KIDS.
I’VE LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT.
YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I’M GOING TO
LOVE?
LOVE? COMING BACK TO YOU GUYS.
SO I AM GETTING READY.
I’M SETTING MY ALARM, 3:15 A.M.
OKAY.
OKAY. WE’LL BE BACK IN BUSINESS.
ALL RIGHT.
ALL RIGHT. I LOVE YOU GUYS.
I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE YOU.
MUAH.
MUAH. >> BACK AT YOU.
>> WE ARE EXCITED.
HODA IS ON THE PHONE.
GOOD MORNING.
GOOD MORNING. BOY, ARE WE HAPPY TO HEAR THIS.
YOU’RE GOING TO BE HERE IN TWO
WEEKS.
WEEKS. >> GIRL, I’M DYING TO SEE YOU.
I CANNOT WAIT TO GET BACK.
I WISH YOU COULD KIND OF SEE THE
SCENE RIGHT NOW IN MY LIVING
ROOM.
ROOM. MY MOM AND HALEY AND HOPE ARE
ALL WATCHING TV.
I’M OUTSIDE SO I DON’T MESS IT
UP.
UP. SHE’S VIDEO TAPING WHAT YOU’RE
SAYING RIGHT NOW ON YOUR PHONE
SO SHE CAN SHOW ME LATER.
>> HI, TAMMY.
HI, HALEY.
HI, HALEY. HI, HOPE.
HI, HOPE. >> YOU LOOK --
>> GUYS, I AM SO EXCITED TO COME
BACK.
BACK. I THINK Y’ALL MAY HATE ME
BECAUSE I’M A LITTLE TAN.
I HAVE TO TELL YA, AFTER THIS, I
HIT A POINT IN THE SUMMER WITH
THESE KIDS, AND I’VE ENJOYED
LITERALLY -- THERE HASN’T BEEN A
SECOND I HAVEN’T LOVED.
EVEN THE WORST PARTS OF IT, I’VE
LOVED IT ALL.
THE OTHER BIG REALIZATION I HAD
ON THIS MATERNITY LEAVE IS HOW
MUCH I LOVE YOU GUYS.
HOW MUCH I MISS YOU GUYS.
YOU KNOW WHAT?
SOMETIMES IT’S THAT SAYING, YOU
REALIZE -- I ALWAYS KNEW HOW
AWESOME OUR "TODAY" SHOW FAMILY
IS, BUT YOU DON’T REALLY REALIZE
IT UNTIL YOU STEP AWAY FOR A
MINUTE.
MINUTE. THEN YOU THINK TO YOURSELF, WOW,
I GET TO GO BACK TO THAT.
SAVANNAH, CRAIG, DYLAN,
SHEINELLE, I MEAN, I CAN’T WAIT
TO GET BACK TO YOU GUYS.
>> WE CAN’T WAIT TO GET YOU
BACK.
BACK. >> OUR ARMS ARE GOING TO BE OPEN
WIDE.
WIDE. WE MIGHT JUST HUG YOU FOREVER.
>> HODA, I GOT THE CHANCE OVER
THE WEEKEND TO SEE YOU AND JOEL
AND HALEY AND HOPE.
ARE THEY READY FOR YOU TO GO
BACK TO WORK YET?
>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, DYLAN,
ALL THAT HALEY WANTS IS CALVIN,
IF I GO TO WORK OR NOT.
BYE, MA.
BYE, MA. WHERE IS CALVIN?
I THINK WHAT I’VE BEEN TELLING
HALEY, BECAUSE SHE’S BEEN
DANCING AROUND IN THE MORNINGS
SINGING, "MOMMY, NO WORK."
THAT’S LITERALLY A SONG.
I WANT HER TO KNOW SOMETHING
THAT IS IMPORTANT.
I LOVE WORK.
I LOVE HER.
I LOVE WORK.
I WANT HER TO KNOW WORK IS A
GOOD THING.
GOOD THING. IT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU’RE
DRAGGED OFF TO.
I THINK THEY’RE GETTING READY.
THE GOOD NEWS IS, BECAUSE HOPE’S
SLEEP SCHEDULE HAS BEEN UP AT
2:30 AND 5:30, I’M READY.
OKAY?
OKAY? I’M SO READY TO GET BACK TO THAT
SCHEDULE.
SCHEDULE. >> HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND
THESE LAST TWO WEEKS OF
MATERNITY LEAVE?
MATERNITY LEAVE? >> WELL, I’M WITH MY MOM RIGHT
NOW.
NOW. ME AND HALEY AND HOPE MADE A
FIVE-HOUR CAR RIDE.
ROAD TRIP.
ROAD TRIP. YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW.
>> YOU NEED ANOTHER MONTH OFF
AFTER THAT.
AFTER THAT. >> WE’RE GOING TO SPEND A WEEK
HERE.
HERE. THEN JUST A WEEK KIND OF
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. THEN I’M -- MAN, I’M READY, YOU
GUYS.
GUYS. I’M SO READY.
I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU,
SAVANNAH.
SAVANNAH. I CAN’T WAIT FOR OUR MORNINGS.
I REALIZED, I DON’T UNPACK MY
JUNK IN THE MORNINGS LIKE I USED
TO.
TO. I’M CARRYING IT AROUND.
>> MY MENTAL HEALTH HAS REALLY
CRASHED WITHOUT YOU, HODA.
EVERY MORNING, HODA AND I GET
TOGETHER IN THE MAKEUP ROOM, AND
WE TALK ABOUT WHAT’S IN THE
SHOW.
SHOW. THEN WE GET INTO OUR CHILDHOOD.
WE CRY.
WE CRY. WE LAUGH.
WE LAUGH. WE HUG.
WE HUG. >> THERAPEUTIC.
>> THERAPEUTIC. >> IT IS THE BEST PART OF MY
DAY.
DAY. NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
HODA, I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL WE’RE
REUNITED.
REUNITED. >> I LOVE IT.
>> I HAVE TO SAY, HODA, YOU LOOK
SO BEAUTIFUL AND DEWY, FRESH,
AND CALM.
AND CALM. THERE ARE SO MANY TEACHABLE
MOMENTS FROM YOU TAKING A PAUSE,
THAT WE’RE ALL GETTING WHILE
WE’RE WORKING.
WE’RE WORKING. WE’RE SEEING THE IMPORTANCE OF
JUST TAKING A BREAK AND TAKING
IT ALL IN, THE POWER OF
GRATITUDE.
GRATITUDE. YOU DO THAT FOR US EVEN WHEN
YOU’RE NOT HERE.
>> YOU’RE SO SWEET.
IT IS SOMETHING YOU LEARN ABOUT.
I KNOW, YOU KNOW, IT’LL BE
KNOCKED OUT IN THREE WEEKS.
COME ON, WE KNOW THE TRUTH.
I THINK WE SHOULD ALL REMEMBER,
LIKE WE’RE GOING TO TAKE TIME.
WE’RE GOING TO TAKE OUR
VACATIONS AND THE THINGS WE
NEED.
NEED. WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE BACK
TOGETHER, AND IT WORKS.
WE HAVE EACH OTHER.
WE’RE IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL.
>> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. >> YOU KNOW WHAT, HODA, THIS
TIME, AS YOU WELL KNOW, IS SO
PRECIOUS.
PRECIOUS. IT IS IRREPLACEABLE.
AS I THINK I’VE SAID TO YOU MANY
TIMES, HOME WILL ALWAYS BE HERE
FOR YOU.
FOR YOU. THIS IS YOUR HOME.
>> MM-HMM.
>> MM-HMM. >> WE LOVE YOU.
WE CANNOT WAIT.
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, I DON’T
THINK YOU NEED TO GET UP AT
3:15.
3:15. I THINK 4:00 OR 4:30 IS TOTALLY
REASONABLE.
REASONABLE. >> I’M GOING TO PUSH IT TO 5:00,
SAVANNAH.
SAVANNAH. I THOUGHT ABOUT IT REALLY HARD.
>> THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING
ABOUT.
ABOUT. >> EASY TO CONVINCE HER.
>> HODA, ENJOY THE LAST FEW