The Working Mom by Kay Luna

It was the night before Thanksgiving.

All of my family — on my Mom AND “real” Dad’s sides (I’m lucky enough to have another Dad, too, who was out of town) — were counting on me to be the go-between that made it OK for all of us to land at my Dad’s house for Thanksgiving eats. In other words, if I wasn’t going, no one else from my Mom’s side would feel quite right about going without me (my parents have been divorced since I was very little).

And so, of course, Babycakes would start getting blisters on her hands and feet from a virus that she caught at daycare. What beautiful timing! ha.

I called and talked to several nurses I know, and our on-call doctor from the pediatrician’s office. The doctor said Babycakes has a common virus that most people are exposed to at some point in their lives, and as long as she didn’t share saliva with anyone over the Thanksgiving meal (no drinking out of others’ cups, no putting other kids’ toys in her mouth, no kissing, etc.), I could feel comfortable in still going to the family event. The doctor said it sounded as if she was past the very-contagious stage of the virus, which is spread through saliva (not airborne).

Apparently, the girl has a very mild form of this. She’s had no fever whatsoever. None. She’s still eating like a horse and drinking cup after cup after cup of milk, etc. Everything is normal, except for these blisters.

I put Bandaids on the three blisters she had on her hand as a precaution and we went to Thanksgiving anyway, with the doctor’s blessing. She ate and ate and enjoyed herself thoroughly, as we all did. Now, I’m hoping no other kids come up sick … I was nervous about bringing her, but didn’t want to spoil the holiday, either.

The blending of the different sides of my family at one event went superbly. We all said we hope to do it again sometime.

So, how was your holiday?? Did you go shopping on Black Friday? I stayed home and played with Babycakes all day … and now, I’m working the Saturday day shift. No shopping for me today, either. And that’s OK by me! I hate trying to push through holiday-weekend shopping crowds.

Fill us in on what’s up with you!

Calling all moms: You’ve got to check this out.

Please follow the link to watch a video of “The Mom Song” from Northland Video, which includes all the “Mom cliches” said in a 24-hour period — all set to the music of the William Tell Overture.

I laughed out loud at my desk watching this! It’s definitely worth a peek.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Once upon a time, a lonnnnnnnnng time ago, I knew a little boy (ummmmmm, Mr. Firstborn Child?!) who went long stretches when he only wanted to eat peanut butter sandwiches. Then, he’d switch to only wanting chicken nuggets.

Luckily, though, my little daughter is much more experimental in trying new foods. The girl even likes pickled beets, for goodness sakes. But she does get in kicks where she’s one-food minded.

So, how do you know if the kids are getting the nutrition they need? And worst of all, how do you deal with preschoolers like my son was, especially on Thanksgiving, when they’re faced with all kinds of “unusual” new food choices that don’t look like peanut butter sandwiches or chicken nuggets?

Check out this new feature on the USDA Web site. It’s a food pyramid especially for preschoolers, ages 2 to 5, which you can customize depending on your child’s age, gender and general level of activity.

Here are some tips, thanks to this site:
* Set reasonable limits for the start and end of a meal. When you see your child is no longer interested in the meal, let him or her leave the table.
* Encourage your child to try new foods, but don’t lecture or force it.
* Make meal-time a stress-free time. Talk about fun and happy things.
* Cook together. Encourage your preschooler to help prepare the meal with you.

Or do what I used to do: Carry along a jar of peanut butter and some bread with you.

Anybody out there???? It’s been so quiet here this week. What’s going on in your world?

Thank you for helping me pre-plan my daughter’s birthday party, which isn’t until Dec. 21, but getting the stuff ready for it ahead of time makes me feel a whole lot better.

She’s insisting on a Thomas the Train theme, and I was worried because I couldn’t find anything.

AND THEN …. You all came along!! You made wonderful suggestions, and I followed them. I marched myself to Michael’s (lots of stuff, but didn’t find anything Thomas) and Hobby Lobby (train stuff in general, but just a little) and then to Factory Card Outlet and SUCCESS! We gathered up many, many items of the Thomas variety, including a “pin the 1 on the Thomas” game. We are very happy.

What’s up with you? Are you planning ahead for stuff coming up in the busy holiday month ahead?

Speaking of Thanksgiving and all … We’re trying something unusual this year — but it’s maybe not so unusual, considering my family.

We’re ALL landing at my Dad’s house south of here for Thanksgiving. And I mean EVERYONE.

My Mom (who has been divorced from my Dad since I was a toddler). My sister (not his daughter). My Grandma (his former mother-in-law!). Possibly my cousins (on my mom’s side). My in-laws. All of my other family — we’re all landing at my Dad’s house, with all of my other family.

Isn’t that cool?! My Dad and Mom (and step-mom, too) are such role models in this. They’ve always been cool with each other at important events, like birthdays and holidays and graduations (at least, since I’ve been an adult). He always makes a point to invite the rest of my bunch to events (and his wife — my beloved stepmom, Carm, who is AWESOME and loving and always includes me like I’m actually her real daughter — is inviting to everyone, too.)

I think it’s great when this all works out. When you get a bunch of people who might not have been able to get along in the past, but now can come together because they all love the kids and grandkids.

What a gift this is to my kids?! And what a relief to be able to go to ONE place for a holiday, for once. I won’t know what to do with myself. Usually, we drive all over God’s green Earth to make it everywhere. Can you relate? Ha.

So, what are you doing/where are you going for the holiday?

This topic comes by suggestion of our fellow-blogger, Kim, who just read a CNN story about the family meal.

You know — everyone actually sitting at the table, enjoying dinner and each other’s company. What we hopefully all will be doing next Thursday for Thanksgiving, right?!

But what about every night?

At our house, my husband and I have always been big on family/friend dinners. When our son was little, we always tried to make sure we all three were at the dinner table together — even when we were rushing around, trying to balance other stuff. Now, we’re doing the same thing with Babycakes.

This is the total opposite of what I grew up with. My Mom worked nights, and she wasn’t a big kitchen/dinner/cook type person, anyway. So we got into the habit of grabbing dinner and carrying it into the living room to eat, or else just going out to eat. That was absolutely normal for us, and not a big deal. (I’m not scarred for life or anything, Ma!)

And our family wasn’t that unusual at the time.

But apparently family meals are making a comeback. And experts want them to, saying they
“significantly enhance the life of your family,” both health-wise and emotionally, according to the CNN story, which talks about a recent study related to this.

They say the process helps with socialization, and ensures a better level of nutrition (usually) than letting the kid do their own hunting-and-gathering in the kitchen and then eating it in front of the TV.

But some families might be too busy to get everyone together at one time on a consistent basis. To be honest, I’m actually shocked we’ve been able to pull it off (on most nights) for all these years.

So, what’s the routine at your house? Is this a big deal, or just another one of those studies geared to make Moms and Dads feel guilty?

A friend of ours just gave me two bags of DELIGHTFULNESS: Clothes for my little Babycakes that belonged to his daughter, who outgrew them. Yay!!!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE getting friends’ kids’ hand-me-downs. Our friend is a single dad raising his little girl, who is just a year older than Babycakes, so the clothes are just about the right size for Babycakes by the time he’s ready to bag them up. It’s awesome.

When someone compliments something Babycakes is wearing (including her famous Tigger-the-Tiger Halloween costume), I usually say, “Yep, that came from M.”

Or, I say, “Yep, that came from my mother-in-law,” because she’s a shopping queen/fiend. She’s loves herself a good sale. But that’s another story.

My little brother also has given me a lot of clothes from his daughter (my little niece), and I love that, too.

So, to pay it forward, I always bag up Babycakes’ clothes when she’s done with them and give them to my friends or relatives with little girls younger than her. Mostly, I give them to Chasidy for her littlest daughter, born this spring. And when she’s done with them, I’m sure the ones that are still hanging in there willl get passed on to our friend, Cathy, who had a little girl in October. You get the idea.

If I think about it when the clothes fit the “season,” I turn some of them into the resale shop to see if I can get any money out of them, to buy MORE used clothes. Oh, it’s an endless cycle and I love it.

In fact, the beautiful off-white, furry-collared dress I’ve got for Babycakes to wear in our Christmas pictures this year was from a Moline resale shop. And I paid $7 for it. I also snagged a pair of Stride Rite dress shoes for $4. Sweet, huh?!

So, are you visiting resales shops and trading clothes among your friends, too? What about for yourselves — not just for the kids?

I’ve heard that more people are doing Christmas shopping (for gifts and also for holiday attire) at resale shops this year. Know anyone doing that?

I’m apparently punishing myself — I’m currently writing about death (funerals, actually) and in between interviews for that story, I’ve been reading sad stories about abused kids. Well, one in particular.

This story is seriously sad: Sarah Jane's story.

Sarah Jane was shaken forcefully by a former caregiver when she was just days old, and has permanent brain damage. The “monster,” as her father refers to the woman who shook his baby, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for what she did to his little girl.

But Sarah Jane will face the aftermath for the rest of her life. In an effort to do whatever it takes to help her, Sarah Jane’s father has started a first-of-its-kind Web site where he posts ALL of her medical records and videos about her progress, in hopes that “more eyes” will see it in the medical community and maybe find a way to help her.

Thanks to MotherTalkers for bringing this to light for me. I felt sad for this little girl and her parents after reading the story, but also, I felt thankful.

I’m thankful this little girl lived. I’m thankful the person who did this to her was caught and punished. I’m thankful to hear her father is so devoted to taking care of her.

And I’m thankful for my own little ones’ good health. Now, I want to run home and give my little girl as “squeeze,” as we call it.

Wow. I just went from feeling sort of dismal to feeling thankful and happy. How about that?!

So, how are you doing? What’s on your mind?

P.S. I almost forgot … THANK YOU for the advice about finding Thomas the Train stuff. I did a quick look online and a whole new world of birthday decoration options opened up to me! Miss Luna will be very excited. If you have any more ideas for local places to go for this, please pass them on.

The Thanksgiving flag is out on the front of our house. That’s as far as I’m going with decorating for that holiday.

I’ve already gone straight for the Christmas decor, even though I’m not really into it this year. And maybe that’s why I started pulling some of my holiday stuff out already — maybe it’s part of my urge to get the decorating “over with.”

And that’s terrible, because why do it if you dread it? This should be fun! But I do dread dragging all of the many boxes of decorations out and upstairs and then putting it all away again when it’s all over.

I don’t know why I’m so blah about it all.

I just keep having this nagging thought that we need to do something different this year. I want to simplify things. Is anyone else thinking this way?

Among the planning I’m already starting to do for our holiday festivities, we celebrated my Mom’s birthday over the weekend. Babycakes “helped” mix and bake the cake, which REALLY fascinated her. I mean, she REALLY enjoys cake. Less about the baking, more about the eating of it.

She helped frost it, and then licked the heck out of the spatula afterward. She kept saying, “I yyike it!”

Even now, when she looks at a picture of it, she says, “Mmmmm!” and pretends to “take a bite” of it! But how could anyone resist a cake that looks this good? If you can’t tell, it says, “GMA Kathy.” It’s all I could eek out in my first adventure in cake-frosting-writing.

We’re already talking about what Miss Babycakes might want on HER birthday cake next month. She says Thomas the Train … and “Toby.” Anyone know where I can find Thomas stuff to put on her let’s-bake-it-at-home-and-save-money cake? I saw Dora and some other stuff at the grocery store this weekend, but no Thomas. Help!

So, the 34th child has been abandoned under Nebraska’s controversial safe-haven law, which lawmakers are getting ready to review — and maybe add an age limit to.

People from all over are dropping off their children of all ages, even teenagers, without facing charges because of the way the law is written. You can read a little more about it here.

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