The Working Mom by Kay Luna

It’s no excuse, but with all the other holiday and birthday stuff going on, I waited until the last minute to run out and get a b-day gift for my husband today … (yes, Mr. Luna, if you’re reading this, I’m a heel. I’m sorry.)

So, I’m at the mall briefly, and the place was packed — with all the kids out of school and folks off work, you could hardly find a seat in the food court. But I noticed a mom and her daughter sitting alone, so I asked if they minded if I sat at the other end of the big table they were at. They said it was OK, so I sat down.

Keeping my head down, I started eating, trying not to listen to their sweet banter back and forth, but I couldn’t help it. I’m a reporter, people! My ears are supersonic when I’m out in public like that!

So, I hear the little girl — who I later found out is 8 years old – asking her mom lots of questions: “Why do we have two receipts? Why did they put one on my plate? Is that a polar bear? How does this work,” etc.

Her mom answered very patiently. I actually thought to myself, “See, look at that. I don’t know if I’m always that patient. I need to be more patient.” I’m always my biggest critic.

But what hit home was a casual comment the mom made to the girl, who was asking about a store or restaurant display of some kind. She answered her slowly and carefully, making sure the girl was paying close attention.

“Listen, just because the display looks one way doesn’t mean it looks that way on the inside,” she said.

Seriously. I wanted to write that down for the girl and ask her to please put it in her Hannah Montana wallet she had with her, and keep it forever, and reread it every day. haha. Talk about a life’s lesson.

When I finished eating, I thanked them for letting me sit with them, and they were very sweet about it. We visited a little bit about Christmas and birthdays (the mom has another child whose birthday is one day after Babycakes’, and she told me about how they do a half-birthday party).

The little girl piped up.

“I’ll be 9 next year,” she said, sitting up straighter in her chair, trying to look older than 8.

And I wanted to cry, remembering how it felt to be 8, wishing I was older … and now, look at me – trying desperately to hold onto what youth I have left (teehee!).

So, I said, “You probably don’t believe me, but someday it’s going to feel like you blinked your eyes and suddenly, you were my age. Slow down and hold onto 8.”

She said, “OK,” and laughed a little. But I bet she thinks I’m crazy.

For those of you brave — and awesome — souls who have been reading this blog on the Times’ Web page for a long time, guess who is in town from Texas?

MY VERY OWN UNCLE JERRY.

We talked about our Workin’ Mom cyber-community at length last night, laughing about some of the fun discussions we’ve had here over the past several months — and how great it is that more and more people are joining us.

He sends his greetings. And wishes you all a very Karo-Syrup-and-Ham-Ball New Year!

(Yeah, some of you who know what I’m talking about are laughing right now. Some of you are sitting with furrowed brows, thinking, “What?!?!”)

And from me, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! We’ll talk later this week, when I have recovered from all the festivities … Lots of PlayStation-playing is on the horizon for me tonight. teehee!

Be careful, everyone, and see you in the new year.

I love talking with my 2-year-old daughter. I’m amazed at what she thinks about in that little sweet head of hers.

Her vocabulary just keeps improving (I’m crediting all the reading and talking we’ve done in her little life), and so, it’s easier and easier to hold a real conversation with her.

But sometimes, she still just says hilarious, random things.

For instance, this weekend, we were at my Dad’s house for a Christmas celebration. Someone was asking Babycakes if she eats treats sometimes. And she said yes, she does.

“But, sometimes, I poop my pants. Sometimes. At Amy’s house,” she said.

Where did that come from, I ask you?!!!

And then, last night, my Mom was leaving after a visit to our house. Babycakes stood at the front window, waving and telling her she loves her.

Then, she says out of the blue, “Bye, Grandma! Be careful! Watch out for raccoons! Watch out for elephants!”

We live in the country, but not THAT FAR into the country! haha.

I sometimes call her “Chica,” the Spanish word for “girl.” Well, the other day, she said to her Daddy, “Come on, chica!” Oh, boy, I got a giggle out of that one!

I know we’ve talked about this before, but the subject just never gets old to me. Please share some funny things your kids have said lately.

And cardsgirl, I’m still laughing to myself every time my daughter says something about “Percy” from Thomas the Train! teehee!

We truly had a lot of fun over the Christmas week, and are looking forward to more laughs this week over New Year’s.

But after listening to my friend, Amy, talk over lunch today about her Christmas celebration at home in the Quad-Cities, I can tell my fun was NOTHING close to the fun she had with her family at Christmas.

And it’s all thanks to her mom’s FART MACHINE. Yep, I said fart machine!

This is a true story!

In an effort to lighten the mood over Christmas dinner, Amy’s mom — who, if you knew her, you would think this was especially hilarious! — secretly planted a remote-controlled fart-sounding machine (where in the world would a person even FIND one of these?) in a Christmas stocking behind her daughter-in-law’s seat at the table.

At just the right moment, as they were passing the Christmas dishes around, she hit the remote button. And out came a sound that seemed to say someone was passing something else around the dinner table, if you know what I mean!

Everyone looked around, giggling nervously … and she kept this up until they laughed their rears off — pun intended — and the gig was up!

Amy’s brother thought it was awesome when he opened up his gifts and found one of his VERY OWN sounding machines, just waiting for him.

Ahhh, what memories!!! I wish I would have been at THAT dinner table! What a hoot — errr, I mean, a TOOT! teehee!

What did your families do to lighten the mood and add fun to your holiday festivities??? Seriously, does anyone have a story that compares to this one?!!! haha!

… and my house is a mess. Wrapping paper, boxes, a toddler-sized picnic table that I still need to put together as a favor to Santa — all of it is still spread around our living room.

But it’s a good mess. It’s a happy-family-memories kind of mess. I’m looking forward to going home this evening and sitting in the middle of it again, alongside my people.

We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas, and have determined that since her birthday on Dec. 21, Babycakes has mastered opening gifts. And for the most part, she’s also pretty consistent with saying, “Thank you!,” upon receiving them.

My husband and I are wondering what will happen after this weekend, when we have one last Christmas celebration, because Babycakes is getting into the habit of getting gifts almost daily.

Even as a mom of 17 years, some things still surprise me, including these observations:

1.) My daughter would have been happy — delighted, even — if we all had stopped after she unwrapped her first book on Christmas Eve. She was done. Absolutely content. We could have saved a ton of time and money, not giving her countless other tidbits.

2.) Kids love cardboard boxes. Why not forget the toys, and just give them boxes? And that shopping basket the girl got? She’s been trying to stand in it, or just wearing it on her head.

3.) All the kiddie-clothes my daughter got for Christmas? I feel like they’re MY gifts — it’s awesome dressing up a little, living doll every day. With 15 years between my kids, I had forgotten how tiny and cute their little outfits can be.

4.) My heart still feels like it’s swelling so big it’s pushing against my chest when I see my husband with our children. That’s a gift in itself on any day, but especially Christmas morning, watching him snap photos and smile with such loving pride. I can’t describe how awesome it is to know someone else loves my children JUST AS MUCH AND JUST AS FIERCELY as I do.

So, that’s about it. We’re recovering from the awesomeness of spending time with just about as many family and friends that we could over Christmas, and looking forward to the big push toward New Year’s Eve and my husband’s birthday on New Year’s Day. I tell him, isn’t it great to know the ENTIRE WORLD is celebrating your birthday with you?! teehee!

So, what are you up to? Are you working on the day after Christmas, too? Or maybe hanging out with family? Or cleaning your house in the Christmas aftermath (like I should be doing, too!)???

Any cute stories from the holiday that you want to share?

Lots of reporters in the Quad-Cities have “appeared” at some point or another on Herb Trix’s show, called “Midwest Week in Review,” on the public radio station at Augustana College — WVIK 90.3 FM.

He usually asks us about stories or things we’ve been writing, and usually it’s about whatever piques his interest. Well, this time, my newspaper column and online blog about Babycakes — and all of your comments and participation here at the “Workin’ Mom” –has caught his attention.

So, I got the chance to talk about what we’ve created together here over the past two years on his radio show today, which I’m really excited about! Thought you might be, too.

If you’re interested in hearing how goofy I sound in real life (as opposed to my goofiness in writing), check out the show at about 6:50 p.m. this Friday night.

I joked during the interview that Babycakes has NO IDEA what a star she has become! haha!

Our daycare provider, Ms. Amy, just called me at work.

I always get a little anxious when she calls, because for those first few seconds, I always think the worst (like, “Is Mia OK? Did she fall down the stairs? Is she stuck in a snowdrift????).

But to my relief and happiness, Ms. Amy just wanted to tell me a funny/cute story about something she said this morning … and as her proud Mommy, I’m always up for a cute Babycakes story! haha! Those kind of calls are always welcome!

So, she tells me that the kids had a little holiday party this morning at daycare, and Babycakes got to unwrap a few gifts: A Barbie doll, a book and some “princess” ponytail holders for her hair.

And Ms. Amy said my girl got this euphoric look on her face, smiling so big and saying, “Amy, this make me so happy! I so happy!!!!” She said Babycakes looked so delighted with her gifts and for being with her friends, that she could have cried! And she just wanted me to know.

Thank you, Amy! Don’t awesome daycare providers ROCK, people?!!!!

Go ahead, share some stories about sweet things your daycare peeps have done lately …

Why does winter continue to lash out at us? Why can’t the snow fall in gentle flakes, and that’s it — no blowing, no arctic temperatures. Just pretty snow.

But, noooooooooo. It can’t just be pretty. Not even on my daughter’s birthday!

The frigid, blizzard-like conditions (which seemed like a repeat of the weather on her first birthday) meant only FOUR people could make it to her birthday party: My mom and sister and eventually-will-be my brother-in-law, and my Grandma, whose apartment is where we set up the party. We made the best of it, pulling out the Thomas the Train decorations and carving the cake and the whole bit. But we missed the others who couldn’t make it.

My husband took all the photos on his camera, so I don’t have any photos to post right now. But believe me, the girl looked adorable in pink. haha!

In other news …
1.) I got a partial crown on one of my teeth this morning before coming to work. Let’s just say the novacaine shots really are working well. Almost four hours after leaving the dentist’s office, I still have to physically force my lips into a pursing motion with my fingers to get any drink up my straw. Literally half of my face remains numb. My bottom lip is tingling — that’s the only reason I know it’s still on my face. When is this going to wear off???

2.) Our babysitter mentioned this morning that Babycakes has been getting very excited when she sees commercials about a new dolly that goes “potty” and then washes her hands. Have you seen this at the stores or on TV?
Ironically, when I got into work, I saw this story about whether these kinds of dolls are “too much information.” Whatever happened to little kids using their imaginations? What do you think about toys like this?

What’s happening in your world?

So, everyone who reads this regularly knows that Babycakes will turn 2 on Sunday.

Thanks to this blog, I’ve been able to document the past two years — essentially — by words right here online. And as they say, “We’ve come a long way, baby.”

Here’s the very first blog entry, when she was just three months old:

Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
That first day back was rough. After spending three months of maternity leave with my infant daughter, it was hard to come back to work two weeks ago.

I’m even back to watching the clock, instead of gauging what time it is by which talk show is on television! Oh, but I do miss my Rachael Ray. De-lish!

Oh, it seems like yesterday that she was so pink and teeny-tiny. And now, she’s a big girl. Sigh.

Happy birthday to Babycakes, and to Mr. Bill Wundram, who she shares her special day with.

My husband and I recently wrote out an official “Family Values Frame” for our family to use as a guideline for decision-making regarding ourselves and the kids. Now, we can ask, “How does that fit in our value frame?,” before we decide which way to go with things.

One of our values is determination — reminding us to always realize the power of our sheer will, and to go above and beyond to do whatever it takes to make our goals and dreams reality.

Well, I was living within that value frame this morning, because I was absolutely determined to get to work — even in the ice and snow.

I did wait a little while until the plows had a chance to get out. But then, we piled into the car — Babycakes, me and the dog (who I was taking to the groomer) — and promptly got stuck in the driveway. Ugh.

But we just kept plodding along, and I got the car unstuck, miraculously, without the help of my husband. And although the rural roads were yucky, we made it … slowly, but surely.

I made it here for work, and for the newsroom’s annual holiday potluck and culmination of our Secret Santa fun (and my Secret Santa was Bill Wundram).

And Babycakes was excited because we made pink-frosted cupcakes last night for her to take to daycare today, in celebration of her 2nd birthday (which is Sunday). So, she gets to have fun with that today, too.

And the dog will probably be not-so-thrilled to have a bath, but we’ll be delighted that he smells better for the holidays.

And one more thing: I had a heart-touching moment last night, when Babycakes leaned over out of the blue, hugged me and said, “Mama, you my best friend.” Awwwwww. I teared up over that one.

So, what’s new with all of you?

Do you think it’s nuts that we offiically wrote down our family values? And do you think it will be blowing snow on Sunday when we’re trying to do the birthday party thing??? I sure hope not, to both.