The Working Mom by Kay Luna

Sometimes, my reporting duties and my parenting duties collide … Well, actually it’s more that they overlap.

Over the years, I’ve found a way to do both at the same time, when necessary.  I simply bring the kiddo with me, when it’s necessary and appropriate (usually during an evening or weekend event that I have to cover, when daycare is hard to find).

Anyone who knew me when my son (now 17) was young is probably nodding and thinking, “Oh, yeah. I remember her doing that with him.”  

Back in those days, one of my editors even made him a laminated, just-for-fun “press pass” with his name and photo on it, saying he was free to go on newspaper assignments with his “mother’s permission.” He thought that pass was so cool.

I did, too, because it showed that my bosses didn’t mind him tagging along now and then.

When I think back on all the cool things he got to see and do because I brought him along with me on work outings … well, there are too many things to list. I wouldn’t trade those special moments with him for anything. And I think it gave him a unique perspective and some appreciation for what I do in my career.

Well, fast-forward many years and here I am with a little one again. I hate to always leave Miss Babycakes (2 1/2 years old) with her Daddy or a sitter, when I haven’t seen her all day.

So, I’m training her like I did her brother. I’m taking her out with me now and then.

Last week, she went on two assignments with me. She attended a “Survival 101″ event at the Rock Island Public Library, and came along to hear an Army major general’s speech at a Catholic school’s eighth grade graduation ceremony.

Honestly, for the most part, she did great at both events. She even sat longer than I wanted to in those church pews for the graduation (haha!) and I was able to take notes and interview people without any problem. It was a tad long for her, but she did fine.

Other than listening to me talk about it, or someday reading this blog, she won’t remember going to these events with me. But I do hope that I’m planting some seeds in her mind that will someday grow.

I want her to know that she can grow up to become anything she puts her mind to, and that it is possible (even if it’s difficult) to balance family and work. I want her to know how much I loved her, that it meant I hated to leave her for one more second of the day just so I could work longer.

I want her to know there are amazing, wonderful people in the world that I get to meet all the time in my job.

I want her to see all kinds of cool things that she wouldn’t, if I didn’t take her along.

And I want her to know how important it is to sit still and listen … And that’s usually when Mommy is working. Teehee!

How do you juggle work and home? Do you ever take your kids with you to work?

Does anyone else watch TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8?”

I’ve been watching this “reality TV” show for years, following the Gosselins and their eight children. They used fertility treatments to have their twin daughters, Maddie and Kara, and then had sextuplets … (don’t ask me all their names).

Well, as you might know, there is trouble in paradise. The couple’s marriage is on the verge of collapse, according to all kinds of media coverage … and now it seems true.

Their new season premiere aired earlier this week. It was painful to watch. Their relationship is obviously very strained. Check out some coverage regarding the situation here.

At this point, I’m wondering why in the world they are continuing this farce of a television show? They are so against “the media” barging into their lives, but they put themselves in the limelight a long time ago.

I think, at this point, the Gosselins need to spend some time away from the cameras and work on their marriage … or let it go. Either way, this seems like something they should do in private, if they can.

What do you think?

I laugh heartily, and loudly … and people at the other end of the newsroom usually know I’m here before they see me, all for that reason.

Well, yesterday, a coworker said something that tickled me thoroughly — so I laughed.

And I literally busted a gut.

My abdomen expanded, my pants felt tight around the midsection and — POW! — my button popped right off my pants! Of course, I then laughed about that and announced what had happened.

An editor took pity on me and scrounged around in his desk drawer for a safety pin. He didn’t find one, but he did find a thick paper clip (the kind that holds big piles of paper together, not the traditional flimsy clips).

So, I used that to hold my pants together during Bill Wundram’s big party at the Times building yesterday, in celebration of his work here for the past 65 years. It was a great party. I was grateful that I didn’t have to spend the whole time holding onto my pants. Teehee!

Then, that evening, Babycakes and I went to the Rock Island Public Library for a “Survival 101″ event about ways to save money by riding a bike around town. Where was everyone? We were the only ones in the crowd.

Babycakes thought it was great that she got to go to a “meeting” with me, and we got our pick of the door prizes. A good time was had by all — OK, the two of us.

So, what’s new with you?

My 2-year-old daughter said something last night that reminded me of myself when I was a little girl … way back when I liked to look at cloud shapes and imagine what they looked like.

We were taking an evening stroll (well, I was walking; she was riding in her stroller). We live out in the country, so you get to see a lot of farmland and wildlife when you’re outside.

The girl really enjoys hanging around in the outdoors. She was asking questions about cornfields and noticing birds, telling random ones here and there, “It’s OK. You’ll find your Mama.” (Where did that come from?? Haha!).

But what really got me was when she looke d up and noticed the clouds (without any prompting from me).

“Look,” she said. “That one looks like mashed potatoes.”

By gosh, it did!

In other “funny things that Babycakes says” moments from over the weekend, she also:

* Told my mom, ”You’re my big sister.” Oh, really???

* Knocked her blocks over and said, “We have a situation.”

* Ran up to her Daddy and said, “I have to tell you sumping …”

And quite possibly the funniest of all …

After meeting up with one of her little friends Sunday, she exuberantly told him, “Come on, Christian. ‘Member my Daddy? Let’s go meet him. Come on!”

He’s only 3, but the boy knew better. He was shy about meeting his lady-friend’s Daddy. Haha!

What’s new with all of you?

Some thoughts from me on this rainy Friday …

1.)  How are you coping with recession?  Check this out. A new survey shows some moms are turning to vices like overeating, drinking, drugs and gambling to cope with the stress.

I can’t say the recession is to blame for my own vices of overeating and caffeine-drinking. I’ve been doing that for a while. Ha!

Have you found yourself seeking new outlets to blow off steam because of financial stress?

2) Our initial moves toward potty-training Babycakes have come to a standstill. Our 2 year old just isn’t interested.

So, I read this story with much interest. The author calls his potty-training philosophy “naked and $75.”  The kid must go naked from the waist down around the house for at least a week (author suggests working parents take a week off to concentrate on this), and be allowed to wet on himself/herself until it sinks in that sitting on the potty is much more pleasant.

And the $75 is what it will cost to clean the carpets at the end of the week. Ha!

3.) You wouldn’t believe some of the crazy e-mails I get from PR firms, trying to get me to write about their products. One of them arrived today, touted as a great Father’s Day gift … to “eliminate manly bathroom odors.” My. gawd. No, I don’t plan to order that. Gross.

Well, better finish up some other work before heading home for the week. Have a great weekend!

If you’re thinking about going grocery shopping, you might want to head to Hy-Vee — and do it today.

We just noticed a Hy-Vee ad on our QCTimes Web site, announcing a “today only” sale for today (Friday, May 15), and it sounds awesome. Here’s a link to the flyer.

Bananas are 39 cents a pound. Two-liters of Pepsi and Mountain Dew are 88 cents a piece. A 10-count package of bacon-wrapped turkey tenders is $10. A dozen large eggs are 69 cents.

What other good deals do you know about this weekend?

When my 2-year-old daughter is having a screaming-fit meltdown, (like when she’s taking off her socks in the middle of winter, running off with my cell phone or playing with the TV remote), I like to talk about her feelings.

“Are you angry?” I’ll ask her. “Are you frustrated? Sad?”

Her answer? Usually, she angrily shakes her head no and bawls louder, to drown out the sound of my voice. LOL!

So, I wasn’t sure any of my “let’s-get-in-touch-with-your-emotions” lessons were sinking in, until last night.

We were sitting together on the basement couch, just her and I, watching “Dancing with the Stars.” We were reminiscing about my own Q-C dancing debut, and talking about the pretty dresses.

Then, Iowa-native Shawn Johnson took the stage on the show. One of her dances of the night was a very serious, sensual Latin dance, called the paso doble. 

I was busy watching the dancers’ footwork, and didn’t really pay attention to their serious faces. But Babycakes was watching.

“Mama, she looks very angry,” she told me, out of the blue.

What a surprise! I laughed a little, and told her, yes, she does look angry.

“Why does she look angry?” I asked. “Is it because she isn’t smiling? She looks very serious, doesn’t she?”

“Well, how do you feel tonight?” I continued. “Do you feel angry or happy?”

My sweet daughter looked up at me, with the cheesiest, most lovable grin, and told me: “I’m happy!”

“So am I!,”  this Mommy said, smiling right back.

Happy day-after-Mother’s Day.  How was your special day?

I had a great time with my kids and the important mamas in my life, and my husband … and he deserves a medal for all the kind things he did for me in honor of Mother’s Day. 

He cleaned the house top to bottom, went grocery shopping, prepared all the food for a cookout, mowed the grass, trimmed the weeds and did other work on the house — and that was all before noon. Ha! AND he picked out two amazing dresses for me for Mother’s Day. Hats off to the best husband I’ve ever had (and, yes, he’s the only one I’ve ever had … but really, he’s great)! Ha! It was a great afternoon with family. Thank you, Mr. Luna, and to my Mom and sister and mother-in-law and step-mom and grandma, and the list goes on. Happy Mother’s Day.

In other news …

I’ve been writing about amazing centenarians (people who are older than 100) lately.

And I always think fondly about the one I met and wrote about last year for our Mother’s Day edition: Louise Baker, who mainly goes by “Ma” or “Grandma” among her friends.

Grandma — who will turn 100 on Saturday – is still going strong and doing great. What’s her secret to living such a long life?

“I’m just a giver,” she said. “I make things, and I give them away. You must stay busy.”

Well, her grandchildren are throwing a big birthday bash for her, and all her friends are invited. The party starts at 1 p.m. Saturday (May 16) at the Eagles Lodge, 4401 W. Locust St., Davenport. Food, music, soft drinks and beer will be provided. You can bring the fun (although, I’m betting Grandma will bring quite a bit of it with her, too)!

What else is up?

It was a powerful thing, sitting in a room full of about 500 women last night.

We all had gathered for the Women’s Connection’s annual “Celebrate a Special Woman” signature event at the new Jumer’s casino complex in Rock Island.

And it was great, especially because I was sitting at a table with some especially great women — including my own mother, several friends/coworkers and some new friends, too.

We giggled when the food came out … because, in a room full of women, they had served us HUGE proportions of meat — pork, no less. Everyone at my table gasped and laughed.

But most of us soon found ourselves WHEEZING with laughter when the keynote speaker came out on stage. Humorist Judy Carter was killing us with her jokes, including her list of signs that you’re stressed.

One was, “You lose arguments with inanimate objects.” Another was something along the lines of your child’s bedtime stories start with, “Once upon a time, I had a waist and then I met your father.”

She stressed the value of finding humor in everyday things around you, showing a photo on the big screen of a bumper sticker she had found right in the parking lot at Jumer’s: “Horn broken, watch for finger.” I shook my head in embarrassment for the Quad-Cities (she’s from LA, and got a few laughs about the Quad-Cities in at the beginning of her speech, which I was starting to resent until she got on with the rest of her message).

Her big mantra was, “Laughing is healthy,” and explained that nothing has the power to make us stressed or mad. We have a choice in how we’re going to feel. She chooses to feel happy and laugh.

I can’t begin to recite all the jokes she told.  Some of them were probably not appropriate for all audiences!!! But they were hilarious, I promise. A few times, my Mom nudged me and pointed to the only man we could see in this sea of women — the man who was (un)lucky enough to be operating the camera, which projected images of the ladies on stage onto the big screen. I bet he was wondering what in the heck he’d done to deserve such a job. Ha!

She danced. She sang. And she told us the next time someone says, “Hello, how are you?,” we should answer by making fun of ourselves … Say one negative and then follow up with a WOO-HOO! And that “woo-hoo” MUST include the “wave” motion with our arms up over our heads.

For example, “I have love handles! Woo-hoo!” Or, in my case, ”My hair is shockingly black. Woo-hoo!”

Today, I’m on the edge of my seat, waiting for someone new to ask me how I am. I’ve already got a reply ready: “I’m hyped up on caffeine and waiting to crash. Woo-hoo!”

What’s your answer going to be when someone asks YOU how you are today?!

It’s amazing how some kids talk to adults nowadays – and, yes, that sometimes includes my own kids (especially the teenager, but that comes with the territory …  Haha!).

It’s a fine line we walk as parents, trying to make sure our children realize their inner strength and stand up for themselves — but also, making sure they are aware of treating people (especially their elders) with respect and care.

So, I read this story with interest. The author poses the question: Are we creating secure kids, or are they just plain rude?

And by the way, I thought the part of the story describing Gen Y was particularly interesting, since my son is part of that group.