The Working Mom by Kay Luna

Found out my 2 1/2-year-old daughter is human, after all. (Ha!) 

She does make mistakes — including the one she made at the nail salon, in the middle of the busy mall, when all of her clean panties and clothes were packed in the car.

Yep, I had been feeling pretty proud — maybe too proud — that it seemed to only have taken a week to get her potty-trained. We were going into diaper-free week three, and she had been doing so well.

Then, she started fidgeting in her stroller, sitting next to me while I got my fingernails painted last Saturday. She didn’t say a word, just fidgeted. Then, the lady who was doing my nails gasped, and I looked, and there was a puddle.

She looked as surprised as I did, as we steered the stroller into the bathroom (with my face burning with embarrassment, because, at that point, the other women had nothing else to do but watch our walk of shame).

Poor little sweetie – I was embarrassed, but I definitely wasn’t mad. We just quietly took care of business, finished the nail stuff and got the heck out of the mall.

The upside is my girl hasn’t had any accidents since — even when a relative taking care of her forgot the foldable toddler toilet seat, and made her wait in a public restroom until she could lay out enough toilet paper to cover the seat. Yes, it’s true.

And yes, she held it. I was amazed.

On second thought, maybe she is SUPER-human. Ha!

IN OTHER NEWS … Thought I would add that I thoroughly enjoyed my husband’s 20th high school class reunion last weekend. Gawd, yes, 20 years!!! But we had a blast.

I didn’t know anyone in the room, except my husband and his best friend … but, of course, that didn’t stop me from joining a group of strangers on the dance floor.

I couldn’t help myself! Who can sit still when Salt ‘N Pepa’s “Push It” song is booming through the speakers and the dance floor’s neon lights are flashing? Not me.

What’s going on in your world? Gearing up for the big 4th of July weekend? How do you plan to celebrate?

My parents divorced when I was 10, back in 1984. I still remember the horrible sadness, and thinking the world as I knew it was over (and I guess it was … and in the long run, that wasn’t all bad).

But without realizing it until fairly recently, that childhood experience – my parents’ divorce, but more importantly, their marriage and their relationship since — really impacted me.  It shaped the way I handled my own relationships, and what I expected from others and myself.

And I bet a lot of you can relate. Maybe you could even could list off things you learned from your folks, good or bad, that you apply (or don’t) in your relationships now.

Do any of you want to talk about that kind of thing — or just about your own marriages or relationships — for a big project about the state of marriage we’re working on at the paper? 

Specifically, for my part of the project, I’m looking for people who are children of divorce, people who are separated or divorced themselves or are a part of a blended family. You must be willing to talk frankly, and use your real names.

We’re actually also looking for couples in any stages of a relationship, including those who are in a long-term relationship without being married. 

Please e-mail me at kluna@qctimes.com or call me at (563) 383-2323. Thanks so much!

I’ve been calling it a train wreck that I couldn’t help but watch.

But, now, I’m turning my head. It’s too painful to watch anymore.

Yes, I’m talking about Jon and Kate Gosselin, of “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ fame, the reality TV show about them and their kids on TLC.

Last night, after I put my daughter to bed, I ran downstairs and turned on the new episode of “Jon & Kate,” which was teased on air as including a “big announcement.” The announcement was, as we all probably know by now, the couple is divorcing.

It’s sad. I feel sad for the family. And I don’t want to bear any more sadness on their behalf. So, I’m not going to watch anymore.

I am going to try to turn the channel when the next episode airs, which is supposed to be a montage of video and photo clips from their 10-year marriage.

Why??? Why do they want to do this so publicly? The couple said on last night’s episode that the show will continue. But the network announced today that it plans to put taping for the show on hiatus.

That’s good, because I was hoping they wouldn’t tape the moment they tell their children that Mommy and Daddy aren’t going to be married anymore. I seriously started to cringe and worry about this, even as I kept my eyes glued to the TV last night. Then, I started to feel ashamed of myself — for not turning the channel.

What do you think? Did you watch the show last night?

I’m excited about potty. And I have no shame — I talk about it to anyone who will listen.

And, amazingly, a lot of people actually want to talk about it. They’re very interested in the topic, in fact. They even share a few stories of their own.

It’s what life has become: Talking about potty-training my daughter, with strangers, with friends … with women at restaurants who recognize me from my column. I love it!

Here is the big, big, BIG news that I can’t help but shout from the rooftops: My Babycakes is potty trained. And, not to brag or anything (Ha!), but it only took a week. No accidents all weekend long. So, I’m calling it officially done.

Now, I fear — no, I just know it’s true and am trying to accept it — that I’ll be visiting nearly every public restroom in the Q-C and surrounding areas for a while.

Miss Luna thinks it’s quite fun to say, “I have to potty!,” and send me scurrying with her to the restroom.  My own Mom tells the story about how me and my sister drove her crazy with this, too, and that we could tell which K-mart we were in by where the restroom was located! Ha!

Same goes for several other parents who have chuckled with me about this over the past few days. Seems like I’ve talked about this with nearly everyone I’ve seen for the past week, and I’m not kidding!

We’ve even commiserated about the trials and tribulations of germaphobes with potty-training toddlers (ever try to hold a squirming toddler over a nasty port-a-potty?! Oh, boy, I have … I remember telling my son at the time, “Just shut your eyes and DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING!” Ha! ).

One of my friends, Jackie, has a daughter just a month younger than Babycakes. This week is going to be her big cold-turkey, no-more-diapers, potty-training week at her house, so let’s all send her good wishes in our minds over the next few days. She says her daughter is stubborn.

One tip to share: I found a wonderful invention over the weekend. It’s a portable toddler toilet ring (so they don’t feel like they’re going to fall into the toilet) that folds up into about palm-size, and fits in your purse. It was only $10 at one of the big-box stores around here.

Maybe I should be a little weepy or sad about my baby — my last little baby — growing up so fast. Today, it’s potty-training. Tomorrow, it’s high school graduation. Sigh.

It really DOES feel like time goes that fast. I have a boy on the verge of adulthood, and so I do know it does feel like the bat of an eye.

But I just can’t get weepy about cutting diapers out of my life. I’m actually thrilled!!! And I’m proud of my little girl.

It’s just part of her evolution of becoming an independent woman …

One who will probably want to strangle me for talking with people all over the place about her going to the toilet for the first time. Sorry, sweetie. But the other moms were talking about their kids, too! I swear!

Not to toot our own horn, but wanted to make sure everyone saw the full page of “Buy One, Get One Free” coupons in our Sunday paper from yesterday.

I was going through weekend papers this morning, and saw this — so I ripped page A7 out immediately and plan to keep it at my desk, in case I can lasso any colleagues into going to lunch with me and getting a great deal.

Seriously. The whole page is covered in coupons for buy one/get one free deals at places like Granite City, Belgian Village, Hungry Hobo, Downtown Deli, Azteca, Bennigan’s, etc., etc., etc. …

Now, I’m hungry.

When I was still walking around in a sleep-deprived fog, after giving birth to my little Babycakes two years ago, a friend of ours did the most wonderful thing.

She sent her husband over with comfort food: Several chicken and noodle casseroles that we could pull out of the freezer and into the oven. And we did. They were delicious.

Well, it’s time for paybacks. That very friend just gave birth Monday to her and her husband’s third child — a little girl they named Julia Elise. She’s a little cutie, says hubby, who visited them in the hospital that day.

Now, I keep thinking about those casseroles, and how great they were to have ready to eat, especially when hubby and I were too tired to worry about meal-planning and preparation. I want to do the same for her.

Here’s the problem: I just don’t like cooking that much.  I’m trying to think of something simple I could whip up that would be good to bring to them this weekend (and easy for me to make).

Any easy casserole ideas?

And isn’t it funny that something as simple as food can warm my heart like this — that her food is one of the first things I think of when I think about gifts people brought when Babycakes was born?

I also remember the Cold Stone Creamery ice-cream cake with a funny name like “Midnight Snack,” or something equally as appropriate when you’re awake at all hours with an infant. That was gifted by another set of our friends. Ha!

Do you remember any special things friends or family did for you when you gave birth?

Please don’t forget about our Quadsville/QCTimes meet-up with our blog friends today at lunch time. Everyone is welcome!

We’ll be lunching at noon at the Happy Joe’s Jungle Bungle place near NorthPark Mall, in the upstairs part. Just come in and ask for the Quadsville group.

We’d love to meet you in real life. And bring your kiddos!

Sometimes, a marriage needs refueling. And sometimes, that means taking a trip without the kids — just you and your main squeeze.

So, that’s what the hubby and I did last week, in celebration of our 10th  anniversary. We had a great time, but we’re glad to be home.

Want to meet up in real life?

We’re doing a Quadsville lunch-time meetup event this Thursday (May 18) at the Happy Joe’s (the Jungle Bungle location) at 201 W. 50th St., near NorthPark Mall in Davenport. I’d love to meet some of my Working Mom peeps there — and bring the kiddos, too!

If you’re interested, let me know … or just show up at noon and tell them you’re looking for the Quadsville group. We’ll be there. I’d love to meet some of you in real life.

Bye-bye, diapers

The big news at our house is Miss Babycakes Luna is officially WEARING UNDERWEAR. OK, training pants covered with rubber pants. But still! No more diapers worn during daytime hours! This is very exciting.

We started the potty-training business the very next day after we got home from our trip. The first time she pottied successfully in the pot, she pumped her fists, grinned from ear to ear, and said, “I did it! I LOVE underwear!” Teehee!

How are all of you? What’s going on at your house/work?

This afternoon, I spontaneously stood up at my desk, raised my arms over my head and blurted out,  “YAY!”

A couple of big projects I was working on were finally done, and they turned out really well (yippee!), so it was time to celebrate. Tomorrow, I plan to squeeze in time to reward myself with a manicure and pedicure.  I can’t wait!

Here are some tidbits I’ve been saving to share with you:

1) Since I’m now writing a “Savvy Saver” column every Monday on our Solutions page about ways people can save money, I’ve been getting Google alerts about stories related to the subject. 

One of the links I was sent this week is to a series the Washington Post is doing. A reporter and photographer are driving across the country, writing stories about how the economy is impacting all areas and all kinds of people. It’s really good.

2) The Huffington Post ran a compelling essay written by a woman who is now admitting for the first time as an adult that she had an abortion in college. This comes in the wake of the recent murder of Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortion doctor. Any thoughts? Just remember, let’s keep it respectful, please.

3) Someone brought to my attention a while ago that Britney Spears is bringing her two little boys — ages 3 and 2 — with her on her new tour. This person pointed out that she wears risque attire during her concerts, as her kiddos are playing backstage.

So, I was interested when I came across this video that shows the boys dancing to the music as Mommy sings “Toxic.”  I don’t have a strong opinion about how tagging along with Mom on her tour is impacting them, but I do know this: they’re really cute.

That’s all I’ve got. What’s up with you?