The Working Mom by Kay Luna

My friend, Heidi, was telling me this weekend that she has been trying to keep the TV news off lately — at least, in front of her 5-year-old son, Ian.

With all the coverage of Sen. Kennedy’s death lately, she has been extra cautious to keep him away from it. Why?

Ian worries about death. He has for a long time.

He talks about how he doesn’t want to die, and he doesn’t want his Mommy and Daddy or other family and friends to die. He worries and worries, no matter how many times his family talks through his fears with him.

And when Michael Jackson died … well, that was a big eye-opener for Ian — and his mom.

Ian didn’t know who Michael Jackson was until all the TV coverage started up about his death, and he sympathized. He worried. He talked about how sad it was that Michael Jackson was taking medicine like that. Medicine can be good for you, but not when you take it that way, he now tells people.

His mother says she heard him talking to someone else about MJ, saying, “You know, Michael Jackson, the entertainer …” Oh, that one?! From the mouths of  babes …

Have any of you experienced this type of worry about death from your little ones (or your students, if you have them)? What did you do to help calm their fears?

Or did you? Maybe a ”healthy respect” for what might happen to people, if we don’t make good choices, is a good thing?? What do you think?

Here’s something I suddenly remembered last night: Two little girls — playing together alone in a room– can get into a lot of mischief, very quickly.

This is especially true when it’s my daughter and one of her BFFs, little miss Day-Day.

We went to hang out last night with my BFF and her kiddos (six of them! Yikes, right?!) at her house. My Babycakes was in heaven, because she loves playing with Day-Day, who is close to her age. And the love is mutual. The girls are inseparable.

So, as soon as we got there, the girls immediately took off to play in Day-Day’s room. They decided they were going to play “birthday party,” and so they soon had stripped out of their regular clothes to don “party dresses” and pretend they were going to “dance.” Adorable stuff.

But then, not very much later, I heard my daughter yell downstairs, “Cee-Cee!” referring to one of her friend’s big sisters. She wasn’t calling for me … and I knew that meant trouble.

She wanted help getting PURPLE NAIL POLISH off her hands and feet. Oh, yes, purple nail polish. Apparently, they were trying to paint each other’s nails. OMG.

“Oh, and Aunt Kay,” another one of the older girls says, pointing to the bathroom apologetically. “There’s poop all over the toilet seat.”

What?!!!! All I could do was laugh. Oh, and clean. My friend laughed, too (thank goodness).

Besides all that (TEEHEE!), we had a ton of fun watching our kids play together, and mostly, listening to the hilarious things they say to each other.

At one point, Day-Day found a bag of clothes and pulled out a cute pair of tan overalls.

“I can wear this when I go to the farm,” she said.

BWAHAHAHAHA! Considering Day-Day is a city girl, it was so funny to think that she’s already decided — at age 3 — that people wear overalls when they go to a farm!

They just got me thinking about all the hilarious things kids say and do … I think it’s so cute to listen to how they process the world around them, and use their new language skills at such a young age.

What gems have you heard lately?

We keep a “purse” just for 2 1/2-year-old Babycakes in the car at all times. It’s filled with crayons and crackers and special little toys — all to keep her occupied when we go out to eat.

That’s one of the tricks I’ve learned as a Mom, along with this one: I always order my toddler’s meal right away.

When the server comes around to ask if we want to order drinks, I take that opportunity to order a meal for Babycakes. Less wait for her food means more enjoyment for the entire family. Ha!

Here is a bigger list of tips for how to make taking little ones out to eat a little less stressful.

The list made me think about my quest to compile a list of Quad-City restaurants that have “kids eat free” nights. If you know of any, please send them my way.

And do you have any “tricks” up your sleeve to keep the kids behaving well when you go out?

So … I know I’ve said here before I was done watching “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ on TLC, and I’ve probably gasped out loud on this blog about the “Octomom,” too.

But … I do still find their stories interesting. Is that wrong?!?

Oh, I know. I know. They’re a mess. But aren’t we ALL a little bit of a mess sometimes? Probably not to this level, but … can’t we all relate, even a little bit, to their chaotic lives? 

The way I see it, when people are brave enough to share personal information about their lives, in hopes of shedding new light on a situation or helping others, then I say, “Good for you.” And I find many of those kinds of stories very interesting – to read and to write.

But do the Gosselins and the Sulemans fit that category? I’m not convinced their motives are purely to “help others.” I think they also want to help themselves …

But regardless, do you find yourselves watching their shows and reading about them anyway? Or have they drawn too much attention in the media? Is it true, what a wise woman once told me: “Some stories just shouldn’t be told”?

What do you think?

When my son was about 12, he told me I was “ruining” his social life … because I didn’t buy him a cell phone.

“What do you mean? We have a house phone,” I said. “Why can’t your friends call the house?”

“Nobody does that, Mom,” he told me. “You don’t understand.”

No, I didn’t.

Back when I was a kid, we didn’t have cell phones. We used to talk on the telephone — the kind that plugged into the wall at home — for hours and hours. No one I knew had a computer. We didn’t e-mail. We didn’t text-message. Facebook? Quadsville? Twitter? None of that existed.

Sometimes — brace yourselves – we even used pay phones.

But that isn’t how the world works anymore. Heck, a lot of people don’t even have landlines anymore (and pay phones are all but extinct). Maybe kids really DO need cell phones for social and safety reasons today.

So, here’s my big question: At what age do you think it’s appropriate to get your kid a cell phone nowadays? 12? Younger? Older?

I’m not a big fan of scary amusement-park rides. Anything that goes high into the air or upside down … SHUDDER. I don’t approve of it. HA!

But my sister is a huge fan. So, when she and her fiance and my Mom all went to the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Ill., this past weekend, we went on a few rides that spurred me to screams (and, OK, a little bit of colorful language, too, but my speech was muffled against my chest, because I was trying to roll into a ball. No kids could hear me! LOL!).

This picture is of me on the ferris wheel. Yes, even the ferris wheel makes me nervous. This was our last ride of the day.

I was ready to feel the ferris-wheel car lurch when it got to the top, but it was a smooth ride. I actually smiled after a while.

We also walked through the livestock and exhibit halls. And, upon my request, we sat in on a quilt-making session.

“We want to see you get fired up over quilting!” the woman told the small crowd.

Well, I think it worked. Today, before heading to work, I spent some time at a fabric store. I bought a how-to book for beginning quilters. I read it over lunch.

I might not be big on amusement rides, but I do get excited about the thrill of learning something new — especially something that can be passed down to other women in my family.

The other day, I dug out my Grandma’s old sewing machine. But that — and the book purchase — are as far as I’ve gone. Maybe I need to take a class. Know of any around here?

Yep, it’s that bittersweet time of year: Back-to-school time.

For some, it’s a very happy time. You know, the feeling … FINALLY, the kids won’t be bouncing off the walls at home anymore! They’ll be back into a routine (Ha! Yeah, right?!) and things will get back to normal for a while.

But it’s another story, maybe, when your child is going off to college. Oh, your heart must feel like breaking, because it’s surely bursting with pride — but it’s also probably hurting a little. Just thinking about that little baby, growing up and leaving the nest … it makes a mom feel a little sick inside.

So, help prepare me a little bit, will you? Does sending a kid off to college hurt your WALLET, too? Oh, of course, the student loans must hurt, but what I’m talking about is the cost of outfitting their dorm room or apartment. How much does that cost?

Have any of you found ways to save money while getting all the necessary furnishings?

You might have heard we’re working on a big “State of Marriage” project, which is set to begin running this Sunday in the Times.

In our reporting, we learned that one of the threats to marriage is technology – as in texting, tweeting, Facebook, MySpace, etc. If someone is texting or messaging an ex (or a potential new boyfriend/girlfriend) online, intimate relationships can develop … and people might cheat.

Experts are even researching the issue. You can read about Internet jealousy here and here.

In my various Mommy blog reading, I’ve seen a lot of discussions about how much information is appropriate to post online about your kids. But have you thought about how much information you’re sharing about yourself — and with whom you’re sharing it?

Is it harmless to message or “friend” your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend? Do you monitor what your spouse or significant other is doing on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter? What would you consider crossing the line?

OK, can you see the little toddler-hobo hiding under a pile of Quad-City Times newspapers in this picture?!! Isn’t she cute?

That’s my Babycakes, at work briefly with me yesterday in the newsroom.

I had to leave work mid-day and run her to an allergy specialist, because she suddenly has been getting hives on her face, and no one seems to know why. The doctor (who was extremely kind and patient with my 2 1/2-year-old girl) spent a lot of time with us, asking questions. She then had a nurse come in and do a skin test on my daughter’s little back, testing her for all sorts of allergies — you name it, and she probably was tested for it yesterday.

Well, unfortunately, we still don’t know what’s causing the hives for sure.

But Babycakes thought the experience was all right, because she got a little prize and a sucker after the ordeal … and we got to look at the “big orange fish” at a pond at the hospital while we waited for her appointment. She thought that was very cool.

But the highlight of the day was when she got to come back to work with me for a little while afterward. She was very quiet, sitting by my desk, coloring and playing. OK, yes, near the end, she did create a little hobo area with newspapers on the floor by my desk, but no one seemed to mind.

Today, I’m child-free at work … and excited to be representing the Times by introducing the keynote speaker — Drake University Athletic Director Sandra Hatfield Clubb – at the Young Women of Achievement awards luncheon at the i wireless Center. Will any of you be there?

So, I made it through my first “appearance” on the morning show on Mix 96 (96.1 FM) today, and it was really fun. You can listen to it here.

But I was nervous about it. I kept thinking about it last night, wondering what I was going to talk about on the radio, sort of freaking myself out.

Maybe that’s what freaked my daughter out. She’s a sensitive little thing. She might have sensed my anxiety.

As soon as her little head dusted her pillow at bedtime, she cried … and cried … and cried …  No, it was more like wailing. And it lasted a LONG time.

There was nothing I could do to comfort her. Every time I’d go back into her room, and offer to pick her up and rock her, she would wail even louder.

After a little while, she would back it down to wimpering. Then, she’d fall silent. I would think she was just about over it, and then, BAM! Back to the wailing again.

I tried everything. I took her to go potty, three times. I rocked her. I ignored her. I explained why crying wasn’t working for her. None of it worked.

She finally gave up and let me rock her, and got herself calmed down enough to fall asleep … at almost midnight. Poor little girlie.

And poor Mama. I was tired when the alarm went off, and it was raining — such excellent sleeping weather. But I knew I had to leave fairly early, and drive through the rain, to get to the radio station for the show. Isn’t that always the way it goes, after a night like that?!

Whoa, now the rain is really pouring down. Can hear it through the Q-C Times building. Just heard a coworker say, “My dogs aren’t going to go out in this.” True.

And I forgot my lunch. Dang! Haha!

What’s going on with you? Any big plans for the weekend? It’s supposed to get nice — and hot — tomorrow, I hear.