When school officials in Dumas, Arkansas spotted lights coming from the school bus yard around 11 pm, they figured they had a bus thief on their hands. They were right and ultimately officers from three counties, four towns and the Arkansas State Police became involved in trying to apprehend the bus thief. The driver of the bus managed to evade all measures to stop him, including road spikes, and headed towards Little Rock along U.S. 65.

When the bus finally slowed down enough, a sheriff's deputy got the driver to stop and that's when they realized the thief was a 10-year-old child. They cuffed him and took him into custody,but later released him to his parents.

It's not known whether he will be charged, but what gets me is that this escapade is being referred to as a prank. As in, he was part of a group caught on camera trying to pull this same prank last month. Since when is stealing a bus and leading police on a multi-county chase a prank? And what was this kid doing out at 11pm anyway?

I used to be a big shopper. I love clothes, and fuzzy scarves and winter boots with impractical heels. I like shopping for new crisp notebooks, and coloured pens, happy smelling lotions and kitchen mitts.

I do a lot less shopping now than I did two years ago, partially because shopping with a kid is painful, and partially because having a kid means shopping mostly for him. But still, on the occasional rainy Saturday I like to peruse the racks of my favorite stores. And because I'm a single Mom, Nolan is always with me.

Our excursions are usually short. Nolan has the attention span of a knat, and it usually takes less than ten minutes before he starts wanting to wheel mannequins across the store, dart under the lingerie to peek up through the silk. But, I'm more efficient now. I usually look online first, find what I want, and dash into my store of choice.

But I think I've noticed a disconcerting trend. My toddler makes me invisible to retail salespeople.

At first I thought I was just being overly sensitive, but no. There's a definite difference now. Salespeople who once would have tried to woo me with service now avoid me, watch me frowning out of the corners of their eyes. I hope that kid doesn't touch anything, perhaps. More ominously, maybe: we aren't the kind of store for Moms.

I've noticed it in boutiques, electronics department, the car service center. I am somehow less important now than I was three years ago, It feels almost like it did when I was a teenager. That there are more important customers.

Is it just me? Has anyone else felt a decline in customer service since having kids?

As the world has been watching Britney Spear's public free-fall, I have been wondering about her mom, Lynne. Britney and Lynne have been estranged since June, when Spears handed her a letter that reportedly told Lynne to stay away from Britney's sons if she was taking medication that might cause her to be impaired. Britney then told reporters, "I'm praying for her right now. [I hope] she gets all the help she needs." Lynne really had no choice but to quietly step aside and watch her daughter publicly self-destruct. Say what you will about Mama Spears, but I imagine these past few months have been a scary time for her.

Well, it seems that now that Spears has lost her children along with her dignity, she has come around and realizes she needs her mother again. Sources tell People that Lynne and her younger daughter Jaime Lynn arrived in Los Angeles this past Friday to be with Britney. Mom made an early morning visit to Britney's Beverly Hills home and then drove her daughter to her new place in Malibu.

Lately Britney's inner circle has been devoid of anyone who might genuinely care for her and to whom she might listen. Letting her mother back in is a step in the right direction for Britney and gives me hope that she might actually get better someday.

Jared and Sara are quite familiar with wheelchairs, walkers, and so on. Both of them have been hanging around folks with varying degrees of physical disabilities almost since birth. When one woman they know got an electric wheelchair, they both wanted to see the control panel light up and learn how it worked. They didn't really seem to notice her twisted feet or wonder why she couldn't walk. As they get older, I'm hoping they don't see physical differences as being of any great import. I'm hoping their ongoing experiences will teach them to see past the physical to find the person inside.

In that vein, I found this article quite interesting and enlightening. I know I've been conscious of the not-staring thing in the past. In reality, however, by seeing -- really seeing, not just looking -- a person and then recognizing that what you see and what they're like inside are not connected, kids learn to accept people as they are, not how they look.

The innocence of children leads their minds down different paths from adults. The author notes that "the child with no personal reference base sees a host of possibilities and questions out of innocence and curiosity rather than preconceived notions." One of those questions -- which makes perfect sense if you stop and think about it (or maybe don't think about it) -- is "Why do you get to ride around when I have to walk?"

The point is that we shouldn't shield children from people who have different challenges, but encourage kids to get to know them so as to see they aren't really different at all, in any meaningful way.

One of my favorite memories of high school was riding around downtown San Francisco with a bunch of guys in the back of a pickup truck, each of us carrying a rifle. The looks we got from passersby were priceless. Of course, the guns were not live weapons; we were carting them to the Bill Graham auditorium for the annual JROTC drill competition.

I actually learned a fair bit from my time in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. I learned to avoid the hazing that went on regularly. I learned to take a nap while marching. I learned to disassemble, clean, and reassemble a rifle. Most importantly, I learned that the military and I were not at all meant for each other. That was an extremely valuable lesson.

In the near future, however, students in San Francisco will no longer be able to enjoy the same lessons I endured. There will be no marching up and down the school yard. There will be no inspections to make sure that belt buckles are so shiny they can be used as a weapon to blind one's enemy. There will be no more live ammunition on school campuses.

San Francisco's school board voted last fall to phase out the program, but have pushed the deadline back a year due to not having a replacement program ready. There are a number of groups who oppose the JROTC program, saying it's nothing more than a fancy military recruitment program (well, duh!), that it allows discrimination, and that the curriculum is substandard.

Personally, I pretty much agree; overall, I think that really has no place in a public school. There are aspects of the program that I enjoyed and that are definitely worth including in a replacement, but there are a lot that are, in my opinion, detrimental. Still, it seems there is a lot of support for the program out there. What is it like elsewhere? What was your experience, if any, with it? Do you see the JROTC program as a valuable addition to the public school system or is it a detriment?

This is truly one of the most beautiful things I've seen on the Internet in months.

My friend Marla sent me notification about a real-life Giving Tree in Denmark -- a large tree in a public park in the beautiful city of Copenhagen. The tree wears hundreds of gifts from children: beloved binkies, cherished blankets, personal items with heartfelt letters. And here's why: when a child outgrows a comfort item like a pacifier, his or her parents can suggest "giving it to the tree." It marks a transition and a rite of passage and provides the child with the comfort of knowing that friendly tree has his or her special possession.

Background on the story of the tree can be found here, but make sure you click through to the photoset on Flickr. I'd be lying if I said they didn't make me tear up, just a little. What a wonderful idea.

Of course, Martha wouldn't be satisfied by simply making a ghost by tying a white Kleenex around a Tootsie Pop and calling it a day.

Oh nooooo, she's got to complicate matters by using cardboard tubes and wire and aluminum foil and cheese cloth and liquid starch...............wait a minute- none of those things are that hard to come by! This might be one of those rare and lovely instances when Martha Stewart and kid-friendliness collide!

The directions are pretty simple:

• Cut slits around a paper towel tube and bend them out to form a base band keep the tube upright on its own (Good kid job.)
• Jab a wire through the tubing and bend to form arms (Older kid job, if their tetanus shots are up-to-date.)
• Roll ball of aluminum to form head (Kid job)
• Cut cheese cloth into strips (I'm sure any fabric would do, but you know how Martha can be. You'll never see ghosts made out of leftover SpongeBob Squarepants or Dora scraps on Turkey Hill.)
• Soak strips in liquid starch and drape over cardboard figure. (Kid job IF THEIR MOTHER HAPPENS TO LEAVE FOR A MINUTE TO USE THE BATHROOM)
• When the fabric dries, carefully lift the cheesecloth off the cardboard (Probably a parent job, the kids will be off breaking stuff somewhere else at this point)

I adore Stephen Colbert. If he weren't already married to a charming and lovely woman and if I wasn't married to a charming and handsome man, who KNOWS what might have been............

And it's not just his impeccable comedic timing or dry wit that makes Colbert so like-able, it's the fact that in spite of working in the entertainment industry and all the wealth he's accumulated, Colbert remains grounded.

"I desire to have what I would consider a normal life. To have a wife and kids, and live in a suburban house, and wear khaki pants, and pick them up from the dry cleaner-I don't see anything wrong with that. I think a lot of people who perform have a fear of being ordinary. They confuse ordinary with common."

How refreshing for a celebrity talk of the benefits of an ordinary life!

Stephen and his wife Evelyn McGee-Colbert have three children: Madeline, Peter, and John. I bet they make their own beds, walk the dog and will never be photographed drunk and without underwear.

It's true that we all bleed, but some scab under way cooler bandages than others.

Band-aids have come a long way from the Johnson & Johnson peach colored numbers wrapped up in white paper that opened with a red string of my youth. Today's bandages are ablaze with colorful characters from cartoons and comic books but sometimes a person wants something more interesting than Hello Kitty or Spiderman covering their oozing sores.

Something that makes a statement, like a strip of bacon because not only can you bring home the bacon, and fry it in the pan, you multi-task by using it as barrier against germs. Or Ninja warriors, the fiercest defenders against infection. Or just a nice skull and bones pirate flags to show that while you might be clumsy, you're no wimp and a lesser man would have died.

These band-aids from Perpetual Kid would make a great sugar-free treat for special Halloween hob-goblins or neat stocking stuffers for the accident-prone on your Christmas list.

When I smell Drakkar Noir cologne, I think of the Grade 8 sock-hop, dim red lights and a swirling disco ball, the smell of shy hope and young hormones. When I hear old Sound Garden on the radio, I think of my ex-boyfriend Les, the giddy uncertainty of newly-formed love, the ache of long distance romance. And when I read Alligator Pie, I think of street hockey, tree forts, and Cabbage Patch parties. I think of my childhood.

I stumbled across the Canadian classic children's book last weekend when I took Nolan to the book store to pick out some new bedtime stories. When I saw the familiar alligator in the air balloon on the front cover, I was immediately transported back to elementary school, double dutch, cross country running, science fairs, and those strange, whimsical photos that adorned the pages. Something about toes in a jar? I'd completely lost all those memories until I saw the cover of that book. Of course I immediately bought it for Nolan, and have been enjoying reading it to him. The poems are catchy and the illustrations are like nothing you've seen before. Americans may not get some of the very specific Canadiana in the book, but it's still recommended for its whimsy.

I'm curious -- what book takes you rocketing back to childhood?

When Ellie gets a cold, I am hesitant to give her any medicine because I have yet to find one that doesn't cause her to wake up a few hours later totally wired and unable to sleep. Over the years, I've tried all kinds of over-the-counter cold remedies to ease her symptoms, but by this point I don't even bother. Instead, I give her a cup full of warm water with a generous squeeze of honey. I don't know how or why, but this almost always stops the coughing and helps her relax and fall asleep. Which is really all I am after in the first place - a good, restorative night's sleep.

Now, there is another reason not to reach for over-the-counter cold medicines. A new review has found little evidence that these medicines do any good and they might even be dangerous for young children. I didn't know this and chances are you didn't either, but from 1969 to 2006, at least 54 kids have died after taking over the counter decongestants. And 69 more have died after taking antihistamines.

Obviously, the Food and Drug Administration is aware of this, but until now has done nothing about it. But last week, they issued warnings about several different over-the-counter, multi-symptom cough and cold remedies - like Toddler's Dimetapp, Triaminic Infant and Little Colds - for children under 6. We have tried all of those.

So, what should parents do now? Pharmacist Catherine Tom-Revzon says, "They should talk to a health care provider about whether a product is necessary for their child's cold or flu. And they should only be given cough, cold, allergy and pain reliever products as a last resort and with caution."

She suggests trying non-medicine remedies first, like a humidifier and saline drops. We have had success with the honey water and humidifier combination. What are your non-medicine tricks for helping your child through a bad cold?

Having kids in elementary school, junior high and high school participating in T-ball, soccer, Cross-Country, baseball, and basketball means more than putting a lot of miles on your vehicle-it means you're going to be involved in a lot of fundraisers.

Fund raisers are a necessary evil. They make it possible to raise money for expensive but necessary equipment and supplies and allow kids of all socioeconomic levels to participate, not just the wealthy ones. However, it gets mighty old hawking overpriced chocolates and gift wrap on innocent neighbors and co-workers.

Late last night we were introduced to a new fund raising idea: flocking.

Just as my husband was about to turn off the porch lights for the evening, he noted something unusual in the yard, three plastic pink flamingos festooned with tinsel garland. The attached note read: You've been flocked! These flamingos have landed on your yard on behalf of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program. For a donation, this lovely flock of pink fowl will be happy to fly to another yard of your choice. Flock your friends! Flock your neighbors! Have fun while helping the children of your community!

We were lucky to only have a small flock in our yard, a local dentist had a group of over forty land in front of his office!

My youth group offered "spook insurance" to local businesses. If any of their windows were egged or soaped over Halloween, the group would clean it up free of charge. (And because it was a church group, we didn't trash their properties if they declined!)

What are some creative fund raising ideas you've come across?

If you're trying to get pregnant and want to know when you're most fertile, perhaps you should taking up stripping at a gentleman's club and monitor your tips. At least, that's one way of doing it. It turns out that, according to a new study chronicled in Psychology Today, strippers make significantly more in tips when they were most fertile than when they were not ovulating -- and you can totally forget about the period when they had their period.

Studying the women working in local clubs, Psychologist Geoffrey Miller of the University of New Mexico found that the dancers' tips skyrocketed to $70 per hour from a normal $50 per hour when they were ovulating. They also found that tips dropped to $35 per hour when the women were menstruating.

Okay, so no one is going to take up exotic dancing just to find out when they're most likely to get pregnant, but it does have implications beyond the world of men's clubs. Any woman working in a tip-based service industry can take advantage of this knowledge by working more at that time of the month. As Miller points out, "It might help to know about this so that you can exploit these effects."

For years, the purpose of the appendix was a mystery to the medical community. The organ doesn't appear to have any real function other than occasionally getting infected and turning into a ticking time bomb. According to the CDC, three to four hundred Americans die of appendicitis ever year.

But new research from Duke University Medical School suggests a theory that has some in the medical community slowly nodding their heads: the job of the appendix might be to store good bacteria for later release in a hard-reset when disease wipes out the body's current inventory. The human body depends on bacteria to help digest food and diseases like cholera and amoebic dysentery, in addition to weakening a person, would destroy all helpful bacteria. In modern times, replenishing bacteria occurs just from being around other people and their germs. Researchers theorize that the appendix might have been essential to replacing bacterial systems before dense populations existed.

Because the appendix no longer needed in modern industrialize countries, it is theorized that living in an overly hygienic society might somehow be triggering an overreaction by the body's immune system, resulting in appendicitis. The lower rate of appendicitis attacks in less developed countries appears to support this notion.

So if you or someone you know are faced with the possibility of life without an appendix, don't worry. It was just a storage locker for bacteria you can pick up walking through the mall.

My friend Mel popped by last week and left behind a bottle of water on my kitchen counter. I'd never seen the brand before, and since I drink a fair bit of bottled water, I was curious and looked at the label. Ethos.

"We began with a simple idea: let's create a bottled water and help children around the world get clean water."

Wow, I thought, that's a seriously innovative idea. I did a little bit of digging: there are currently more than 800 brands of bottled water in North America. 800 brands of exactly the same thing. Some of it, I learned this summer, comes from the very same tap water that flows out of the kitchen sink.(which, yikes!) So, really -- as a purchaser of bottled water, for convenience and simply because I prefer it to juice and pop -- it makes sense to buy water that's doing something positive for the planet. Especially if that's the only differentiating factor.

This article provides some background on Ethos and its mission. The company started as an "indie" water company but has recently been purchased by Starbuck's, adding incredible reach to its label. Here, a 700 ml bottle of Ethos water costs about two dollars at Starbuck's. 5 cents of that will be used to help children around the world get clean water. It doesn't sound like a whole lot, but there is strength in numbers. And given the choice between Aquafina tap water (with all proceeds to Pepsi) and Ethos water (with some proceeds to impoverished children), my preference is definitely the latter.

You can find a list of who Ethos helps here.