When my son was little he had a brief interest in Thomas the Tank Engine. It must have fallen around Christmas time, probably around age 3, I'm guessing, because I remember buying him this battery-operated Thomas train about the size of a shoebox that made a lot of noise and was generally a horrible toy.

This is in direct contrast to Thomas' other image, which, if you've never had kids who are into Thomas, is this: He's a really useful engine. That's not my spin on things; they actually refer to him that way.

Because my son's interest in all things Thomas was short, I think we only checked out a few videos of the show from the library. But even with that limited exposure, I remember that Thomas' strong suit was his usefulness.

Other characters on the show had more obvious lead characteristics: Percy, as I recall, was kind of naive; James, a little vain; and Diesel 10 was the bad guy. But Thomas, while also being a little naive himself and maybe over-reaching, was mostly known for being useful.

I remember thinking at the time that a concept like "useful" could easily be lost on the pre-kindergarten set. What do you know of "useful" at age 2 or 3? I watched some of these shows with my son and found the whole thing mind-numbingly dull.

Strange thing, then, today to stumble upon news of an upcoming event called "All Aboard! Day Out with Thomas," which is being held at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay June 10-14.

The first thing that popped into my mind: He's a really useful engine.

And then I remembered that soothing voice from the videos that told the stories and the simplicity of the stories and the characters. A bad train had a perpetual frown; a friendly train was all smiles. Thomas and his metal buddies definitely got themselves in a lot of trouble at times, but they always worked it out and the benevolent Sir Topham Hatt, director of the railway, was always there to handle the problems in a kind way.

Odd -- but I felt a little nostalgia for the Thomas show and its plodding storylines. I almost wish I had one of those Thomas videos at home to just listen to while I make dinner tonight. In hindsight, the Thomas stories hold up nicely when pitted against some of the stuff that passes as TV shows for kids today. (Ever watch "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"? Oh, brother. Not even remotely useful.)

I still think "useful" is an unusual way to refer to a child's storybook character, but you know what? It really does work for Thomas.

And I bet a lot of little kids are going to be really happy to see that useful engine next week in Green Bay.

MilwaukeeMoms.com and Metroparent magazine were the sponsors of yesterday's Kids Day at RiverSplash in Pere Marquette Park downtown.

While the weather wasn't perfect (when is it ever in early June in Milwaukee?), we still had a nice crowd of families out to enjoy themselves at the event.

At our booth we had coloring pages and crayons, and scads of white balloons with our logos on them. At first we were inflating lots of balloons and letting them float up to the top of the booth so they would be ready to hand off to children who wanted them.

However, a few odd winds caught those balloon clusters (more than once, I'm sorry to report), sending dozens of the balloons skittering out from under the booth and skyward while we watched from the ground.

And, of course, we also had plenty of kids who were thrilled to get balloons -- only to forget to hang onto them, sending those into the sky and prompting a return trip to our booth for a replacement, which we were happy to provide.

So I know we sent a far amount of balloons into the stratosphere yesterday, but imagine my surprise to come in this morning and get this e-mail:

I'm pretty sure this is impossible, but everywhere I go lately, I'm seeing babies. Not just your garden-variety babies either. Really, really cute and sweet babies.

This is not good.

Like my own mother and grandmothers before me, I have the baby bug. You know, the thing that makes you want to sit next to the table with the baby at the restaurant so that you can make eyes at that baby the whole time. The thing that makes you itch to hold a baby when one is nearby or push one in a stroller or just tickle one under the chin.

But with kids the ages mine are now (13 and 10), the baby bug only goes so far. It stops at actually having a baby in my house full time (aka "another child") because one difficult pregnancy and several years ago, we decided that two was enough. We weren't going "back there" -- back to diapers, sleep deprivation and teething.

Potty training. Temper tantrums (although you still get some of those at any age). Public meltdowns. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

Making that decision, though, also means you aren't going "back there" to little ones who happily sit on your lap, splash around in the tub or lose themselves in baby giggles. The choice to stay status quo means you've made the choice not to have all that other stuff too.

And to be honest, some of that stuff is really good stuff.

I'm definitely not going back there -- no way, no how. But if I see you out at a restaurant, just know that I'll gladly hold your baby for you so you can enjoy your dinner.

And then I'll gladly give your baby back.

"What is this?" my 10-year-old son asked in only somewhat mock horror as we checked in to our cabin in Door County. A trip to Wisconsin's Cape Cod is a staple of our summers, and we headed out last week to get in our annual trek.

This time we were joined by a large group -- my husband's brother and sisters, their spouses and children. And instead of staying at one of our usual condo places, this time we were all camped out at an old-school summer resort complete with rows of little cabins and a main building with a screen porch running along the back, just feet away from the water. Think "Dirty Dancing," only a little dirtier, I'm pretty sure.

We don't typically stay in Four Seasons type places, but my kids are used to a little, well, more. So it was a bit of adjustment to warm them up to the idea that for several days we were going to stay in this cabin that we quick dubbed "camping with hard walls" so that they would get the idea that this was not torture -- it was high adventure.

Sure it felt a little damp in there and the beds were really cots. The couch was small by anyone's standards, even kids, so between that and the TV that looked (and operated) more like a microwave than a TV, hanging out in the cabin wasn't going to be a great option.

After some light complaining, loud sighing and eye rolling (that all comes standard with a 13-year-old girl), we settled in and went off to find the rest of our vacation party.

Within hours, the mob of cousins was running off to the beach while the adults sat on the screen porch, chatting and watching the water as the sun went down. The kids (and some adults too) played board games and ping pong and rode the free bikes owned by the resort. They lit off smokebombs (thanks a lot, Uncle Bob), swam in the little pool and kicked soccer balls around.

What they didn't do was watch videos on YouTube or play The Sims or challenge each other on PlayStation3. Nope, these kids were forcibly unplugged and it was a beautiful thing to see.

My son no longer wondered what this was. It was vacation.

I'm not proud of it, but I watched "Jon & Kate Plus 8" again last night. It truly is the train wreck that you can't stop looking at, but here's the really gross part -- the people who are responsible for the train wreck, the people whose bodies are literally in the wreckage, are making sure that it lasts and lasts.

On top of that, they're selling sponsorships for the train wreck to ensure that they get paid for their efforts to keep it going, all the while dressing their kids in matching outfits and trying to dress it up as something other than what it is.

If you watched last night's episode, you now know that Jon and Kate Gosselin are on their way to divorce court. No big surprise there.

What is a surprise is that they've decided to keep their show. They're going to alternate who stays in the house with the kids and keep those cameras rolling.

It is shocking that neither one of the players in this nasty reality drama can see it for what it is. A show that was once cute and charming and oh-my-gosh-how-do-they-do-it is now something entirely different.

Every week the show is now one long commercial for something else -- Orange County Choppers, Food Network's "Ace of Cakes," Emeril Lagasee, and last night's episode sponsor, Kids Crooked Houses. In case you never heard of Kids Crooked Houses, you will now. Custom-built playhouses for kids -- I don't even want to know what they cost.

Every week the money truck backs up to this house in one form or another, the kids shriek with delight at their new puppies or toys or bikes or whatever while Jon and Kate edge around each other and try to make nice with whoever is giving them the stuff this time.

Their now solo confessionals to the camera include plenty of references to how the show is for the kids, the stuff is for the kids, they're "there" for their kids.

You would think that parents who claim to be all about their kids would realize that filming the uncomfortable unraveling of their marriage for entertainment purposes, with the kids as the cute distraction sold to the highest bidder, is actually disgusting.

It's true that their kids are getting a lot of things and experiences that they would never, ever have without this show. But should you put your family on display -- painful warts and all -- just to ensure that you stay on the receiving end of all that stuff?

In last night's episode, the kids got brand-new Crooked Houses designed just for them. The unfortunate thing is that they're already living in one, designed by the parents who claim to have their best interests at heart.

On today's "Morning Blend," metroparent magazine editor Rebecca Christman and I went on to share some very yummy s'more ideas that move the campfire dessert from ordinary to extraordinary.

We brought all sorts of things you can use instead of the traditional graham cracker and chocolate square to dress up your s'mores. The only requirement we had was that each s'more recipe had to include a roasted marshmallow -- the key ingredient to anything you'd call a s'more.

In case you missed the show, here are our s'more varieties:

1) graham crackers, caramel sauce, thin chocolate/caramel candy square (Ghiradelli makes the perfect type), roasted marshmallows

2) fudge stripe cookies, peanut butter, chocolate chips, roasted marshmallow

3) chocolate chip cookies, marshmallow fluff, chocolate mints (Andes would work well), roasted marshmallow

4) cinnamon graham crackers, caramel sauce, sliced apple, roasted marshmallow

5) vanilla wafer cookies, peanut butter, banana slices, roasted marshmallow

6) chocolate graham crackers, hazelnut spread (Nutella), shredded coconut, roasted marshmallow

We came up with a lot of other ideas, too, using different fruits and other types of sauces and spreads.

How about this fun idea? Invite all the neighbors over, fire up the grill or backyard fire pit and set out a "s'mores bar" with all the toppings mentioned here, plus any more you add.

Sounds like a good summer night to me.