Mother's Day

Ask Salt Lake mom Amy-Kim Kyremes-Parks for her definition of pampered and she'll say she feels pampered any time she can do what she wants. "Sit on the porch for 20 minutes reading my book. Take a bath with the door shut."

Kyremes-Parks has two children who have their own ideas of how to pamper her. Natalily is 4 years old and Isaiah is 17 months. He is the one who insists on being in the bathroom whenever the water is running.

With Mother's Day approaching, children of all ages are thinking about how to make Mom feel regal. As for Natalily, she'll no doubt clean the house that day for her mom. She likes to "help clean up everything" every day, said Kyremes-Parks. One early morning she told her mother, "We need to get Daddy out of bed because I need to make the bed for you."

Natalily also likes to give manicures. Kyremes-Parks is careful to choose a light-colored polish so that the skin surrounding her nails won't appear bloody. (The most popular pink at Trade Secret is "Pinking of You," by O.P.I, for $7.50. A pocket-knife-style file at the same store is $6.)

If you are looking for ideas about how to pamper your own mom, ask around. One mother will say she wants to have her car cleaned. (Happily this is the time of year when youth groups do their fund-raisers. Drive mom's car by your local high school this Saturday and you just might find a $5 bargain wash.)

Another mom requests a scalp massage. (Check out cosmetology schools for a piggy-bank-worthy price. At Bon Losee Academy of Hair Artistry in Provo, you can get a one-hour scalp massage from a student for $3.)

Bonnie Gehre, of Fillmore, has a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old and she's hoping they will help make dinner for her on Mother's Day. "Or breakfast would be great, too." She would also welcome a back rub or a pedicure.

Gehre has already decided how to pamper her own mother. She'll go there for a visit and do some major spring cleaning. They'll chat away the afternoon while she scrubs.

In Moab, Fran Townsend has just helped her mother celebrate a birthday. Ivy Gates turned 95 and Townsend did her hair for her. She will do the same on Mother's Day. "It is such a joy to be able to do little things for her," Townsend says. "She is so appreciative. I feel very blessed that I have her."

Jennifer Williams, 17, of Salt Lake, says her mother, Ann, likes breakfast in bed on Mother's Day. Jennifer's dad usually does the cooking.