Cheerio Confessions

Okay so I had my weekly 17P injection and my appointment with Dr. D yesterday. I tried to write all about it yesterday but I was exhausted (still am) and it just wasn't happening. Sorry.

So Lisa came at 8:00am, per usual. We sat. We chatted. She took vitals for me and Tiny. Then she gave me my injection. I finally got around to asking her if she knows why some of the injections burn and others don't. She said that's just the way it goes. So nothing to be concerned about. Just one of those things. Overall, it was a rather lovely visit...aside from the whole injection part. :) lol


The we all got dressed and ready and took Elliott Richard to Grandma G's house. Then Rob and I went to my appointment with Dr. D. The appointment was at 10:00am but I didn't take into account the fact that he hadn't seen patients on Monday so the office was PACKED! I swear for every 3 patients they called back another 5 walked through the door. It was craziness.

At 10:45am they finally called me back for my NST. I had a few contractions that seemed to go on forever. But overall it went pretty well. Of course, in keeping with being my son Tiny started moving like a good little boy and then promptly got the hiccups so rather than being done in 10 minutes it took us about a half hour. (lol)

Once that was done, the nurse took me to the exam room. Dr. D came in and did the fFN test, which I guess will be my last one. (woo who!) He said that we are looking good and have done everything we can. Now we wait. He didn't really give any indication of whether he thinks Tiny will come in the next few weeks or not, at least not that I can remember. I asked him about the hot flashes I've been having. He said they were normal. As are the spots within my line of vision during the hot flashes. So all in all, it was a pretty low-key appointment.

Then we had to make an appointment for a BPP on Thursday (I was supposed to have it yesterday but they didn't tell me to schedule it so I have to go back tomorrow.) and an appointment for an NST and BPP for next Tuesday. :) Yup, I now get to see Tiny once a week until he makes his appearance. (Yippee!)

They didn't have the results of my fFN test yesterday when I called. So I have to call in a little bit to find out what they are. Rob still thinks it will come back positive. I'm not sure what I think. All I really know is that I'm sore and exhausted and can't seem to stay awake lately.


After my appointment we went to pick up Elliott Richard from Grandma G's house. We ended up hanging out for a while and just chatting with Mom. Then when it was time to leave we found Elliott passed out on the couch. So we stayed for a while longer. Once we finally got home I was in a funk. No reason really. I think it's just crazy pregnancy hormones.

Rob decided to take me out for one last "hurrah" and we went out for dinner. This is always one of the ways I can tell I'm a mom...Rob offers to take me to dinner and I pass up the places I would typically ask to go for a "kid friendly" place. I finally opted for Golden Corral because it's a buffet and we could get there and get Elliott eating right away. Plus there's the added bonus of I can eat whatever I want and as much as I want. And so can Rob and Elliott. So if Elliott doesn't eat what we picked out the first time, we can just get him something else. All I really cared about was the steak, potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. :) Yum.

After dinner we made a quick dash to Pat Catan's so I could pick up some card making supplies. I also got to pick up some new stamps which were on sale and some different papers. Now I just have to find the motivation to make the cards. (lol)

Again I may be jinxing myself, but I'm thrilled (honestly, I am) to report that Elliott Richard slept THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! (Woo who!) That makes 3 full nights sleep in a row! Of course, we finally seem to have this down pat and just as we all get used to it...along will come Tiny. (lol)

As for today's plans...we are planning on going to Grandma and Grandpa G's house for a big ole family cookout etc. Before we can go there are a few things we need to do....

1. I need to take a shower.
2. Elliott Richard needs a bath.
3. I need to take my meds and get my "morning torture" (as I've taken to calling my Heparin injections).
4. Gavin needs to pack for Grandma W's.
5. I need to make plans to meet up with her.

I'm looking forward to a change of scenery and Grandpa G's ultra comfy Lazy Boy recliner. (Yes!) And hopefully there will be lots of yummy food to fill my tummy! :) My only concern about the day is that when I'm over there I tend to get up more than I do here at home...and I'm not sure that's such a good idea. I'll just have to make sure Rob is nearby at all times.

I'm still feeling like Tiny is dropped. Although I'm not quite sure if he's "engaged" or not. Meaning I think he's head down and hanging out in the birth canal, ready to come out and play. But I don't know if he's "locked" down there or if he can still pop out. I'm hoping he can still pop out. But I know he's down there pretty good because when he gets the hiccups now (usually 3-4 times a day) I only feel the little "bomp bomp bomp" down there and on my cervix. Before I would feel them all over and my whole belly would jump with them. I keep praying that he's going to pop back out and hang out in there for a while longer (only another 5 and 1/2 weeks) but I'm not sure that's going to happen. *sigh*

So while I'm not going to L&D or anything. And I know that a lot of you are already praying for us. If you could just pray extra hard that we make it to 36-37 weeks, I would really appreciate it.

I hated having Elliott Richard in the NICU, although the staff made it completely bearable and as pleasant an experience as possible. I hate that his medical records will forever read "preemie" because he was 36 and not 37 weeks. Plus on a completely selfish level, I would rather avoid the "bottle v breast" debate in terms of which will get him released faster. And again on the selfish level, I am going to want to be in the NICU all the time but with two kids "on the outside"that isn't going to be nearly as easy as it was with one.

Pray! Pray! Pray!

77 down ~ 58 to go

Okay so I haven't introduced my new blogs recently. Well not my new blogs but the blogs and whatnot that I've found and grown addicted to. :)

Bed Rest and Beyond ~ This is the story of Becci. She started this blog when it was discovered in her second pregnancy that she has I.C. (Incompetent Cervix). She had a cerclage and nearly her entire pregnancy was spent on strict bed rest. She chronicles her entire pregnancy and delivery. Then she goes on to tell the story of their journey on the quest for #2. I love the blog! Now go! Check it out! Read Becci's story - start to finish! :)

Ok...I have other blogs that I have discovered. However, I don't know if I'm going to add them to my Blogs of Note list. So it remains to be seen if they will be listed here. Now on to the other things I've discovered and want to share...

Verve Earth ~ You go. You sign up. You start a little profile-thingie. It plots you on the global map every time you view your blog (I think). And it shows all the other people around the globe who are viewing their blogs. You can search based on keywords etc. It seems pretty cool.

Blogamama ~ You can list your blog here too. I *think* you have to be a mama to list your blog here - but I'm not sure. Since most of you who read my blog are mamas...you're good to go. ;) lol Although in order to list your blog you have put their little graphic button or text link on your blog linking back to the Blogamama page. No big deal really. And that's where I found a bunch of the blogs I'm currently reading and reviewing for you. ;)

The Mom Blogs ~ Now this one I know for sure you have to be a mom in order to list your blog here. However, it operates much like Blogamama. You give them your information. You put their button/icon thingie on your blog - on the actual blog not in a post.

So basically, for an interesting read...check out Becci's blog. To find some cool blogs to read, checdk out Blogamama and The Mom Blogs sites. :)

I'm off to vegge now...seriously...I am. I swear. Maybe...

Double blech! The more Rob and I debate whether Tiny has dropped. The more we are certain that he has. Or he's trying. I've only got one lump now, so I know he isn't laying transverse (side to side). And I'm 90% certain that lump is his butt because he's been spinning and I watch his feet become little lumps as he pushes off and spins. Then I'll get a foot to the ribs and an elbow when he wants to stop. It's interesting. I'm so sore. My whole body just aches! Especially where he's doing all his break-dancing moves - oh dear God. Not to mention the pain when he nabs a ligament with an elbow.

Luckily, I've been sleeping okay the past few nights. Although I probably just jinxed myself by saying that. Elliott Richard has been going to sleep without help, although I'm still sitting nearby. Every night I move a little more away. I'm also trying to get him to fall back to sleep on his own. It's so going...but we're getting there.

I finally got all of our contacts into Outlook. All 204 of them! And I didn't even add all of the contacts in my organizer. I only added the ones we had to have. Well that and all of my email addresses...but still...204 is just insane.

Okay, the "morning sickness" is kicking in again. Time to take my meds. Then find something to eat. And zone in front of the TV - Rob is wants to watch "Norbit". That movie where Eddie Murphy plays most of the characters himself. *shrugs* Whatever.

I've been feeling really crappy today. I don't think I'm getting sick. It's just pregnancy ickies. I woke up this morning to find Tiny out of my ribs and dropped! (Ack!) I'm praying that he's just practicing and will pop back out. It is too early for him to even think of making an appearance!

My morning sickness has been rearing it's ugly head for the past few days. I've been taking my Phenergan but it's only taking the edge off. What really stinks is that I'm starving but when I eat absolutely nothing sits right. Which is just cruel and unfair for a pregnant woman!

I've been feeling a little better contraction wise over the past few days. Still having them but nowhere near as bad as they have been. Today they are back with avengance! Right now they are 10 minutes apart consistantly. My back is killing me with them too.

I refuse to have this baby now! I've got a shower in 8 days darn it! *stomps foot* (at least I would stomp my foot if I weren't laying down to try and stop this mess) Plus I had decided he was going to be full term (even if that's just 37 weeks) so that Rob and I wouldn't have to deal with the nursing over bottle issue again. *sigh*

I wonder what it's like to have a "textbook" pregnancy. *double sigh*

Okay, so I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. Let's face it, I'm a thinker to begin with so I think way more than I should right out of the gate. Then you throw in the bed rest and there really isn't much more for me to do besides think...a lot.

Anyway, one thing I've been thinking about is "Friendship".

I love having friends. (Who doesn't, right?) And I've been blessed enough to have a few true friends off and on my whole late teens/adult life. My best friend from high school, Amanda, said it best a few years when she described our friendship. She said that she's always known we are true friends because even when we go years without seeing or talking to each other (my fault but that's a long story), when we reconnect it's as if no time has passed at all. I love her for her willingness and ability to forgive me.

Truth be told, and I'm sure some may disagree, I feel like I am a horrible friend. I don't know why. I can only guess. There are some friend-things I always do. Then there are other friend-things that I am good at in the beginning but as time goes on, I down right suck. I will always be there for my friends to the best of my ability. It is not unusal for me drop everything to sit with a friend with a broken heart or drive where ever, when ever to help a friend out. As I've grown up and my own responsibilities have increased this has become more difficult to do. Back in the day, I would drop anything and everything to be where ever I was needed. That part I'm good at.

The phone calls. Emails. Remembering to mail birthday cards etc. I'm horrible at. I'm great at remembering the actual days. I'm even great at getting a card (since I make them lol) but I just seem to fall painfully short when it comes time to mail them.

I think that people take my...lack of enthusiasm over phones calls and whatnot as a lack of enthusiasm in the friendship. That honestly couldn't be further from the truth. Part of it is that I go through moods where I want to talk on the phone all the time. Then there are moods when I will talk on the phone if I absolutely have to. Most of the time, I don't like to talk on the phone (except to my Mom). I guess it's kind of like I'm on contact overload after dealing with the boys all day. So when they are napping or down for the night, I just want to be left alone. To sit and do what I need to do or want to do without anyone demanding or needing my attention. Even Rob falls prey to this. I still consider you guys my friends, I just don't talk to you very much. Which sound bad.

*sigh* I just don't know. I miss my friends. I miss the days of being able to do special things for them. I feel guilty that my method of "doing special things for friends" has resorted to me leaving glitter messages on their MySpace pages or Facebook pages. I don't like having to resort to these things, however, something is better than nothing, right?

What am I teaching my boys about friends and friendship? When I was growing up, my mom had this friend that was just suffocating. At least I thought she was. She would call and my mom would be on the phone for hours! Even though they had just had lunch together the day before so seriously how much could they possibly have to discuss? And I learned early on that I did not want that kind of friendship. I didn't want to be the suffocating friend. Nor did I want to be the suffocated friend. Unfortunately, I never learned what that middle road was. I tried my whole childhood to find that middle ground. And I remember failing a lot along the way. But I don't know that I ever figured it out.

So, someone please tell me, where that middle ground is! How do you be a great friend without loosing yourself in the process? I'm open to any and all opinions on this...seriously.

75 down ~ 60 to go

Ok, so Rob gave me this great new phone that's way more than I will ever need. However, he feels better for having given me a really cool phone and I can check my email and instant message from it...so whatever. The problem is that I have needed to enter my contacts for the past...oh let's just say month now. I'm finally getting to doing that. Not because I want to but because I'm tired of getting text messages and not knowing who they are from. Plus, I'm on bed rest and I feel that I should at least accomplish a few "real life" things while I'm laying here.

Anyway, as I'm going through my contacts in Outlook I'm noticing duplicates galore. As well as, email addresses with no names and whatnot. So...I'm cleaning out my contacts. If I disappear from your MSN Messenger list, I'm sorry. If you no longer get emails from me, well, that's not really indicative of anything since I don't really email anyone very much. But you get the idea. I'm not deleting on a personal level. It's strictly a matter of time and space. (Do you have any idea how long it takes to scroll through all those email addresses with no names when I'm just looking for someone's phone number?! It's insane.)

I am thrilled to report that I actually got more than a 45 minute stretch of sleep last night! Wooooo Whooooo!!!!!! Rob and I made it to bed at about midnight. And it helped that I had just taken my medications for my back right before we went to bed. I vaguely remember Elliott Richard waking up at one point screaming his head off. Rather than wait for me to drag my pregnant butt out of bed (which is getting more and more difficult everyday) he hopped out of bed and ran over to Rob. Then he climbed over Rob into bed between us and we all fell asleep. We just woke up about a half hour ago. I'm by no means "caught up". (And yes, I know that you can never trully "catch up" on sleep but you get the idea.) But it was nice to get some sleep. Although I'm now more exhausted that I was yesterday because my body has had that taste of sleep and realizes how much it's been missing.

I had a crazy dream too. Rob, the boys and I went on a little mini vacation somewhere. When we got home we discovered that our house had been broken into. Rob started making the phone calls (police etc) while I went and took an inventory of what was missing. Here's the odd part, nothing was missing. Whoever had broken into the house had played with Elliott's toys and gone through his clothes - making a huge mess - but they hadn't taken anything. I'm thinking it has some subconscience meaning having to do with Elliott Richard and Tiny. It was just interesting.

I don't have any big plans for today. Just laying in bed. Staying down as much as possible, which honestly isn't nearly as much as I'm supposed to be down. I've been awake a whole 45 minutes and my back is already throbbing. And could it possibly be any colder this morning?! Ick!

74 down ~ 61 to go

I had plans for today. Even considering the fact that I got up at 4:00am. I even made a To-Do List. Here it is:

1. List new cards on Etsy.
2. Update pregnancy journals.
3. Write Elliott's Story (Before, The Pregnancy, L&D, Home, The Aftermath)
4. Write Gavin's Story (The Pregnancy, L&D, Home, The Aftermath)
5. Write the growing list of emails that needed written.
6. Ship gift tags that were purchased in Etsy store.
7. Mail Elliott's test.
8. Create database in Excel to track the inventory (both listed and purchased) for the Etsy store.

I managed to complete numbers: 1, parts of 3, 7, a portion of 8. I guess all in all that's not too bad.

My day has been pretty quiet. My back has been throbbing today. My morning sickness made an unwelcome appearance. So I've actually had to take my Phenergan as directed rather than as needed like I typically do. Rob was kind enough to allow me to take a 2 hour nap and a bath. I've been having contractions consistently 15 minutes apart for an hour then 20 minutes apart for an hour. Back and forth. Back and forth. All day today.

Elliott Richard appears unfazed by the waking every 45 minutes. I wish I were that resilient. lol

Gavin had a run in with Grandma and Grandpa G's dog, Rogue, this afternoon. She isn't sure what happened first but she does know that Gavin kicked the her (the dog). My mom called a little bit ago and I asked Gavin what happened. He said that Rogue jumped up (she's part Australian Sheppard and loves to jump) and knocked heads with him. He got angry and kicked her. I told him that we don't kick people, animals or things. We are only allowed to kick in martial arts. He said he understood and had told Rogue he was sorry. I just don't know what to do with him anymore. I guess I'll start by calling Dr. R tomorrow and trying to get in earlier. Something has got to give. And right now, that "something" is our sanity...

You Can Only Type One Word
Not as easy as you might think.
Good luck!!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? charging
2. Your significant other? selfless
3. Your hair? long
4. Where's your mother? work
5. Your father? driven
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? non-existant
8. Your favorite drink? pop
9. Your dream/goal? happiness
10. The room you're in? living room
11. Your ex? pass
12. Your fear? pain
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
14. Where were you last night? bedroom
15. What you're not? comfortable
16. Muffins? blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? sanity
18. Where you grew up? Ohio
19. The last thing you did? kiss
20. What are you wearing? pajamas
21. Your TV? satellite
22. Your pets? irritating
23. Your computer? old
24. Your life? complicated
25. Your mood? exhausted
26. Missing someone? Granny
27. Your car? parked
28. Something you're not wearing? shoes
29. Favorite Store? Amazon
30. Your spring? outside
31. Like someone? sure
32. Your favorite color? blue
33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
34. Last time you cried? yesterday
35. Who will/would re-post this? Julie
36. Who won't/wouldn't re-post this? Nikky
37. Favorite sport/activity? writing

I tag:
Julie (because she's bored and bed ridden like me)
Jen (because she hasn't posted in 2 weeks but might be reading and I miss her)
Nikky (because it will bug her and that's fun *evil laugh*)

And if you believe that, I've got bridge to sell you. *sigh*

For...what...the 4th night in a row (I've lost track at this point.) I've had little spurts of sleep. 45 minutes at a time. I don't know what is going on with Elliott Richard. I wish I did though because I honestly may loose my mind from pain + bed rest + lack of sleep. I was so ready to write this post (at maybe 8 or 9am - not 5:10am!) and tell you how yet again Elliott Richard shocked me with his ability to know when it's time for a change for him. I guess, to a certain extent, I can still write that post. Only it won't end quite the way I had hoped.

Elliott has always done things on his own time. Even in the NICU, he knew when he was ready and if we didn't listen, he made it loud and clear. Over the past 6 months or so, I've worked off and on to get Elliott Richard to self-soothe. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

Lately our routine has been: Daddy carries him upstairs for me and brushes Elliott's teeth. Then I sit in the bedroom next to his bed and help him fall asleep by patting his back and butt. Usually I ask him, "Do you want Mama to pat?" when he's playing around and he'll stop and say, "Yesh." Well the past few nights I've asked, "Do you want Mama to pat?" and he's answered, "No." Well it didn't occur to me that he was serious.

Then last night I asked. He said, "No." Again, I didn't think he was serious. So I started to pat and then I was distracted and I stopped for a moment or two. When I looked up, he was out cold! :) I was pleasantly surprised. Then all evening while Rob and I were watching the season finales of our shows, Elliott would wake up and fuss. Usually this would require one of us to go upstairs and help him back to sleep. Tonight he handled it on his own! (Yay!)

I had such high hopes for the night. He self-soothed to sleep. He self-soothed a few times during the evening. I thought maybe, just maybe I was going to get a full nights sleep. Nope.

From the moment Rob and I went to bed at midnight, he's been up every 45 minutes! I finally gave up at 4:45am and came down stairs. I turned the baby monitor off so I don't know if he's been up again. But he if he's going to do it again, he should be up any minute now.

I debated trying to sleep on my bed here in the living room but it's not worth it. I'd only get a few hours sleep, more like a nap, which would just make things worse for me during the day. So I'm sitting here. Writing blogs. Watching "The Steve Wilkos Show" that I have recorded. It's going to be a long day...

73 down ~ 62 to go

***Side note: Is anyone else having an issue with Blogger saving drafts as completely seperate posts in draft mode? I just went through my lists of posts because this post errored out when I tried to post it and I had probably 25 posts that were listed as "drafts" but most of them were nothing more than the title of posts that were finished and posted ages ago. Just thought I'd ask.

Today marks 31 weeks! Woooo whoo!

What's keeping Tiny busy this week: Your not-so-little-one is just a bit closer to their birth weight and height at around 4 pounds and 17 inches. With each added layer of baby fat, your baby's skin starts to look more and more like it will when they finally get to see the light of day. The heavy news: you can expect your miracle-gro muffin to gain about a half a pound of weight per week from now until about two weeks before birth. Great. That's just what you needed. Even more weight to carry around! Your baby's still-developing immune system has gained substantial strength over the past few weeks getting them in full gear to face our disease-ridden world o’ wonders. Obviously, a large majority of your child’s immune strength will be derived from exposure to breast milk as well as the outside elements. Their cute little noggin’ (which could already be covered with luscious locks or just purty peach fuzz), is still soft because the skull bones have not yet fused together. As much as that sounds a little too vulnerable, their “skull softness” allows for a much smoother passage through the birth canal during labor—something both you and your little swimmer will appreciate when it’s finally time to “go!” Also, some babies will have that “soft spot” on their head for up to one year after birth.

but you can't take the country out of the girl!

So I was doing my morning blog rounds a little bit ago and I found an interesting blog by Heidi, my cousin Sam's best friend. She was talking about the differences between her upbringing and her husband's. She, more so than me, was raised a "country girl". Her husband, much like Rob, was raised a "city boy". (Only her husband lived in a bigger city than Rob.) She makes note of all the things that she figured everyone grew up experiencing. And it got me thinking along the same lines.

Okay, so I technically grew up in a city. Granted, not a large city but a city nonetheless. However, I am a county girl at heart. (Although over the years my affection for dirt and bugs has waned.) My parents lived in the city. My Granny lived on a farm. She and my Po-Po (a name I gave him as a toddler, don't ask me why because I don't know) lived on the farm. They worked the farm. They made their living from the farm. So farm life has always been a huge part of my life.

So here are the things I grew up doing that I thought most people experienced...

1. Riding tractors.
2. Spending the 3rd week of August every year setting up a booth in some part of the county fair/Helping prepare for 4-H competitions.
3. Picking all the fattest blueberries I could carry and taking them home.
4. Herding cattle back into the fenced area because they had escaped (again).
5. Caring for cattle/pigs (tagging ears and transporting sold animals).
6. Getting up with the sun to be at the county fair the moment it opened.
7. Staying at the fair until after it had closed.
8. Running around the fair grounds with the grandkids etc of my Granny's friends.
9. Going to flea markets to sell goods not buy them.
10. Living in a Civil War era home.
11. Watching coal come flying down the coal shoot so we could heat the house in the winter.
12. Pet a sheep, pig or holding a rabbit.
13. Ridden a hayride.
14. Eaten homemade ice cream.
15. Been to a county fair.

(The last four are the one's Heidi makes mention of in her blog.)

I feel like I should explain some of the things on my list. Simply because some of you may not have experienced them so you may not realize the finer points of those experiences.

Riding tractors: My parents used to flat out beg and order my Granny not to allow me on the tractors. They were terrified something would happen to me. As a child, I didn't understand this fear. As a mother, I totally get it. That being said, I'm so happy that my Granny ignored them and allowed me to have this experience. There is nothing quite like riding a tractor. Being that high on a machine that large...you're effectively cut off from the entire world. It's just you, the tractor and the work that needs to be done. For me, there was always something very relaxing about that.

Spending the 3rd week of August every year setting up a booth in some part of the county fair/Helping prepare for 4-H competitions: When I was younger (Gavin and Elliott's ages) it was a 4-H booth. My aunt was involved in 4-H and my Granny was one of the leaders of her group. So when it came time for the fair, we would have to set up their area with their animals and projects. Part of the fun etc of 4-H is in the presentation. So we always took a lot of time to make sure everything looked great and was as comfortable as possible for the 4-H'ers. Then when I was older it was a booth that my Granny sold her crafts in. I admit when I was in middle school and junior high, this booth embarrassed me a little bit. No one else had family selling wares in the fair. So that made it different and I hadn't quite come to embrace all that is wonderful about being unique. But that week spent helping her set up; I loved that week. It was just her and I. It's actually one of the things I miss most now that she's gone.

Picking all the fattest blueberries I could carry and taking them home: Every spring/summer we would go to the neighbor's house and pick as many as we could carry. We didn't have to pay because we were neighbors and that's what neighbors did...share. I love it! It was so amazing to just go and pick every berry that caught my eye. Of course, the fattest and juicies berries usually never made it any farther than my mouth. lol My Granny also had a grape vine on her farm. So at any given moment I could run out and grab some grapes off the vine. It was an experience I wish my boys could have because it honestly just doesn't get much simpler than that.

Caring for cattle/pigs: Tagging ears and transporting sold animals. Herding cattle back into the fenced area because they had escaped (again). Feeding them. Cleaning up after them. Hauling bailed hay to where it needed to be (for bedding, feed etc.). Repairing the fences. Making sure the babies are being cared for. These tasks were by far my least favorite part of being a country girl but they needed to be done. And since I was raised helping with them, it just seems second nature to me that everyone has done them at some point.

Getting up with the sun to be at the county fair the moment it opened/Staying at the fair until after it had closed/Running around the fair grounds with the grandkids etc of my Granny's friends: As I got older I slept in a little more and of course had to go to school but whenever possible, I stayed at the fair all day, everyday. The county fair was as much a part of summer as not having school. It didn't matter how many times I roamed the fair grounds, there was always a booth I hadn't noticed with some freebie treasure to be collected. There were foods I hadn't tried. And foods I loved and wanted to eat again. I knew all the "shortcuts", which were basically hallways the public couldn't use but we could because we were "fair kids". I knew the good games to play. The one's to avoid. Which vendor had the best fries and where you wanted to go for the best "real" food. I knew what time the marching bands were playing and when the Demolition Derby was. The County Fair was a world unto itself; with it's own secrets and treasures.

After my Granny died in 2002, I couldn't bring myself to return to the fair. I couldn't stand to see her booth with someone else sitting there. I went back August of 2005, I was pregnant with Elliott Richard and I didn't want to be carrying around so much hurt and fear when he was born. Now I can't wait to go back. I'm hoping that Tiny makes it full term so we aren't under "contact isolation" and we can all go this summer.

Going to flea markets to sell goods not buy them: For most people you mention Flea Markets and they immediately begin to think of all the deals to be had. When I was a kid, if you said "Kidron Flea Market" to me I knew that meant a few different things. First, I was spending the night at my Granny's farm. Second, we were getting up with the sun. Third, we'd swing through McDonald's for breakfast and "coffee". (She had actual coffee. I had hot chocolate.) And finally, I would spend the day camped out in a booth or in the car while Granny sold cattle or pigs etc. I usually came home with a treasure or two of my own. Once it was a 6 week old pure bred Australian Sheppard puppy. (She didn't last very long since my little brother was also 6 weeks old and my mother was already sleep deprived without the puppy.) Another time it was an antique makeup compact. I still have that somewhere. The flew market was always an all day trip and always an adventure.

Living in a Civil War era home/Watching coal come flying down the coal shoot so we could heat the house in the winter: The farm was my home away from home. I loved the fact that it was old. I loved the Under Ground Railroad hiding spots. I loved the land. I knew growing up that nearly everyone lived in newer homes but I couldn't imagine not having grown up in a house that old. It was second nature for me to run downstairs to the basement when the coal shipments came. Or to run through the house because nearly every room had two doorways. I learned to roller skate in the kitchen. The curtain that we pulled to cut off the stairway from the hallway always terrified me for reasons I still don't understand. And when I was really little I thought everyone used coal to heat their homes. I didn't realize there were other options available. (lol)

Pet a sheep, pig or holding a rabbit/Witnessing a litter of puppies or kittens being born: I can't imagine growing up and never having pet a sheep, pig or holding a rabbit. How do you not experience these things? How do you have pets and not witness the miracle of birth? It amazed me a few years ago when Rob's parents' dogs had puppies because Mom and Dad G let the kids stay home from school to witness it. Was I really the only one it was common place for? Craziness.

Ridden a hayride: Every year my Granny and Po-Po would have a big...I don't know what it was exactly. I know that people I didn't know would come out to the farm. Po-Po would take them on a hay ride around the farm. Granny would cook corn that we had grown. And I would run around with my dogs and cats killing time until I could eat. I still don't know what the purpose of those days was, however, I loved them. It meant fresh corn and hay rides and everything fun about summer turning to fall.

Eaten homemade ice cream: There is a tiny little barn at the county fair where they milk the cows and turn the milk into homemade ice cream. It's delicious! I guess I'd always figured that everyone went to the county fair so everyone had tried the homemade ice cream too.

Been to a county fair: And again, never been to the county fair?! What insanity is this? I practically grew up at the county fair. I told my Granny that Gavin was a boy at the county fair. I had more sugar-highs from fair food than I can count or remember.

This blog started as a list and realization of the differences in up-bringings (is that even a word? lol) and it morphed into a Memorial of sorts to my Granny. Mother's Day, May 11th, was the 6th anniversary of her death. I can't believe I didn't mention it then. I feel like I should have posted something then, however, this feels "right". What better way to post a Memorial than to share all the experiences I was lucky enough to have because of her. So this post is for my Granny.

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