Family Fun at the County Fair

That’s right, I said county fair. In April? You betcha! For those not familiar with our neck of the woods, Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington are considered “twin cities”, being located right across the river from each other – specifically, the Snake River. Lewiston is located in Nez Perce County, where they hold their county fair, like most normal places, in early fall. Clarkston is located in Asotin County, where they hold their county fair in the spring. In my opinion, this is probably done to keep the two fairs from competing with each other. In Justin’s opinion, this is done for the sole purpose of allowing one county to rip you off in April, and the other county to rip you off in September, as you pay at least $8/person to simply get in the gates. And if you have a wonderful wifey like me, who insists on attending each fair, well…that theory might have a bit of clout.

We have lived in the LC Valley for nearly four years now and, until this last weekend, had never attended the Asotin County Fair. As official Washingtonians, I figured it was high time we experience this community highlight, especially since we have attended the county fair on the Idaho side a few times already.

Friday was positively gorgeous so after work we packed up our gear and headed out to Asotin for the fair. And by gear I mean jackets, diaper bag, pacifier, stroller, sunscreen, blankets, snacks, toddler cup, water, and, of course, the camera. Whew! We were ready for a nap before we even pulled out of the drive. But hey, if you’re paying $16 to get your family in the gate (Kendry was free) you’d better be darn sure you have the proper supplies to stick around for awhile.

We ate a delicious dinner as soon as we arrived: greasy burger for Justin, tacos covered w/ cilantro for me, and a classic county fair hot dog for Kendry. While I love that my son isn’t a picky eater (yet), I would not have been disappointed if he disliked hot dogs as much as I do, if only so I didn’t have to tear those yucky things into bite-size pieces for him. Alas, he LOVES hot dogs. Definitely his father’s son.

Then we cruised around to look at the animals: goats, sheep, pigs, etc. I don’t consider myself a city girl, but I always have questions for Justin when we are around farm animals. Once upon a time, Justin showed steers at the county fair.

Yep, thats my handsome hubby as a skinny little farm kid. He looks pretty small next to that steer, doesn't he?

Anyway, this time I had to inquire as to why several of the sheep were wearing lycra swimsuits. Okay, so they weren’t really swimsuits, but they might as well have been. Very form-fitting, not very flattering, revealing every ounce of cellulite - you know, your typical lycra. Justin figured it was probably to keep their recently sheared coats looking nice for show. I didn't take a picture of the sheep we saw, but I found this photo to give you a visual:

Except the ones we saw were in decorative prints/patterns, just like swimsuits. The one in this photo even has a turtleneck! Don't tell me this doesn't remind you of those full body swimsuits the Olympic swimmers wear. Someone should tell this little fella he needs some lycra leggings or all that leg wool is gonna slow him down on his 100m backstroke.

Then we wandered through some of the booths where, much to my delight, I learned that Miche bags now come in a larger size! These are the purses with the different shells, so you can have just the one purse, but with a bunch of different styles for it. I have always wanted one, but once I had a kiddo I realized there was no way I could keep all my things in the smaller sized purse. But Miche heard my dilemma and upgraded. How cute is this bag?!

I know you are not surprised its in animal print. I do have the same genetic coding as one Linda C. Binder after all.

Anyway, then it was on to the highlight of our evening: mutton busting. For those who don’t know, mutton is a sheep. And busting is riding. Mutton busting = sheep riding. You might think it cruel and not the least bit entertaining to watch people trying to ride sheep, except that the “people” riding them are merely 5-7 years old. And trust me, its adorable! The first time I saw it was actually at the start of the movie “8 Seconds”. And as it turns out, I even married a former mutton buster. Albeit, he admits to me he doesn’t recall ever staying on his mutton all that long. Having seen my husband ride a mechanical bull as an adult, this admission does not surprise me one bit. But that’s another story.

The little riders are so brave as they come out of the shoot, hanging on for dear life, their little helmeted heads bobbing like crazy as their mutton sprints across the arena. Then slowly they start slipping off the side and -boom!- they hit the ground. At that point most of them want to burst into tears right then and there - rightly so as they have just been thrown from a moving animal - but they know everyone is watching, so they take deep breaths to hold in the tears and try to smile really big for the audience.

I wasn’t able to capture any of the contestants on video as I was too busy keeping ahold of Kendry, who totally caught his second wind once he was surrounded by all the activity and cheering. But here is a clip of some mutton busting:

Kendry was quite observant of the mutton busting. Could he have possibly been jotting down some mental notes on what to do and what not to do when he takes his first ride a few years from now? We'll see.

He also got to meet his first rodeo clown:

And, being surrounded by cheering and clapping, Kendry finally learned how to clap. We have been trying to teach him clapping for the last few months, but apparently our demonstrations just weren't as convincing as that of the rodeo spectators.

In summation, it was a wonderful family evening - great weather, great food, fun farm animals (in weird apparel) and great entertainment.

Ten

1. I usually start drafting these "Ten" blogs at the start of my week and finish near the end, but the site likes to post it with the date I first started the post, which I really don't like. For example, last week I did "TOF" (Ten on Friday), but it published with Tuesday's date since thats when I first started drafting. Ten on Friday on Tuesday? Like that makes any sense. I know its silly to even bother worrying about this discrepency, but thats just me. So from here on out I'm simply calling these weekly posts "Ten".

2. I'm wondering if eating sticky-chewy Milk Duds in the week following my wisdom tooth removal was not so wise. (Get it? Wisdom tooth, wise? I crack myself up!) Anyway, I may have given myself dry socket. Not fun.

3. The battle is on! Justin's despised little enemy, the back yard mole, is back this spring and already left some fresh holes in Justin's cherished yard the other morning. Not that we can confirm its actually the same mole from years past, but I like to think it is. Like its a neverending battle for turf between this annoying little creature and my husband. Which one will prevail and be crowned king of the back yard? Only time will tell...

Between you and me, I find the whole thing somewhat comical. Just don't tell Justin. It reminds me of Caddyshack; except, of course, in that case it was a gopher. If you don't know what I'm talking about, get yourself educated in pop culture.

4. If only I had bought stock in Robeez and Pediped a decade ago. My little sprout is now wearing 18-24m clothes, and is quickly outgrowing a size 5 shoe. He has outgrown nearly all of the hand-me-downs from cousin Caden, with the exception of a few 3T items to still grow into. Finding more hand-me-down clothes isn't too difficult, especially with yard sale season upon us, but shoes are a different story. Kendry is still learning to walk, so I am a bit selective about which shoes I even want him wearing. The future sports mom in me gets cold sweats at the possibility of deforming my child's feet with cheap shoes, thus derailing his certain future as a basketball/football/track star. But really, its hard to find previously owned shoes in a 5.5 or 6 that aren't completely worn out; the crawling, walking and falling routine of the early toddler really takes its toll on their shoes. On the flip side, why would we want to buy new when he'll outgrow them by summer's end? I suppose this is what they mean when they say kids are expensive, huh? Too bad the price for IVF doesn't include a lifetime's worth of shoes.

The toesies at 1 month:
The toesies now:

These photos probably don't mean much to you, but I love his cute little feet!

5. With the weather getting warmer my new fave is McDonalds large sweet tea for $1 deal. Then my hubby so kindly pointed out that a single cup of the tea probably has more sugar than a pitcher of Kool-Aid. I reminded him he wants me to fatten up a little anyway, so whats a little extra sugar here and there...and here and there...and here and there. In case you were wondering, Justin was wrong; McDonalds.com says the large sweet tea is only 230 calories.

6. The dogwoods are in bloom here! B-E-A-utiful!

7. This week I completed Kendry's photo birthday banner. It is so darn cute! My next project: his birthday t-shirt. Normally I would post some pics on here for you, but I've decided to keep these projects under wraps until the big day. Sorry!

8. Yikes! I turn 30 three months from today! Why, God, why?!

9. Just for kicks, let's take a look at one year ago, when I was still just a young 28:

WHOA! Who belongs to that belly?! Didn't they warn her about wearing horizontal stripes?

10. Bring on the painting project! I am determined to get a good start on painting my laundry area this weekend. Ahhh, tackling painting while chasing after my 11 month old - now that is multi-tasking at its finest! Stay tuned...

In Between

Followers be advised: This blog entry is going to be a bit deeper (and longer) than my usual entries. No photos of Kendry, no photos of our yard and foliage, no photos of my neurotic cleaning/organizing projects (like you would miss those anyway). Its just me and my thoughts. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Having experienced some interesting emotions over the last few weeks, I began conferring once more with my online friends in the reproductively challenged community, whom, I'm very ashamed to say, I have essentially avoided since becoming pregnant in late 2008. Ironically, the very reason I am currently reaching out to these fellow IF (code for "infertility") friends is the very same reason I began avoiding them a year and a half ago: I have become an "in-betweener". Before you start thinking I am so hip that I have formed my very own slang term to describe a generation - what the heck is a "tween" anyway? - allow me to clarify for you. I am in between in that I know the hardships of infertility, which means I have a kinship with members of the IF sisterhood; but I also know the joy of finally becoming a parent, which grants me admission to a club on the other end of the spectrum: parenthood.

To my non-IF friends, I have joined their ranks as a parent. We brag about our wonderful (and in my case brilliant) children and dissect the many facets of parenthood, and I realize some of them have probably forgotten (at least for the moment) that not too long ago I was an outsider with barely a slim hope of ever joining their exclusive club. Some of them really do forget, casually asking "So when do you think you'll have Baby #2?" And I smile politely. If only it were that easy. But the truth is in that atmosphere even I don't feel like I am an IF survivor. I feel just like the other parents around me. I feel normal. I feel like I could go home and tell Justin "Let's try to get pregnant again", and mere months later we would be announcing our pregnancy to these same friends.

To my IF friends, I am an ally, but I can also cause them pain. We are all going through the battle together; but along the way I managed to find a victory in fertility treatment. Others have as well. We all celebrate these victories together; but when the victory doesn't come to you, it hurts to be around those who have found it. You are happy for them, but you hurt just the same.

Does parenthood remove us from the IF sisterhood? Not quite. We are still infertile, and as long as we desire to have more children, we will continue to experience the pain and emotions of IF - perhaps now with a little guilt mixed in. God has blessed us with the very thing we desired, a child. So why aren't we content? Simply put, our hearts desire more than what biology has given us to work with.

I recently visited a blog called Stirrup Queens, where I learned about Infertility's Common Thread, a concept I now have referenced on the right side of our blog. The blogger's description of how this concept got started really hit home to me:

"...there should be a secret handshake for those who have experienced or are currently experiencing infertility. She was finally pregnant after multiple miscarriages and she wanted infertile women to know when looking at her pregnant belly that she was one of them still - in heart and mind..."

This is the sentiment I want to communicate to my IF friends. I may have been blessed with my miracle baby, but I am still one of you. I have been there. I am still there.

Right now I have at least 12 or 13 friends who are currently pregnant. I am so very happy for every one of them - one in particular as she is making me an auntie again! Some are having their first baby, others their third or fourth. And at this very moment I feel like an outsider among them again. Not because I am not currently pregnant, but because I don't know if/when I will be pregnant again.

One fellow blogger, now into her 2nd trimester after IVF, captured it so well:

"Hope becomes such an integral part of the IF journey, we try to protect ourselves against the worst possible scenarios while still balancing the hope that what we so desire could really happen."

God has blessed us above and beyond by giving us the miracle that is our beautiful son, and I thank Him every day for Kendry. But since my childhood I have known I wanted to have many children; I never saw myself with only one child. One day when I was feeling particularly down I simply cried out to God and asked Him why I had those dreams of so many children when He knew I was going to face IF. I heard a small voice reply "Child, who do you think placed that very dream in your heart?" And then I understood God gave me those dreams and desires for a purpose. So I do have hope. I firmly believe God will bless us with more children. When? I do not know. As Joyce Meyer says: God is never late, but He is rarely early either. He knows the exact moment we will be ready for what He has in store.

So is the emotion and confusion I am currently experiencing inappropriate? Is it wrong for me to claim that I have hope, but still express my frustration? God gave us emotions for a reason, but we have to be careful that our emotions do not control us. I would love to be pregnant again tomorrow, but until that opportunity comes I have to choose to still live every day to the fullest, appreciating every single moment. And I have to refuse to be a slave to the emotions of the IF rollercoaster, knowing that even during the "in between" God is working His bigger plan. May He be glorified through it all!

Give Me the Bear and No One Gets Hurt

Kendry has a really soft bear blankie he got from GG (aka my grandmother), which he absolutely loves. He even makes this distinct, excited humming sound at the very sight of it. We usually just give it to him when its time to go to sleep, or when he needs a little extra comforting. I often wonder if he loves it so much because we have presented it to him for comfort almost since his birth, or if its simply that precious to him, as if he knows who it came from. I am sure its the latter.

Having figured out how to cruise between pieces of furniture on his mission to learn how to walk, Kendry has now discovered that he can stand beside his crib and reach between the rails to retrieve his blankie whenever he wants, not just at bedtime nor naptime. Once he gets it through the rails he literally smothers it with love.

Thanks, GG! We love you, and your bear blankie!

TOF

1. Spring has sprung! And we've got the tulips to prove it.

2. My friend Jessica and I are having a yard sale at her house tomorrow. Talk about a lot of prep work. But I will be relieved to have all these needless items out of the house - and maybe make a penny or two in the process.

3. I am having so much fun getting things together for Kendry's 1st birthday party!

4. Ahhhh...my wonderful craft closet is organized at last, just in time for my projects for Kendry's birthday.

5. When I walk out the door at 5am to hit the gym I hear a rooster crow down the street: "Cockadoodledoo!" And when I leave the gym around 6:15am I hear another rooster crow: "Cockadoodledoo!" I may feel like its way too early to be out of bed, but this sound reassures me that its time to start the day. I love that I live in an area where I wake up to the sound of a rooster rather than traffic. That being said, I could probably live without the sick sounding donkey two houses down.

6. Its time to start brainstorming a Father's Day gift for Justin...

7. The day after Kendry was born I was surprised to find my jaw was incredibly tense and sore. It seems I failed to practice the relaxation techniques for labor and instead chose to clench my jaw the whole time. So for the last year I have suffered from painful TMJ. Having shared this with my dentist, he had me fitted for a night mouth guard last week - which, BTW, cost us $400 since our insurance doesn't cover it. Thank goodness for our HSA. Anyway, night one with the night guard: I managed to pull it out during the night and dreamed that I placed the quarter-sized contraption safely on my nightstand. Wrong. I actually buried it somewhere in the covers and, after a short panic attack, found it the next morning. Night two (last night): I managed to keep it in the entire night. Yeah me! Unfortunately, my jaw feels even more tense today. I may have gotten taken on this purchase.

8. Kendry is becoming my little helper around the house.

"What's that, Mommy? You need a tissue?"

"No, I am not turning on the annoying buzzer to scare you when the laundry cycle is done. Honest!"

9. It is supposed to near 80 degrees here today! We are certainly ready for warmer temperatures and sunshine, but 80 in April? It might be a bit early for my taste, and I'm certainly not ready to dig out my sunscreen yet.

10. Yesterday I discovered that Kendry is biting the railing of his crib. I know this is a common thing for kids to do, but come on! His crib is positively beautiful, only now it has beaver-like tooth marks around the edge. Grrr! I suppose some day down the road I will fondly point out the bite marks to him and reminisce about his baby days; but for now I'm simply choosing to be frustrated. Who knew babies and their teeth could be such a tumultuous stage?