Growing up in NC I never knew the
true meaning
of this Carnival my cousins spoke of. Sure, they had lots of corn and beans up yonder in Illinois, but what in the world did they need a 3 day long Festival to celebrate the Corn for? I had never heard of a Tobacco Festival after all...
I don't remember attending my first Corn Festival until I moved here my sophomore year of high school. It came round a few weeks after school started and right about the time the farmers started harvesting. I remember being so excited to walk around holding hands with my boyfriend of the week and sneaking smokes in the alley behind Topsey's (the local bar). We walked the drag (two blocks of Front Street), round the side street thru the park and back again, millions of times in those 3 days. We rode rides and tried to see who would barf on whose shoes first. We ate and drank "Carney" food: corndogs, funnel cakes, and lemon shake ups. We snuck into the bar to beg our friend's dad for more money to play games and win more cheap stuffed animals. We talked to everyone we knew. We lived for those 3 fun packed days.
In college, I always came back for at least one night, but then I would rarely ride rides. I would avoid people I hadn't seen since graduation day. I sang in the community choir a couple of years in a row and participated in their Thursday night show. I really didn't "dig" it so much anymore.
Five years after high school, I started dating my now husband and we decided to make it "official" to our classmates the week of corn fest. That had been one of my favorite memories until this year. The next year we had been married a few months and were expecting our first child. I was pretty sick that week. Last year, G was 8 months old and we didn't stay out long when we went up because he was still napping the day away and couldn't enjoy the food.
This year our precious little boy is 20 months old and the life of the party! I would say that this year is definitely the first year he could appreciate it.
THE FOODWe were so excited to take him up Thursday night (1st night) to our favorite food truck the Smiley Cuban Food truck. We have talked about those sandwiches all year! We are proud to report that G loves it as much as mommy and daddy! We ate there once every day of the Corn Fest! We also had to make daily stops at the Bob's ice cream truck and we shared several different kinds of ice cream. While enjoying our ice cream today- Graham spotted a mother and daughter eating "walking tacos" and he had to have one!!! So of course- what Grahammy wants- Grahammy gets! He loved it of course! He also helped his Grandma Kate eat her nachos as well. We also had a new favorite this year- flavored lemon shake ups- they had cherry and strawberry- both delicious!
THE RIDESGraham wasn't too sure about the rides this year. But momma was excited and got him an arm band which could be used on Thursday or Friday night. We opted for Friday night, only to find out that most of the Carnies required the parents to also have an arm band to ride with the kids... BULL HONKEY if u ask me! But we got one and shared it between the two of us. First we rode the carousel.. BLAH, BLAH.. HE didn't care. Next we rode the choo choo- which is not designed for even someone of my short stature to ride. Oh and did I mention I couldn't get him off after the first go round so we rode a second time. Then mommy had had enough. It was daddy's turn! So Daddy took him down the really big slide twice. Those stairs are steep and there was no way momma trusted herself with that precious cargo going up them with little ones pushing me! He was happy with that and it was getting dark so we got away with only 5 rides total- and yes, it paid for the arm band!
THE MUSICIn the park, there is something going on each evening. It's always a nice break away from the loud music, crowded street, and puked covered kids and sidewalks uptown. They have a little mini king and queen contest that always proves to be adorable! Graham will be old enough in two more years to enter him. OH AND I WILL! Thursday night is always the kids show choir camps and then the community choir following that. I had two cousins performing this year and we only stayed for that short part but in that amount of time Graham managed to entertain many people. One older gentleman behind us said to me " I can't even watch my grand kid on stage because your son is stealing the show". We laughed and nodded and continued to watch Graham go round and round and round in circles dancing like a WILD MAN! At one point he headed towards the stage like he was going to join them up there and show them how little guys do it! Friday night was a country band and he had a bigger space to dance and once again all eyes on MY KID instead of the poor "Cattle Bandits" who were on stage. Saturday night, we didn't think he would make it until the show started at 8 but boy oh boy did he! It was a band doing Classic Rock- it was loud, obnoxious, screechy type of head banging music that we would normally not listen to ourselves, let alone play for our little boy. But he loved it and his MOMMA taught him to head bang and he poked his little lips out and made the most hilarious face while doing it. There were people literally standing up out of their chairs and pointing and showing people around them- the cute little Blondie, I call my own little Graham Cracker.
ONE PROUD, ADORING MOMMA this weekend!
THE PEOPLEBeing that both of my parents grew up here and their parents grew up here- I am related to half the town. Being that I graduated from this small town HS- I see tons of people I went to school with. So of course we can't walk ten steps without having to stop to say hello to someone. I see distant cousins I don't' see all year long otherwise. I see classmates from school I don't see all year long otherwise. It's especially nice now that a lot of us are married and having kids. We get to compare ages, etc. I absolutely LOVE every minute of showing off my two favorite boys!
Here is where I will tell you one of the best reasons for living in a small town. The honest, good, kind hearted people. We are forgetful people apart, my husband and I, put us together and we lose all sense of everything. We lost two lawn chairs to the Corn Fest last year and were sure we did again this year. I realized last night as we were falling asleep we had forgotten to take them out of the park on Thursday night and wouldn't you know it, they were still there when we went to check before the parade today! I was AMAZED!
THE PARADEI have already mentioned how many people I am related to but have I mentioned how cute my kid is? People get out of their vehicles and go completely out of their way to make sure he gets buttloads of candy! Yes, it is a good ol fashioned AWESOME parade and everyone throws candy still. And it's a nice small town where every one looks out for one anothers kids when they rush out to the street to get the candy that didn't quite make it that far. We sit in my brother's yard which is in the first two blocks on the parade route and we made out this year with two giant ziploc bags full of candy. And that was just us. My brother and his kids, my mom and her husband, my brother Joe and his friend, my aunt and uncle, a friend and his son ALL MADE OUT LIKE BANDITS too! We will have candy for a few days at least! ;)
Now that we have "set our roots" and bought a house in El Paso, I think our little guy will grow up one of those kids that exclaims in his 40's "I have never missed a single Corn Fest". And I'm darn proud to be the Momma of that boy, cuz tonight, I think El Paso is a pretty special place to live!
It was never a question as to whether or not I would stay at home when we had children. My mom worked very little when we were younger and my husband's mother was a stay at home mom as well. But, as a stay at home mom who also babysits, I am always looking for ways for Graham and I to have Mommy and Me time. I sometimes feel guilty for always making him share his toys, his house, his food and his MOMMA! So when summer was over and I got the opportunity to cut back to 3 days a week of babysitting, leaving 2 whole days for just Graham and I- I was excited! What kinds of fun things could we do together to fill our days? After all the #1 reason I don't work outside of the home is for Grahammy! Graham came out loving music. His dad and I are music junkies. Martin played piano as a child and young adult and has self taught a little guitar. I was always involved in chorus in school and loved performing in musicals as well. It was a given that our child would know about music and be exposed from it from in utero on! Yes, I was one of those mom's who put headphones on my big pregnant belly and read books to the baby in there. I never got huge into the research about it but always had the attitude of "what could it hurt?". Graham now enjoys all sorts of music and has been dancing since he could stand and singing since before he could talk. I had heard about Kindermusik from parents at the schools I worked in before getting pregnant as I had heard from mom's in the neighborhood- it was a great way to let kids express themselves and have fun while learning through music! Intrigued from the beginning I knew when I had kids I would give it a try. I am an Occupational Therapist still at heart even though my license has lapsed and it's been 2 1/2 years since I have worked as one. I LOVE learning about our sensory systems and how they work, and I have a kiddo who is very sensory orientated. Kindermusik was definitely only going to further explore his sensory system and help him learn through it. I have to admit I was nervous and had no idea what to expect on the first day. But Katie Henderson (Mrs. Kindermusik) is absolutely amazing and the BEST! She intuitively knows how to involve each and every child in there and coaches the parents on how to involve their children as well. Graham was very well behaved on the first day and participated beyond my expectations. He instantly fell in love with Mrs. Henderson and wanted to be by her a lot and even gave her a kiss and hug on the way out. The first day was all about learning the routines, getting to know one another and trying out new things. Some of the kids had been there before and were experienced. I was beaming with pride after leaving that first day because had I not known Graham I would have thought he was an "experienced" kiddo himself. The second week didn't go as smoothly but he still did GREAT! We are starting to learn about high and low and I love having something to carry through with at home. The take home CD is AWESOME! Although I am getting a little tired of "the carpenter's hammer" (his and Lana's favorite). ;) I kind of feel like it tailored to Graham specifically because we talk about all things around the house. Anyone who knows my kid, knows this is HIS THING anyway. He is obsessed about talking about the smells, sights, sounds, textures and tastes around home and has always been "hypersensitive" to them. Once again definitely a sensory kiddo... We were already using much of the vocabulary we are learning about in class in our home. I am so thrilled to have it all reinforced at Kindermusik. I am PSYCHED to continue our semester in Kindermusik and I know it won't be our last class. It is something for both Grahammy and Mom to look forward to each week! I am in LOVE! There is a video of Graham demonstarting his singing skills as well as some pictures of him and his "beloved Kindermusik bag" when leaving for class today.
