Adventures in home care giving!

Many people may or may not know that I am a child care giver. I take care of five VERY active children at their house twice a week. Though the oldest four are all in school, the youngest at age four and INSANELY active, is still at home. I've spent most of this school year thus far, trying to figure out ways to entertain Adam as well as teach him. There are SO many fantastic blogs out there about preschool, and daycare, but I found it hard to find anything for ONE child that IS NOT mine that didn't cost a boat load to do...After reaching out to another preschool teacher, I was given the advice to continue teaching TO the child. Find out what HE likes and incorporate that, as well as play with him, which I do already. I believe seriously in teaching a child as an individual, doing things the child enjoys doing. Some of the tips were just AWESOME! And I had a few ideas I had wanted to implement. After class today I went to Dollar tree to get some items for an activity from a blog post called a Mandala, this initial need led me to gather MORE goodies for work! I hope to include more of my day's and adventures as a caregiver here, with pictures and posts! Below are the goodies I bought and some ideas of what we will be doing. ^.^


My plan is to bring a wide variety of things for Adam to choose what HE wants to do that day, rather than what I think we should do.

The picture above is of my home made light box! I'll be adding another light I believe, but this will work for now. Light boxes are AWESOME for exploring the world around an active toddler or child. The lights allow the child to see the difference between clear and solid objects, as well as making some really neat colors glow! I got this idea from another blog, I took a clear plastic box, bought a little push LED light from Lowe's, put a piece of paper beneath the clear box so as not to destroy the child's eyes with the LED, and voila! I have a light box! I spelled "neat" above with the little glass beads. ^.^

These are Dollar Tree foam pages that we can use for activities, or our Mandala's. Each of the colors came in sets of two, so we can use one full piece of an activity and the scraps from the Mandala, for other activities. ^.^

Teachers LOVE mixed media! I am one of them! This is my box of somewhat mixed media. I chose to put blue and green clear rock ornaments, and I chose rough multi-sized river or stream rocks. I'll likely add to this as well, but we take what we can get!

This is another basket that WILL be added to! I'm trying to work TO Adam's interests, and he LOVES dinosaurs, lizards, and frogs, he's a total boy. I chose these for use with our Mandala's, play in general, or our light box. ^.^

Cups! What good classroom is complete without a set of cups? These are for measuring, scooping, pouring, and understanding how much can go into an object before overflowing, offering LOTS of exploration!

This is ANOTHER super fantastic idea I got from a blog! They used a sand/magnet board for theirs, but I chose a white board as it was less expensive, and easier to use. The game is simple, spot the difference. I used this with Adam yesterday and he LOVED it!

My survival pack!

Two reed baskets for our Mandala/mixed media play, and our light box!

My basket of treasures! Inside are the foam pages, white board, sidewalk chalk, mixed media items, and cups.

Mandala's have traditionally been a religious item, but as another fantastic blogger pointed out, these little circles foster not only religious meditation, but learning. By picking a color mat, and placing whatever the child wants on it, this allows the child to be creative and unique, as well as help to relax and concentrate them.

Floor view of my own Mandala. ^.^

Above is the board I put together for Adam! I made this, and took it to the house, back in September. The blank area below weather is where I put the kids birthday announcement cards at the beginning of their birthday month.

I ain't gonna lie...Not a big fan of this guy, BUT as a teacher I think it is INCREDIBLY valuable for a child to be able to identify their president, I also believe it is important to have a picture of the president in the classroom.

I believe EVERY classroom in America needs an American flag. This is our American flag. ^.^

This is the weather section. Adam checks to see what the weather is like, and picks the proper weather icon to place on the board.

This is the calendar. I put this together so Adam could be included. I put Velcro tabs on the board so the numbers can be easily removed and reused, plus Adam can put them on which is important. ^.^

These are the envelopes that hold the date numbers, months, weather icons, and birthday cards.

Here are our weather icons. Rainy.

Snowy.

Windy.

Sunny.

Again, not an artist! I have different month slips for each month, this allows us to change the month and stay accurate!

This board is partly my idea, partly from the preschool I did my clinical at, and partly from a blog! Adam enjoys being able to add the days, and the weather. I believe it is valuable to allow the child to be involved in classroom duties. Some may not believe it, but kids are SO eager to help adults, and to feel needed, these are easy tasks that he can do. He LOVE pushing the pins down in, I place the pin so it doesn't fall, and he gives it a list little push to keep it in place.

Hope EVERYONE enjoyed!

Love,

Christina

"My life is like a lemon drop..."

I know its been a while since last I posted, but the creativity had left me...Well, redistributed. I've been working on my book recently so the creativity has transferred to that. I figured today I would post a song I just LOVE! I'm going to be using this as my battle cry as it were, or my inspiration for life.

Lemon Drop by Pistol Annies

"My mufflers tied on with a guitar string

I owe 7,000 dollars to a bank machine

before this car is ever really mine

And some fine day I'll drive her downtown

Get a burger and fries and a royal crown

Thanking God I'll never 

have to pay another dime

My life is like a lemon drop

I'm suckin' on the bitter to get to the sweet part

I know there are better days ahead

I got dirty shirts and worn out jeans

I owe two dozen quarters to a washin' machine

Before these clothes will ever really shine

But I got me a man, that just don't care

If his little darlin's got underwear

I know someday I'm gonna be his wife

My life is like a lemon drop 

I'm suckin' on the bitter to get to the sweet part

I know there are better days ahead

I got thrift store curtains in the windows of my home

I'm payin' for a house that the landlord owns

Bought a T.V. on a credit card 

It'll take me ten years to pay it off

But some fine day I'll be drinkin' a beer

In a big back yard I own free and clear

All I know, there's better days ahead

So I'll play my hopes, and play my dreams

Just like two coins in a slot machine

Sing "Glory, Hallelujah" if everything works out fine

My life is like a lemon drop

I'm suckin' on the bitter to get to the sweet part

I know there are better days ahead

Lord I know there are better days ahead

Thank God!"  

May all your days be CIRCUS days!

This post was started several weeks ago...but alas, I lost my inspiration in it...


Several Wednesday's ago I had the pleasure of enjoying one of the BEST days I've had in a long, long time! Yesterday, in the cool early morning light, Carson and Barnes Circus rolled into town! With the passing of my uncle last month, my sister and I were eager to watch the circus set up, something we did when we were young with our dad, and uncle. We thought that would be a PERFECT way to remember uncle Mike. Michele took the day off easy, but for me its not as simple of course, but either my sister or mom had the idea to take the little boy I babysit to watch the circus set up! The plans were set, the T-shirts dug out, and I went to bed excited for the next morning! 


The morning started out normally enough, until we hit the circus! After finding Michele, Adam and I settled in to watch the circus set up! Slowly I saw the tent raise, the workers climbing the scaffolding, the tent, and attaching odds and ends before the tent roof gained its life force! Slowly the poles began to roll around, forcing the roof of the tent to tighten and wave in the cool breeze of the September morning. Adam was excited to bits about the opportunity to see the great elephants! We would often step away from the excitement of the tent being stretched into its giant form, to visit the elephants and the other animals. With the tent nearly finished, the announcement went out! There would be a tight rope show! That excited all of us to no end, and when the time came, we watched the workers scale the tent, tighten a wire on top of the tent, and then the fearless performer scaled the scaffolding to the very top of the tent and to the wire hanging sixty feet above the earth! With what seemed to be otherworldly skill, the tight rope walker scaled the wire one way, on the way back though, he slipped, whether this was for effect or a true mistake, I will never know, but it elicited a gasp of shock and fear from all watching! With the crowd behind him, cheering excitedly, he attempted his journey again, this time with no difficulty!


Our next stop was to watch an elephant demonstration! The greatest part of having a wee one with me, was being able to quickly walk to the front row for the elephant demonstration. Michele took her spot beside us, and a few treasured green apples were disbursed between the school children that lined the gate of the elephant pin. The massive, graceful creatures were each introduce, Asha, Libby, and Opal, I do hope I spelled the first one right...Our first elephant, Asha was our feeding elephant! She walked to each of the children that held the treasured apples, and with the signal "take it" her long trunk would search out the sweet scent, and gently remove the treat from the child's hand and pop it into her own mouth! Her trunk would later travel very close to Adam and I as she searched for another apple.


After our elephant viewing, we sat in to watch a juggling demonstration. One of the workers/performers showed some of the children how to juggle, using delightful demonstrations with the children being involved including random moments of juggling balls being tossed to children to let them "try" to juggle. To the joy of the children, he even chose to juggle a few other items, a water bottle, and even a cell phone! We wandered a bit more, and saw the hippo as it began to lounge on the crispy parched grass. Toward the end however, Adam became a bit fidgety, which was to be expected as he is so young. Once everything was set up, and the demonstrations were over, Adam and I left the circus, Adam was of course thrilled to be going, again, he was going stir crazy haha! With two short trips, meds for me, a trip to the music store for his older sister, by the way I found one of the few circus posters in that music store! I also asked that they hold it back for me, its currently hanging out under the plastic on the dinning room table to protect it from "accidents".


Finally we were going to the place Adam had been asking about all day, in fact he had asked SO many times I told him to stop asking or we wouldn't go, we went to McDonalds! We huddled inside and made our orders! With food in hand, we made our way to the play room, and might I add, the person who made it INSIDE in the new McDonalds is a GENIUS! I never noticed the heat or nastyness of the playplace outdoors as a child, but as a sitter I'm grateful for the comfortable booths, and CIRCULATED air, no old foot odor! Adam parked us at the smallest table, but being a not petite gal, I had to move myself to a real booth or I'd get stuck at the seat! Adam kept eating and I sat at the booth across, eventually he was worried about not being able to play so I told him he could play, and come eat between. That did the trick! We moved his food to the booth, and he ran off, putting his shoes into the cupboard, and diving into the tubes! There were several of the classic, "hi Tina's!" from the tops of the playplace. The best part had to be the fact that when I said it was time to go, there was no screaming or crying! He was completely content to head on home.


The rest of the work day went along as usual, and in time, it was time for me to go home and prepare for the circus! When I arrived at home, I chatted eagerly with my sister while we both waited for mom and dad to return home so we could all go to the circus. We looked at bed and breakfasts to stay at while in North Carolina for a cousins wedding. In time, mom and dad made it home and before long we were hurrying to the grounds for the circus! When we emerged from the cars, the air was crisp and slightly chilly, and the wonderful food smells drifted on the wind as our eyes met the twinkling lights of the midway. We entered into the whimsical other world, filled with elephant and camel rides, toys and souvenirs, ticket sales, pony rides, an inflatable slide, and food vendors. We had arrived through the almost magical tarp portal of ticket takers into this bright beautiful world! In time we made our way into the big canvas tent, and were escorted to box seats in the front of the ring. After settling in the lights dimmed, the ringmaster made his approach and the circus was off to its exciting start!


Before the main acts began though, the current owner of the circus, and friend of my recently passed uncle, made her way to the center of the ring. She greeted the audience, and then said something that to this day makes my heart swell with gratitude. She spoke of how the circus had lost a fantastic friend in Mike Sorrill, my uncle. That it would never be quite the same, and that they, as a circus, were dedicating the shows in Jacksonville to the memory of my uncle. She told us all to have fun, and cheer a lot for my uncle who could no longer be there. Her speech brought a tear to my eye, and the circus had new meaning again. In the past I would have likely criticized my own future over zealousness, but it fit this time. I clapped like a five year old at her first circus, laughed til I cried at the antics of the clowns, savored the delicious buttery taste of the popcorn, and nearly held my breath, for the first time in years! as the acrobats did their acts of daring! 


In honor of our fallen family member, my sister and I had vowed that the next circus we went to, we would get an elephant ride! When we were young, we rode the elephants at every circus, but we hadn't done this in years! Well, when the halfway point of the show came up, Michele and I proudly marched to the ticket box, bought our ride coupons, and climbed onto the back of a large beautiful elephant! We laughed as we felt the great animal move and sway below us, and the memories of those childhood elephant rides were revisited. We both had a twinge of self consciousness, but it soon faded as we reveled in another recaptured childhood moment! We bought coloring books, laughed when we heard the tell tale "first time ever!" speel about the peanuts, and eventually clapped our last as the masterful wonders of the circus came to an end. The costumes were splendid, gilded in sequins and adorned with feathers, the clowns in their floppy clothes and wild antics had us in stitches! Tight rope walkers, elephant riders, dog trainers, and the tell tale acrobats all made for a magical time. 


With our circus time drawing to a close, we had our coloring books signed, I bought some cotton candy, and we wandered the midway a few seconds. Dad being a bit cheeky, decided to grab my cotton candy, but when he did, it came off the stick, cotton candy, bag, and all! I was mortified and couldn't stop laughing at the same time! We all laughed, and I got a few good whacks with my cotton candy stick, before I tried desperately to put the dilapidated candy floss back on its stick. We laughed our way off the midway and back to our cars, where we all parted, Michele and Nick to Springfield, my parents and I home. 


In all, it was probably the best circus time I've had in many, MANY years. I felt my uncles spirit with us under that big top, and my dad had a good laugh off my aunt, Mikes widow. He said she hadn't changed at all! As we watched the tightrope act, she had her mouth agape in fear, and hand over her mouth. So many circuses and she still gets sweaty palms watching the tightrope. I do love my family, quirks and all, they are the BEST family to have, and I love them all to bits!


Love,
Christina 

My wee angels!

My readers may or may not know, but I am a VERY proud mother! I mentioned to my mom today, "I've had twenty kids and I still have my girlish figure!" You scoff? Well I AM the mother of twenty...Granted nearly half have moved on to that large world in the sky, hopefully I'll see them again...The only real difference in my motherhood, and the motherhood of others is that my children aren't human! I have no human children, but in my life have had MANY beautiful animal children! To break it down easily I've been the mother to, five cats, three fish, two rabbits, three crabs, two snails, two dogs, and at least three frogs. I wonder if those reading this will think me a bit of a whore for having so many species of children! Obviously they do not all share the same father! ;) Truly I can not remember EXACTLY when I had my rabbits, it was a while back and was likely before I had my first cat. Anyway, I had one brown velvet feeling rabbit named Easter. She was a sweet little thing, and I can't put into words my joy when we went to Bucheit and saw the little spring rabbits and I said half hopefully, "I want one...". My true shock came when my dad looked at me and said, "Pick one out!" I thought I'd heard wrong! Did my dad ACTUALLY say pick a bunny out?! I looked the variously colored balls of fur over, and fell head over heals with a little brown ball of fluff. I named her Easter because she was one of my Easter gifts. We brought her home, but soon after my sister became sullen...She wanted a rabbit as well...What was crazier was when we all got back into the van, returned to Bucheit and Michele picked out her own rabbit, an all black ball of fluff she called Alex. So we had Easter and Alex, unlike Easter though, Alex was a bit rough...She wasn't fond of people in general and before I knew it, my wee sweet Easter bit me...Alex had made her an angry rabbit and we had to give them both away, luckily my mom, who worked as a dialysis nurse at the time, had a patient who raised rabbits and happily took our wayward children in. Months later we heard the lovely news! Easter was a mommy! She had successfully mated and given birth to babies, while Alex had attacked and I believe killed the rabbit she was to mate with...In turn she had to be put down...That was the end of Easter and Alex. Though I can't know for certain if we had Easter and Alex before Boots or not...

Boots! His full and proper name is, Boots Patches Creampuff Sorrill. Creampuff because the little spot on his forehead looks like an overstuffed creampuff!

Boots was I believe, my next child! I had wanted a little kitten for so long, and one day my parents brought home information from the vets office about how to care for cats and what they needed, that was how they broke the news that we were getting a kitten! We bought the food dish, water dish, play things, and a litter box. Most of the items for the kitten were in my room, and before bed I would play with a stuffed cat, pretend to feed it, water it, use the litter box and go to bed at the foot of my bed. On a nice summer day, we drove to the country to retrieve my kitten! The little one they brought out was literally a little one! He looked as though he couldn't have been weaned long, and the collar we had bought him was far too big even when it was shrunk to its smallest size! He fit in the palm of my moms hand, and the palm of mine, and he was a little ball of black and white fluff! He was a bit sick, ear mites, fleas, and worms, but I loved him deeply! I had thought of some names but mom offered the name Boots, I thought it fit and Boots was born to us! We went to Midland, the farm supply store, and bought a carrier for our new addition, and some flea shampoo! When we got home, Boots had his bath, and the poor little dear looked like a drowned rat! Of course Boots didn't stay little for long! He's now a rather massive cat...He's still my sweet little boy, and thankfully came out of his terrible kitten age where no toes were safe hanging off a bed...
For now I'm on my cat children, and will post about them in order of age, and then my other children as I don't remember exactly when I got each one.

Muffy! Full and proper name, Muffy Tina Tiger Lillian Sorrill.

Next came Muffy! Muffy was NOT at all an expected addition to our family...In 2001, my mom, sister, grandparents on my moms side, and I all went to Nebraska for a family reunion. We made about a week of it, going to the family reunion and staying with family for a few days in Colorado which was a LOT of fun! Well apparently my sister had a horrible feeling in her gut one day that she told mom about but not me...Apparently again after that horrible feeling dad had called to say Boots, who was about a year old then, had run out on him and had been lost for a day or two...Well this was kept from me until we arrived at my grandparents house. I looked that the wee kittens and enjoyed them, and said I wish I could have one...Then they broke it to me saying, "Pick one out..." I was shocked, and then learned this kitten was to be a replacement...I had noticed Muffy before we left for our trip because my mom said, "That one looks like a cat I had called Muffy Tom." Well if I were to pick a kitten, I wanted the one that reminded mom of her childhood cat Muffy Tom, so I chose a fluffy yellow and white kitten, grandpa looked it over and said, "This is a girl". So I called her Muffy Tina instead of Muffy Tom. I cried almost the entire way home...I had my hand in the little box Muffy was in and she let me pet her and cry, she has always been my little furry rock, she knows when I'm down and tries to help. I fell asleep before we got home and woke up at home and cried more...The next morning with Muffy getting acclimated, we began to make LOST posters for Boots...About two days after that, and right after putting up the big posters on the poles around the neighborhood, my dad was working on checks, Muffy was by the water dish in the kitchen, and Blondie our dog was relaxing, the windows were open and dad heard a little meow...There was Boots sitting on the steps wanting in...But of course dad, not being a cat person, wasn't thrilled that he now had two cats...But he dealt with it and I was thrilled!

Sox. Full and proper name, Sox Prince Moonbeam Starboy Sorrill.

Soxy came about from the cat that up until about two years ago, lived where my dad worked. He was part of her first litter inside, and after dad gave away my favorite kitten Acrobat, I pleaded that he not give away Sox! On the way home from Springfield one day, I twisted my dad's arm and mom finally agreed that we could have Sox! We went to dad's work and picked him up, he was a glorious little addition to our family. He was quite laid back, and very gentle, but he's also a bit goofy...He likes to get into odd positions and he has a patented "cute and innocent act". This cat KNOWS he's cute...So when he's in trouble, he flops onto his side and rolls around giving this look that says, "I'm so cute! You won't hurt me!"

Cleo. Full and proper name, Cleopatra Melinda Shemelba Donshea Sorrill.

Cleo was another unexpected addition to the family. She is also Sox's half sister, she was born to that same cat where my dad works. Cleo's life did not start with our family, she went to one of my dad's bosses. Sadly it would seem she wasn't given proper attention, and her littler box was in the garage, and she also wasn't let out enough to use it consequently she peed around the house...Being fed up with her, the boss brought her back and tossed her in with her mother...Who hates animals...Dad brought her home until we could find her a home, because Scruffy, her mother, would have likely killed her...Well she worked her charms on us, and dad thought she'd been through enough and we kept her!

Sweet P. Full and proper name, Sweet Peter Holstein Moo Cow Sorrill.

We have no idea about Sweet P. he was a stray that showed up at our house, and simply never left...For months he didn't fully trust us, and though he wanted attention he was afraid to approach...In time, I was able to calm him enough that he approached one Christmas Eve, we played in the door, he entered, and the next day he came in and never left! He is our little clown, and for the LONGEST time no one but me could come around him or hold him, he would let me do things he wouldn't allow from other people. He loves to follow when given any attention, I'm the only one he rolls over to his back for, and he has the tiniest little meow! Which we hardly ever hear...We call him our little cow.

That is all for my cats. After we gave away Easter and Alex, we acquired another Easter and Alex from the same man who took our other rabbits. This time however, Easter was male and was consequently fixed after trying to impregnate Alex on my sisters lap...We built them a lovely hutch, open in the front with chicken wire, enclosed on the other sides with closer chicken wire on the bottom and a lid on top. I hate to go into detail about them because their demise still hurts me to this day...One night, some very, very, abused dogs got loose...They went to a neighbors house who fed them, but their hunger was not satisfied...They ripped open the bottom of the hutch pulled one of our rabbits out and killed it, and the other may have died of fright...Its still hard to think about them, I felt horrible for them and the dogs and was horrified and angered by the owner for treating the animals that way!

I also had two snails, Gary and Selena. I found a snail shell one day and decided to bring it home, later that day when I went into the kitchen I noticed my shell had moved across the table and was still moving down the edge of the table...There was STILL a snail in it...I kept him as a pet and named him Gary, Selena was found by my dad later and I kept them both for over a year before they passed peacefully. 

With my snails gone, my sister thought a perfect gift for me for my 15th birthday was to take me to Springfield for a movie and trip to the mall. While there we found painted shelled hermit crabs! I fell in love! She bought me three, one with a tye dye shell, one with an Asian motif, and the other I can't remember well...Gary was the biggest and scariest...He was the tye dye one we thought was pushed onto use because he was mean and they wanted to rid themselves of him...Anyway I brought Gary, Selena, and Squishy home, within a week Squishy and Selena were dead by mysterious means...We think Gary killed them...But Gary, the evil one that pinched me and always scared me lived on and on...He died a few years ago and though he was evil, I cried...

Edward. Full and proper name, Edward Oliver Robert Pattinson Sorrill.

Later I became mother to a beautiful blue Beta fish named Edward. Edward had quite a fine personality, he liked watching his food before attacking happily. He loved playing dead...to my dismay...I learned a lot about caring for Beta's with Edward, but he lived with us about two years before passing on...I believe he was ill and old and the combination just took him...

Ferdinand. Ferdinand has no real fancy name, he's just Ferdinand Sorrill.

Ferdinand joined our family a little over a year ago, and he is a bit flashy and thinks a lot of himself! He expects royal treatment, and delights in puffing out his cheeks to show mommy how manly and scary he is! He's an all around sweet fish and I love him to bits!

Nemo is another of my children who has gone on...She was a red platy fish and was born in our fish tank. Dad gave her very little chance to live because he back was completely crooked...She lived a good life and even had children. I named her Nemo before I knew she was a girl, and she was named for Nemo from Finding Nemo because of her crooked back.

I don't really have any good pictures of Comet...She's my chocolate brown pup that lives at Grandpa and Grandma Staff's house. I named her Comet because of how fast she ran around the house! She's a sweet puppy and has had several litters. Grandpa had her fixed free when a place in Quincy was fixing animals for free. She has since plumped up, but she's still me sweet little girl. She was hit slightly by grandpa when she got behind his truck so she is blind in one eye, but she follows me on ALL my adventures! The best part is if she runs ahead of me, she stops when I stop and waits for me! She's too sweet!

Lily is another of my girls, she is Comets sister and lives with Comet, she also just had her first litter of puppies. She, like Comet, is a stray that just showed up one day. Poor thing was so skidish, but with time she's allowed us to pet her. She has incredibly long legs, a slender body, speckled and black fur, and ears that are constantly cocked.

My last children were three frogs! I raised them from wee tadpoles! When I was in fourth grade I believe, we went to a farm that was owned by the ex husband of our former teacher. We were allowed to catch tadpoles and take them home, I caught a bunch and brought them home to raise. My sister and I shared them, and though most of them escaped after they became frogs and consequently died...the others were later freed at the lake here in town.

Well that is the story of my children! They may not be human, but they are mine and I adore them!

Love,

Christina

Carnival's and Circuses, these are a few of my favorite things!

In this blog, I shall delve into two of my favorite things! These are things I enjoyed in my childhood, and into my current age.
I'm often flabbergasted when I hear people say, "I've only been to one circus..." "I've never been to a circus..." "I've been to one or two carnivals..." I nearly fall over and grab my chest! Something many may not know, and something that may explain why exactly I'm insane, is that carnivals and circuses are in my blood! If I had to estimate, I'd say I've been to at least thirty circuses in my life, possibly more...and likely twice as many carnivals...Back to circuses though, my family would religiously go, as it was a tradition my grandpa Sorrill passed down to my dad, and my dad in turn passed it onto my sister and myself. Our family has been to the birthday of a circus owner, we've eaten with the performers, watched setup and some tear down, and I have played with the performers children.
Some of my HAPPIEST memories were going to the fair grounds and watching with my dad and sister as the large trucks unloaded their precious cargo. I can remember the way the heavy tarp tent was pulled and stretched and laid out. The smell of the elephants as they pulled the poles to bring the tent to life! It was majestic to see something flat and unmoving come to life before my very eyes! With the tents set up, we'd always visit the animals, and an elephant ride was a MUST! In the evening the show would start, and my eyes would behold magnificent acts from around the world. People in glittering costumes, women, slender and beautiful perched upon the back of the magnificent elephants with feathers perched in their hair! It was mesmerizing. Even today when I hear the tired old story "This is the FIRST time we're doing this!" brings a smile to my face! This old story that was supposedly new every circus, pertained to the selling of peanuts, and in those bags one had the chance of finding a glorious ticket! Whenever we opened those bags and found a ticket, it was reminiscent of Willy Wonka! With that ticket, the children were called to the middle of the tent to claim their prize! A ginormous circus balloon! Usually the balloons didn't make it home, but the glee of having that masterful piece of rubber in my hands was like holding the Holy Grail! Of course no circus was complete without goodies! The smell and taste of the fresh popcorn, the sweet warm cotton candy melting into my mouth, the cold delicious snow cones that would drip down my hand and chin leaving me with a colored chin and tongue! It seemed magical under that giant tent. I still remember being given knicknacks from the circus, generally a light toy, my all time favorite was a plastic tube with a plastic snowglobe type object on top with silver glitter inside and an elephant on top, when one lit it up, the colors would change and bounce off the silver enchanting my young mind! After the circus, and before heading home, we would go hunting for circus posters and circus arrows! These were our spoils of war! Taking them from fences, and the outsides of buildings after the show was over was glorious! If we made it home early, my sister and I ALWAYS headed straight to the swing set after a circus to work on our own circus. We were quite good, especially me having no formal training. I like to say I was the youngest circus owner ever! I would watch with glee The Greatest Show on Earth! I would then climb onto the back of the couch, grab a blue blanket and pretend I was riding an elephant. I would smile and wave to my imaginary audience and move as though I really were riding an elephant. After becoming bored with that, I would take an extra wand from the blinds and pretend to be a lion tamer! Its easy to see why I'm the way I am huh? 
Now that I have jabbered on about circuses, I think its time to move onto carnivals! Dad would take us to almost every carnival within sixty miles of home. In a year we would generally go to New Berlin, Sangamon County, Morgan County, and the State Fair. Being an odd child to begin with, I was a rider! I loved trying the new rides. My first favorite was The Dragon Wagon! Yes the Dragon Wagon, the children's version of a terrifyingly wonderful roller coaster! I almost NEVER left that ride...The feeling I would get as we started, and hit the first bump and slid down was something I can never fully describe. It seems so silly now, but I believed that ride was the epitome of the carnival!

The Dragon Wagon!

Though my sister had outgrown this ride, I still loved it! Now that was NOT the extent of my riding career though, oh no! My sister and I's other favorite ride was The Hurricane! A ride whose arms would rise slowly into the air, with one car at the end of each, and once in the air the entire ride would spin gleefully! Most young children would be horrified by such a thing, but I ate it up!

The Hurricane!

Another Michele and Christina favorite was The Octopus! It has been SO many years since my sister and I were able to ride The Octopus, I've almost forgotten what it's like...I believe the arms go up and each one spins on its own but I could be wrong...

The Octopus!

Now for the rider with some stones, Wipeout was INCREDIBLE! This ride was GREAT! It started flat, then slowly began to spin, picking up until it was completely on its side!

Hahaha! Wipeout!

The Ferris Wheel was a cool down ride that dad, Michele and I always rode! The line was always long but so worth the wait...Gliding up slowly and being able to see the entire fair from the top was an incredible feeling! I assume everyone has seen a ferris wheel so I won't post that.

Michele and I loved 1001 Nachts! Now that is a classic! But you've got to ride in the front! You are locked into your seat which is positioned on a giant fiberglass magic carpet. The ride begins by swaying to one side, then the other, until eventually its going in circles!

1001 Nachts!

The Scrambler is another personal favorite! The ride that spins and pushes the cars to the very brink of the gates! I have advice though, if you ride this be sure to have the largest person riding on the OUTSIDE, gravity forces the riders to the outside of the car.

The Scrambler!

Tilt-A-Whirl is another FANTASTIC ride! If you have the chance though, and love spinning, make sure to ride with a larger person...If you have someone who is heavy, or a heavy car you'll spin like a top! When spinning, you'll feel like you're glued to the back of the seat and it is incredible!

Tilt-A-Whirl

We have the wonderful swings! Not really a thrill ride, but a wonderful way to cool down, and enjoy a breathtaking view!

I now come to the GLORIOUS Gravitron! This is INTENSE! You walk into an alien space craft like ride, and stand against a wall. Eventually the ride begins to spin, pinning the rider to the wall, and honestly, it feels like the floor gives out as you spin into oblivion!

Now the Tornado ride is hard to explain. One can spin if they like, I prefer to not spin. Anyway, the rider is whisked into the air and swung in their car and as they come down, they are whipped around making it seem as though the car will crash into the very ground!

The Tornado!

There is another ride I thoroughly enjoy! This ride I can't name, and can't find a picture of...The main premise is that the rider lays down on their tummy, and the simulation is that of parasailing. The ride flies up and comes back down making the rider feel as though they are flying!

There is ONE ride I will NEVER ride again...I chose to ride this when I was young and was scarred for life by it! It was Michele's favorite ride...::Ominous music plays...:: The Zipper...

 I have NEVER gotten sick on a ride, but THIS ride, this ride almost made me sick...I had to take a little nap in the van after riding this evil thing...

I think its obvious now, that I'm an insane carnival rider and I LOVE IT! Carnivals have a special place in my heart, a way of bonding with my dad and sister while screaming at the top of my lungs!

Well I'm getting a little sleepy, and feel as though I'm babbling so I'll cut this post off before I'm told to shut up hehe. Hope you enjoyed delving into my insanity!

Love,

Christina