Know what?

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Megan at 2 years old (Bubby's age)

When Megan was young, she had a way of keeping the attention of anyone to whom she was telling a story by saying, "And you know what?" after every few sentences.

She'd be sharing the news of a first day of school or what happened at a birthday party or why she thinks Jeremy is the handsdown cutest boy in the entire third grade, and sprinkled the whole way through would be interjections of, "And ya know what, Mom?"

Every sentence or three, she'd ask it.

Thing was, Megan wouldn't continue her story until I responded, until I said "What?"

I could be looking directly at Megan as she spoke, nodding along, but that wasn't enough. No, I had to vocalize my interest. I had to clarify with words my desire to hear more. Otherwise, she'd say it again.

"Ya know what?" she'd ask.

If I simply raised my eyebrows and leaned forward, seemingly (at least to me) begging for more, she'd respond with an impatient, "And YOU. KNOW. WHAT. MOM!?"

"WHAT!?" I'd growl at her.

Then she'd smile sweetly and continue chattering away, the magic words having appeased her ... for about four more sentences. Then she'd do it again.

"Ya know what?"

Grrr ... ! I sincerely enjoyed conversations with Megan. I loved hearing about her day and all. I appreciated that she wanted to share every last detail with me. But gee whiz! It drove me nuts!

Well ... ya know what?

Here's where you say, "What?"

Megan never stopped doing it. She still does it. I must admit, though, she's become a bit less annoying more adept at it. She uses different terminology now, such as a "Guess what happened?" or "Ya know what she said to me?" kind of thing every few steps throughout the story.

And ya know what else?

"What?" you surely are asking.

Megan recently reported that, get this, Bubby has started doing the Very. Same. Thing!

"Know what?" he asks her mid-story, then waits for her to say "What?" before proceeding with his babbling.

Again and again and again, Bubby annoys the cuss out of his mama, just as she annoyed the cuss out of her mama.

And ya know what?

"What?"

I think that's So. Darn. Funny!

Because you know what else?

"What?"

Seeing payback in action has got to be one of the very sweetest rewards of becoming a grandparent!

That's what!

Today's question:

What is one of the annoying things you, your kids, your siblings or another loved one did as a child -- and continue to do, to some degree, as an adult?

Oh do you know the pumpkin grandma?

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Last Saturday, I decided to make use of the pumpkins I purchased for carving, then never got around to carving.

So this is what I did:

Cut.

Clean.

Bake.Baked!Scrape ... into a food processor.Process.Wonder if it's supposed to look like applesauce. Check the recipe ... Yes, it's supposed to look like applesauce.End up with a HUGE bowl of pumpkin puree.An amount equal to this many cans!Bag it ... and line up for the pumpkin can-can, Rockette style.

"Take us to your leader!"Use one bag to make one of these. Yum!Use the innards to make these: Sweet-n-Salty Pumpkin Seeds.There you have it! That's how I spent 90 percent of my day last Saturday. But it was worth it.

Thing is, that was two pumpkins. I have three more pumpkins to go!

Today's question:

What's your favorite thing to make with pumpkin? Feel free to share the recipe.

Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road

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One of the interesting things about being a grandmother is that you have this feeling -- or at least I do -- that you're going through the grandparenting phase in a vacuum, with few others who know exactly how you feel, few others who think and do exactly as you do. I often think I surely must be the only one in the world so totally in love with my grandchild, so consumed with the desire to do and be the very best that I can be, for my kids, for my grandkids. Do you other grandmas feel that way, or is it just me?

This week's Grilled Grandma, Vicki, makes it clear that it's not just me, that my experience is one shared by many grandmas. The majority of Vicki's responses to my Grilled Grandma questions resonate and replicate what I think I might say ... and think ... and feel if I were answering such questions.

Read Grilled Grandma: Vicki to see if you agree and to learn great things about this special grandma ... who's so much like you ... so much like me.

Just gotta say: These Grilled Grandma profiles continually underscore that we grandmas are more alike than we are different. Clearly, when it comes to grandparenting, we're not alone. We walk this road together. And I love that.

I hope you do, too.

Today's question:

It's a Hump Day Free-for-All! What's on YOUR mind today?

Fair game

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Forty or so years ago, I went to the Minnesota State Fair. All I remember is that my younger sister and my dad were hurt by an errant cable that took them for an unintended and dangerous ride. To be honest, I remember the stories of the incident at the fair more than I remember the actual incident itself. Or the fair.

I've not been to a state fair since, except for when a has-been band or two (Jefferson Starship and .38 Special anyone?) headlined at the fairgrounds. I'm not sure if the horrible events of forty years ago scarred me forever, squelching my desire for fried foods at fantastically obscene prices and unregulated (or seemingly so to a paranoid such as myself) amusement rides at similarly obscene prices, or if there's some other deep-seated reason why I've never attended the state fair as an adult.

Becoming a grandma changes much, though, and one of the most recent changes has been my state fair attendance record. Yes, folks, my desert visit in October included a trip to the state fair.

I must admit, it was a far better occasion than my first fair visit, possibly because I steered clear of fried foods and flying cables. More probably, though, because I attended it with Bubby, Megan and Preston.

Being a grandma who likes to participate in my grandson's "firsts," the day was one for the history baby books as I got to ride with Bubby on his first-ever state fair ride. Here's a quick look at the fun we had at the fair:

In addition to typical fair attractions, there also was a life-size, animatronics dinosaur exhibit we enjoyed. Well, mostly enjoyed. Bubby was rather hesitant at first, but by the time we reached the end and he got to dig in the massive sandbox for fossils, I think he'd become a fan of dinosaurs. Pretty much. As long as they were nothing but bones. And didn't make noises. Or move.

It was perfect timing for introducing Bubby to the Hatch-n-Grow dinosaur egg, but, alas, the egg I carried in my Grandma Bag didn't survive the trip uncracked.

But that's okay. I have more eggs and will surely pack one in my Grandma Bag for another try during my visit at Thanksgiving. And after having the bejeezus scared out of him by the life-size T. Rex and its cousins, I'm pretty sure Bubby won't be frightened by an itsy-bitsy hatching baby dino.

Assuming, that is, that I can cushion the egg well enough in my suitcase this time to survive the wild and wacky airport baggage handlers, who are far scarier than hatching baby dino eggs. And errant amusement-ride cables, too.

Today's question:

What's most memorable about your past visits to the state fair?