Dear McCall, age 18

Dear 'About to Go to College' McCall,

This is it. You're about to set foot on one of the greatest adventures you'll ever know: college. Your world as you know it is about to be rocked in more ways than you can possibly imagine.

During the next five years (Yes, five. Deal with it. You're gonna change your major one semester shy of graduation. This will be scary and you will feel a slight sense of failure here, but don't worry- it all works out in the end.), you're going to meet the greatest friends you'll ever know. They'll come in all shapes and sizes, be all ages, and be from all walks of life. Some of them will prove to be truer than others, some will thoroughly disappoint, and some you will still talk to daily twelve years from now.These few will become a part of you and will in many ways mold you into the girl you'll be when you're all grown up and doin' your thing.  But, you'll learn something about yourself from each of them. You'll find that you're very, very lucky in the friend department.

Don't take French. Or at least if you DO take French, don't skip class. This will not end well. Take my word for it. The same goes for ballet- don't register for this class; it'll be the only class you drop in college. Save yourself the frustration and just say no. You'll only get your feelings hurt when your teacher tells you that you're too short to ever be taken seriously as a ballerina. Yes, I realize you're not trying to be taken seriously and are only trying to get a fine arts credit, but it will hurt your feelings nonetheless.

As for boys, there will be several. Some will be good; one in particular will be very bad. I wish I could tell you you'd one day look back on this relationship and say you're glad you went there, but don't hold your breath.....it's not gonna happen. You will get your heart broken; you'll also realize there's someone out there who is so much better for you and will be so much better to you. This too will pass.  On the good side, there will be a few who will teach you to be better. Your hubby will appreciate them one day, whether he admits it or not. They'll teach you to love with your whole heart, back down when necessary, and choose your battles very carefully. They'll love you just for being you and help you to see that you are going to be ok, no matter what life has in store: past, present, and future. Be good to them even though they're not your Mr. Right. For one day, you WILL find him. He is out there, although right now he's thinking you don't exist.

Spend as much time with your girlfriends as you possibly can; one day not too far from now you'll be willing to give just about anything to have so many people you love living just down the hall from you. Take advantage of this as often as possible. Stay up late giggling, skip class to share secrets, and ditch the boys for the girls. Those boys don't matter; these girls do.

Don't waste time hating your hair. Twelve years from now, you're still gonna hate it. So any time you spend on this will simply be wasted. Spend that time instead doing something fun, like taking random trips to Starkville, putting on puppet shows for Summers, asking Rebecca to teach you how to  play the guitar, creating something with Ashley, playing pool with Jennifer, or realizing you and Kara have so much in common that it's scary.

Write, write, and then write some more. Don't spend the next five years just writing for class. I know being an English major means writing a few papers a week, but stop whining and write some more anyway. It's what you've always wanted, remember? Ok, so take off the blinders, stop making excuses, and write just a little everyday, even if it's for no one but Y-O-U.

Call home more. I know that you and your mom may not always see eye-to-eye right now, but one day you will. And one day you'll regret only calling home when you needed something and not just to hear her voice.

Stop wasting time questioning your desire to be a teacher and just do it already. You won't regret it. I'd be lying if I said you'd enjoy it every single day, but it will lead you to some wonderful people whom you will truly love. Those kids will make you happy, will make you better, and will bring out the best in you.  And you'll get to talk about books and writing all day, and you know you like the sound of that.

Hold true to who you are. I know there will be people and things that tempt you to be someone else and not hold true to your core values, but get a tight grip on what's important to you and refuse, above all else, to let go of who you are at the heart of you. Ignore these people and turn away from these things. Run if you have to....

Wear your skinny jeans every single day and eat all of the chocolate chip cookies you can stand. Trust me. That twenty-two year old body of yours won't hang around for forever, and even though it'll be hard to admit and you may even deny it at times, you'll miss it one day.

Above all else, have fun.....and try to learn a few things.   Get ready, little one, you are about to have some of your greatest adventures.  You're about to become YOU.

Keep your chin up and enjoy every stinkin' minute,

'No longer a Kid' McCall

In  case you're wondering, I was inspired to take this journey down memory lane by this blog. Check it out and get inspired too...and let me know if you write your own letter after reading mine. I'd love to hear what you have to say to you.

One Big Mess

How's the feeding progress coming, you ask?

Well, it's coming....

 but I'm not sure if it's a step in the right direction or not.

We've progressed from just squash to squash and carrots.

Although it appears she prefers the carrots ON her mouth rather than IN her mouth.

It's a good thing I absolutely adore this kid...

or we'd both be in trouble.

 Because above all else these days, she's a MESS.

It's a good thing though that she happens to be the cutest mess I've ever known,

and don't worry- we're gonna keep her. ;) 

Better than just alright

In a desperate attempt to stop the teething madness and cure the summer slump,

 we made a mad dash out of town this weekend.

By WE, I mean me and the girls.

Solo.

My first attempt at being outnumbered on the road.

Needless to say, Lib's face in this picture about sums up how it went.

Although, despite the overwhelming heat that made my poor baby's face turn this nice shade of pink....

the weekend did have its high points.

So, instead of focusing on and ranting about all the things that didn't exactly go as planned (like how I only got a grand total of one hour and forty-five minutes of sleep that night and how Hollyn cried more in one twenty-four period than ever before or how after about fifteen attempts, this was the best we could get in terms of a family picture....),

I'm choosing to overlook (aka block out) all of that and focus on the high points of our getaway.

Point number one: my grandmother's spaghetti.

 In my family, this stuff is infamous.

 In fact, I'm so terribly spoiled by how good this stuff is that I never attempt to make spaghetti of my own, because I know my limits,

and there's just no way I can compete with this.

And if that wasn't bad enough, it's also the only spaghetti I eat because second best just doesn't cut it when it comes to sketti.

Point number two: the fashion show.

In case letting her eat ice cream for breakfast wasn't enough to guarantee that my grandmother's house is Lib's favorite place to visit,

she also gives the Libster free reign of her closet while we're there.

And if you know Libby, you know there's nothing she loves more than a good game of dress up,

 especially when the dress up includes high heels.

Point number three: the newest addition.

My brother and his wife have just had their second child.

Her name is Carlyle, and we love her.

How could we not?

She's so stinkin' cute.

And apparently, holding a new baby never gets old...

even when you have one of your own at home.

And hands down, Lib's favorite part of the weekend was getting to play with Rylee Kate,

my brother's firstborn.

She lets Lib run the show, which makes Lib more than happy.

All in all, it was a good weekend....

at least it's good when you choose to ignore all the stuff that went wrong

and focus on the things that went better than just alright.

The Big Jump

Today was the Libster's last day of swimming lessons, and she went out with a bang!

 Her goal for the week was to get to jump off of the high dive.

My thoughts exactly.

I mean, really?

Not a simple jump off the side or even the regular diving board?

Nope. Not my girl.

When she sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her....

...not even if her goal includes climbing a super tall ladder....

....that only seems to make it more appealing, really.

My baby knows no fear.

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not.....

But good thing or not, it's so HER.

You can check out her first attempt here.

She jumps and then swims to her super fabulous swim teacher (hi, Mrs. Rene).

Happy summer to you and you and you!

One bite at a time

So, if you do recall, teaching Hollyn how to eat from a spoon made the list of things I hope to do this summer.

And all though it's a 'one day at a time' type of situation, we are gradually making progress.

Ok, so perhaps by 'progress' I really mean, BIG MESS......

but as long as she keeps on lookin' so dang cute, she can make all the messes her little heart desires.

And besides, it's nothin' we can't cure with a nice duck bath, right?

Her name in lights

Welcome to big girl land.

This weekend was monumental for Libby-- not because it was her first dance recital.

Dance recitals are fun but totally trivial.

No, I think this weekend was big because I got to share one of my all-time greatest loves with one of my all-time favorite people: performing.

For the first time in her little life, Libby put it all on the line, faced her fears, and did her thing in front of several hundred pairs of watchful eyes.

 And to put it mildly, she was amazing.

Although she was a little nervous before her big moment....

and maybe even a little scared.....

the little girl pulled it all together and did her very best.

And the whole time, she remembered to focus on what was

THE MOST IMPORTANT thing she had to do that day:

HAVE FUN.

And that she did.

She even got an award for being the one who always keeps the teacher on track

 and picks up on new skills quickly.

Ummmm....could you possibly describe my child any more perfectly?

And I do believe that after this first attempt,  my little one has inherited her momma's love for all things

stage-like.

She said she loved every minute of it.

And while dancing is fun, that's only a smart part of it, I think.

I mean, yes I'm proud my little one can shimmy and shake,

but I'm much more proud that she can look her fears in the face.....

and say BRING IT.

Being on stage has brought me so much joy.

 I love the late night practices, the people,

 the nervous feeling that consumes my stomach before I take the stage,

and the rush I get while it's actually my time to shine.

And I am thrilled to share this love with my first-born.

Whatever God has in store for her, I have a feeling that it's something VERY, VERY big, because He's made her so fearless, so funny, so driven, so talented, and so independent.

Oh, and as for the make-up.....she's officially in love.

Those little summer moments

I like to believe that summer is made up of lots of little moments that somehow seem to add up to something big, something wonderful, and something magical.

Here are some of the moments we've experienced in the past few days:

- The moment I realized this whole 'stay-at-home mom job' thing might turn out to be bigger than I'd ever hoped....

- The moment we rode by our old house, which is now sporting a new coat of paint, and it no longer looked or felt like home.

-The moment Libby opted for rocker silly bands over princess, and I realized that she's growing up before my very eyes.

- The moment this little one REALLY learned how to jump in her jumper, and it hit me that very, very soon, there will be no stopping her.

- The moment Hollyn discovered that adorable baby staring back at her while she takes a bath.

-The moment this one took her first swim of the summer.

-The moment I looked at her and saw a big girl instead of the baby she once was.

-The moment this one sported her first accessory.

And last but not least:

- The moment I realized we got exactly what we prayed for this super mellow, laid back little girl who will sleep any place and any time she sees fit.

I can't wait to see what other moments summer is sure to unveil....and thanks to all who prayed for Hollyn last week- we've been spot free since Saturday. :)