Summer's rollin' on in

Oh, summer. I am so in love with you. Just knowing you're here makes my heart smile. However, the fact that we're already two weeks in seems crazy to me. Nevertheless, it's been a good two weeks. There's been lots of this going on at our house as of late:

Despite the fact that she drools like a Basset Hound, I am c-r-a-z-y about this kid. She's a cutie, and I swear I think she knows it. And what made her smile yesterday you ask? Oh, well that would be a surprise visit from my college friend Summers and her ADORABLE little girl, Lydia.

I love how babies are so fascinated with other babies. It's almost as if I can see her little thought bubbles saying, "Hey. You're little. I'm little. Sit, stay, and let's be little together."

As for the Lib, in addition to rocking her first tennis lesson this week, she also has discovered a new love: skating.

And I've discovered that the skating rink hasn't changed one little bit since I was a wee one. And seriously- where I can get some carpet like that? Man, that's cool. (cough, cough, wink, wink)

To never have skated before, I was super impressed with not only her skill but her willingness. She didn't hesitate one bit; she just took off and gave it her best shot.

There are many things I love about Libby, but her ability to try something new in such a fearless little way has to be one of my favorites. I love how she's not scared of failure; she just goes for it, fail or not, even if failing can result in falling.

And when she did fall, she handled it oh so well. She just stroke a Libby-like pose, got up, and kept right on trying something new.

And more times than not, she didn't fall or stumble even a little. In fact, I'd say she pretty much rocked her first skating effort.

And to top off the night, we got to hang out with good friends......

and eat good birthday party food.

Oh, and my favorite part- the cupcakes were topped with fortune cookies. Check out Lib's fortune:

Well, what a relief. Good to know that when she turns thirty, and her daddy finally accepts the fact that she's old enough to even date, that she'll be happy.

And even better, here was mine:

Score. Thanks, fortune cookie. And in that case, I'm off to attempt the following:

1. play every Jack Johnson song on my guitar

2. clean my house today and have it still look clean tomorrow

3. run two miles without wanting to keel over on the side of the road and hoping  no one notices me as I slowly die of either embarrassment or the inability to breathe, whichever comes first

4. land a book deal

5. eat all the mint Oreo's my little heart desires and still be ok with the way my post baby body looks in a swimsuit

6. spend all day reading and yet still have supper cooked and the house cleaned by the time Lee gets home from dinner

Let's see if you're up for that challenge, oh wise fortune cookie.

And, before I leave to go attempt the impossible, I just thought I'd show you what Hollyn thinks about Mom's to-attempt list:

Yeah, I know Hollyn; Mom might have lost it. Regardless, summer- week three:  bring it. We can take the heat.

Photo challenge

I don't normally do this, but I'm taking a risk, being bold, and entering this week's challenge.

This week's theme is water, and I'd say this pic. pretty well captures that.  I took this shot at my daughter's fourth birthday party. The picture gods must have been smiling down on me that day because I got more good shots in that one hour or so than I normally get in a month.

5 thanks- June

So, besides being over-the-top thankful for summertime, here are some other things that I can't seem to get off my mind and am truly thankful to have found.

1. Rainbow flip flops

I think we've talked about this before, but I am true flip flop kind of girl. I adore them. I'd literally wear them all day, every day if it weren't for winter and her evil ways. Seriously- I put them on in April and take them off in October. And I figure if I'm gonna wear something for seven months out of the year, it should be something comfortable. Hear me when I say, it doesn't get any more comfortable than this. They are 100% worth the investment. They form to fit your feet, and my feet are quite the fan.

Oh, and to make these even better- they were a gift from mi madre. Thanks again, Mom.

2. My daughter necklace

I've been eyeing this for a while now, and I finally gave in and bought it. How did I pay for it, you say? Well, that's a funny tidbit for you. I hocked my high school class ring. Yes, I jumped on the 'sell your gold jewelry for cash' bandwagon, got rid of something I was never going to wear again, and got something I don't plan on taking off any time soon. It has Libby's initials on one side and Hollyn's initials on the other. And I love it.

3. My plants :)

I've tried growing things before, but it has never been anything even remotely close to a success....until now, that is. After seeing my cousin's Zinnias last summer, I just knew I had to have some of my own. Libby and I planted these seeds about four weeks ago. I can't wait for them to actually produce flowers. Wonder how long that will take....I'm not the most patient kid, esp. when pretty flowers are involved.

4. Time to read

As an English teacher, I'm pretty much reading or at least talking about reading for eight hours a day. However, reading to teach and reading to enjoy are two different beings, at least at my house. I was literally ecstatic about my trip to the library today to pick up some summer reads. Reading, to me, is like an escape of sorts. I've been told I read like a ravenous dog. I completely immerse myself in a book, coming up only long enough to eat and sleep....well, scratch that-- I've been known to stay up way past my bedtime to finish a good book. I've been that way as long as I can remember. Reading is what I do, and getting to read just for the fun of it makes the reading twice as good. And, before you ask, don't worry-- if I stumble upon anything I especially enjoy, I'll be sure to share.

5. My comfort food

No, it's not actually food. But it serves the same purpose to me as midnight Oreo's might serve to you. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen this movie. However, it still  manages to make me laugh out loud, think deep, and anticipate my favorite part. I think the main reason I keep coming back to it is because I relate to the main character so well. She's me in movie form, I do believe (minus a few choices I don't exactly condone). And that, my friends, is comfort enough for me.

And the livin' is easy

It's here, and oh my goodness gracious gosh almighty I could not be more excited. I can literally feel the job stress melting away and the joy of summer filling every crevice of my body- from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Granted, I'm only five feet tall, but it's all I've got to offer here people, and summer is consuming every inch. Although we've been exceptionally busy the past week, we've also gotten a lot taken care of and have even more to look forward to in the weeks to come.

First things first, we had some very special visitors this past week. Some of my old students came to town and got to see Hollyn. To say I love these kids is quite the understatement. In fact, love doesn't even feel like a strong enough word.

 Regardless, we giggled and visited, and life is good.

Oh, and my hubby, being the wonderful man that he is, got me an early anniversary present. It's here, and I LOVE IT! I am pleased to announce that I am now the owner of a Silhouette cutter, and here's a looksie at my first project.

Don't get too excited- I didn't make the water bottle. However, see that cute name in vinyl on the side? Yeah, that was all me. I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more about this in the future, and I'm also sure I'll spend hours upon hours playing with my new toy this summer.

Mentioning more to come, I can also pretty much guarantee that you'll be hearing more about this in the near future as well......

That's right, folks. I've signed Libby up for tennis lessons.

 Look out Venus and Serena; here comes the Libster.

In addition to tennis lessons and Silhouette cutting, here are a few other things that have landed on my "Things I really hope to get done this summer" list:

- teach Libby to ride her bike: no training wheels allowed

-sip lemonade on the porch with the girlfriends and laugh until my stomach hurts and I start to cry (happy tears only, of course)

-read, read, and read some more! Now that there are no more school books to read and I'll no longer be spending eight hours a day talking about reading, I can read the way I like to the most: just for fun. And I plan to do LOTS of this starting very, very soon.

-survive Libby's first dance recital (three more weeks until the big day)

- catch up on my old time letter writing habit

- spend some quality time on the phone with my college friends

- teach Libby how to catch fireflies

- teach Hollyn how to nap. Ok,ok, ok;  these are supposed to realistic goals, so I'll settle for teaching her how to eat from a spoon.

And that's just the start of it. There are so many things I want to enjoy this summer. I have a feeling it's going to be monumental. Seeing as how I was pregnant last summer and we moved the summer before that, I feel like it's been ages since I've had a true 'do nothing but yet do so many things' kind of summer, and it could not have come at a more perfect time.

But, at the very tip top of my list of things to do this summer is seeing this little girl love her daddy. She truly believes he hung the moon. Can't say I blame her; I'm pretty fond of him myself.

Ugh- her little puffy cheeks and the way she smells like baby lotion all day, every day.

I could just eat her up!

And getting to spend every day this summer with the ones I love best,

what can be better than that?

Summer- can we just make this whole thing permanent? We'll convert the guestroom. Consider it done. Agreed?

Rockstar by morning

I’ve almost made it. The finish line is in sight, and my engine is rearing to go. Only ONE more day of school, and then the stay-at-home-momness begins.

Although nothing sounds more appealing right now than spending every waking moment with this little face (and I DO MEAN EVERY waking moment, considering ‘nap’ is not a word she is choosing to understand), there are several things I’m truly going to miss once the day job is done.

Other than the smiling teenage faces, fresh pot of coffee made by someone else, and enticing literary discussions I have everyday with a class full of students who are excited about reading book talks, one thing I will miss the most is my ride to school.

I confess. I have a dirty little secret. Once I drop the girls off at “school”, as the Libster likes to call it, I spend the next thirty minutes in a state of total bliss.

I’ve mentioned before that I love music. However, what I meant to say is I ‘absolutely freaking adore cannot possibly live without would shave my head before going musicless’ love music. It’s what I do. It’s who I am. My i-pod contains 436 days worth of music. Yes, I'm completely serious.  Me and music- we’re pretty much BFF 365. So, my morning commute is spent with the radio blaring and one of my 2567 cds (all of which spend their days living in every nook and cranny in my car) blasting from my speakers. I like my music loud. I can’t help it. Something about music played loudly just makes it sound better. It’s my escape. It’s my transition from mommy mode to teacher mode. It’s my “today is gonna be a great day, and you’re off to a great start” breakfast.

And I’m not scared to admit it. I flaunt it shamelessly.

I sing loudly badly to myself, head bobbing included on most days.

I perform what I like to refer to as seat belt dancing like I’m getting paid for it.

I spend my entire way to work singing and changing songs as the mood strikes, which some mornings, I confess, can be labeled as nothing more than musical ADD until I find the exact tune I’m craving.

And to confess even further: in the mornings, I usually crave things that remind me of high school and that I won’t let me daughter listen to for fear of her singing them on the playground. This morning it was Brass Monkey. Yesterday it was The Black Eyed Peas. And at least once a week, it’s something by Pink. I can’t help it. Music is my morning drug of choice.

And last week, I got busted. Normally I do a very good job of returning back to reality and assuming my role as a responsible adult as I pull into the parking lot. However, on that particular day I seem to have forgotten that my car isn’t sound-proof or see proof. People can actually see me strutting my stuff to my morning’s drug of choice. And I am supposed to be the responsible teacher-like kid, but some days it just ain’t happen’ folks.

I was reminded of this when a fellow teacher said, “McCall, I don’t know what you listen to in the mornings, but it must be good because you sure are rocking in your car.” Yeah, that’s me. Teacher by day; rockstar by morning.

But it makes me happy. It puts me in a good mood. And the way I see it is, if all it takes for me to de-stress and prepare myself to mold the youth of America for the next eight hours is some good, loud music, what’s wrong with that? In fact, I’d even go as far as to say I’m one blessed little girl grown, responsible adult. I mean, we can't all wake up feeling like this everyday without a little help.......

can we?

Pseudo Sisters- Part One

Yesterday was National Cherry Cobbler Day. Scout’s honor. Check it out. And in honor of such a sweet treat, I want to talk about what I believe to be two of the sweetest treats this life has to offer: my two pseudo sisters.

I don’t have sister. At least not a ‘for real’ sister. I used to stay awake at night when I was little and beg and plead to God for a sister of my very own. Although He didn’t answer my prayers in the exact way I’d had in mind, He did give me the best pseudo sisters I could ever have imagined.

Meet pseudo sister numero uno: the amazing Kara Leigh

I do believe dear ole' Pam Brown (whomever she might be) was talking about us when she said this:

Sisters don't need words. They have perfected a language of snarls and smiles and frowns and winks - expressions of shocked surprise and incredulity and disbelief. Sniffs and snorts and gasps and sighs - that can undermine any tale you're telling.

Kara and I met in college (which we both believe is way too late in life- I hate thinking we missed out on roughly twenty years of possible friendship. However, I also hate thinking of all the trouble we most certainly would have gotten into had we been friends during high school, so I suppose it was for our own good). Although I adored her from the first meet and greet, it took her a little longer to warm up to me. Can’t say I blame her; I’m fully aware of the fact that I live life at a ten, full volume, dial turned all the way up, speakers ready to bust. While Kara, like most people, resides at a happy level four.

Anyway, it didn’t take long before we were of the inseparable sort. And we’ve been all but glued at the hip ever since.

However, I think we are different in more ways than we’re alike.

She’s a peanut butter and jelly kid; I’m a turkey on wheat kind of gal.

She’s great at math; I have trouble balancing my checkbook.

She always looks great; I always look like I just rolled out of bed.

She majored in elementary education; I heart older kids.

We don’t always agree on what looks best, tastes best, smells best, or IS the best. She’s also one of the few people in my life who isn’t afraid to tell me when I’m being rude or to point out that I’m wrong (which, believe it or not, is quite often). She isn’t afraid to argue with me or tell me when she doesn’t agree. She’s not a “uh-huh that sounds great” kind of friend; she’s the friend in my life who challenges me the most. And I could not possibly be more thankful for her.

The fact that we don’t always share the same brain is what I think makes us the most like real-life sisters. She isn’t afraid to hurt my feelings, and I appreciate that more than she knows. No, I’m not a gluten for punishment—I just think that too often we tell each what we WANT to hear rather than what we NEED to hear, and occasionally hearing that I messed up or could have done differently from someone whom I love and respect has done me a world of good.

 And despite the sometimes bumps in our road, there is no one on this planet who ‘gets me’ like Kara. She laughs at my jokes because she truly thinks that I’m funny (I happen to agree ;) ). When she tells me how talented she thinks I am, it’s because she means it and NOT because she feels obligated.

We’re like an old married couple on so many levels. She knows when I need to be comforted, understands when I’m just in a ‘fuss about it’ kind of mood, and makes me laugh like no one else can. When I’ve had an especially bad day, the one thing I crave more than anything else is a Sonic run with Kara Leigh. THAT is a guaranteed fix-all, at least momentarily.

Her daughter is my daughter’s life-long best friend.

Note: They truly do love each other. However, it’s a darn good thing, because Libby and Lily loving each other and playing well was really non-optional. They had to or else all that time they spend together sure will be miserable for everyone involved.

I haven’t seen her smiling face for several months now, and I’m about to go insane and need to spend some time in the ‘wack shack’ to be treated for Kara withdrawals. But, if all goes as planned, Kara and Lily will be here in twenty-three days and counting. There are fun times to be had, bloggers.

This trip is sure to include: late nights filled with stuffing our faces and Grey’s reruns, adventures with the water hose, talk of the beach and how we wish we were there, the baking of sweet treats, a beloved Sonic run, a snow cone adventure, and laughing until we almost wet our pants.

Now if only she didn’t live so darn far away, my world would truly be a better place.

*** Sit tight, friends. Pseudo Sisters- Part Two is coming soon.***

The Dirty Dishrag

When I think about Libby, I think about two things:

1. How am I ever gonna raise this wonderful, amazing, super-smart kid in a way that will do her justice?

and

2. Lovie

Lib and her Lovie are a two-for-one kind of deal. They’ve been together since Libby was only about one month old and have spent a grand total of one night apart in all of Lib’s five years and eight months.

Lovie (Yes, at our house, ‘Lovie’ is a proper noun.) is as much a part of my daughter as anything possibly can be. I associate it with her just as much as I associate her own name with who she is. She’s been there for all of Libby’s major milestones, special firsts, and day-in, day-out moments. She’s kissed her boo boo’s, soothed her to sleep, and comforted her in a way that only she can.

To put it short, Lovie is Libby’s security.

Sleep without Mom or Dad or even better still MOM AND DAD? No problem.

Sleep without Lovie? Not gonna happen.

*I’d like to take this moment to apologize for the 1,765th time to my mother, the brave soul who had to attempt to comfort Libby the night we accidentally forgot to pack Lovie for a trip to Mimi’s house. The fact that you didn’t write me out of your will that night is a true testament to your love for me.*

We love Lovie. All of us, and she’s here to stay. However, we have a wee bit of problem. What’s this you say? Well, Libby sleeps with Lovie. And when Libby sleeps with Lovie, she sucks her thumb. She’s almost six.

The thumb sucking’s gotta go.

So, the problem is, how can she keep Lovie and not suck her thumb? It’s kind of her ‘thang’, if you know what I’m sayin’. How does one go about breaking a habit that is approximately 2035 days old?

To say I’m desperate just doesn’t do it justice.

 I’ve tried nasty thumb sucking medicine.

I’ve bribed her.

I’ve pleaded and begged her.

I’ve even (shamefully) fussed at her about it, all of which are to no prevail.

Taking her Lovie away, I believe, will be the cruelest, worst thing that will have happened to her in her entire, albeit little, life. It will rock her world in the worst possible way……and I refuse. We’ll go to the dentist this summer, and if he wants to fight the thumb sucking battle via some sort of metal mouth piece, more power to him. I, however, am choosing to believe that security in this life is hard to come by sometimes, and I refuse to be the one who takes hers away, even if it does smell like morning breath and come dressed as a dirty dishrag.