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Niece M is now officially at college.  All moved in.  Classes start Monday.  I miss her already.  But, am excited to hear all about her new journey.

So, it's time for us to start thinking about beginning to talk about looking at some colleges for Jordan.  She has made a Top Five list of choices.  That's a good start. 

I looked online at tuition.  And promptly fell out.   So that was the end of that.

So many things to factor in...

Distance, scholarship dollars, tuition, friends going, programs offered.

She has to take the ACT again.  And probably another again.  And also the SAT.  And some AP tests. 

And start filling out applications.  And scholarship stuff. 

And we have to start scheduling some campus tours.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH.

It's too much to think about.

But, it's time to get it all rolling.

Seriously.

How did we get to this point?

Permit. Passage.

Driver's permit? Check.

She passed with flying colors. Well, she missed 2 out of 26. But that's still passing.

And now she's the proud owner of a driver's permit.

God help us all.

And I let her drive two times last night. On the real road.

Just one liiiiiiitle bump when we left the house and she put the car in drive instead of reverse and almost drove into the garage door.

Because hey, nothing says driver's permit like ramming into the gargae door.

But once she figured that all out, the driving was actually ok. Slightly intense. But overall some decent driving. I've got no choice but to get used to it. So we might as well do it.

And, yes, once I did find myself saying stop Stop STOP STOP! STOP!! STOP!!!!!

Because pulling up in front of the house and stopping in front of nothing is not really the same as pulling up at a red light and stopping in front of another vehicle.

Anyway, another rite of passage has been passed through.

Peace and love, people. Happy Tuesday.

Taking the wheel...

It was a most excellent weekent. So nice to be home. My weekend did not include a hotel, little tiny travel toothpastes, or driving excessive hours all over the southeast United States.

Friday night we went to the baseball game. And, even though it did not end favorably for the ol' home team, it was a fun night at the ballpark. It included BBQ nachos. So, that in itself is a win. Jordan was unsuccessful at getting up on the big screen, but it was not without effort.

Saturday was Jordan's birthday. It was a very, very good day, even though I spent most of the day in denial that my little newborn baby was finally 15. She went back to another game that night with some friends and made it up on the big screen by dancing to YMCA. I'm just proud that she didn't have to resort to dancing like a kid from Jersey Shore to achieve that success.

Happy birthday to her.

The rest of the weekend featured reading books, taking naps, and sitting like a big lazy butt on my patio watching the Captain and Cooper play catch. It was bliss.

Which brings us to Monday.

The day that the Captain is taking Jordan to get her driver's permit after school.

And then she will be legally allowed to drive a car with an adult.

Drive a car.

Drive. A. Car.

God bless us everyone.

She already knows how to drive a car because my mother in law has been letting her drive all over the big church parking lot near our house for years.

But now she can legally drive on a real road.

With real traffic.

Eeeeeeeeek.

She still has some slight judgment issues with... how shall we put it... the width of the car.

And the whole turning thing could use a little more attention.

Plus, learning how to eeeeeeeeease on the gas and eeeeeeeeeease on the brake.

And how do you get experience driving without driving?

I'm not sure.

And, I'm thinking more time playing Mario Kart won't cut it.

Cooper says he wants a helmet.

Personally, I'm asking for meds.

Of course, she has to pass some written test that apparently includes questions about how far from the curb your wheels have to be when you parallel park and what yellow sideways triangle signs mean.

Stay tuned, people.

Cue the waterworks

"Cooper, I just wish you could be my little baby boy forever."

"I will, Mom. Just in a bigger size."

No likey.

He wants showers not baths.

Boxers not briefs.

He spits.

He eats a lot.

Did I mention that?

Seriously. Boy eats a lot.

He wants his blue room painted brown.

He took a silhouette of himself made at age three out of his room.

It was hanging IN HIS CLOSET.

"It's babyish."

He wears a you know what when he plays baseball.

He grows 2" a day.

He eats.

A lot.

He proudly showed me the hair that has grown on his legs.

Stop the time train.

I want off.

She's leaving...on a jet plane

Today Jordan is leaving on another trip.

Yes, her summer thus far has been wash, rinse, repeat repack.

She is going to Houston to see the Captain's sister.

Remember when she got married last year?

And all the preparation that went with that big event?

And then the tales of puke, panties, and precipitation?

Anyhoo, Jordan is flying to Houston today for a long weekend.

Did you hear what I said?

I said Jordan is FLYING to Houston today for a long weekend.

As in BY HERSELF.

As in I am putting her on an airplane all by herself and sending her to Houston.

And I may or may not be having a teeny tiny problem with it.

Not a problem with "the long weekend in Houston" part.

A problem with the "putting her on an airplane all by herself" part.

*sniff*

And since it saved $602,199 to fly her out of Little Rock, the Captain and I are taking a little road trip to Little Rock today.

And we'll like it so much, we'll drive back on Sunday to pick her up.

So, if you see a woman bawling her eyes out in the Little Rock airport, or somewhere on I-40, it might be me.

Maybe...

And I'm pretty sure the Captain will turn on Johnny Cash CD's to drown out my tears.

And we all know there is NOTHING about a Johnny Cash music marathon that calms me down.

It's gonna' be a rough day people.

Cue the crickets

Jordan left early Saturday morning with the youth group to go to camp. (It's not "campy camp in the woods camp"; it's on a college campus in Arkansas. So there is no huge level of "roughing it" involved.)

Incoming messages from her have been scarce to none. That, my people, is a good thing. That means she is having a great time. That means there is no drama or homesickness or unhappiness.

The Captain got a Father's Day call on Sunday morning.

And I have seen the occasional, and sometimes cryptic, Tweet from her....

"I'm here!"

"We got a senior dorm!"

"I love my youth group!"

"Undies wants to know how to use an eyelash curler."

"Great devo tonight"

"Whoa! That was amazing!"

and my personal favorite...

"I'm in love"

(Which could mean anything from loving the milkshakes in the cafeteria, the shampoo she borrowed from her room mate, or some boy she has discovered at the campus bookstore.)

I did get one text that said a few people had thrown up. And one that said they were Skyping with Nick. And one that a friend had been baptized.

Other than that, we haven't heard much from her. And I'm ok with that.

Yesterday I sent up a flare...

"Hello. This is your mother. Just making sure you are still alive. I love you. Peace out. "

Soon, my phone buzzed...

"Love you too!"

:)

The dress. The whole dress. Nothing but the dress.

The Captain's sister is getting married in May. Jordan is a bridesmaid and we went to the bridal dress place in early February to get measured for her dress. We ordered it and paid for it in full. And yes, we actually had to pay a RUSH fee in February to get the dress here by mid-April. Ridiculous. But whatever.

This is an actual coversation I had last week when I called the bridal dress place to see if the bridesmaid's dress had come in:

Me: Hi, I was calling to see if my daughter's dress came in. It was supposed to be in by mid-April.

Bridal Shop Lady: Hmmmmm, well this says it was shipped on April 1, but I don't show that we've received it. Let me call you back.

She calls me back...

Bridal Shop Lady: So sorry about that. I had not opened yesterday's delivery yet. But yep, here it is. I have your fabric right here.

Me: Wait! No - what? What did you say? Fabric?

Bridal Shop Lady (insert happy, peppy, sing-song tone): Yes ma'am. Alllll your fabric came in. I've got it right here.

Me: FABRIC!?!? I ordered a dress. A whole dress.

Bridal Shop Lady: Wellllllll..... hmmm.....

Me: We were MEASURED for a DRESS. An ENTIRE dress.

Bridal Shop Lady: This is fabric.

Me: I didn't order FAB-RIC. I ordered a DRESS.

(At this point I'm trying not to flip out because the wedding is just a few short weeks away and I'm thinking Number One: We can't get a dress shipped here in time. And Number Two: Who is gonna be able to sew this dress for us with this alleged fabric?)

Bridal Shop Lady: Oh. OK, well.....let...me...call...you....back.

So I practiced some deep breathing. Sent Connie a panicky email. Threw a small fit in front of Bingmama. And waited for Bridal Shop Lady to call me back.

She finally called me back.

Bridal Shop Lady (even more happy, peppy, singsong tone): I have your dress right here!!

Me: Is it a dress?

Bridal Shop Lady: Yes, it's the dress.

Me: A whole dress?

Bridal Shop Lady: Yes, a whole dress.



So, crisis averted here with the dress. Because we have it. Boy do we have it.

The fitting was on Saturday. It was the first time we had actually seen the dress. And I was relieved, because to be honest, it was prettier in person than it was in the picture online. Big whew!

And Jordan tried it on. And it fit. Perfectly. As in, per-fect-ly.

And I couldn't believe how she looked in it. And I'm not real sure what the Captain will say when *he* sees her in it.

Let me just say, she didn't look 12. Maybe a dyslexic 12.

All that had to be altered was the hem. And even that, was only an inch.

Should my 12-year old daughter be a perfect size 8? *sigh*

She looked beautiful.

I was happy.

Because she is getting older.

And I was sad.

Because she is getting older.