Hair

When Jasmine was 4, shortly after a haircut, when she looked something like this:

...she saw a woman with beautiful hair down to her waist.

And she told me she wanted to grow her hair that long.

I said that would be great, but figured she'd fizzle out after a few months. After all, she was my mini-me, and I couldn't grow my hair out.

Boy, was I wrong!

Unfortunately, her being 7 and the child she is (and having the mother she has), it didn't get brushed or washed as frequently as long hair would prefer. So I started putting the idea in her head that maybe she could think about cutting it. I didn't tell her it had to go short, though I did mention she'd have fewer snarls if it was shorter. And I told her about Locks of Love.

She decided she wanted it cut for her birthday. (May 10th).

But this morning, since Josh and Hudson were getting haircuts anyhow, she decided she could go along and get her hair cut too!

We'll send in her donation on Monday. She's very happy to be sending it in. Can't you just tell by her picture? (moral of the story: don't take pictures when they're watching Star Wars)

I'm very proud of her, and I love the way her hair looks.

How to know if you have a Jasmine in your house

Do you suspect you have a Jasmine living in your house?

What follows is a simple diagnostic test to find out for sure.

1. Do you hear words like regleear, name-bee, and renember?

2. Do you hear phrases like "as clean as a feather," "as happy as a bird chirping," and "as sad as an ant doing none of its work"?

3. Does the person in question skip everywhere she goes?

4. And sing in the bathroom?
5. Is every outfit change a character change?

If you answered "yes" to all these questions, you, too, might have a Jasmine living in your house!

Jasmine's Fish Sandwiches

Jasmine got a book for Christmas, "101 things to do before you turn 12."
In it, they suggested making up your own recipe. So Jasmine jumped on that one.

1. I didn't make my own bread this time. We just used some Publix Multi-Grain.

2. Her fafrit fish is haddock. I sprinkled on some Garlic Garlic I just got from Tastefully Simple.

3. I threw it in the oven
(Hudson immediately says, "thwew it in the oven??" No, Hudson, not actually threw. I placed it gently.)

I cut it in half lengthwise, because these were thick but short fillets. I had to get it to fill 5 sandwiches.

4. I shredded up some cheddar cheese ("string cheese" means any cheese that gets stringy when melted) and had Jasmine help me butter the bread.

4b. I then grilled the sandwiches until they were perfect.

5. And THEN it was finisht.

I thought it was really good. Next time I'll use a milder cheddar, so it doesn't overpower the fish, but it was really yummy!

Happily Ever After

1. I love Florida.
2. It's tough to garden when you're not yet sure what's a weed and what isn't.
3. I didn't think I'd be happy to see weeds I recognized.
4. It's fun to pull vines out of the garden.
5. I bought beautiful blue orchids. I'm terrified I'll kill them. So I got some pictures right after we got them home. (also, because they tinted them blue and next year they'll be white.)

6. We've made it to each Disney park once so far. Yesterday we went to Animal Kingdom with my dear friend Nicole and her awesome family.

7. I'm going to wish on my birthday candles that I learn how to write like Pioneer Woman (but with my own voice...just funny like her) when I'm 36.

8. I've already requested Zebra Domes as my birthday cake. Josh approves :) If I have to leave Wegmans' Ultimate Chocolate Cake, that's a reasonable replacement. YUMMMMMM.

9. We got three fruit trees. A cocktail citrus tree, which has 6 branches of different citrus fruits grafted onto one trunk. There's a baby lime growing already. Can't wait to try it! The other two are getting planted today, when Josh and Bekah get back from buying soil to help them make the transplant. Avocados (already getting lots of buds!) and mango. We may not have a big backyard, but we're making the most of it!!

10. Guacamole, anyone??? Bekah can't wait!

Running, Try 3

This morning, I took the kids to the playground and I ran week 1, day one of Couch to 5K.
I still have dreams of completing a 5K. It went well today, so I'm spending today making up playlists to listen to. Because to use last year's playlists would just be so passe. ;)

So this is me again (well, this is me from 3 years ago, but this is what I'm shooting for yet again!)

And now to stop procrastinating and start putting together my running playlists :D

3 weeks

Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since we got to this house. 
Since then:

(see the Turkish carpet under the ottoman??)

(I want you to know, I put these shelves together myself!!)

(after 6 years, I finally have a dresser! And it's not a little kid's dresser, either!)

Yes, this is in our back yard. Yes, we know. Yes, he does look that grown up!

(My pop star daughter. Not a rock star, a pop star. She wishes to make that point quite clear.)

Having Patience

Have patience
Have patience
Don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient
You only start to worry
Remember
Remember 
That God is patient, too
And think of all the times when others have to wait for you!

I'm slowly learning to have more patience in myself. It's much harder than having patience in everyone else!

I was doing great keeping motivated in unboxing our life.

The school room was done very quickly. As was Hudson's room. I started on the kitchen, but had about 8 boxes that just couldn't get unpacked. This house has much less kitchen storage than our last house.

But at day 9 of our life here, I had a mini-meltdown.

This "wall" of boxes made the house seem small and crowded, and was a constant reminder of what I had left to work on.

So Saturday, Josh and I tackled this wall and it's now gone. What a huge relief.




But there are still plenty of other projects to tackle. The girls' room, for example. And the three additional boxes of papers, some vital and some that just need to be organized, sitting there, taunting me.

Not gonna worry about it today. (I'll just blog about it, instead!) Today I'm trying to get my stuff caught up for Charm Box Studios...a newsletter, hopefully, and my contribution for the next store collaboration.

So I'll leave you with my newest picture of the cutest pirate in the world, and get back to my mile-long to-do list, pausing occasionally to get the kids another snack and being okay with it.