I have this little girl, who is the bee’s knees.

I love her till the end of forever.  But, this little girl, has a bit of an old soul.  She’s so responsible, so incredibly reliable, and completely steadfast about following rules.  Sometimes it’s a little scary.  I just want to tell that chick, “Calm down.  It’ll be alright.”  But I know it won’t work, because somehow she wears the weight of the world on her shoulders, almost like she’s some reincarnated world leader.

Anyway, this little piece of heaven wanted a real-live Beauty Parlor Visit (sorry for the use of the term ‘Beauty Parlor’ I’m old school) in anticipation of the first day of school.  A visit complete with straightening and cutting (eek!) her hair.  I was dead set against it. And I don’t use the term ‘dead’ lightly.  I mean – over my dead body- and seriously someone was going to have to kill me.

But like most things, I’m a reasonable person and I thought and thought about why I didn’t want this to happen.  And all I came up with was,  I’M A BIG SELFISH MOMMY. Big shocker.  I just wasn’t ready for this sweet angel of mine to grow up.  I didn’t want to believe that she was growing up in a way that made her concerned about her looks or what other people thought.  I wanted her to run and play in the mud, eat candy and smear it all over her face, and run around with no shoes on till her feet were black.  But this has never been my girl.  Nope.  My girl, wants a sensible hair cut, with sensible shoes, and a sensible lunch with a bit of protein, dairy, and fruit (I’m not kidding).  So I agreed, then I closed my eyes, plunged myself into the abyss and waited to see the outcome.

And what do you know, she’s still my little girl, just with her hair shorter, and straighter, and quite sensible I might add.  She loves it because it’s super easy for her to do in the morning, and I love it because I think it makes her look younger. So shoot me! 

So here’s to cute little girls, short hair cuts and sensibility.. . . . . and to staying little just a lot bit longer.

* oh, and one more thing. thanks to my sister for taking the pictures, because I was too chicken to actually go look and see what was going on.

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I’m so grateful that the hair cut thing turned out well that I made Shelbi’s favorite Asian Noodles two nights in a row.  I even let her friend spend the night last night, because I’m so happy I have not yet been pummeled into the pre-teen years.

All my girls fantasize over these noodles, even Shelbi’s friend had seconds.  When dinner was over Shelbi said, “Thanks for making a dinner that was good, Mommy.”  No problem kiddo. And you’re also welcome for the not so good dinners. That’s what I’m here for.

You can eat them alone (as is) but I served them with chicken breast and stir fried broccoli, because I couldn’t have them enjoying their dinner that much.

Asian Garlic Noodles

Ingredients:

12 oz Chow Mein Noodles ( I used Annie Chun’s but if you can’t find them, you can use spaghetti noodles)
2 TB canola oil
5 tsp garlic, minced
7 tsp sugar
6 tsp vinegar (I use seasoned rice vinegar but you can also use white vinegar)
1 ¼ cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 tsp Hoisin Sauce (you can substitute oyster or soy sauce)
1 TB cornstarch
Cilantro, chopped for garnish

Directions:

1.) Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and set aside.

2.) Heat oil in skillet on medium. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly so that garlic does not burn. Turn off heat.

3.) Add sugar and vinegar to the skillet, and stir until dissolved.

4.) Add cornstarch to chicken stock and stir until dissolved. Pour stock mixture into skillet and add Hoisin sauce. Bring to boil until thickened. Remove from heat.

5.) Add noodles to skillet, tossing to coat evenly. Garnish with cilantro or green onion.