what a beautiful mess

that a brownie has special healing properties. that a Diet Dr. Pepper is the best drink in the world. that Annabelle gets really silly before bedtime. Okay~so maybe I do too. that conversations between women can be so enlightening when differing views are shared kindly. (I had a really great conversation with another woman at Y.W's tonight~she's so smart...I want to be like that.) that my kids are really great at doing the dishes. that Trevor tried really hard to keep the house clean while I was at Y.W.'s and I appreciate that. that Downton Abbey is the best show on t.v and I'm going to go watch it right now. Good night.

I was reading the book "Glimpses Into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley"  last week and came across this description of her: "Although she is unselfish and other-centered, there doesn't seem to be a question of her own basic worth. Perhaps her sense of self is so fundamentally sound that she can be completely unselfish without losing even a particle of her real self."  It has given me a lot to think about and contemplate. She was such an amazing woman.

gets quite messy on a Sunday afternoon.  We've got an empty chip bag, nail polish remover, tape(s), beads, scissors, paper...etc. Plus the boxes from Sams club that inevitably stick around for a  couple days because my kids swear they'll use them.  But...they've now been thrown away.  The girls made dessert for the family.  They made some delicious  brownies . I definitely recommend you making them for your family.... I just absolutely love Sundays.  It's Mondays when I have to clean up that I don't love so much.... (our after school mess~ although this does include 4 of the neighbor kids things) Candice sent me a picture of our house in Boise that received a ton of snow.... I think it looks so pretty and it's way more snow than we've gotten here!

 Emily gave her missionary presentation tonight and did a fantastic job!  We are so proud of her.  She put so much hard work and time into making it great. She was assigned to Peru and shared with us a lot of great information.  She also gave us a lesson on Lehi's dream and the interpretation of it.  She drew pictures to go along with her lesson  and we had a really good discussion on it as a family. Emily and I made authentic Peruvian food for dinner. She chose to make Arroz Tapado for our main course.  It's like a rice hamburger.  It has a meat mixture on the inside and cilantro rice for the buns.  Weird thing: the meat had carrots, peas, hard boiled egg and some peanut butter mixed in. It was actually really delicious.  As her side she made Ensalda de Choclo.  It's a ctirusy cilantro corn~ so so good! And for dessert she made Peruvian Alfajores; basically a sh...

Seriously, he does.   It was a very long 5 days that he was gone.  ***WARNING*** The following story might be kind of gross to you.  On Sunday, the night Trevor left, at around midnight we received a little visitor.  And he came knocking through the bathroom heating vent.  It was an annoying little mouse~ I don't like mice.   He kept me up all night with his banging against that stupid vent, trying his hardest to get out.  Luckily, he didn't succeed and so on Monday  I decided to shut the vent, hoping it would get him to go away. (Side note: since we live with fields surrounding us, mice apparently are not unusual.  And I have not idea how he got into the vent; it's something we need to investigate.) I heard him banging on the vent throughout the next day or two but not nearly as much as I did Sunday night.  Fast forward to today.  My bathroom stunk like nothing...

It's been over a month and he's still trying to figure out the treadmill.  Today I thought he was going to bite my ankles and so I of course got mad at him.  It's just that I kind of like my ankles.  Besides that, he's been driving me insane today. (something you already knew, Candice, because of an ill-timed phone call~ I just really like talking to you) He's chewing on everything, he constantly wants to play and he keeps bugging the kids.  But I know that the craziness will pass and really, it's just a one day thing; he really misses his playmate.  ******** Joshua and I made crazy cake today and so I'm going to eat a slice or maybe a big piece of that,  watch a movie and paint my nails.  It's a big and much-awaited-for day tomorrow. In preparation, I gave myself a full on facial today and will be washing my hair and shaving in the morning! The things we do for true love.... (Thanks Jenee for th...

has, so far, been a success.  I drank a gallon of water yesterday and have just finished off my gallon for today.  The only thing that I've noticed that's changed is that I use the bathroom a bit more  and that I don't want a DDP quite as often. Maybe it's not such a good goal after all.  (I'm only kidding~kind of)

When I was growing up, whenever my mom made frosting,  she would use whatever was leftover and  frost some graham crackers as a snack for the family.  And now I happily do the same for my kids.  Unfortunately for me, if I make myself one, (like I did earlier today) I put so much frosting on that you can hardly taste the cracker.  And today I used store bought frosting.  That stuff is pure evil. If the can is sitting out, I inevitably take the lid off and get a scoop.  (much like I do peanut butter) Note to you all: Do not eat frosting or peanut butter at the Haslem house.  Just a friendly warning....

For some reason, this painting has been on my mind today.  So much so that I've spent a good 45 minutes looking it up on the internet and reading all about the painter. (Marc Chagall) I love everything about it.  And I want it hanging in my house.  Do you know what movie it played a part in? One of my favorites.  A hint: "Love's not love without a violin playing goat." It's a classic.  I also love this painting by the same artist and can definitely see it hanging on my bedroom wall.  I think it would take a lot of convincing of Trevor but I can guarantee I'd get my way.... (that sounds so bratty...but it's true.)

I do believe that it's my very favorite holiday.  I was the teenager that doodled my crush's name with hearts  all over my school books and any random paper I had.  And now I have hearts hanging up all over my house.  It's safe to say I'm a hearts kind of gal.  I have set some goals for myself this week.  1. Drink a gallon of water every day.  2. Research Republican candidates and decide which one I'm for.  (Trevor's pleased with this one) 3. Prepare my talk for next Sunday on "Strengthening Marital Relationships". 4. Be a better mother. Yeah, that's a no brainer but.... I sometimes wonder if I've given the impression on this blog that I think I'm a really good mother  and that worries me a bit. Cause I'm not.  It's something I work on though.  And every once in awhile I have moments where I just have to congratulate  myself on a mothering job well done. ...

I should be giving Joshua a bath cause he's kind of stinky  but instead I gave one to Carl! I love a clean dog but hate the wet dog smell.... Nacho movie night tonight! I've got the meat in the crock pot, the beans on the stove  and 2 movies to watch: Dolphin Tale for the family and Rise of the Planet of the Apes for us.  No matter what I'm always looking forward to Friday night and never get tired of nachos!

It's kind of long.... I"m not doing resolutions this year. I'm certainly not against them but there's a lot things going on in the Haslem household and I don't need the frustration/anxiety that comes with resolutions. At the beginning of the month I wrote some things in my journal that I want to remember and work on throughout the year. I'm not going to go crazy with it; I'm going to give myself a break and just keep these thoughts in my mind and reread my journal passage from time to time. And since I'm on this blog everyday, I'm going to write a few of them here. Not all of them because some are just too private (although not juicy-gossip-worthy-private....sorry to disappoint) 1. Be a lady. Dress like a lady. Act like a lady. How am I going to do this? First off, I will keep bodily functions to myself. Which means I will now be closing the door when I go to the bathroom. I no longer have babies that may need me at any given second and so...

Absolutely nothing, if you ask me. However, if you care to ask Josh, you will get a completely different answer. His face says it all: And Trevor's face? Well his says that he's been listening to his wife talk and talk and talk and that maybe now, it should be his turn. Or it says "I'm tired of having veggie burgers and sweet potato fries once a week. Can I have some cake?" Either one works....

Annabelle has been called to serve in the Philippines Iloilo mission. Or as she read it "The Phillip-penis mission" LOL!!!!  Emily has been called to serve in the Peru Cusco Mission.  Joshua has been called to serve in the Italy Rome mission.  Stephen has been called to serve in the Arizona-New Mexico Navajo-speaking mission. They are so excited. Which makes me so excited. It was nice to have a happy FHE because I was irritated beforehand and it took quite the coaxing and joking from Trevor to get me to NOT be irritated anymore. I was irritated because Carl peed in the house a ton today and I blame the kids (it's wrong, I know). But when they're in school, he does just fine because I leave him outside for 15-30 minutes each time. The kids like him in the house every possible minute. So if they let him out to go potty, they bring him right back in as soon as they "think" he's done. And after cleaning up pee all day, Carl puked in the h...

I have way over eaten the last two nights. Last night I had a salad, roll, baked potato, steak and chocolate cake and ice cream. Tonight I had a huge plate of nachos. With the works; chips, cheese, meat, beans, guac, salsa, ranch and jalapenos. I love good food but enough is enough! At least it will be enough after I finish my ice cream cone.

We really love Carl.   And Carl really loves us too.  Trevor and I went out to dinner tonight and when we came home,  the first thing I asked was how Carl did while we were gone.  I've never been a dog person but he's really got me hooked.....

(my only brown eyed baby) Sometimes after a long day, all I need is Trevor to come home and I feel rested again.  I have a lot on my mind tonight.  Things about today, about yesterday, about the future.  But for now, I just want to think about tonight.  There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary or special about it but it just made me happy.  Trevor came home at 6:00 and we did the usual; he talked with the kids about their day,  asking the obligatory questions and letting them tell their stories.  We then took a break and went and had "adult talk" in our bedroom for 10 minutes.  We discussed his work and the oven and how sparks were flying from  the heating element earlier and that now it just won't work.  While I made dinner he looked up the part on the internet and  realized it won't break the bank we just need to go buy it.  We had a very simple but delicious dinner of fried eggs over chic...

(I copied this straight from his Word document. He is such a sweet and innocent kid.)    STUFF I WILL DO...      Read 2 chapters of the Book of Mormon every day. Listen to mom & dad. Do chores without complaining. Pay tithing every month. Be quiet in church. Be nice to my brother & sisters. Sing the songs at church. Pay attention in church. Don't yell at mom & dad. Don't yell at my brother & sisters. Don't say bad words. Don't do drugs. Don't do bad things.    Don't push yell, punch or kick. Try to be like Jesus.  Don't be like Satin.  Don't kill people.    Try to be nice to everyone. Happy New Year everyone!

My favorite show on the telly.  I'm even more excited because I just found out that I can watch it online!!! That is fantastic news since I don't have any channels on my TV. I would watch it tonight but it's two hours long and Trevor would like to go to bed. But if you want to, just click  here . I'll be watching it tomorrow night while Trevor sleeps in my lap. It's kind of become our tradition.

As I type this, Emily is sitting next to me using nail polish to draw on paper and the other kids are watching Shrek 2 and relaxing. Me and Trevor's plans did not work out tonight for reasons we may never know. We planned on heading out on a mini date at 9 and were in the car driving to get ice cream and fries when I distinctly heard the words "turn around and go home". So Trevor made a quick u-turn and we went home. Trevor dropped me off and when to get our food to go. I'm not sure why I needed to come home and a reason may never be known and that's okay. But if we didn't come home I would have known that I disobeyed that voice of warning and I just couldn't do that. So I'm home with the kids, waiting for my man to get back with our treat. I've painted my nails, turned on lights and now I'm being very patient and feeling safe. And so are the kids: Trevor and I had a lively discussion today...we love those....about  this . (if you don...

One day it will take over the world. Our night started out with us watching this movie: Which was about as lame as you can imagine. Although it was thought provoking at one point. The smurfs were missing their siblings and one in particular that they were missing was "Passive Aggressive Smurf who is nice to your face but you always feel bad when he leaves". I've never heard passive-aggressiveness described that way~it's so...awful sounding. I have been around people like that and it sucks. It will definitely be something that I watch out for in myself. During the last half of the movie, Trevor and I had our shirts covering our noses because Carl had the stinkiest gas...we gave him some of the chicken off our nachos that he subsequently threw up and is probably what was making the odor. It's really horribly, terribly bad. We are going to end the night by watching this movie: Trevor has made a promise to himself (not to me because he wouldn't wa...

What a title, huh?  Joshua was such a brave boy in the emergency room after being all stitched up.  Emily is growing up and starting to look like a young lady...I have to keep reminding myself that I'm going to enjoy their growing up and not be sad... She's beautiful.... Yesterday Joshua had his stitches removed and was so brave (again) that I treated him to a chocolate dipped ice cream cone.  I think it was the messiest cone...ever. And he obviously loved it.

We started a new tradition this year......we give each other gifts that we make ourselves (with help from mom and dad as needed). The boys decided to make the girls each a pillow. Josh made Emily a heart and Stephen made Anna a bird.  The girls made the boys a sword and shield which have already gotten a lot of use! The kids and I made Trevor a rice pillow. When I was growing up, my dad always had one of these.  You heat it up in a microwave.  Or if you don't have one of those (like us..don't ask why cause we don't know...we'll pretend it's because we don't want cancer), then you stick it in the oven after you're done cooking dinner and let it warm up (although sometimes we forget it's in there and I find it the next morning all cooled off). Anyways, they're great for warming you feet or for relaxing tired, achy muscles.  And with how many hours Trevor works, he needs it! (yeah, he looks creepy) Trevor helped the kids...

And they are growing up quite well.  They are (almost) always willing to help out. They are kind, sweet, and fun. They can be crazy and funny and silly.  My favorite times are our after dinner talks at the table. Instead of leaving the table after we finish eating, we all stick around for awhile and talk. My girls are learning to think more like mature young ladies and we can have some real conversations.  And they just make me feel happy.  Joshua and I took Carl on a walk today to get the mail and while talking to our neighbor, he decided to lay down in the mud. So...Carl got the 2nd bath of his life. He liked it, thank goodness. If he is going to be an inside dog, he has to get used to it because they'll definitely be a monthly thing. And not to jinx it or anything, but we are going on day 2 of no accidents in the house. A happy, happy day... (Anybody else have the Live Iowa Results pulled up in another window?  Trevor, ...

Be prepared for a lot of Carl photos this year.  I'm officially dubbing 2012 "The Year of Carl".  And so far, we are off to a great start.  During dinner, Carl fell asleep at my slipper-ed feet.  Trevor thinks they're old lady slippers (no offense to old ladies) but I love them... Both old ladies and my slippers. He falls asleep in the weirdest positions and it just grosses me out to see his "parts"  Immature? Yes.  True? Yes.  Isn't he adorable?? yep.... I know a lot of people have had the stomach flu but I just can't seem to get mine to go away. Being the positive person I am, I'm looking at the bright side...which means I'm looking at the scale. And there's nothing that irritates Trevor more than hearing about my "bright side" to the stomach flu~ lol... Here's to a day tomorrow that will hopefully include meals..... EDITED TO ADD: As I typed up this post, Carl fell asle...

He is just as adorable as he looks.  I took him to the vet and he's healthy as a horse..I mean dog.  Last night as Trevor and I made our New Years Eve party food. Carl decided to join us: And he's already doubled in size since we got him.  He's going to be a very big dog!