Books By Color

And here I always thought our last name was WRIDE. The kids keep changing it to this...


But wanted to show that picture again to show my first attempt at color coordinaing my books. I saw this idea on Design Mom here and I really love it.

I also love this bookshelf makeover from The Precious Little Things In Life - I plan on incorporating her idea with one of our bookshelves someday.

Before:

After:

(Isn't that just pretty and lovely?)

Quotable Movies

There's an obscure file in my brain that has lots of movie quotes ready and waiting for the right time to use them. Lots of quotes from Bill Cosby, Princess Bride, and other fabulously quotable movies. The Monkees tv episodes have their own file that it chock full from my childhood obsession, and there's a huge file for my current favorite Brian Regan. (Seriously, everytime I go hunting for those whiskers that are popping up on my face as I grow gracefully older, I think of him - "Has he noticed the hair yet? How is that possible that he hasn't noticed that hair? He must look directly into the mirror...")

With Daylight Saving time still shocking my body, I've been chuckling a little at Count Rugen's line. Princess Bride is a great movie cause it is so very quotable. At times when I’m feeling particularly melodramatic, I tend to drop into Buttercup’s, “You mock my pain!” (I try not to remember The Man in Black’s reply: “Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”)
Seriously, it's just catchy. I'm sure many people spent a sizable portion of middle and high school Spanish classes muttering in bad accents, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

I think of Miracle Max every time I have a cut on my finger, like now in this still cold and dry Utah winter air - "The King's stinking son fired me, and thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject. While you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it? We're closed!!"

Magascar 1 and 2 are very quotable - "...YoU dIDn'T sEe AnYtHinG..." Madagascar 2's got a special place in my heart, cause Alex's comment totally hit the spot when we we missed our plane out of Chile because of their silly PDI rules - we were at our friends house watching Madagascar 2 at midnight I totally laughed when they were musing over their adventure ... "That was fun" "Yeah, that was fun..." "...I´m sure it will become more funny the further we get away from it" LOL!

What are your favorite quotable movies?

Oh! Duh, I forgot Kid History!!! Episode 6 is the best! "I made you guys a smoooothieeee!" "That's nasty dude!" My kids quote Kid History all the time, love it! And I just played it again for fun, and Melodie, down in the kitchen, heard the Kid History music and came bookin' - KID HISTORY IS TOP PRIORITY apparently. lol

Tell Me... How Do You Feel?

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
It just sucked one hour of my life away...

Hello Meyers!!!

Well yesterday we just had the best visit with the Jacob and Rachael Meyers - they are our long lost friends from Costa Rica - well, they are from Utah like us, but we had to travel thousands of miles to Costa Rica to meet them, funny how life works!

It's fun cause we've got a special bond with them from both of us going through that crazy adventure in Central America. I must add that their adventure was much crazier and harder than ours, but I'm glad we were able to see it and experience a little of it vicariously through associating with them :) They've got some major good stories to tell, it is so nuts that I think most people just wouldn't believe it. It's really funny.

Here are some posts of things we did in Costa Rica with them -

Our first visit to the house they were renting with the Royals (I called them the RMs, short for Royals and Meyers, two families from Utah living together in a 2 bedroom house in the jungles of Costa Rica with their kids - 5 Royal kids, 7 Meyers kids, it was a grand adventure!! Both families are back in the US now.)

Shell beach

Samara Beach and more pictures here

Lots of adults visiting about politics and life in these latter days, the kids went and played in the jungle, it was fun

And they'd come to our house to use the internet and wash their laundry :)

When Rachael broke out their box of Legos and the kids were in heaven as they remembered their former life in America

Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Eve (That Thanksgiving in Costa Rica will forever be one of my favorite and most memorable Thanksgivings ever, I was feeling very thankful that we were all still alive and for other ways I'd seen the Hand of the Lord in our life, I think I was experiencing the true meaning of Thanksgiving.)

How they were an answer to our prayers in getting me and my kids to the airport and on our way to Chile in December 2010

The picture perfect gorgeous last beach day for us in Costa Rica
So yesterday they came up to our house and we enjoyed a few hours of visiting and laughing while the kids played outside and ran around wild and free, well, as wild and free as you can get in suburbia Utah. Not the same as Costa Rica, but the kids all loved seeing each other again.
Corey and Jacob enjoying deep discussion - I love just hearing these two talk and share stories, way fun.
...and look at this! We were two families of 7 kids back in October 2010, now we are two families of 8 kids! Rachael's baby girl Eliza was born September 16, 10 days after Sophia. :) Rachael and I are twinner moms!

It was so great to see them, I wish I could have gotten the whole visit on video, cause it was just so fun to laugh and visit and remember our grand adventure in Latin America. I asked Rachael what her take away was and it was similar to mine - that she (like me) is just so much more relaxed about life and the problems it throws at us and has learned to truly lean on the Lord. "You know, we've got food and we've got each other, so life is good!!" Amen!

Disney On Ice

Last month at 10:30 a.m. the phone rang - it was my sister Beka

"...so Matt's sisters told me that if you go downtown to the Delta Center between 11:00 and 12:00 and donate a book you can get a free ticket to Disney on ice..." Oh, okay... I paced the floor for a few minutes thinking ... um, we're all still in pjs, it's cold, I'd have to drive down there, can we make it in time? What if there's a huge line... of course the kids were all playing quietly and I had anticipated enjoying some time to read or work... oh, let's just do it.... Hurry girls! Get on your shoes! Get a coat!

I took 10 books hoping to get a ticket for everyone in our family, but after braving the cold and standing in line for 30 minutes, it was our turn at the donation table and we learned that you only can get tickets for the number of people with you, which was Me, Abi, Lily, Sophia. 4 tickets.

I had several weeks to ponder about who would go. I asked Corey who he thought should go. He said Lily for sure, Abi wanted to, and Wes. Sorry big kids (they didn't mind - and they all got a date night with Corey last week when they went to the BYU Jazz band concert).

For the past several weeks on any given day at any given moment, Abi would come up to me again and say as if she had just asked me nicely 20 times and I was purposely ignoring her: "When are we GOING to the BUZZ LIGHTYEAR SHOW?!?!?!"

"Not today, but soon!" "Soon" to me = a few weeks = "never" to Abi

Well the day finally came! Today was the big day! The show was at 4:00 so they headed out at 3:30, Lily was excited and had her Jessie and Woody dolls in tow.


I thought that picture above was just precious. Little kids are soo cute. Lily had a great time :) Corey did this for his little girl, don't you just love fathers?!?! I love it.

Around 7:00 when they got home Corey had me rolling with laughter as he reported to me on how his evening transpired:

To finish of their date night they went to Wendy's. He came in the house with some Chicken Nuggets (Chicken Nugget is Lily's nick name, it's funny) and Mini Frosty shakes and Ethan asks "Can I have some?" to which Corey replied "Did you go sit through all that?" I start laughing

"You know, not everyone gets to make it to the Olympics..."

"I'd always wondered what shows like that were like. And now I know. There's an ice floor, a crane, and skaters. Lots of skaters. Oh, and there was a soundtrack. So when the person was speaking, they'd wave their arms more."


Corey continued to mull over his thoughts out loud and I was laughing so hard, I had to go get my book to write down what he said cause I thought it was so funny!

"I was trying to think what makes me more tired: shopping, talking about lists (he does that with me to help me out when I'm in a bad mood, it makes me sooo happy!), or shows like that...."

"You know, there's only so much you can do with ice skates, so if you want to stay something of significance, it's a double axle!"

"... Once I figured out how the skaters fit into the costumes, there wasn't a lot of cerebral activity. Yeah, once I figured that out, there wasn't a lot to concentrate on."

"So basically, they took the funniest parts of the movie, ...and ruined them."

"and a lot of overpriced merchandise" (Small Buzz Lightyear figurine - $20 bucks)

So, what is the take away?

"No, it's good. It's good that there's a career path for those that put in their time at the rink. I'm glad there's a pay off at some level."

So that was the big night at Disney on Ice! Hooray for Fathers and Family and Funny Memories!

Sleeping Cutie

She just looked so relaxed ~

and I love how baby arms barely reach past the tops of their heads. Cutie pie.

Relief Society Organizing Challenge

Last week I went to a little organizing class at a Relief Society meeting taught by Amy Egan (and she is such a cutie) and it got me so motivated to keep at it - "it" being the long term goal of an organized life and home. :) It's so nice to take it one day at a time, and to know that even though the list of things I want to do is huge and sometimes overwhelming, if I break it into small doses, it's doable! So here is her 21 day challenge:

Amy's 21 Day Organizing Challenge
(Start at anytime and if you need an extra day or two, take it)

1 - Junk Drawer - yep - start out right!
2 - Computer Desk
3 - Tupperware Cabinet
4 - Linen closet
5 - Under the Kitchen Sink
6 - Dresser Drawers
7 - Pantry
8 - Coat Closet
9 - Toy Organization or Movie/cd Organization
10 - Laundry Room
11 - The Freezer
12 - Spice Cabinet
13 - Medicine Cabinet
14 - Under Guest Bathroom Sink
15 - Under Master Bathroom Sink(s)
16 - Refrigerator
17 - Mail and Bills
18 - Keepsakes
19 - Master Closet
20 - Photos
21 - You Pick
Way to go!! Look what you have accomplished in just 3 weeks.

I just love Relief Society (the organization for women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). I love the amazing ladies I meet there and for how they bless my life with their examples and ideas and for the opportunities it gives me to share and serve, it's just wonderful!

Another thought - I remember long ago when I watched "The Net", I thought it was terrible how her identity was stolen and she didn't have anyone who knew her to help her - I wished she had a Relief Society or church family to help her (of course, that would have ruined the whole story plot). Still, it made me relieved to know it could never happen to me cause I've got lots of people at Church who know me. Phew!

Also, the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" which we recently watched, I felt so bad when he and his son slept in the subway bathroom, and I just wished that he would have had a bishop or home teachers or ward friends to call upon when he needed help. As we've traveled as a family to Brazil, Costa Rica and Chile, and as Corey's traveled on his own to India, Korea, Argentina - no matter where we go, we know we have a family there that is ready and willing to help us in anyway they can - we always have a home. I'm so grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ!

I believe most people are good and kind and will help any stranger if they can. Mormons are right in there in that group of good and kind people - I know you can and will find friendship among the Latter Day Saint congregations in your area. LDS wards are assigned geographically, so you go to the ward that is over the area that you live in. You can find your ward at the Church's website mormon.org - Go visit if you can, I know you will find friends there. As Joseph Smith said "If ye will not embrace our religion, accept our hospitality." I extend my hospitality to you. If you are ever nearby or in need, please call me (I'm trying to learn how to be hospitable, I thought this book looked good, if you get it before I do let me know how you like it)

Parenting Strategies - Complaining

Corey invented this little incentive to get the kids to sit quietly during family lessons: Put out one cookie or treat for each child - if they complain, goof off, fight, etc, Dad takes one bite out of their cookie/treat. If they whine about what Dad just did, he takes another bite.


They quickly learn to sit quietly and listen and to not talk back or complain, atleast during the lesson, and a half hour of well behaved listening children creates enough happy mood feelings in the parents to last the rest of the evening.

So Corey and I are both Den leaders for Cub Scouts right now, Corey with Webelos, I'm over Wolves and Bears. His Webelos were a little nuts last week, so this week he came prepared with Starbursts which he had on the table in their view - when they were goofing off, he reached for their starburst, then they'd quickly repent and sit still and listen. Worked like a charm, and a light bulb went off in my head - I gotta do this with my Den too!

I also realized this could save my patience during dinner, which occasionally turns into "let's tick off Mom" hour at our house. We've never done it during dinner, but as I prepared my cabbage soup with thoughts of the kids' soon to be complaints ringing in my ears, I came to dinner prepared with girl scout cookies labeled before them. "Children, here is your dinner. You may not like it and that is fine, but I don't want to hear it. If I hear it, I take a bite from your cookie. If you finish your dinner, you may eat your cookie." Worked like a charm, the kids were very well behaved and it was a welcome change (Abi never eats dinner... she'll usually ask I prepare the food "Are we having good food or healthy food?" "We are having healthy food, and it's good too" "No it's not, it's yucky! I don't want yucky food!" She didn't get her cookie on this cabbage soup night, but I also didn't have to hear her complain. Again, it was a welcome change. I shall try it again during our next healthy=yucky dinner.

Of course Lily is queen and got her cookie early, but she's also my best eater. Thank you Lily! I shall enjoy your willingness to eat anything while it lasts (I've got about another year until the feisty fours come around).

Ski Trip

Corey planned a little extended weekend for us (he's so great)

Corey's trunk was the designated skiing supplies transporter: 8 pairs of skis, 16 ski poles, 8 pairs of ski boots, 9 snow pants, 10 coats, 9 pairs of gloves, 7 ski helmets, is that everything?


Sunday evening we packed up and went on a trip up to Eden, Utah. We had some fun family bonding Sunday night playing Othello and Blokus. Monday morning we had breakfast and got suited up then we all headed over to Wolf Mountain.

Corey took the kids while I hung out with my baby girls
After a few runs, Lily had a turn skiing with Corey, and Abi hung out with me. Then the little girls were done, so we went home for lunch and naps with Corey and the kids continued their fun.

Going down the black diamond which is now named "Ethan's Mountain" for it was here that he was skiing full blast down the face, unable to stop on the slushy snow, but luckily crashed right before the fence boundary stopped him - just in time to save his neck, we're grateful he didn't break it.

They all had a great time -


(love Wes' smile!)


After an afternoon of skiing in the sun, they were all worn out, so Corey brought them home, we got everyone settled, and then we had a turn for the two of us to hit the slopes for an hour

It was a beautiful day.

Sophia in her bundle me carseat carrier, cozy as a bug in a rug.

Speaking of bugs, after skiing and raquetball, we sat around and watched the novelty of cable television. We enjoyed reality tv as we and the kids learned about "hoarders" - it gave me the creepy crawlies watching all those cock roaches and spiders and ugh and ick! I don't know if it was hoarders week or hoarders night, cause it was on two channels - A&E's "Hoarders" and TLC's "Buried Alive" - and I think those programs were very effective in teaching our kids why we clean out bedrooms and closets and give things to charity. Some of those people's living situations were seriously insane.

All in all, it was a fun and wonderful day in this wonderful world - Life is good! Thank you Lord

Just Another Day

...of Motherhood. Lily decided to do some reading during her bath.

There's no shortage of books around here, so I'm in no rush to replace these two. Bye Dumbo, goodbye Lady and the Tramp 2. You've gone the way of all the books at our house, which is death by children. You served my kids well. Thank you.

Secret Ingredient

Time for breakfast, here's what's on the menu:
Waffles, Bacon, Bananas


Cue Kid history episode 6!

~ ~ ~

Once upon a time, when the Wride kids were growing up, their Mom was really into healthy food. One morning she made them waffles.

la la la la la la la


A pinch of salt, lots of love, and lots and lots of prunes!


(I doubled the recipe and substituted 15 prunes for the sugar - blended them with the eggs and milk in my wonderful Ktec - if I can deceive their eyes, the prunes just might go undetected! If you don't have a powerhouse blender, I'd recommend soaking the prunes overnight in milk or water to help them blend better)


"Here's your perfectly normal waffles kids!"


These pancakes are super thick mom. (I was worried that was going to give me away... note to self, add a bit more milk next time)

You can't even taste it!

"IloveyoumommyIloveyoumommyIloveyoumommy!"

It will help you grow strong!

Don't be knuckle heads!

(I think it worked! Joe and Hyrum are even going for second helpings, and not one word of complaint so far!)

Success! And also, since there was actually a nutritious and fiber filled ingredient in the waffles, the kids actually got full and not only were they not able to eat all the waffles served, but there was the added bonus that they didn't come back in 30 minutes to ask me for more food!

Wesley showing me his "I'm soooo full!" face

We love Kid History, and I especially love episode 6. Sometime I make the kids a chocolate spinach smoothie for breakfast so they can say "It's green! Why is it green?!" But they actually drink it happily and don't think it's nasty. We're hopefully training taste buds around here a little, yay! Episode 6 has made it possible for me to make healthy food and the kids get to laugh at the same time cause they get to quote the Episode. Thank you to the Roberts boys! We love you!

ps - blended prunes also work for the banana bread. (I name the recipes I use after the person who shared them with me.) Thanks for this recipe Kelly - it's super simple, makes it an easy staple at our house.

Happy March!

Happy Month of March everyone.  First off may I share a recent great little find from Pinterest...

which I modified into this individual sized Patrick's Day Treat - so fun!

Joseph helped me arrange the rainbows...

9 individual plates of Fruit Rainbow goodness with marshmallow and whipped cream clouds and a little bit of gold...

Could not find those gold foil wrapped Rolos anywhere, but the Hershey's nuggets worked out pretty well, the kids were all smiles ~

Glad that I stumbled across this BEFORE St. Patrick's Day instead of after, which is what usually happens to me with cute holiday ideas. So I wanted to share so you can do it too if you want, it just seemed so cute yet doable. :)

And in other news... just for fun, thought I'd share~ I am slightly obsessed with this song right now - been blasting this song on repeat, the kids and I almost have the lyrics down. I love it - how come I never heard of this song before? Did you know about it? And if I've been the only one out of the loop, how come you never filled me in? Huh?! Next time there's an awesome song out there, you better tell me. Thank you to Stephanie Nielsen for bringing Brandon Flowers to my attention (watch that video of Brandon she links to).

I totally agree with her - one of the things that brings me the most happiness is seeing Corey being a great father.

He's amazing.

Playing Mario Kart with the kids on New Year's Eve - it was so funny - I got a video of it but the uploading is having issues... he was talking smack with the kids but then he'd choke and drive Bowser off the edge, it was really funny cause he acts so competitive with the kids 

(I think it's a strategy of his to give the kids confidence when they beat him).  Have a great month!