Family * Travel * Food

Don'tcha hate it when.... Wednesday

**This will be our final posting of the traditional Don'tcha hate it when.... Wednesday. In 2009 we will dedicate Wednesday to being "Vent day Wednesday". You can now vent about anything you want to. We will do most of these posts in video form. Don't get me wrong, you can still leave your don'tcha hate it when comments if you want! :)**

Don'tcha hate it when...
  • Dwayne cleans in the house for what feels like the first time in our long marriage and he thinks he is owed something? and then wants to talk about how he cleaned up (that one time mind you) for about 3 months!
  • it is 24 degrees one day and the next it is 76!
  • my kids tell me that I "think" I am cool. Trust me, they could have a lamer mother than I am lol! Oh, and when I type or test 'lol' they think I should not know about that. Again, I could be way lamer than I am!
  • you have to catch up to blogging after the holidays. It's so hard to get back into it right away.
  • people only call you because they want or need something. You would not hear from them otherwise. I know I always complain about that one but it annoys me!
Please stay tuned next Wednesday for the video launch of 'Vent day Wednesday'. Dwayne will be hosting it so I promise it will be very entertaining! I apologize for his obnoxious behavior in advance!
Now my friends, it is your turn... What's buggin you? Hit us up in the comments!
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Need advice

Hello all, today I am pondering the idea of joining a wholesale club for household items and groceries. We are looking at stretching our dollars more in 2009 and my hubby complains that I make too many trips to the grocery store and yet we still run out of things. I guess my part of the discussion is I am afraid of wasting by purchasing in bulk and also is it really cheaper?? It seems like I can go to the grocery store and spend over $100 and within a couple days you wonder where the hell it all went. I am still not convinced about paying a membership fee to purchase larger quantities. This is where you all come in. I need help to decide if it is wise to do this. Since we live in a smaller city, the only wholesale club we have is Sams Club. If you are a member with them would you recommend a membership? I need any input I can get to make the final decision. Thanks in advance :)
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Long time no post

Wow, it has a week since I last posted. I have sort of taken a blog vacation. I went out of town for the holiday and amazingly stayed off the computer for over 48 hours!! It was actually refreshing and I think we all need to take a break some time. This week will be one of organizing and cleaning. The kids are thrilled about that of course! I have almost finished putting away any signs of Christmas. I thought I was done but I noticed my tablecloth and a few small odds and ends. Now I have to put those items some place that I will remember next year since all the rest of my stuff has been packed away.

Now it is time to have everything cleaned up and ready to bring in the new year. I always remember growing up that we had to have the house super tidy and as dust-free and clutter-free as we could get it. The point was that you entered the new year in a clean home. I don't really think it makes any difference on what happens in that new year but I guess I feel like it is a tradition. Oh how my family loves this tradition ha ha! Another tradition we have is we put some cash under the doormat at all the entryways of our home on New Year's eve. Dwayne's Grandmother always used to do that when she was alive. Supposedly more money will come into your home for the new year. Again, not sure that one has worked either but we continue to do it year after year.

So what about you? Do you and your family have any special traditions for the new year? Please share so I don't think we are the only weird family we know!
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Someone is 9 months old today!

Baby William is officially 9 months old today. I don't like doing these posts because it always reminds me of how quickly my baby is growing up. The little man is now 21 1/2 pounds and 30 inches tall. He's got 2 little teeth on the bottom and sure has a great appetite. I think if he could eat sweet potatoes all day long he would! It is the only food you will never see him 'wearing'. He is always very playful and happy so we have lots of fun at the Ismail house! He LOVES Papo. I call them Frick & Frack. Once Papo is home, it's all about the 2 of them. Forget there are other members of the family. Well I sure hope everyone has a really nice weekend!
The boy has his tongue sticking out, surprising huh?!
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It's baby proofing time

I can't believe it. The time is here... Time to baby proof our home. William has gotten so big and is now rolling all over the house in his walker. He grab everything is sight! He likes to pull on doorknobs and drawers. No more leaving little things around anywhere we want. This is a whole lifestyle change for my family. The girls are having to rearrange things to accommodate the wild child. The boy is fast as lightening too so I can't take my eyes off of him for even a minute. Dwayne and I watched him this morning as he curiously looked at a cord plugged into an outlet. I guess my real mommy work is about to get started!

Does anyone have any suggestions on things to look out for? I never baby proofed with the girls simply because they were very calm. I feel like a first time parent here. I'm happy for any advice anyone wants to share. Thanks!
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Don'tcha hate it when.... Wednesday

Don'tcha hate it when...
  • Dwayne is in charge of the getting the fire going and the house smells like a barbecue pit. Dwayne honey, you were born and raised in Miami, Florida. You are not a fireologist.
  • you receive a re-gifted gift that you know was a re-gift. Just not cool.
  • people treat you like hell all year and then want to be nice because it's the holiday season.
  • you string your lights on the tree and when you are ready to do the tree lighting for the family you have big gaps of unlit lights.

that's all I have for now but I am sure Dwayne will do something dumb and I will be back. Now it your turn to gripe. Hit us up in the comments!

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Dwayne & Shelly's night out

Dwayne and I went out on Friday night to a Christmas party at the Capital City Club. We went last year and I was 6 months pregnant at the time. Our server we had last year came by our private dining room to say hello and she actually remembered details about all of us. Even what we were drinking! Of course for me that was water :) The girls and my mother-in-law took care of William...everyone survived. I did keep checking to see if the girls sent a text. I told them to do so in case of an emergency. Thankfully everything went smoothly and we were able to enjoy some time out alone.


Malibu & pineapple sure was nicer than water this year!

This shot makes me look pregnant with the way the sweater fit!

Dwayne as always, trying to look cool.



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Flashback Friday

Here is a photo of Dwayne from back in his music business days. He used to be a rapper (That's a whole other post!) He was about 100 pounds lighter! As you can tell Dwayne has always been full of himself. You can't tell him he did not look cool ha ha! At least his pants came over the top of his butt in this shot.

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Naps and babies

As you all know, having a baby for me now is like starting all over again so I feel like there are some things I don't know or need a refresher course on. Babies do take naps right? I'm not talking catnaps or power naps. I mean actual more than 30 minutes kinda naps..right?

What happened to my kid then? He almost only power naps for about 20 minutes maybe twice per day. Is this normal for an almost 9 month old? My girls took naps until they were almost 4, hour long ones at that. So basically I am not getting anywhere near what I need to get done on a daily basis. I guess I better shut up and be thankful the kid started sleeping through the night early and is even sleeping a little later in the mornings.

Seriously, does anyone or has anyone had this problem with a baby under the age of 1?
Please let me know there are others out there like me!
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Don'tcha hate it when.... Wednesday

Don'tcha hate it when...

  • there is an object in the middle of the floor (that should not be there) and everyone in the house walks, skips, cartwheels, and leaps over it? I purposely don't pick it up to wait and see who will. Said object pretty much sits and rots for days of course.

  • women curse worse than men.

  • people do not know how to send forwarded email.

  • I think I am about to get an actual afternoon nap...dog barks and boom, baby wakes up.

  • on the coldest night of the season, the big bear that sleeps next to me hogs all the covers. We have 2 comforters on the bed for a reason!

  • you want to slap the living daylights out of some one's bratty, rude kid and you can't since they are not yours.

Okay, I think I'm good. How about you? Hit us up in the comments...

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Reflections of 2008

Well another year is getting ready to come to a close. It goes by so fast it's unreal! There were so many things that happened over this year, both good and bad. I have taken everything as a learning lesson. I know that you are never to old to learn. Unless you are 16 then you know it all ha ha! I think the biggest thing I learned this year is how important it is to get all the toxic people out of my life in order to grow. You are probably thinking that I should know that by now and I do. I guess I just tend to be too nice and tolerate a lot of things that I don't always look at as tolerating. There eventually comes that 'enough is enough' feeling that wakes up inside of you and makes you do something about it. This year has brought so much clarity to me and has allowed me to rid my life of a lot of toxic people and behaviors. I am still very flawed but I know I will learn more and more as the years go by. I am so grateful that I had my healthy baby boy and that my family continues to stay strong and persevere. I am extremely grateful to have such a wonderful husband that keeps me on my toes and is a strong father to our children. I know I give him a hard time (that's my job) but he is awesome and I could not make it through a lot of things without him by my side and always having my back. Before I say anything else nice about Dwayne I will stop here. No need in getting carried away!

What is the most important thing you learned in 2008? Please share :)
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Weekend wrap-up

Well, not much to talk about for the weekend. We have been sharing a cold for a few days now. What a close family huh? William seems to be handling it better than I expected and Dwayne and I are about over it. Briahnna is getting her share so she stayed home from school today. Chardie went to school but we will see what happens this week. I hope everyone had a great weekend. I will hopefully have more to say tomorrow. I must go tend to my sick children.
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Flashback Friday

These photos are from a year ago. Wow, I remember this night so vividly. I was 6 months pregnant and feeling like a million bucks! For those of you that love to follow the Shelly & Dwayne saga be sure to read the couple sentences to this post and you will see that some things will never change. You'll know what I'm talking about!

Have a great weekend :-)
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Giveaways

Check out all the great giveways at Soapbox Mama!
I have become an official giveway signer upper addict!! Too bad I don't ever win anything :(

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Wordless Wednesday

5 examples of why Dwayne should keep his day job and never pursue a career in photography.






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Is it Monday already??

Oh man, it has been one long and fantastic holiday weekend! I have abandoned my blog apparently. I guess it's time to get back in the swing of things. We had a house full of family the past few days. It has been non-stop fun and it felt good to do pretty much nothing. Dwayne took over 100 photos and I think I have to fire him. He has this theory that it is better to take photos of people when they are not looking at the camera. That's great if you actually did not take them while the subject's eyes were closed, they were blowing their noses, their mouth was full of food, etc... Here are a couple shots I was able to salvage. I hope everyone had a blast over the holiday weekend. Now it's time to get back to reality :(

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