Family * Travel * Food

Giveaways galore!!

When you can stop by Mommydaddyblog to enter the great giveways they are offering. I have entered several of them and they have some GREAT items! Good luck!



Three Gs For The Holidays At Mommy Daddy Blog!
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Cranberry sauce

Ahh it's that time of year again... Thanksgiving. Of course you will have your turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes and all the classic things that make Thanksgiving so special. We can't forget the cranberry sauce. There is nothing like those sweet-tart berries that go so perfectly with our meal. I don't know about your family but here at the Ismail house we absolutely have to have it. Usually the kids "make it". When I say make it I mean cracking open the can and slicing it up! We absolutely LOVE the jellied cranberry sauce over the whole berry or homemade varieties. Jellied sauce has been a tradition in our family for as long as we have been together. I personally love the homemade type as well but my family would feel like I ruined Thanksgiving if I put anything other than what they are used to. How about your family...what type of cranberry sauce do you prefer? Do you have any special traditions for Thanksgiving?

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It's Tacky Day!

It is spirit week at the girls' school and yesterday's theme was "Tacky Day". My girls LOVE that day! Briahnna loves it mostly because she says "YES! I can finally wear what I want!" Yep, my baby has a little natural tackiness in her and we love her for that. She does not understand why you have to match. I let her wear whatever she wants as long as she is covered, appropriate for the weather, and is comfy. Can adults have tacky day too? lol!




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Don'tcha hate it when.... Wednesday

Don'tcha hate it when...



  • you have been seeing previews of a show you've been longing to watch and when you do finally see it you are so disappointed. Example: Jon & Kate plus 8 wedding. Not the romantic tear jerker I was looking forward to at all.

  • hubby laughs at you because your show was a bust.

  • you have to make a $175 payment and the vendor tells you to make a deposit (fair enough right? WRONG!!!) They say $150 minimum deposit, huh??? Might as well pay the entire amount at one time!

  • you scrape the roof of your mouth from eating too much of something that you shouldn't mess with in the first place.

  • people are stressing out about what to buy for Christmas when they need to be thinking of those that have to go without the basic necessities (victims of foreclosure, loss of home due to destruction, job loss, etc...) It annoys me and believe me, life freakin' goes on after the 25th. I promise.

Well, I got may say and now you take a turn. Hit us up in the comments!

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8 months old already!

Oh no!! I am always sad to do these month by month posts. It's a reminder that the little guy is growing up and each day he changes and does new things. His favorite person? DaDa. Forget the fact that I am with him ALL DAY LONG. DaDa makes him light up and laugh. Well, he started saying Mama so I guess I am happy. Now of course he only says that when he is fighting sleep and crying. All of you moms out there that claimed there would be the whole mother and son thing, NOT! He is all about his dad. William finally got his bottom teeth! I hope the drooling will start to slow down a bit. He can sit on his own for up to an hour and play independently. This buys me time to actually get things done. He loves watching me cook and clean the kitchen so that is added time to get things done. He is an all around happy and funny baby boy. I am really loving the not having to do hair, matching, or worrying much. Boys are pretty cool... Stinky, but cool.
He's so charming too! Look at that face. The ladies can't resist it!!
I don't know what it is about the tongue thing! He has been doing that since birth! He can touch his tongue to the tip of his nose! Of course Papo thinks that is so cool. *shaking head*
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It's Monday and I got ....NOTHING!

**Apologies ahead of time to you good parents that are big into saving the earth. I do care about the earth, I'm just human.**

I know this is an odd subject but I was wondering this: Do you use the kind of paper towels that are regular full-sized sheets or the select-a-size type sheets? I did a little test at home to see which ones would last longer. I have found that if I use a standard size roll it lasts about 3-4 days. The select-a-size roll lasts about 7-8 days. Most people don't like the select-a-size rolls but I LOVE them in my house. If we have the full-sized sheets I make the family rip it in half to begin with so they are used to the size (I know, cheap..oh well). I mean, why waste and entire sheet on something so tiny?



Which paper towels do you prefer full-size or select-a-size?



*I told you it was Monday and I had nothing!
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It's the weekend BaBy!!!

This is what the boy behaves like with his father. Of course Papo is so proud.
Everyone have a great weekend and be safe :P


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The Ped Egg

Has anyone out there ever tried the Ped Egg? I am one of those zany people that I want one but I am very skeptical and hate to waste my money. Of course on their website you can read customer testimonials, but for some reason I feel better getting the real from actual people I know or correspond with.



So if you have tried this product, what do you think? Did it actually work and would you recommend it to others?
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Don'tcha hate it when.... Wednesday

Don'tcha hate it when...


  • you can't find your keys and you get frantic looking for them. Only to find that they were in your back pocket or in your hand.

  • you find out from your kids that they have to pay for volleyball uniforms. I am setting aside a good $100 thinking that will suffice only to find out they cost $179, PER CHILD!!! Times 2 kids that makes $358!!! Merry Christmas girls!!

  • you get a bluetooth for your birthday (good bye corded ear piece) and it ends up not to be compatible with your phone. Just my freakin luck :/

  • hateful unhappy people want you to feel as bad as they do.

  • you buy something and realize after you get home that you did not use your coupon. I hate that one, I'm the coupon Queen. I do at least warn the person behind me that I may be a minute and I even offer up coupons that I won't use for things I see they are purchasing. *Yeah, just had to say that cause I just know one of you will comment and say you hate it when you are stuck behind someone that has a fist full of coupons!

Now it's your turn to gripe... Hit us up in the comments...

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Being GREEN is so hard!

I am finding these days that being green is getting to be quite a challenge. We have changed almost all of our light bulbs to the curly ones (which are costly), we recycle everything, we try to reuse things in creative ways and we have even been composting. One neat thing I do is I tend to buy premium pasta sauces when they are on sale and I save the glass Mason jar and lid it came in. I use the jars when I make my homemade soups and chili to share with a sick friend, neighbor or relative. They appreciate you did something so nice and I don't get annoyed when I don't get my container back. (I have issues with when I give you food and you don't have the decency to return my container)
Okay, back to my story...

The other day I purchased some Clorox GreenWorks glass and surface cleaner. I have been very skeptical since it claims it is natural. Something about cleaning something that shows lemons, coconuts and oranges does not make me feel like I would be cleaning. I like how it works for the most part on surfaces like my range top, desk, and glass surfaces. I just don't like the fact that it does not smell clean. To me there is nothing like the strikingly fresh scent of pine that about slaps you in the face. I am sure most of you grew smelling that fragrance while mom was in the kitchen cleaning. Now I feel like things are clean when they smell clean. I am really trying to be as green as I can but I have to draw the line with my cleaning products. Please, to all the green mamas out there, don't go sending me any hate mail. I'm old school...I'm just sayin'...

If you really want to help save the environment then order one of these. =) (my shameless plug)
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Get your FREE samples!

If you love signing up for freebies then I have a treat for you! Check out these great offers and enjoy! Be careful because you might get addicted like I am. Yes, I am a freebieholic. My husband gets annoyed when he is checking our PO box for business mail and it is filled with free samples! I get everything from health and beauty products, food items, pet products, and the list goes on! I just thought I would share :)

Aquafresh Toothpaste (great for travel)

Degree Deodorant for Men (trust me, husbands love free stuff too!)

Dunkin Donuts coffee sample (a ground coffee sample to make at home)

Bear Naked Fruit and Granola ( just got this in the mail yesterday)

Greenies Dental treat for dogs (these are VERY pricey in the store! My Milo loved his free sample~!)

New Always Infinity (just got this one last week)
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Happiness

Happiness to me is...

  • when my kids tell me I smell good.
  • when I get my new light bill and find that it went down by over $100!
  • when I get something unexpected in the mail.
  • when my hubby gets up in the morning on his own and I don't have to tell him what to do.
  • when my baby blows bubbles and I tell him to stop and he smiles at me.
  • when I hear the girls say "this is one of the best days of my life!"
  • making a senior citizen smile.
  • getting my feet rubbed.
  • the sound of laughter.
  • making those around me happy.

In a nutshell, it's the simple things in life that make me happy :) What about you??

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The icing on the cake

I know everyone is talking about the same thing today, our new President-Elect Barack Obama. I will not make you read anything you already know but I will say this has been an amazing historical event to take part in! I turned 35 yesterday and I guarantee this was a birthday gift that I will treasure always. I would have waited in line to vote for 2 or 3 more hours if I had to with zero regret.


I am only now realizing how scary this photo is with the 5 am no make-up look! Yikes!!

I enjoyed my cake and cupcakes! When I was a kid, I would be bummed when my birthday fell on Election Day. I always thought it was a waste. Not this time around!!

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Happy Voting Y'all

I know that I am so sick and tired (sure you are too) of all the media coverage, back stabbing, vicious competition we hear about over and over again and we just want to get this election OVER with! Finally, tomorrow is the day. I just want to say that I hope that all registered voters will get out there tomorrow if you have not already voted. We are planning on lining up at our site around 5:30 am (kids and all) with coffee in the thermos, drinks, snacks and baby stuff. I really hope that we will make it through and not have to wait more than three hours but we know the importance of voting. We will be prepared and we will make it a fun event!

Another cool thing is I will be celebrating the big "3-5" tomorrow. I usually don't care to advertise my birthday, but I am excited since my day is on a very historic day (either way it goes). I can't wait to hear all the stories from all over the country in blog world tomorrow. Oh, and don't forget to check out my hubby's latest post "Sagging Pants" Please leave him a comment! Thanks and Y'all be safe :)
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