State Fair fun and some mishaps

Hello friends. Remember my post yesterday about getting to be a kid for a day? Well I don't think kids ever feel like this! This morning has been a very trying one. I woke up to aches and pains in my back, legs and arms. I feel like I was lifting heavy weights without stretching first combined with a hangover! I could barely wake up. I managed to get the coffee made. I grabbed my favorite mug, added my sugar and then poured the steaming hot coffee in. I then proceeded to add the creamer. As I began to gently pour, I realize I was adding baby formula, not coffee creamer. UGH! This meant repeating the steps again and wasting a perfectly good cup of Joe. I am still not awake~! Well, we had a blast at the South Carolina State Fair. All of the usual stuff you see every year but there is nothing like eating certain foods unless you are physically at the Fair. One thing that was very noticeable this year was it was not nearly as crowded as in the past. You could walk up to any ride and sometimes be the only one riding. The food lines were very short and the game vendors begged for your business. Some even offered a free game just to have something to do! These were all true signs that our economy is really bad right now for everyone.

It was a very hot day (near 90 degrees) but at least William behaved very well. I really thought he would have been disgusted after the first two hours but he really seemed to have enjoyed the sights and sounds. Look at this happy boy! I tried to upload a slide show but could not get the html thingy right so here is a link to it instead. There are captions for each photo. I hope you enjoy our photos!

I get to be a kid today

Today is going to be a fun day. I am taking the girls out of school early and the hubby and father-in-law aka "ATM" are taking half days. We are heading out to the State Fair to enjoy some family time and a whole lot of fun! Since the boys don't do rides, they will be security and I am sure each time you look at them they will have a corn dog, turkey leg, elephant ear or funnel cake in their face! Of course I will be in true mom fashion by packing up drinks, snacks and hand sanitizer. There is NO WAY anyone will be spending 3-4 bucks for a soda. If the kids want a sausage dog because the smell of it is calling them I will shove a granola bar in their mouth and tell them to play pretend! No, I'm kidding. I won't be that cheap!

Today will be my day to behave like a kid and just enjoy life with my family. I will post some photos tomorrow. I hope you all have a great day!

Message from baby William

To all of mommy and daddy's readers,

I thought I would let you all know how I have been doing. I am a very, very good baby. I am a good eater, I don't make a mess, I am cute, sweet and cuddly. I went to the pediatrician for my one month check up yesterday. I have almost doubled my weight since I was born. I weigh 8 1/2 pounds! I thank my mom for that. I try to let my parents sleep at night and I can't help it that I LOVE them to hold me tight until I fall deep into my sleep. Since my parents do not believe in co-sleeping, I get what I can, ya know?! My newest thing is I love to follow my family with my eyes. I love all the attention they give me, especially from my sisters. I wanted to tell you all that I am on a mission. I was born with eyebrows and I was taking a look at my handsome self the other day and realized that they are now missing! I am on a hunt to find them. My daddy says if I do not find them then he will shave his off to match me. I know my dad is a rough and tough manly man but don't you think that is sweet? If I find my eyebrows, I will have my folks post a photo of them. Uh oh, I think I need my bottle now so I better go and cry so mommy will feed me. Wish me luck in finding my eyebrows!

Sincerely, William

Happy Easter Everyone.

Please take time to enjoy the wonderful blessings in your life. God has blessed our family in tremendous ways. Our daughters are growing into wonderful young ladies, my mother and father are getting along so well. ( I now know what it is like to have your parents do and say mushy stuff in front of you - Ugh) Ha ha ha. Now I can relate to how my kids feel when Shelly and I do mushy stuff. Shelly's parents are doing well and her sisters are also. Shelly is just like her mother strong and constantly moving. William (The Young PRINCE) is taking over the house. ( His stuff is everywhere) I will have to remind him that I am Chairman of the Board of Directors for the BBCDO.

I just want to wish everyone a peaceful and blessed day with your family. Take time to remember that Life is about the small moments. The laughs you share with your loved ones. The tears that you release when you're overcome with Joy. The ball you throw or kick, the tea party, book you read, and the conversations you have.

Give love, Give intimacy, and give of yourself.

Love you all, Dwayne aka Ismail the Great

Dr. Seuss would be proud!

Dr. Seuss' birthday was yesterday, March 2. Since there was no school because it was a Sunday, Briahnna's school is doing a school wide celebration today which will include a variety of activities and reading. To honor the Dr., students were asked to wear crazy socks and/or Dr. Seuss hats. My kid is the number one crazy sock fan year 'round. She will wear Easter socks at Christmas, St. Patrick's socks on Valentines day, and any color she can possibly find to not match her outfit. I just let her because she loves to show her true self and is our "colorful" child. Check out the outfit today....

Yes, winter themed toe socks with flip flops!

Explanation of crazy husband

I just wanted to take a moment to tell everyone what was going on in the videos for my last 2 posts. You all know by now that my husband apparently lacks home training. Well, the actual ultrasound clip was obvious. Dwayne could not figure out the boy part thing. Now of all men, you would think he would have recognized that right away.*shaking head* If you could have heard all the thing he was saying to my doctor, you would have been either laughing or choking him. In video 2, he was so happy he started to skip, yes skip down the hall and do a fake cartwheel. There was this older lady going to the elevator and she was scared half to death cause she thought Dwayne was about to take a dive. That poor woman! I had to stop the camera so I could punish him for acting up. And I am having a boy????!!!..... Lord help me!

Volleyballaz!

On Sunday our family attended the USC Women's volleyball game here in Columbia. Our girls were a part of the ball crew. Their job was simple, keep your eyes out for the balls and pass them along to the next crew member so they players always had a ball ready when they are. Dwayne and I had to brace ourselves because these women were VERY strong athletes and we just knew one of the girls were going to get smacked by a loose ball. Luckily they managed not to get hit and made it through. Girls, if you are reading this... note to self: never turn my back! Check out a clip.

Watch out Alicia Keys!

On this past Friday evening, our beautiful and talented daughters took the stage for their piano recitals. Since they are a little more advanced than the other students, they were challenged to pick three or four songs to play. Of course they each picked four. Their performances were flawless and they made their mom, dad, grandparents, friends, and piano teacher very proud! Here are a couple video clips of the performances.

Great kids

Yesterday I spent most of my day running my mother-in-law around to doctor appointments and left the girls at home. They had a job... babysitting daddy! Well, daddy worked late the night before so he had to take a much needed nap. This made the job easier for my girls. Well, I do not have your average children. Do you know what they did while I was out? They cleaned the house! Not just picking up a few things but they actually cleaned the house. Everything from washing and packing dishes, vacuuming, dusting, picking up, cleaning their bathroom, sweeping, and laundry! I did not even ask them to do it. I asked if there was something they wanted and they said "no, we just thought we would help out". Those girls have really made my month. I am just so blessed to have them and appreciate the young ladies they are growing up to be. I am taking them today to a couple places to let them pick out a few trinkets for the thoughtfulness they showed me. Here is a photo I snapped of them. They are going to be great moms and wives one day. Maybe 30 years from now if you leave it up to daddy! I love my babies!

Boys will be boys

We went to a birthday party the other night and the hostess had a bag of balloons for the kids. Look who got to the bag first...

The bad boy himself.

Gift idea

My kids have a birthday party to go to on July 6th for a 10 year old girl. I have bought this sweet child school supplies in the past as a gift. Now most people would think it was a boring gift, but her mom emailed me last night and requested I do the same this year. Moms are very practical (for the most part). I would be overjoyed if people would buy those types of gifts rather than senseless junk. No offense to anyone reading this that might have given my kids gifts in the past! ;o) he he! The best part of giving this type of gift is the cost. Not only are you giving something very useful, you are not spending a fortune. Gee, wonder if I have any coupons...

Laugh at yourself

Last night I was in Target with my two daughters shopping for some health and beauty products. We got all we needed from the list except one last item, body lotion for daddy. We get on the right aisle and started to look at our choices. It is very important to get the right product when shopping for my husband because he does not like "girlie" lotion. He likes feeling like a manly man so it takes a couple extra minutes to find just the right product. I was torn between two brands so I had to do what the girls in my family do... the sniff test. There was a new version of Vaseline Intensive Care with Cocoa Butter. Now my husband likes that kind of stuff. I reached to the top of the shelf and grabbed one (the price was really good). I flipped the cap open and took a whiff. I could not tell what it smelled like so I gave the bottle a little squeeze. All of a sudden the lotion squirted out all over my face and up my nose! My girls started to laugh uncontrollably and so did I!!!! I laughed til there were tears in my eyes and my stomach was sore. Now think about how awful that looked! The girls kept telling me where to wipe it off and every time I thought it was gone, they would see more. Needless to say, I will know what the lotion smells like for at least a week! I am so glad that I know how to laugh at myself. Looks like my girls will be talking about this one for a couple weeks. Now if the hubby was with me when it happened, he would talk about it for years to come~! Oh, I did end up buying it!

What happens when dad is watching the kids

They play with mom's digital camera!!!

They get most of their silliness from their crazy daddy!

Nosey Folks

Now this is so wrong. The other night there was an accident across the street from my house and my tacky family decided to be nosey. Notice the dog (Milo) on the floor at the bottom left corner. Well he could not stand that he was not in on the action and wanted to see what was going on....

They decided to let poor Milo see and be a part of their nosey neighbors club. Now all of this was going on at midnight. Notice which one of the "responsible" parents was on the floor with the kids! LOL!!! That's my crazy family and I absolutely love 'em!

Culinary Kids

The Summer months spent away from school is full of fun times and relaxation. In our house it is a bit different. We spend a lot of time teaching our girls a lot of life skills. The latest skill is cooking. I figured if something happened to dear old mom, the family would wither away and sadly dear old dad only knows how to maneuver his way over to the drive-up window! If the girls can get down some simple meals then they would be able to take care of the family if I was down. So far they have learned the art of seasoning and cooking meats, cooking veggies, rice, mac and cheese (from a box! Hey, they are kids!), and lots of prep work (washing, chopping, etc.) They really seem to enjoy it and even more tasting their fantastic dishes they created!

Man or Dolphin?

Yesterday we were playing a game of impersonations. Hubby decided to be a dolphin, but turned out more like a big inch worm in the water. LOL!!!! My brother-in-law thinks he looks like a big killer whale!

Family fun at the pool

Mom and the girls

My sister and I reliving our childhood.

Cannon ball!!

Kids are like bottomless pits!!

School has been officially out for a little over a week now and I am finding myself in the grocery store about 4 times per week! How is it when school is in session my kids eat a good breakfast at home, lunch at school (sometimes cafeteria food or a home lunch), a snack after school, dinner, and then one last snack before bedtime. Now the kids wake up, eat breakfast, then a snack, another snack, lunch, snack again, one more snack, dinner, snack, snack, snack.....HELP!!! They are costing me way more with them being home. They are VERY active and are limited to a minimum amount of TV time so weight or health problems are not an issue. They are always doing something so there is little time for boredom. I may have to take on a part time job to feed them! What is so bad is I am finding myself munching more. The worse part of all is that all the "healthy" foods are so expensive so I am purchasing things that are less costly so that I can maintain some kind of budget. Does anyone have any good ideas for some low cost snacks that are still somewhat healthy?

BBCDO- The Take Over

Glamour gone WILD~!

I was recently channel flipping on cable tv and just when I thought television was complete crap these days, I was proven right. There is this show on VH1 called Little Beauties: Ultimate Kiddie Queen Showdown. I did not watch the whole thing cause it was plain ridiculous. What are these parents thinking by putting little 6 year old girls through hell by dressing them in 2 thousand dollar gowns, caking their baby-soft skin with clown make-up, and making the bee-hive style make a comeback?!!! All for money! Even the little girls were saying that they hope to win money. They are being aged before their time because of greed. Sorry folks, good looks do not last forever! Poor little girls.