Anniversary weekend | 17 years

I am so excited about celebrating my 17th Wedding Anniversary with my favorite husband in all of the land ♥

Re-post | Things that have kept us in love

*Sorry, long post*

I often have people ask what has kept Dwayne and I together for so long and how can we still love each other? 20 years is not long for some of you veterans, but it is for those that could not fathom even 5 years. There are no secrets that will work for every marriage but I will share some things that have worked for us.

• Respect each other. Hateful words or actions are not allowed in our relationship.
  
• Communication is key. Dwayne and I have an agreement that we discuss things and if an agreement can't be met then is it a "No". Chances are we either agree or I get my way so it works out :)
  
• Sense of humor is very important especially when your husband is part Bernie Mac meets Jay Leno (funny and lame at the same time). There is NEVER a shortage of laughter in the Ismail house. I also think it is important to know how to laugh at yourself. Everything does not have to be that serious!


• Understanding and Forgiveness. This has to be one of the hardest things of all. Nobody is perfect and things happen. Almost anything can be worked out or worked on.


• Appreciation is very important. Taking time to say "thank you" between a man and wife is something that should never be overlooked. I thank Dwayne all the time for providing for our family and never making me feel guilty about my choice to stay at home to raise our children. Dwayne thanks me for even the tiniest things that I don't even think matters. Everything from ironing a shirt, sweetening his coffee or telling him not to worry that everything will work out.


• Encouragement is HUGE. We encourage each other to become even better. I love Dwayne so much because he never allows me to doubt myself or not give myself enough credit. It's a great boost for both sides!


• Unconditional Love ...do I even have to explain this one? I love Dwayne for the good, bad, sneaky, naughty, sincere, strong, arrogant, hardcore, sweet, smart and 'Dwayne' things that makes him who he is...The man I married and will eternally love.

Dwayne and I are from 2 totally backgrounds, worlds, planets, and everything in between, but there is this magic that can't be explained. We just mesh together well. If he is out and I am expecting him home I will stand by the window like a school girl and wait. Of course as soon as he drives up, I race to couch and when the door opens I will say "Oh, I didn't even hear you drive up". I think the fact that we have stayed the same people we have always been but have matured together it really keeps the bond going strong. We always have each other's back. If you have a 50/50 relationship, then you have a great chance at a lasting and loving relationship.

Some husbands really do listen to their wives

I know I crack jokes and give Dwayne a hard time most days so I decided to dedicate a post to say some nice things about him.
*I really hope he does not read this and let it go to his head*
My husband is a simple man. He does not require very much to be happy. I love that he does not care about sports (except fishing). I would take being married to a nerd any day over a sports fanatic. He takes the time to listen to me even when it comes across as nagging. Of course he makes sure he points it out to me when he does what I nagged about. Dwayne mentioned to me the other day that I should be really proud of myself. Of course I am wondering what on earth he is talking about. He tells me how he has been seeing the commercials and reading articles about the "Extreme Couponing" lifestyle. He said I should have been featured in a publication since I have been into couponing and signing up for freebies since before I was even married. He says that all the people who talked crap about me and thought I was wasting my time can eat their words. He thinks that this show came way late in the game. Then he tells me how proud he is of me for being so smart with my purchases and the fact that I am passing that wisdom on to our kids and it shows. That really made me feel good knowing that he notices all the little things I do. I think I will keep him for a little while longer :)

In "the lab" with dad

Please excuse the low quality photo but I just had to snap this one. You see Dwayne has a mini studio set up downstairs in his man room and William has been watching his daddy closely. It is not unusual to see Will talking into his Carmex tube or anything else that he can use as a pretend microphone. He saw his dad practicing a speech and Will said to Dwayne "Arriba!" and he goes straight for the mic and chats away. It is so funny when you play his voice back on the computer. His face lights up at the sound of his own voice.

Romance in Whoville

The other night big daddy came into the bedroom and told me he wanted to give me a relaxing foot rub. I told him that he worked so hard that day so I would take a rain check. He insisted that he wanted to do it and that I better take it while it is being offered. So I graciously accepted his kind offer. My husband has his romantic moments and I thought this was one of them. He tells me to throw my feet across his lap so he can put some of that big daddy magic on me. He feels under the covers and realizes that I have socks on. I tried to reach over to pull them off and he insisted he would take them off. Suddenly I hear "WHAT THE HELL? Are you from Whoville or something? Dr. Seuss is missing some socks!" Oh my husband... He didn't have to say I had Whoville/Dr. Seuss socks. HAHAHAHA!!! That's your boy!

*The stripes are really blue and purple but the blue came out looking white on my camera from the flash.

Y'all better not be making fun of my socks either!

My husband is just not right

Today was the most wonderful day of the year...Black Friday. I was so well prepared for this shopping extravaganza that everything was ironed, set out, alarm set, packed up and organized the night before. I took the bag that is pictured as my "purse" because it is super lightweight, compact and I could wear it on my back so my hands could be free to shop. When Dwayne saw me bring out my little cinch sac he said it looked like a shoplifter bag. WTH?? Wow, just when I thought I heard it all...The man said it looked like I was going to go out to steal. The girls told me it was a smart move and that it looked fine. Although Dwayne still did not care for me using it I did so anyway. I was at my final destination and we were waiting in line to pay. I asked Dwayne to grab a small toy train for William and he hands it to me. I had my shopping bag in my shoulder and my cinch sac slung around my arm so I could grab my shopping discount pass and wallet. I accidentally put the train in the wrong bag for a split second and your boy tried to bring me out in the store. He told me I was trying to lift the toy train. What a jerk! We laughed so hard and then headed to Chick-fil-A for some breakfast. Oh the adventures of Shelly and Dwayne are always so interesting....

What makes my day right

Every morning is always a struggle getting Dwayne out the door for work. The kids are a breeze, they are always prepared to leave on time. Dwayne is a lounger. He wants to chat and chill in the morning. I am the clock watcher and the nag. I am constantly pointing at the clock telling him he needs to leave. The problem is, we are both engaging in conversation and it is so hard to stop. Dwayne is so silly in the morning with all of his corny jokes and foolishness. I can truly say that my weekday morning is never complete without our long "see ya later" kisses and hugs at the front door before he leaves for work. Some mornings he will even call before he gets to the office to tell me he misses me already. He is going to get me for telling his business!! For the record, he is still the manly man he makes himself out to be to everyone but underneath that athletic chest (haha!) is a warm and loving heart. I love that crazy man!

It's not just a hat

See the hat in the picture? Well it has been in Dwayne's life for about 10+ years now. He LOVES this hat dearly. A friend he used to work with (who is now deceased) in his 911-communications days gave it to him for Christmas. Dwayne used to work the graveyard shift and the center would be freezing due to all the high-tech equipment. So regardless of what it felt like outside, he wore it for 12 hours straight inside the workplace. He loved this hat so much that he would wear it to bed at night during the winter months. Sexy huh?

We were in Walmart together (hat included) about a week and a half ago and when we got back to the house he was frantic. He ran back out the front door and was down in my car, the yard and even his car. He runs back in the house to ask if I had his hat. I told him that I didn't. He freaked out and declared that he has lost his hat. He was thinking he dropped it in Walmart. I asked him if he wanted I would go with him to look for it. He was so sad. He was even teary-eyed. This hat was filled with sentimental memories. We did not return to Walmart that night. He had a mini-memorial via YouTube videos of old songs that reminded him of his dawg that gave him the hat. He said good-bye to his hat.

We went to Walmart a couple nights ago and I suggested we see if there was a lost and found. Indeed there was. Dwayne described his hat and viola, there it was! I think he almost cried tears of joy when he was reunited with his precious and very filthy hat. He was ALL smiles. I was happy for him. We brought it home and I washed it up and made it Downy fresh. He was whole again. He knows he will keep better track of his things. Bless his heart, he's a simple man. Can't be mad at that :)

I love my husband but....

Dwayne took the day off yesterday so that we could run some very important errands and also attend Briahnna's last volleyball game (details on that later). It is not often that Dwayne is home in the middle of the week so I was looking forward to it. Why did William feel that he should be mischievous ALL day long? Seriously, he is almost a complete angel during the week and he got into every kind of trouble possible. One of those bits of trouble required the use of a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I don't get it. My sweet child was a monster yesterday. Dwayne laughed it off and said it was testosterone hanging with testosterone. Well no thank you. Go back to work.

Wordless Wednesday

William was about 10 months in this photo.

He is so annoyed with me :)

Remember back when I posted this? If you have been reading Momfiles long enough then you know how proud Dwayne is of being a manly man. He was so annoyed today when I took out this raspberry shirt for him to wear to work. You should have heard all of his snarky comments haha! He was even more irritated with the name of the color. He was like " Now that's some bull%@(^!"

Flashback Friday

This photo was taken about 10 years ago on a day trip we took to Charlotte, NC. They were all squinting from the sun shining directly on them. The girls were four and six at the time. I even remember the clothes and shoes they were wearing. Look at Chardie and her peace sign. She got that from her daddy <---He is the tacky one. I can't believe within the next week and a half the girls will turn 14 & 16. I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend...be safe :)

The boy who refuses to grow up

Our family took a last-minute trip to the mall today to get some volleyball shoes for the girls. As soon as we entered it was like Christmas to who other than Dwayne. He gets all excited when he sees the gumball machines and before he could ask if anyone else wanted a gumball he was already getting a couple for himself.

Look, he has cheeks filled with gumballs. He got all bent out of shape when Brie put her quarter in one of the machines and got two for the price of one. He actually pouted *shakes head* Y'all shoulda heard him smackin' loudly. He said it was very necessary to chew like that. Like I say, if I never had a son I would not have missed out on much.

Old school or just a plain old fool?

Remember this a couple weeks ago?

Last night Dwayne and I went to Walmart so he could look for a couple items. He needed to get ....cassette tapes..........*crickets*............ Who does that? He was so happy they actually had it and they were $1.78. I know he is old school but I am beginning to think he is an old fool!

Let me tell you about your boy...

Tonight I made some homemade French toast for the kids to have for tomorrow morning. A certain man in our home was lured into the kitchen by the sweet smell of warm cinnamon. I informed him that it was for the next morning and he gave me some kinda look like "woman is you crazay?". The fool then goes on to tell me that he must be making me nervous with all the weight (1 pound) that he lost and some jabber about how fine and sexy he was getting. He thinks I plotted to try to put the weight back on him. All this was being said as syrup dripped down the side of his mouth. That's your boy!

Flashback Friday (sort of)

Check out your boy, old school style. He refuses to live any other way. Remember when all television service went digital? He thinks he can beat the airwaves and catch a local channel. Bless his heart.
This all comes from the man who still listens to cassette tapes. All you younger bloggers must be scratching your head wondering what that is! haha!!!

The little kid's table

Of course the biggest kid of all had to have this seat!

Wordless Wednesday

*Dwayne took these. I guess chopping the head off is the new trend in photography.

Look at what your boy found....

Dwayne and I were taking a little drive this evening and on the way home he took a little detour. Of course I knew he had to be up to something. He pulled over on a dead end street and jumped out and came back with a bag filled with these funky dirty golf balls. Then he brings them in the house and puts them in my kitchen sink to wash them off *BIG sigh* I asked him why he needed 50+ golf balls and he tells me "I was doing my civic duty to remove them from the roadway to protect the citizens of my fine city. We would not want anyone to have an accident". So I asked him "What do I do with you?" Of course he tells me I should go play some golf with him.

Signs I'm in Dwayne's car...

Some of you ladies out there might have a *husband or boyfriend that takes a lot of pride in the appearance or maintenance of their cars. Sadly I have seen some men take better care of their car over their own children. Well I have a different kind of husband and here is a list of that reminds me I am in HIS car.

1. The seat is pulled all the way back and is reclined to the point that you can sleep in that position.
   
2. When I turn the key to start the car the radio comes on FULL blast and scares me senseless.
3. The gas tank is on "E".
4. The windshield has not been wiped in a long time. I am one of those women that can't stand to see even one spot on my windshield.
5. I find Sni....um, candy bar wrappers hidden in random spots. I can't say the brand before he gets on me. Yeah, he thinks he can sneak things he is not allowed to have and I won't find out.
   
6. Why in the world is there McDonald's (sorry honey) Monopoly pieces all over the place? Again, don't think I won't find out your secrets.
7. I see fingerprints on the windows. I don't do fingerprints.
   
8. There is a sticky spot in the steering wheel. Sneaking something you shouldn't have perhaps?
9. There is pollen from the spring season still on the dashboard.
   
10. There are 50 magazines and books on the seat. Oh and of course an overdue book on CD set from the library.
11. The floor mats look like animals live on them.

Does anyone have any similar stories like this?

*Sorry Dwayne, I love you still :)