Haircut decision

I posted on Facebook a few weeks ago for suggestions from my friends on how they think I should get my hair cut/styled. I got comments ranging from short and sassy to leave it the way it is. I even had one old friend tell me that even if I went bald I would still look amazing. Of course I don't want to know if that would be true so I asked the husband. He generally gives me the same answer every time- "Do what makes YOU happy". Of course that is the worse answer you can give me. This time he actually gave me a much different answer. He told me that he wanted my hair to still be long and layered because he loves how his woman looks so exotic. Well, since Big Daddy has spoken, long and sexy it will be!

He asked, I told

Here is a conversation Dwayne and I had while I was cleaning the kitchen and he was finishing up his dinner.

Dwayne: How are you Shelly, what's going on in your mind right now. What are you thinking about?
Me: I looked over at him as I turned on the kitchen faucet and asked "Are you sure you want to know?"
Dwayne: Of course I want to know
Me: I start telling him that I came across I blueberry brunch cake that I would love to make but realized that I did not have a bundt pan.
Dwayne: You mean the kind that has a hole in the middle and you can make pound cake in it?
Me: Yes, I need one. I cook and bake all the time and have been dubbed everything from Martha Stewart to Rachael Ray yet I don't even have a bundt pan.
Dwayne: Okay well then you need to find one that you will be happy with.
Me: I also really need a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
Dwayne: You mean that high dollar thing? Why do you need one that expensive?
Me: Don't worry, our oldest daughter said that since she will be so successful in her career she will buy it for me.
Dwayne: He has this look of relief on his face.
Me: I also think about William getting older. He will be 2 on Friday. Before you know it I will be going into his classroom with cupcakes for his classmates and attending field trips. I think about William telling his big sisters that they are not the boss of him. I think about William sleeping in a big boy's bed. I think about Brie going to high school in less than 2 years. I think about Chardie graduating high school in a few years. I think about what I want to cook and the list sort of went on. I think a lot.
Dwayne: *Looking at me with a blank stare*
Me: Well dang, you asked what I was thinking!

Flashback Friday- 16 years of marriage

Today is Dwayne and Shelly's 16th wedding anniversary!

We are both very proud to be together and look forward to many, many more anniversaries to come. What a wild and crazy ride it's been. We have endured hard times, three children, recovering from hard times, fun times, crazy times, sad days, happy days, non-stop shenanigans, growth and most importantly we have loved each other unconditionally the whole time.

This felt poster from over 16 years ago has been hung up in every place we have lived. It remains on our upstairs hallway wall so each morning we walk out of our bedroom it's the first thing we see. It's a reminder of the promise that we will love each other and stay together FOREVER.

This dude loves himself!

I kinda love him too! This is his "I'm going to teach you how to love you" pose ;-)

Brotha Drinks

Here goes Papo with one of his official "Brotha" drinks. Pineapple is one of his favorites. Notice how he has the brand covered up? You know he needs some endorsement money if he shows that!! What are we going to do with him?

MEN

With a title like that I am sure you know who I am about to start talking about. What is wrong with my husband?? Seriously, this Vent Day Wednesday thing is getting out of control. Dwayne sneaks his butt in the office and gets on the computer to do what I think is to check email, blog, website... really he is watching the Vent Day videos and laughing himself to tears. Oh and he watches them over and over and laughs even harder! He has disturbed the baby from sleeping many of nights. What do I do with him!? I thought our Vent day was for just that...VENTING, not the Dwayne and Shelly variety show. Seriously, he is insane! For instance, telling everyone to email me about talking to my white blood cells. He has this Dwayne theory that you must talk to your white blood cells (WBC as She Needs says ) when you feel ill. *WTF?* He has to walk around the house like a drill Sargent motivating his WBC troops to battle. He says he does not take medication, he sends in reinforcements to help out on the front line. Coughing to him is the Army fighting a ground battle and sneezing is the Air Force battle. Now in all this foolishness he does say one thing right. Dwayne always recommends resting when the battle is taking place. However, the most obnoxious part is that he rewards his WBC's after the battle is won. He actually pats himself on the back, and drinks hot ginseng tea. He say he gives his WBC's a nice rewarding jacuzzi bath for a job well done. What can I say the guy is crazy, but there must be something to his madness. Because like he says, he rarely gets sick. Go figure.

Dwayne going green?

This morning I was having conversation with Dwayne over breakfast and he was telling me about a rain water recycling unit we can purchase. He explained that it is a big container that holds rain water and has valves attached with shut-off switches to route water in the direction you want it to go. I know we have had one of those tacky bright blue water barrels before but it was hard to actually collect water in it, plus it was just plain tacky looking! He then tells me that we can have the water go straight to the new garden we are making this Spring. For an investment of $90 we can water our garden for free. This really got me to thinking and I know I don't say this often but Mr. Dwayne might actually have a very smart idea! I guess we are both slowly going in the direction of really trying to conserve resources as best we can. With the way things are going with the economy I guess we all have to do what we can to save money.

Does anyone have one of these rain water recycling barrels? If so, would you recommend it? What things are you doing to encourage green living?

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.

Wordless Wednesday

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

How to tame a wild hubby

Pop this in the DVD player...

Sit one of these in front of him...

And offer up a few of these as needed and you are done!

This is a winning combination, you can't go wrong. The movie will keep him focused on the TV (as if it was possible to focus on anything else with the TV playing). The food will fill his gut and the beer will calm him down. Perfect. The end.

Happy 35th Birthday Papo!!

On Thursday June 26th, Dwayne celebrated his 35th birthday. We stayed in and had a nice dinner and drinks. We got a small cake since his office is throwing a luncheon for him today. We don't want to be caked out. Here are a few photos...

Wait a minute...did you think this was supposed to be all about daddy?

Papo and William make a wish.

I thought about baking a homemade milk chocolate cake with yummy cream cheese icing topped off with a few chocolate curls. As you can see I went the smart way~!

Papo and his babies. Of course I would be the one across from them taking the photo.

Brontosaurus Soap??

This morning Dwayne gets out of the shower and calls me to the room frantically. I am thinking maybe he did not have a towel or ran out of toilet paper. Instead he was asking me what the heck was in our shower. He said it looks like Brontosaurus soap! LOL!! I got this awesome scented soap as a gift from a friend and thought I would try it out. Would you believe this soap weighs in at 12 ounces?! Look at an average full sized bar of soap (just put in this morning) next to my bronto soap. It fits in your hands like a big russet baking potato. Funny thing is the box it came in says it is 100% pure vegetable based soap. That's one bar of soap that would scare me if I dropped it! I swear it would probably break a toe!

My favorite boys

This is a sweet little snapshot I took this morning before Big Daddy left to head into the office. It is so hard for him to leave each morning. I started back driving carpool today and it feels good to be back into my routine. I hope everyone has a great day!

Honey-Do List Maker

I found this great tool online that lets you make your own customized Honey-Do list and there is even a kiddie list you can make! I made one for the weekend for my honey. You can choose your background and there is even a key to show levels of priority. Can you tell that I have less than two weeks before baby William comes and I am losing my mind?

The Bounty® Honey-Do List Maker
Make it. Send it. Get it done.

Update

Hello, I know I have not been posting much lately. Been pretty busy doing NOTHING. Yes, that's right NOTHING. I know it sounds crazy but it has been just what I needed!! (Also it is orders from my hubby and children). Hey, if your spouse summons you to laying on the recliner all day eating bon bons and watching the soaps then who am I to object?!!! Hell, I will probably never get the opportunity to be a bum again so I am taking full advantage of it. I have my baby shower tomorrow so I will post photos of all the fun.

Baby update

I had another doctor's appointment and all looks great. Little William gained a whopping 1/2 pound in just one week! I am now starting the 5 week countdown. My doc says that baby breathes and moves like a champ. Tell me about it....I was up for about 3 hours waiting for him to calm down so I could sleep. How about Dwayne was next to me snarling away (not snoring) and would periodically ask me what he could do to help me get settled. If only it were that easy! I can't wait to be able to sleep on my back and tummy again!!

Daddy's the man!

We just celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary!! Instead of purchasing gifts for each other, we decided to get baby stuff instead. Here is Daddy working diligently to put together the changing table (which I bought on clearance at 50% off!!!!). He looks like a BIG ole kid!

Of course he has to do his Super Dad pose to show off his hard work. Boy, you sure can hurt yourself with the tools they provide inside the box for you!

Baby to the right

I am noticing that the little baby widget to the right is very scary! It is not as scary as it was in the earlier weeks but nonetheless, it is pretty creepy looking! It reminds me of the Ally McBeal baby! My crazy husband asked why the baby does not reflect our ethnicity. Only my husband would say that!

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!

The results are in! (Part 1)

Today was the big day... the level 2 ultrasound. The one ultrasound that can possibly determine the gender of your baby. We all had minimal sleep last night because of the anxiety, but we were all there together and finally it was about to happen! Dwayne just had to snap a photo of me laying on the bed (stop making fun of my stretch marks!).

I know you're all wanting to know...is it a girl or a boy? Watch the video to find out! Be sure to turn the speakers up!



After the numerous phone calls, emails and text messages, I was totally exhausted. My first son Milo climbed on top of me and we took a well deserved nap.