Yo Gabba Gabba! Live- There's a Party in my City!

We were so fortunate to get tickets to go see Yo Gabba Gabba! Live- THERE'S A PARTY IN MY CITY! We could not believe they actually came to our small city of Columbia, South Carolina. I will say that the venue was packed and the fans came in all ages. The crowd was so full of energy and excitement. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook then you would know how excited I was! All of the "kids" were given DJ Lance Rock glasses when we entered. Obviously you see which two got them...

Although Chardie and Brie are 16 & 14 they were so excited to be there to see the show. The music was amazing and we were all jammin' to our favorite songs. William was immediately drawn to all the sights and sounds. Dwayne and I were concerned about how William would do since he tends to get a bit overwhelmed with very loud music and large crowds. He showed us what a big boy he was. We were all so happy with how much he enjoyed the show!

If you took a good look around the audience there were so many smiles and such a sense of family and happiness all around. DJ Lance Rock and the Gabba crew were so entertaining and really made the audience a big part of the show with all of the interaction. Even when they did the intermission there was no time to get restless, they kept the music going and the balloon drop was a HUGE hit! At least the little ones has something to keep them busy while you waiting for the show to continue.
Now the best part that Dwayne and I especially loved was when Biz Markie came out to do Biz's beat of the day. I had to warn Dwayne when Biz asked who wanted to come up to spit a beat with him that he could not go up there. He was sad. No really, he was so sad. He wanted to go onstage.

It is unanimous when I say that this was the best show we have ever seen! The girls even said that they would have missed other social functions to see that show again! Now when you hear that from teenagers then you know it was amazing!! I think if you are a Yo Gabba Gabba! fan then you should really check it out for yourself if they come to your city. We left with happy hearts. Little William is still singing the "Good-bye" song days later :)

Warm Buddy Review and Giveaway {closed}

**Contest Closed**
Winner is #91~ Congratulations!

"Everybody Needs a Warm Buddy"

I have been introduced to a new item that made me ask myself ~"Where have you been all my life?". It's called the Warm Buddy Body Wrap and it is my family's most fought over item. What is a Warm Buddy Body Wrap? It is a heat/cold pack that is a unique alternative to traditional electric heating pads or hot water bottles. It is made from the softest designer fabrics and contains natural grains and lavender flowers for a soothing aromatherapy experience.The wrap has an inner pack that you remove to heat up in the microwave or it can be placed in the freezer. It is 10"x20" so it is a really good size.We have used it heated up and we love it! The pack stays warm for about an hour and it gives great relief from back, shoulder and leg pain. Dwayne was in an auto accident a few months ago and he has been suffering from back and leg pain. The Warm Buddy Heat Wrap has been such a big help and the best part is NO drugs are needed! This would have been ideal for the girls to have during volleyball season for sore shoulders and knees. I think the Warm Buddy Body Wrap would make a great gift for the holidays for anyone on your list! It is one of those items that is perfect for the person who already has everything. I think grandparents, parents, in-laws and athletes would truly benefit from this product. Warm Buddy offers a variety of other therapeutic items such as the Anti-Stress Shoulder Wrap, Aromatherapy Sleep Mask,Warming Booties and so much more! The great folks from Warm Buddy have offered one lucky Momfiles reader the chance to win their very own Warm Buddy Body Wrap (a $40 value)

To Enter:
*Mandatory- Check out the Warm Buddy site and come back and let us know what product catches your eye.

For additional entries: (please leave a separate comment per entry method for each entry to count)
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Example: Get rid of those aches and pains with a @WarmBuddy over @momfiles http://blog.momfiles.com/2010/11/warm-buddy-review-and-giveaway.html

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This giveaway is open to Canada and US Residents only. Contest will end on November 19, 2010 at 9:00 pm EST. Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be contacted by email. Please be sure to have a visible email address if you do not have a Blogger profile.

Disclosure: I was provided with a Body Wrap for review. All opinions are 100% my own as always.

Tide with Acti-lift

I am such a laundry detergent snob. I truly love Tide. Tide now has Acti-Lift which helps to soften up tough stains that can be hard to get out. I find this very helpful with William and Dwayne's clothing since they make the most mess! I recently started using the scents with a touch of Febreze and the whole family loves the way everything smells. I wanted to share with you that the P&G brand site has $1 off coupons off almost all the Tide products. I know a lot of you love online shopping. Some of the items will even give you a bonus product at checkout. Just thought I would share since I did not realize you can purchase Tide online. Oh yeah and they take PayPal! :)

The Man Room

We recently did a little home improvement project in Dwayne’s Man Room. Yeah, I let him have a room all to himself. I say he is lucky. I would have otherwise turned it into a playroom. I really wanted to get some new bathroom furniture, a bedding set or repaint the kitchen but the Man Room project won.

So the Man Room project was to replace the old carpet with new flooring and we opted to go the frugal way by doing the work ourselves. We went with a higher end vinyl tile (self-sticking) since the base of the floor is concrete. Dwayne let William help with the rolling of the first few tiles. Don't laugh at the rolling pin, I did say we were doing things frugally!
When the boy started doing wild things like this it was time to send him upstairs to his sisters. Things started to get rather sticky (literally) It took us about 7 hours since we had to cut all the detailed edges and corners. Those were the moments I wanted to jump out the window. I could not wait to be DONE!
We were both is so much pain we could not believe it. Your boy Dwayne behaved like the usual fool and I did have to say a few (dozen) choice words. Let's just say he likes to try some really dumb things instead of doing it the proper way and I have to get on him. Thankfully we made it through and it came out really beautiful~ besides his wall art. His favorite stuffed bass. People always ask him if he caught it. He tells them "Sho nuff, caught it at an estate sale!".
I am kind of jealous now. I think this color is so nice with his custard colored walls.

Now we are thinking about the next project.... Who knows what the next Shelly & Dwayne adventure will be!

Celebrating excellence

The Ismail family went out to Red Robin for a special lunch in honor of Chardie and Brie. We wanted to celebrate their excellent report cards. They both got all A's and 1 B. Brie's one B was a 92 (an A is a 93) so she was very annoyed. Chardie was expecting to have 3 B's with how tough her college level classes are in combination with the volleyball season. She was able to pull it off and she currently ranks #4 in her sophomore class. We are so proud of both girls for being such diligent students and all around sweet girls. Now we can't leave little William out, he is doing a great job with his "school" time at home. He is making great strides daily and we are very proud of him. Here are a few photos of our lunch out...

Dwayne took this photo (the reason why he is not in it). I love these 3 sweet children!
Brie did not want to be in this picture because Daddy was being aggravating. The girls warned him before entering the restaurant- NO talking, NO foolishness, NO singing, NO drawing attention to any of us. Of course he broke at least 3 of these rules!!
We seldom go out to sit-down establishments to eat but this was a pleasant experience. William really behaved well and enjoyed his 'bottomless' fries!

If you have never had a burger from Red Robin I would recommend the Mt. Olympus Burger. It was divine!!