I had such a fun birthday week! Here are a few photos...

Here is a video Dwayne took. You know how he loves his videos!

Getting the H1N1 vaccination has been the talk of the nation as well as the #1 subject in the Ismail household. We have been debating over and over about what to do. Many years ago when Dwayne worked in a big corporation (and the economy was stable) the company paid for all employees to get a traditional flu shot. Dwayne got his and ended up with the flu a couple weeks later. I think this had made me feel negatively about the flu shot as far as the fact that there is no guarantee you will not get sick. It's simply a preventative measure. Now with this newer strain of flu in the air we all have to make decisions on how we will handle things for our families. We did so much research and watched at least a dozen documentaries and still it seems like a tough choice as to what we should do.
He gets a kick out of sitting on the fireplace. It's a little scary and Dwayne actually thinks we will still be able to burn fires this winter, yeah okay.



food products packaged in pink to show support. We always donate to a team that does the Cancer Walk each year. We also collect the Yoplait Yogurt lids (the pink ones) and mail them in. Yoplait donates 10 cents per lid and lids must be received before 12/31/09. It's a small way to give especially in a tough economy. Remember that every little bit counts!

I am sitting in my office at the computer and feeling a subtle cool breeze sweep across my legs and the backs of my arms. I just love it. Fall. It is so nice to open up the windows and let some cool, fresh air in. It's so nice to drive down the road and have leaves come down over your windshield as if they were raindrops or snowflakes. This truly is my favorite time of year. Of course living in South Carolina means you are still subject to a few more Summer-like days before the true Autumn air settles in for a while. I put my Fall tablecloth on the dining table and I will go to the store to buy a scarecrow for my front yard. We will take William to the pumpkin patch of course and it is going to be an adventure this year. With all of his running and climbing he will really get to enjoy the experience this time around.
Features the Yo Gabba Gabba! signature mix of eclectic musical genres that will keep parents, preschoolers and fans on their feet throughout the generous 21-song set. We are so excited about this CD since our whole family likes to get our dancey dance on~! Some songs on this CD are: -Party In My Tummy -Get The Sillies Out -Nice & Easy -Goodbye Song and many more! My daughters have already asked about MP3 downloads! MUSIC IS AWESOME! will be available on CD at Target, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and independent music retailers nationwide. You can also pre-order here.
Now don't be mad at us. We are taking a break this week from Vent Day. It's been a hectic week so we are trying to not get too overwhelmed with everything. We promise to be back next week.
Today I received a random letter in the mail that was addressed from one of the elementary schools in our school district. I was not sure what it was about since neither of my girls have ever been to that school. It turned out to be an invitation to join a free playgroup once a week for William at a local church that happens to be located directly across from Briahnna's middle school. They offer story time, art & music, rhymes & finger play and free play. It is at the perfect time too, 10:30-11:30 which fits in before nap time. I am going to sign up and maybe it will help William be a bit more social. The great part is if it does not work out after a few times we had nothing to lose. I will let you all know how it works out. I look forward to meeting other parents with little ones Will's age in my area. I think it will be fun for the grown-ups as well.


I was lucky enough to receive a sample bottle of Downy® Simple Pleasures® Orchid Allure Liquid fabric softener to review. All I can say is WOW. I am already a very loyal Downy® user and a huge fan so this was a fun review. The scent is absolutely divine. I have to fight with my daughters to stop using it all up! They said their friends are always complimenting them on how good their practice shirts smell every day. Of course every Mom loves for their family's clothes to smell fresh and clean. I also like the fact that it is not colored, it's like a pale white so there is less fear of having fabric softener streaks or stains on your clothes.
I decided to make a list of all the latest strange and cute things the boy is doing these days.


Of course we had our big guy that was thrilled to bits to get a photo op with Cookie Monster! He pulled me aside and asked if I thought they would let him take a solo shot with him. Imagine my big cookie monster with the real-life one! In true Dwayne form he just had to throw up the peace sign since he was posing with a really cool celebrity.
As we walked into the Colonial Life Arena we took in the sights of this huge venue and had to walk down what felt like 200 steps to get to the floor seats. The big treat is that we got to sit in the third row away from the actual stage. I have never sat that close at any show so we really had the best view! When the show started we were told to get ready because it was going to get amped up really fast. That was no lie. The action was astonishing! The set, the lights, the music, singing, dancing and the overall mood was amazing!!
I took a moment to look at the crowd of moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, children and friends and it was so fun seeing all the smiling faces! I saw grown men singing the songs and swaying back and forth to the music. We were in awe of how awesome the choreography was. These characters had mad rhythm!!! It was neat how the some of the characters interacted with the crowd.
The show was so impressive and I loved how a lot of familiar songs that were made over into pre-school friendly songs. I was really shocked to see how much my teenage daughters were drawn into the show. They can't wait for the next one that comes to town!
I know I will be taking William to another Sesame Street Live production when he is a couple years older so that he can better understand what is going on. I certainly recommend this show for families when it comes to your city. I am not sure who loved it more...the adults or the little ones!!