And they called it Puppy Love...

Her name is Truffles and she's a german shepherd, black lab mix.

She's adorable. We love her already and she's just been with us 24 hours.

I'm sure there will be plenty of posts about her in the future.

Also, this is my third post tonight, so scroll down for more fun info on the Mullens Clan.

Waiting for Grandma

On Thursday The 29th, Mom and Dad came to visit. Joely was so excited. In the morning she kept laying down in my bed and hollering, "Where's My grandma?"

Finally I called them and they had passed downtown Houston which means it would only be Thirty Minutes!

When I told her it would just be Thirty Minutes, she said, "OH MAN!!"

and before I knew it she was asleep on the floor.

This is what Greeted Grandma and Grandpa.

They came to watch Alice's Dance Recital, David's School Program and Quentin's Crossover Ceremony to become A Webelos Scout.

(and not that's not a typos, its Webelos for single and plural- thank you very much)

Joely turned traiterous and would only allow Grandma to help her. Only grandma was fortunate enough to watch her "pee pee." THANKS MOM!

Also mom got to play cootie and pop up pirate OVER AND OVER AND OVER-

I didn't get a shot of it, but she did play the drums on rock band, while Quentin was on vocals.

Good Times

I wonder what the poor people are eating tonight...

This is a phrase that Uncle Rex coined.

We use it whenever we are eating real good, like we did Memorial Day Weekend.

Robert smoked ribs and briscuit and it was delicioso!!!

In the tradition of Green mesquite of Austin, Robert made me briscuit tacos to take to work the next night and it really made me miss the good old days of Living well in Austin (before the Californians took over and they voted in the Anti-Christ Rick Perry) But I digress, here are the fruits of his labor.

Thanks Robert!

Even Joely knows it looks bad

Today we went and searched pond scum, so appropriatly I wore the uniform.

Joely came in my room when I was putting it on.

SHE BURST INTO BELLY LAUGHS!!!

She kept touching it like it was some strange textile.

It is.

When I walked out of the room, Quentin said it all in a word,

"Mom?"

I said, "Yes I'm wearing my uniform"
"really mom? Why do they want you to look lame?"

So we went and did the pond ecology at Sheldon Lakes State Park.

The boys learned about the food chain in the ponds and put on waders and skimmed the pond for lifeforms. It was a total blast! They skimmed the pond, and put lifeforms in a metal pan, then they put them in a big table on the outdoor classroom for better examination. They captured them in beakers with magnifying glasses.

Joely originally was on board to wade in the mud until she actually stepped in mud, she quickly sat down and took of her boots, and she was ready to go.
Sadly, Robert had to work this morning so he missed all the fun.

Dirty Socks and feet after the "wading"

Enjoying the fruits of their labors.

Here is David with his precious nymph. A dragon fly female lays her eggs in the water and that is where they hatch. They live as larvae for a spell and then morph into a nymph. They can live as a nymph for 6 months to a year. After that they morph into the dragon fly. They only return to the water to lay their eggs and the cycle goes again and again. An adult dragon fly can live up to a year in our forgiving climate, but in most places it's only 6 months.

Mr. almost a Bullfrog. He's still had a little bit of his tadpoleness and he's just getting used to his lungs. It was real neat to see. We also saw several small alligators, but like Quentin said, "where there are baby alligators, there is gonna be a mama alligator."

A green snake crossed our path too, and I screamed like a little girl. David said, "aw mom it's just a harmless green snake." So I told him, "the mambo in Africa is green and small and deadly."

To which my braniac son said,"This is texas mom."

and Quentin said, "Uncle Rex is in Africa."

The big picture in the title, is a sand table with different paw stamps so you can make animal tracks. My friend Melissa said, "I think this one is an opossum" and Alice said,"no it's not an opossum doesn't have claws" and then Melissa said,"how do you think they hold on when they are hanging upside down?" To which Alice said,"they use their little tiny opposable thumbs" And she's right you know!

All in all it was a great day. We look forward to a fun weekend!

"My Mind Can't Handle the Lonliness"

Said, Alice when I asked her why she was in my bed instead of her own bed.

I wanted to say,
"oh Please save the drama for your mama" but
I am the mama-

So I listened to the drama

And then I took her by the hand

Grabbed her new Shamu stuffed toy (from her weekend in San Antonio with Rob's parents)

and tucked her into bed.

Where She stayed until about midnight

and then she was on the couch.

We Love ALICE

We realize it's her world and

We are all just living in it.

Other than that here's what we've been up to

First off, Joely doesnt' beleive in clothes other than her panties now. She's a nature girl through and through.

This is Robert's "birthday" fire pit. Since it hadn't been put together, I claimed it as a mother's day gift, after Robert and the kids put together my real mothers day gift which was new and FABULOUS book shelves.
I'm realizing now I didn't take a picture of the finished product because I still need to paint another wall. This is Robert working it on Mother's Day Weekend, and yes it is a WHOLE WEEKEND- not just a day.

Ok so last week I was running late and figured, as long as the kids are there by 10:30 so they are not counted absent it's ok (the state mandated tests are over, books are turned in) since they are basically just "phoning it in" from now until June 5th at 11:40-
Anyhoo- David "forgot" they had a lame field trip to visit the new campus he'll attend in 5th grade. So when we got to school at 9:00 all of 4th grade was gone. I decided to take him to the 5th and 6th grade campus, but on the way over there he convinced me it would be better for everyone involved if he stayed home.He went with Joely and I to Walmart and he got his haircut and so did Joely. Joely loves spending time with "DADID or HEN" and on occasion"ASSEE" but she really has something special with her brothers. She was happy to have him stay home and kept inquiring about her "HEN" she makes them feel so good when they get home. She's a wonderful greeter. She stops everything to go running and squealing to the person entering the house. She's like a little yellow lab.

The top pictures of Alice in her recital costume were taken by Arcalee Gautier (Miss Arcalee) she can be hired for families and individuals, her sitting fee starts at 75.00 plus travel allowance. She gives you the CD of the edited images and you can develop your own keepsakes. If you want to get ahold of her, contact her via her retreat business at Texas Roundup Retreats.

You'll be glad you did.

Ok So Arcalee met Robert, the girls and I at the Houston Garden Center and took their pictures. Initially Joely wasn't very receptive, plus she was covered in a rash, she looked like she had measles, but Arcalee won her over and got a few good shots and then she edited out the gross disfugurations- and voila, we get this cutie patootie!

I'm guessing by now you're wondering (if in fact you are still reading) what happened to my poor dejected middle child. I don't know why I don't have many pix of him of late, But here is a shot from the roller skating party last Saturday. This Saturday his den (of which I am the leader) is having their final Den Activity as Bears and I'll make a post dedicated to my little Qbone or Hen as we call him now (thanks to his clone Joely)

Alice at Miss Alex's Art Show

Pictured above is our good friend Alex Pena with a cyanotype she did of Alice and put in her Senior Art Show at Houston Baptist University.

This picture was taken last April in front of our house. Alex came over to pick up her boys and Alice and Robert were blowing bubbles outside. Alex LITERALLY jumped out of their suburban with her camera in hand and took a million shots of Alice. To me the picture looks like Alice is actually conjuring up these bubbles, like a forest sprite. This one she chose to show! We feel so honored, she was only able to choose 5 of her pieces and one was of Alice. Even more exciting is we get this WONDERFUL piece of artwork to keep in our collection once the show is over.

Alex and her husband Robert have two wonderful boys Daniel and Jacob and we are so blessed to count them as our friends. We love the Penas.

It was fun to take Alice to the show and see all the neat artwork. She was a little shy and told me "I feel a little nervous with all these people saying I'm beautiful.."

To see a closeup of the cyanotype go to her gallery and look at her art portfolio. The cyanotypes are on the second page of that gallery.

Alex can make one for you, too she charges a mere $200 for the heirloom piece

you can contact her at

http://www.peatreephoto.com/

Thanks Alex you are a Rock Star!

Oxy clean really does get the Blood out!

The other day, and by other I mean it could have been yesterday or 4 weeks ago. Now that I'm working nights the days all blend together, I can't recall when it happened, but I do regret not getting the camera out.

Joely and I came home from shopping at HEB for FRESH produce, unlike the crap they try and pass off as human food here in crosby, I digress. We came home to what I can only describe as a crime scene. There was blood everywhere. I quickly gathered my wits and remembered Alice is at school, David and Quentin are at school- the Saturn wasn't parked outside so I assumed Robert was at work- I guess realistically there could have been a car jacking/home invasion but I mean whose gonna take off in the Saturn (besides sainted Robert every day?) So that leaves a couple of theories- ( I did check closets and bedrooms for severed heads/corpses- ya never know!)

1. Our house is over an indian burial ground and it's going to be like Poltergeist from here on out. Allegedly it could happen, legend states that Crosby is built on an indian burial ground..



2. The blood really isn't there, and I'm dreaming about crime scenes based on my extensive knowledge of crime and police procedure that I've learned from countless hours of dedicated crime drama watching. (man those CSI guys are thorough)



3. Something happened to Sammi-

It was actually number three. Sammi was bleeding from a wound on her paw. It was apparently like a child's head wound, it most certainly looked worse than what it was. I got her cleaned up (a herculian task) and sent her outside because I couldn't control the bleeding from the small wound and it's not exactly feasible to get a bandaid on a dog when all I have are tatoo band-aids She's fine, I took her to the vet she didn't require stitches and she's on an antibiotic along with some medicine for arthritis (she's almost 12 and just a tad obese)

I was then left with the mess of the carpet. I searched my cabinets for some blood be gone and found an oxy clean spray bottle for the carpet. I followed the instructions and before I could even suck it up in my steam cleaner the blood was gone. Pretty cool huh?

We are so glad to have Sammi and I hate that she's been sick, I hope she's around another 12 years.

Peaceful

Doesn't this just make you want to pick her up and snuggle her?

She's adorable.

This morning our friends came over to play and they wore her out.

Shortly after they left she grabbed her blankets and watched a couple of minutes of

Yo Gabba Gabba and fell to sleep.

I just love how she makes my heart warm.

It makes me think of a quote I love by Neal A. Maxwell

"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sounds of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?"

When I see her sleeping, I KNOW he's right. I first heard this quote in 2003 or 2004 he gave it in a talk in General Conference. I loved it and put it on my fridge where it remains today. Recently I borrowed/took forever a book from my mom that has sermons about the joy of being a woman. One of his sermons is in there and so was this quote. The book was printed in 1978, his message is just as timely today as it was then.

Do you Remember?

You know how there are events that you remember forever? You remember where you were, what you were doing, how you felt?

Ask anyone born before 1955 what they were doing when President Kennedy was shot and they'll tell you where they were and how they felt.

I remember in 1980 when Mount St. Helens errupted. I was eating breakfast and watching a variety type show called "Kids are people Too." They interrupted the show and said it was happening. I don't recall any images shown at that time. I remember being scared, even though the mountain was a long ways away, it was still in the same state. Later our grass would be covered in ash.

I remember walking through the upstairs commons area of my Doherty High School Library in 1986 and seeing the space shuttle with the teacher on it blowing up. I remember feeling such sadness for her and the "real" astronauts. I remember thinking it was a joke, waiting for a punch line, like it was a Saturday night Live skit or a David Letterman stunt.

In 1997 when Princess Di died, my old chum Jo was visiting Robert and I in Austin. We were settling down to watch Saturday Night live when the news broke in about the accident. We were giggling and waiting for the joke, it wasn't a joke. For whatever reason her death astounded me. I thought of her young children and her legacy of community service

Jo and I both felt bad for laughing.

Most recently I remember where I was and what I was doing when the news showed Columbine ten years ago today. I was holding my six month old Quentin and David was playing nearby. We were visiting mom and dad in Austin. I was sitting on mom's pink chair and Quentin was nursing. I dont' remember what was on tv when they broke in. I just remember crying and holding the babies close. I couldn't then and still have trouble beleiving that children can be pushed so far and react with such violence. I thought at that moment I would never allow my children to go to school. I remember thinking how bizaare that the kids had cell phones- I did not even have a cell phone at that time- I'll never forget the "boy in the window." I remember thinking that this could never happen again, and yet it has. And it happens often enough that it becomes kind of second nature to us.

Is it horrifying anymore? Do we even remember the names of the other schools and the other perpetrators or victims? Virginia Tech comes to my mind, but nothing else.

How does your Garden Grow?

Today Miss Joely the monkey helped me in the Garden. She was quick to grab a shovel and really wanted to dig up the tomato plants. I had to tell her no. She rolled her eyes dropped her shoulders and sighed "MOMMY!!!" she got over it and began climbing on her swing set.

These pictures go out to my friends of the Northland who are getting dumped on by snow and cold. We planted our tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers about a month or so ago- look how great they look!

And this is my first attempt at straweberries- look we already have one turning red. Alice and I are soooo excited about it!

Alice is soo excited that I used the three R's- Reduce Reuse and Recycle to make my strawberry pots. I had received FREE (can you beleive it) these used tires. I got them two years ago for a scout activity that never came to fruition. They've been a harvesting ground for mosquitos and now they are pots for my strawberries and cilantro. I have one left and we'll plant some Flowers in them. I think Robert may be dissapointed to not have them to complain about anymore.

Yesterday I fruitlessly drove out to Liberty, TX (the first city on the Trinity, established in 1831) to take Joely's picture in the bluebonnets. Some nurses at work said there were bluebonnets everywhere- Joe and I never found them, so we came BACK to Crosby and took pictures at our duck pond- look how adorable she is!!! She's wearing an amazing dress that's an actual heirloom, I hesitate to say hand me down -- First Harper Moulton wore it, our dear friend in Laredo. She was 4 1/2- then when Alice was 2 1/2, Harper gave it to her. And now Joely wears it. Miracle of all Miracles, I even have the original shoes. The original easter bonnet didn't make all the moves, but I treasure this dress. When Harper has a little girl, I'll send it on to her and since I know she's responsible like her mom, she'll send it back to my girls for their girls to wear. When I see the girls in this dress I am reminded of what great blessings we received as a result of our friendships with the Moultons. I'll always cherish Trevor and the kids, but it's thinking of Heather that makes me cry! I miss her so much, we had so much fun laughing and goofing off and of course myriad spiritual experiences in Laredo. Now they live the good life in San Diego, California. I just keep hoping the international business will bring them back to Zion and specifically the greater Houston Area.

For now I just have the dress and the memories
So here is our little cute patootie

Takin' a Break, Easter Style

SMOKIN'

Robert wanted a smoker for his birthday, but he got an outdoor fireplace instead. Quentin picked it out. So THANKFULLY Robert's grandma and my parents gave him money so he could get what he really wanted and this passed week I finally went to Lowe's and picked it up. He spent Saturday and Sunday smoking various meats. It was a great weekend foodwise and Robert was awesome learning the tricks of his new trade.

Keeping up with the Mullens family tradition of sometimes following tradition, the girls and I dyed eggs. Quentin was the camera man. David would have participated but it was hard enough for Joely to take turns with ALice, if she would have had to wait for two turns, she may have given birth to a cow! Poor Baby, it's hard to be two.

And as always the Hunt. It's no so much the Kill, but the thrill of th Hunt. Joely was more interested in the chocolate bunny left in her basket than finding the eggs. But when she realized they had more candy she got into it. Everyone loves an easter egg hunt, Even Sammi Jo got into the fun. The "severe weather experts" predicted torrential rain and flooding for Sunday, so we got up early to make sure the hunt would be outdoors. The "torrential" storms were pretty light weight though.

The best news of the Easter Break was finding out that Chuy's is now in Humble, TX not eggsactly in my own backyard but it's closer- so we had Easter Monday Lunch, courtesy of Chuy's! YEAH CHUY's

More to Come- Taking the cubscouts to juvenile court to see Judge Tony Polumbo in action

Reminiscings on the beautiful blue dress Joely wore for Easter (hey she even stayed in nursery all by herself-good times)

Hope all is well!

Milestones

First off I can't find my camera cord. I unplugged it to plug in another USB cord to my cricut machine and now I can't find it. Robert even cleaned the room but since he wasn't looking for it, it is not to be found. I fear I put it someplace where I wouldn't forget where it was and well you all know how that goes...
So last month March 6-8 to be exact David had his big webelos Campout. Not to toot my own horn (but I love to do that) I was in charge of the District Event. It's called "Webelos Woods" and the older Webelos have their Arrow of Light Ceremony and graduate to Boy Scouts and the younger webelos work on their activity pins and just enjoy camping with the big scouts. Our District has a ton of packs and troops and honestly I lost count of all the participants, but there were a lot. I didn't have much to do except gather registration forms. Each troop was the host and made the activities for the packs camping with them. Our pack, pack 264, has a unique group because all of the parents participate. We had 20 boys there and 25 adults. It makes it fun for the boys and even more fun for the parents. We also have an awesome camp cook. This time though we conceded and let the Boy scout Troop cook for us, and well we all left hungry, so next time back to our own camp cook! (hee hee)
Since I'm blogging about it, you know there is more to it than a campout. On thursday night I had worked until six am and came home and with Rob's help got everyone off to school and then he took Joely shopping while I slept. My friend John came by about one to get me and take our boys out of school along with some other parents so we'd have first dibs on the camp site - And then Robert was taking the girls to his parents house and he'd come up later. The thing is the boys have NOOOOO Problem coming home early from school but Alice worries about Mrs. Randolph being sad that she left early or missed school. So We get there and set up (David set up his own tent, a requirement) and we were having some good times, but I wasn't feeling real good. I assumed I was tired. I went to another part of the campground to check in the packs and troops when I started to feel real bad. EVENTUALLY Robert gets there (after eating at Chikfila) and we go back to our camp and I decide to go to bed early (8:30) by 10:00 everyone was in their tents (a stupid Boy Scout rule of the troop we were camping with) and by 10:30 I was throwing up in the woods--- VERY BELOW AVERAGE!!!!! IT was horrible and worse still because I had no way to get back home. I had rode up with my friend John and Robert had a rental car becuase his was in the shop and I didn't need to be on the rental. I didn't want Robert to leave and drive me home because what if one of the boys (they were sleeping in their own tents) woke up and we were gone, so I spent the night throwing chum out to the racoons. I caught a ride home in the morning and slept the day away and came back in the evenign.
I'll never forget Webelos Woods! LOL
Ok the title is Milestones- Joely is Potty Trained!!! You know those morons that says "They'll potty train when they are ready" I always mocked them. Well morons at times can get it right because last Tuesday Joely woke up saying. "I go pee pee in the potty" and she did and she's been doing it ever since. That first day she went at myfriend Connie's houseand also at Walmart- she even went number two- so to me that's potty trained. The last few days her diaper has been dry in the morning even. Yeah Joely!
This is definalty a sweet not bittersweet milestone. I'm greatful to have this hurdle behind us-

Another milestone (VER BITTER AND NO SWEET)is I finally talked to David about how babies come to be and he was a bit mortified. He said "I'm only going to that one time since I just want one baby" I'm holding him to that. Beleive me I hated the talk and I know there will be many more. The only thing he liked was knowing something that the other kids don't know. A neat thing about David was I could explain the science to him and he understood that. Antoher neat thing, the internet had scientific pictures of the reproductive system so that he could easily follow how things go. Although he did say, "It seems kind of wierd"
yes David you are right , it is kind of wierd. But he gained some comfort when I explained that all mammals procreate the same way, and that it's just a natural part of biology. I told him there would be more questions and feeling later, but that was the science of it all.

David's Deep Thoughts

David tend to think deep and share his thoughts while I'm in the car alone with him. Either driving him to his "tutoring" at Grandma Mullens house or on the way to Webelo Scouts. I guess he doesn't have much opportunity to talk to me uninterrupted except when we are driving around, just the two of us.
So last night on the way to Cub Scouts he's asking about the Ressurection. This is a subject that always fascinates him. He asks about the animals, hair etc. This conversation went a little different. Here it is.
D- "So mom, when we ressurect when is that going to happen?"
Me" Well we dont' know when, but when Jesus Comes Again he will call out and all the people will ressurrect, but not necessarily at the same time."
D-"what if I'm still alive then?"
Me," Well then your body will change in a "twinkling of an eye" is what the scriptures say."
D-"I wonder how that will feel"
Me'"I don't know"
D-"so will we still be able to have children after the ressurection?"
Me-"Hmm, I guess so- but I don't know"
D-"I see a flaw in the plan then."
Me'"what's the flaw mr. David?"
d-"well if nobody is ever going to die, yet we still have children, eventually the earth will run out of room"
Me-"Wow david I never thought about that."
And I was struck dumb for a spell.
David never ceases to amaze me the depth that he can think at his young age of ten. He's a real blessing and I'm glad to be his mom.

Happy Valentines Day

Meat on a Stick

What says I love you more than meat on a stick. I thought a lovely shishkabob dinner would be a fun way to eat and share our mutual adoration. I was right. Look how lovely they turned out! I used stew meat and chicken breasts. I marinated the chicken breasts in pineapple juice and the stew meat was a mixture of olive oil, garlic salt, kosher salt and of course tony chacheres.

Robert did the honor of grilling and we served them over a bed of dirty Cajun rice. Them Cajuns know how to love.
This was Friday Night, the 13th, kind of a prelude to our real celebration.

David is working on a research project about some of the great Texas Battles, in the great Revolutionary War. Not the one that started with a tea party in Boston, but before the war between the states. This was Texas' freedom from Mexico, specifically the Evil Santa Anna.

He could choose Gonzales, The Alamo (remember the Alamo), Goliad and San Jacinto. He didn't' care, so I chose for him and I chose Gonzales, where the revolution began with a flag saying, "come and get it" I thought it would be fun to go visit Gonzales and see the museum and the cannon etc. So Valentines Day we headed westbound on I-10, with the directions back home on the printer. I kind of remembered which exit to take, but I also figured it would be clearly marked, since it's such a big deal for Texas.

I was wrong, plus it was much farther away than I thought it was.

So for lunch we stopped just outside of Sealy at Mikeskas BBQ



Robert and I had been there before, back in the day ( we were still dating) . I couldn't even eat the food because of all the taxidermy hanging around, but since then I've had 4 children, I can eat anything, anywhere, so we stopped. You know a place is going to be good, if it has the menu on the outside!

Here is a sampling of the taxidermy, there were all kinds of animals. You get the feeling that you were eating a recently stuffed animal. It's creepy, but the food is excellent. We even met Mr. Mikeska, he talked to us and gave each of the kids a Susan B. Anthony dollar coin.
We ate brisket, sausage, chicken and sides of green beans and new potatoes. No french fries or Salad (poor Alice) but nobody complained. In fact I wondered out loud, "What are the poor people eating for lunch today?" IT was delicious.

Here is Alice our Vegan eating her Vegetarian BBQ Chicken-Yummo

Alice and Quentin enjoying Sausage and Brisket sandwiches

Robert sharing Green Beans with either me or Alice

The true worth of a BBQ joint is the all you can eat pickles. David loves pickles, he filled the Styrofoam up twice with pickles and managed to eat his whole sandwich and mot of Quentin's too.

Ya gotta love a place with stuffed polar bears handing out candy.

The only animal we did not see stuffed was the ever elusive jackalope, and believe me Robert combed the place looking for one. Jackalopes are real and they are indigenous to Texas.

Since there was candy, Joely would not look at the camera, she loves candy!!

Ok so we didn't make it to Gonzales, apparently it's closer to Seguin, so we turned around in Shulenburg and drove back home. When we were almost to Houston, David asked when we were going to stop in Gonzales. David is a mastermind at paying close attention to details, as long as they are in his handheld game.

We had fun anyway and we'll have to do the research the old fashioned way, on Wikapedia.