Alice the Cat

This is Alice with her friend Leilani, it was Leilani's 5th birthday and the theme was carnival fun- More info and pix to come, I've got an "appointment"

Kid Rock, Rocks

I added a new song of Kid Rocks to my music playlist. One of my friends was suprised that I like Kid Rock because he's sooo nutso. Well I have always liked him because his music is different and fun. I do however only listen to his edited songs- because well he can be inappropriate. So this new song, which is playing right now on your computer, is called All Summer Long. I just love that it starts out like Werewolves of London and goes into Sweet Home Alabama- It's fun and even though Robert just showed me the song on You Tube on Tuesday, I'm singing it now, "all summer long."
So my playlist shows my eclectic music taste. I like most genres, but frankly I'm not a fan of any of the "grunge" music or anything that derives from it. Like I never liked Nirvana, so consequently I'm not a fan of The Foo Fighters, which of course bugs Robert and Quentin who LOVE the FOO, I've tried to enjoy them, but I don't like it. It's hard for me to say what I like the best, but I lean towards Lyle Lovett when I am thinking about my life with Robert, from songs like "She's no Lady, She's my wife" and "You're not from Texas", he defines us- LOL- One time Robert took me to his concert, we were still crazy in love dating kids and this one song, "Who loves you better than I" made me burst out in tears- it was in the Backyard in Austin. A Real Romantic cool Austin hip joint. I just found out its in its final season and will be closing it's doors forever- That Makes me sad because Robert and I spent a lot of our dating time there and heard Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earle Keen jr. and The Great one Willie Nelson. And now it will be gone forever- Bummer man- I always wanted to take the kids there and tell them, this is where I knew I'd marry your dad and be happy for the rest of my life.
I hate Austin now all the cool places are gone, another cool wonderful place was SouthPark Meadows. It was this great open field, perfect for fun concerts. Sadly to quote my friend Carla, "They paved Paradise and put in a parking lot" or worse it's now a mega shopping center with every shop you can find and a Chick-fil-a. Robert and I had one of our worst dates there, it was the HORDE fest (horizons of rock developing everywhere--Dave Mathews, Blues Traveler, someone else and Lenny K.) he sent me to get drinks and we got seperated and I was sooo mad at him, but at least I had the money, it was crowded and finally after an hour or longer we found each other and to this day we don't know whose fault it really was. But the good news that was the first time to hear the great "let love rule" of Lenny Kravitz. After listening to the master we got over our anger at each other and we did in fact Let love rule- to this day--- In fact that was about 12 years ago, I think, I'm pretty sure it was in July, it was hot.
At least in Austin you can still eat at Hula Hut and you can still swim naked at Hippie Hollow, by some hemp art at the pecan street festival and enjoy an outing with your dog and celebrate the end of spring finals at Eeyores Birthday Party ---But if you want to get around you have to pay the tolls inflicted upon the state by the anti-Christ Governor, Rick Perry and the crazy traffic courtesy of the californication of Austin-

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

Quentin and his Masterpiece

So last night Quentin roasted a chicken and baked some Mac N Cheese, He also made some biscuit rolls and a dessert called "almost oreos"-- All courtesy of Kelsey's Kitchen Recipes (link in previous post)
All the food was great, the Mac N Cheese didn't sound good, but since he really wanted to try it I thought, what the heck- it was yummy- Alice declared, "This is the best food ever"
David said (of the chicken) "Very Good Quentin"- he also liked the green beans and the biscuits, the green beans weren't from a recipe. I started Quentin on a little cookbook, we printed out the recipes and he's keeping them in a notebook- to use when he's on his food show!

Here are som pictures of the event

Cleaning the bird

David likes the biscuits- These tasted a lot like Red Lobster Biscuits, next time we are going to add some sharp cheese and some garlic

Sammi didn't get any love---

And finally the Almost Oreo

That was easy

I just added a new background, as you can see, from the cutest blog on the block- and it was easy! So if you are bored with your background, all of their backgrounds are free-

So keeping up with our obsession of Kelsey Nixon, Quentin and I found her website, it wasn't too hard- Click here to see it. Quentin was excited and is planning a menu, I'll take him shopping for ingredients tonight. He is even planning on making a salad for Alice.

Quentin and I are sad....

Last night on the Next Food Network Star, they eliminated cute Kelsey Nixon.I felt so bad for her and well for Quentin, he didn't understand why they destroyed her dream. It was kind of fun to talk to him about how happy she appeared at the end, It was a teaching moment and I told him that she was being a graceful loser and that is how we should be in any competitition, even on the video games. He was a little happier when he saw that she would be back on as a sous chef for next week. One of the contestants made a lobster macaroni and cheese with a panko crust that Paula Dean said was the best she ever had. Quentin wanted me to make it for him (at eleven at night) but I told him I'd make it today, however it calls for some cheeses I've never heard of and I highly doubt I'll find in my little Walmart- Can I just rant that I can't stand Bobby Flay? He always seem so pompous and frankly he's never cooked anything that I would even want to eat. He seemed to be the driving force behind Kelsey's elimination, siting her "inexperience" grrr grr grr--
Anyway enough on that, my personal chef Adrienne has tagged me in her blog to share a recipe, so I'm using a recipe of Rachel Ray's for a Greek Salad. I've never made it, but I could and I could have it on the table in 30 minutes. I think Alice and I would really enjoy this.

3 vine ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 European seedless cucumber, cut into bite-size chunks

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chunked 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chunked

1 cubanelle pepper, seeded and chunked

1 cup Kalamata black olives Several sprigs

fresh flat-leaf parsley, about 1/2 cup

2 (1/4 pound) slices imported Greek feta

1/4 cup (a couple of glugs) extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons (3 splashes) red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed in palm of your hand

Coarse salt and black pepper

Pita breads

Combine vegetables, olives, and parsley in a large bowl. Rest sliced feta on the top of salad. Combine oil, vinegar, and oregano in a small plastic container with a lid. Shake vigorously to combine oil and vinegar and pour over salad and cheese. Season with salt and pepper and let the salad marinate until ready to serve. Serve salad with pita bread blistered and warmed on a hot griddle or grill pan.

Thanks for the Tag Adrienne! I tag Hiedie and Jenny to share a recipe, either an old favorite or something new!

So Glad to know Galad....

Galadriel Hutchings-with her littlest Hutchings

Today's fun was at Galadriel's (galad's) daughter's fifth birthday. I took my camera and the batteries are dead, so I had to steal this picture of her from her website. I met Galad in November 2000, Quentin had just turned one and David was two and I was a basket case. I decided to start a "mommy group" with the ladies from my church. At the time several new people had moved in and I decided to be brave and call and invite them to the park with my friend Adrienne. So I called and left a stupid message on Galad's machine, I was certain she would think me a freak and hit delete. Fortunatly she was out of town and Wade called me back and said Galad would LOVE to be in the group and he'd make sure she came when she got back from California. Little did I know that would start a wonderful friendship.

I'm so glad that she's a non-biological aunt to my kids and they love her. David would rather be with her and her kids than with us any day. Even though Robert and I moved away from Houston for four years, we stayed in touch. Fortunatly when I moved away, unlimited long distance came into being and with cell phones, we were able to still talk through things. Usually I talk to her 5 out of 7 days, the weekends I usually call if something really traumatic happened ( a new calling at church or ER visit)

There are times that Galad talked me back of the ledge, I'll always be greatful for her love and friendship. I will also be greatful for her children, I love seeing them grow and spending time with them too. If only I lived in her side of town...

Here is a now funny story, but at the time the only thing stopping me from beating the boys into oblivion was Aunt Galad.-- I had put the boys down for a nap and I thought they went right to sleep. Robert was at work and back then, I NEVER called him at work- so I go to check on the boys a couple of hours later and they had not been asleep, but had carefully unloaded an entire HUGE MEGA SAMS SIZE container of vaseline. They had painted themselves, the walls, their bedding, the floor, it was a nightmare- I cried and cried and cried. I put them in the tub, but nothing would help, because it's designed to detract water- I had no idea where to start, so I called Galad and cried and cried- She assured me I'd laugh later, and I'm happy to report that now 7 years later, I can laugh and I can't wait to share this story with my grandkids!

So this blog goes out to Galadriel!

A side note, I actually have two friends named Galadriel, how wierd is that? I mean how many Galadriel's do you know? Probably none and really only true Tolkien fans even know the signifigance of their name. It's even more significant because these ladies are in their (early) thirties, so it's long before the movies brought Tolkien to the masses.

The other friend Galadriel goes by the name of Gala

Check out my Slide Show!

Quintana Beach

View from our Cabin

We just got home from our Beach Vacation- It was sooo much fun. David and Quentin initially compared it to the white sands of Florida and were a little dissapointed, but it didn't take them long to enjoy the Warm Waters of the Texas Gulf Coast. I loved pretending it was our own private beach, since hardly anyone was visiting the beach. It's such a nice quiet place, it is just a little beach town, the perfect place to relax.

This is Little Joely on the way to the beach, She's a pepper too!

I am pretty worn out from all the fun and I'm going to rinse off the beach from this morning, enjoy my slide show- Thanks for looking! Oh and I previously reported that we were going to be in Surfside, well I was wrong, Quintana is NEAR Surfside, but it's a whole other town.

I'll be sure to wax nostalgic about the whole trip so look forward to my pearls of wisdom in a future post!

Adult Swim

This Evening we went to the pool, after a few minutes of swimming, it was time for the dreaded whistle calling for "adult swim, " few things make David mad, but adult swim is one of them. Luckily we were able to get back in the water real quick, just about 15 minutes later. The pool is fun, with a big kiddie wade pool , a small pool that goes to 4 feet and then a big one.

Alice and Quentin (in the front)

You won't find me in the kiddie pool or the 4 foot pool, there are too many kids without diapers in them and too many warm spots (if you catch my drift). I think a lot of adults don't know how to swim, because the big pool area is usually pretty sparse. I'm glad the boys can swim and that Alice is finally agreeing to swim. Joely the fish loves her suit and is happiest in the deep waters.

Deep in the middle is David's head

After that I stopped taking pictures. We are heading to Surfside Texas tomorrow for two days in a cabin on the beach. It will be a lot of fun to wake up and be at the beach and just be beach bums. It's also a great blessing to have Robert on vacation to join us. We'll head out early and go to the Sea Center in Lake Jackson. We've never visited it and it's free and on the way, so we'll check it out- Then it's the beach until Friday afternoon.

We found out about Surfside from some friends in Henderson. It's a nice sleepy town on the Gulf and the beach is a lot less crowded than Galveston. I fell in love with it and we've visited for day trips a lot. This will be our first (but not last) overnight trip. The boys are bringing their boogie boards and snorkeling gear and I'm bringing a book to read and a nice lounge chair.

So I won't be blogging for a few days, unless of course we are equipped with WI-FI- but I doubt that-

In my previous post, my friend Jenny Bybee was teasing me (I hope she was teasing- I would hate to offend her) that I didn't give her blog a cutesie name like the rest of the ones on my list-- so I did change her blog name to the BEST BLOG EVER- Jenny is someone I met when Robert and I lived in Spring Branch. Back then I only had two boys and she had one. I always admired her because of her patience and her peaceful way of raising her cute little son. She was always so healthy too and I loved hearing her talk about whole wheat and different recipes she would try with all the good for you ingredients. She graciously helped my friends Adrienne and HEather and I collate a huge cookbook for our old ward. I never told her how much I admired her, and so this is a shout out to you JENNY BYBEE- you rock and always have- I should have told you earlier.

I was thinking that I don't often tell people the good effects they have had on me, and this morning I was contemplating the hymn "Each Life that Touches us for Good" and one verse says

"What greater gift does thou bestow, What greater goodness can we know, Than Christ Like ways whose gentle ways, Strengthen our faith, enrich our days"

So I guess that's why this post ends about an old friend that I'm glad to still be in contact with- I guess I should thank Al Gore too, he's the one who invented the internet, which makes it DANG easy to stay in contact!

Life is Good!

Morning started about 10:30 this morning, Robert reading the paper and two little clingons watching Scooby Doo-

The agenda for today was to include Brazos Bend State park, but I thought we could do without the drive or the heat, even though it's listed as one of the top ten parks in THE NATION to visit. To me it's not worth visiting in the summer if I can't swim, and Brazos Bend is chock full of alligators so there isn't any swimming. Suffice it say Robert was able to take over the streets of Liberty City and then he took the older kids to the Crosby Park. Joely took a nap and I worked on a layout, but mostly I listened to music and read the blog world, which I am now addicted to.

Dinner was grilled chicken breasts, roasted squash, aparagus and whole wheat penne pasta (Inspired by Jenny's Blog) David nearly barfed with the pasta, but everyone else liked it.

Lunch was hot dogs for some and broccoli cheese soup for others, since nobody was awake in time for breakfast we didn't have any! A great way to keep costs down, sleep through meals!

Don't tell Alice, but Joely used her spot on my craft desk- she's sure a cutie and was doing good with the scizzors!

And so ends day three of vacation....

Quentin, aka Quentonious Maximus, wanted to play Boogie on the Wii, so we did a little Karaoke and dancing until the Next Food Network Star finished recording (seriously, we can't watch commercials anymore, it's sooo last year) Alice and Joely fell asleep after Boogie went off. David only likes to watch the show someone cries, (Annoying Lisa always does) and Robert needed to try and complete one of his games that he never has time for because he's always working-- So Quentin and I watched it together (he's always good about watching my shows). The whole time he's rooting for cute Kelsey Nixon (vote for her as fan favorite) and so am I, But I ask Quentin Why do you like her so much? "She reminds me of Mrs. Butler" is what he said, aaahhh it always goes back to his beautiful kindergarten teacher. A couple of weeks ago when they called Kelsey annoying, he got really mad. I just know my future daughter in law will be a tiny elfen blonde with a lot of perkiness.

Robert is now sleeping and the boys are playing Halo three and I'm going to call it a night. Today was a great day and I'm so glad we have another week of Robert home so we can stay up late and sleep late and have fun all day!


Here are close comparisons of Mrs. Butler and Kelsey Nixon



Mrs. Butler is not holding a wodden spoon but they do look VERY similiar!

Funny, it doesn't look clean.....

But trust me it is...

This is my "craft desk"- Robert lovingly refers to it as my "crap" desk. Before I started to clean this up It was piled high on top and all over the floor. I guess I should have done a before and after shot. It sure makes it hard to find things and make things, when I have my supplies all over the place. I find great peace and inspiration when I have my desk cleared for working.

On one side I do all the stamping, I even have a special mat, just for that and then I turn 45 degrees and I have my cutting/glitter/color/embellish mat. That mat was at one time my quilting mat. Once upon a time I learned how to quilt, I'm just glad I never threw away my tools as they have come in handy when I do my scrapbooks.

I have a couple of projects I want to get done, one is my poor mom's mother's day gift and my poor dad's fathers day gift. It's a good thing they love me and accept my late gifts. I also need to finish my promised pages for Delyla's Book and actually scrapbook some pictures for the kids books. I don't ever feel stressed that I don't have all their books up to date, I know I'll have plenty of time to do them, the important thing is taking the pictures and keeping them in order. That I actually do! I also don't worry about doing things chronologically, that get's pretty boring. Sometimes I'll do some old Holiday pictures or Baby Pictures, but what I like to do most is what we are doing now.

I am greatful I have a creative outlet and that this is now being considered an art form, because I can't paint, draw or sew, but I have fun doing my pages and using different elements. I ADORE stamping and doing fun things with the stamps and inks. I know one day the kids will be proud of mom's works of "heart" and they will serve as a testament, that I was a Good Mommy!

I'm waxing a wee bit nostalgic because when I was clearing things up, I found an envelope of old pictures of Quentin and David (before we had the girls) and I realize how much the've grown- soon they'll be nine and ten and next month (YIKES) they'll be in third and fourth grade.

I can't beleive that Alice will be leaving me to go to the mean streets of Crosby Kindergarten, she's been my partner for these last three years without her brothers being home. I told Robert he needs to be sure to take her first day of school off, because I'll be home crying in the fetal position.
(not pictured is my paper supply--My paper is all neat in 12x12 drawers, so neat I sometimes can't find jus the "right" piece of paper....)

MMMMM Chocolate

The lost art of the Fondue

Tonight was Fondue night, and I believe that eating Chocolate Fondue with children is and should be a bloggable event. For Christmas this year I got a fondue pot and we began enjoying the lost art of the fondue. Quentin saw the pineapple in the grocery bags yesterday and suggested we dip it in chocolate. This was Joely's first time to be involved. She was more interested in licking the marshmallows and feeding Robert.
This was a great way to end day two of Robert's vacation, oh and Joely called him Robert today, very cute!

Aunt Elaine's Birthday

Robert's Grandma, Annie Mae Elizabeth Johnson Mullens, (from now on to be called Maw Maw) was girlhood friends with Elaine. Elaine married Maw Maw's Uncle Cecil Kirkland and became her best friend's aunt. We love Aunt Elaine and were happy to get together with her family and friends to wish her a happy birthday. I hope when Robert and I are 85 our birthdays will be filled with that many friends and family.

Let Freedom Ring

Freedom Fest Fireworks in Baytown Texas

Ok so my camera isn't great at taking pictures of the dark night illuminated by incendiaries, but it is great at taking pictures of cheesy kiddos

Joely just hit David and took his Glasses, He still gave her some Kool-aid

Joely now says CHEESE

It's officially a Mullens family tradition, we go to Baytown for the fourth of July Fireworks. It's a tradition because we've now done it two years in a row. We head down Garth Road and park at the Harris County Annex building for Mental Health. We have a great view and no crowds, we just have to fight with the extra large Texas Size Mosquitos. This year Grandma and Grandpa Mullens came and enjoyed the show. Last year they stayed behind and kept little Baby Joely at their house, this year, she is far too old to be left behind.

While I was driving to get groceries today, I saw several U-Haul Trucks, which gave me some horrible flashbacks to indedpence days of the past. Twice Robert and I were messing with U-hauls, one that was just a move across Houston and the one two years ago when we were getting ready to move to Crosby from East Texas, I hope we never revisit the U-haul company again, on any holiday- especially in the middle of summer. Both times I was pregnant, aah the nightmares of those days!
The show continues in Crosby, our neighbors are setting off all manor of fireworks, roman candles and things that I'm pretty sure you should have special schooling and a liscense from the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to light. It reminds me of Nightime over Baghdad during the first Gulf War or New Years Eve in Laredo- either way, we can watch from the comforts of our front room.

Alice Doing the Boot Scootin' Boogie

This is from Mrs. Carol's Dance Recital - Alice's class was by far the best!

Crazy Joely!!!

The Next Food Network Star

Nothing says "Daddy is on Vacation" like Robert taking over the kitchen. He always gets lots of help and he's patient enough to enjoy the help. Right now the Mullens Men are making some "salsa fresca." The Princess Alice washed all the veggies and handed them off to the big boys for cutting. Later tonight we will enjoy Fajitas and salsa. Tomorrow's Menu includes Grilled Chicken, Grilled Corn on the Cob and Asparagus.

Last night when Robert came home from work, he was dancing because he is on vacation, for "ten sleeps." When the boys were small we would help them understand the concept of time and waiting by letting them know how many times they would sleep before the event would occur.

We all agree, it's great to have Dad home!

Greetings From The San Jacinto River

In the Newport Subdivision of Crosby Texas, for a mere $40 a month you get such amazing ammenities like your street being torn up, a lovely duck pond with a fountain, an olympic sized pool, an elementary school for just third and fourth grade and the best of all, the River Beach! Located on the picturesque San Jacinto River, we have a private beach. We love to come here more than the pool. If you ask David it's beacuse he hates "adult swim"-- it seems everytime we go to the pool, it's the ten minute adult swim time, that turns into 20 minutes of the lifeguards flirting with each other while we bake. If you ask me, I like that for the most part, nobody comes down here, its real peaceful and there are gorgeous birds to watch. Some "old salts" have told me that alligators swim up an down the San Jacinto, but this is our third summer here and I havn't seen any. I did see a snake once, and I'll be honest, it freaked me out a bit.
This is kind of a bad picture of my friend and her kids and my kids. We've been friends with them since Quentin was one-- we each have 4 kids and they are all about the same age-- I'm so glad we've stayed in touch over the years and the kids still love to see their faux cousins. If you look closly at the grainy photo you can see the lochness monster...

Oh we also have a Marina that goes into Lake Houston and we can camp here too, but we don't have a boat, and if I'm going to camp, I'll go a little bit further than the back of the subdivision. I complain a lot, but I love our neighborhood. One of my favorites is that I often don't have to use my own electricity to listen to music, my neighbors are very generous with their music, we can hear it all night long! Their house is for sale!