So I have totally been slacking on my blog...I am slowly, but surely catching up! For those of you that don't know we are in AZ! David has rotations in PA for 3 months and it fell right on the fall semester, so we decided to come back for a little visit! I am living with my Mom and Dad...I KNOW they are loving every minute of it too! The kids have been having a blast but every once in a while they ask to go back to "our yellow house." I am enjoying having family around to visit with. I am staying busy doing the mom thing...I don't think I have ever been so damn tired...can I say damn on my blog? Mmmmmmmm...too late! Anywho...I am not sure if it is because David is gone and they are all acting out, or what? All's I know is that my kids are keeping lots of little angels very busy guarding their safety from their mother! Mason, Tia, Joey, and Dexter are doing well in school...okay so not really, they like it, but they are all in special programs because they are a little slow! They totally got it from me, what can I say I have super strong genes! I am not that worried since we are holding them back a year anyways! Mac and Toby are naughtier than ever and enjoy getting into mischief together! I have always wanted a strong bond between my kids...looks like I got it! The other day after I put them in bed I went grocery shopping and when I got back I could hear them talking. So I went downstairs to make sure they were all in their beds....WELL, they weren't! DEXTER, TOBY, AND MAC emptied all their folded clothes onto the floor, sprayed a whole bottle of sunscreen all over their sheets and in each others eyes (I know this because when they started crying after their little bums got spanked, they said "it burns...my eyes, it burns!") As you can imagine I just laughed a wicked laugh and said, "that is what you get" and closed the door. I thought Toby was asleep and missed the spankings, but, somehow he slipped past my parents door and crawled into my bed and fell asleep! The next morning, I went to clean up their room and found a whole box of Crispix smashed in Toby's bed along with 6 boxes of raisins thrown all over the room! I wonder why he didn't want to sleep in his bed! A week later I had just got back from running and it wasn't quite 7am, Tia comes out of the room and says Toby, Mac, and Dexter made a big mess in Toby's crib. I can't believe they attempted naughty again so soon? I found 6 boxes of linguine emptied in Toby's crib. I held it together pretty good and took Toby out of the room (he usually just makes a bigger mess) got Mac and Dexter a plastic bag and told them to pick every little piece of noodles up and put it in the bag. I escorted all the rest of the kids out of the room and sent the other 2 to work. I started to get the kids ready for school and went down to check on my little workers and they got so excited while picking up the noodles that they threw them all over the room like confetti, I thought I was going to lose it...okay so I did. You can't just vacuum that stuff up. So I told them they were not eating breakfast until it was all picked up. It was 9:30am and they finished a corner of the room. I figured that was enough starvation for the day and fed them breakfast. A couple of days after that that Mac and Dexter took out the night lights and broke the glass bulbs out of them...YES, GLASS EVERYWHERE! I could keep going on naughty things they have been doing lately...but I know you are all pretty busy and don't have time for my beeing and moaning!!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Farmers Market
One crazy Friday night I thought it would be fun to take the kids to the downtown farmers market for breakfast! I absolutely love Des Moines...LOVE IT! They have so many F's for Families to do it is amazing! (Fun, Fantastic and most importantly FREE!!) We loaded the kids up around 8am, took the 5 minute drive, parked got all unloaded and out on the street....Mmmmmm, where to eat! They have so many good places to eat! The kids weren't starving and I didn't want to waste good food or money on them, so we opted for some home made muffins and Orange Juice! We all sat on some steps and ate breakfast. It wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, this kid dropped his, that kid wanted the other kids, and then to top it off, after Toby screamed for the orange juice he decided to dump it to the side of me. My white skirt now had a big orange spot on it! Whenever we go anywhere it is always a scene! Not because we are loud or obnoxious...(well sometimes) but because there are 2 adults and 6 little kids! We decided to stop drawing attention to ourselves in one spot and decided to stroll the streets! It was like Moses parting the red sea as we walked through the crowd of people! We stopped to get the kids a cookie, while I am taking orders Toby opens the cookie lid and the Lady that was running the booth closed it really fast! Toby lost it! We ate our cookies and headed back to the car to leave by 10 so David could hit the books with his big Step 2 of boards coming up!
Trip 2...we had Tyrone and Annie over the night before and told them they should meet us there! This time we dressed the kids in their matching swim outfits so we could hit the fountain afterwards! We all met up on the corner. The kids had already been fed! We were on the lookout for corn! Lucky for us it was the first Saturday for it to be out! It was about 10:30 and we decided to get some snow cones and take a rest. We sat on the sidewalk next to this store that had a whole bunch of signs and bumper stickers in the window. 6 kids 4 adults...David started laughing at one of the bumper stickers it read, "condoms are much cheaper than diapers!" Pretty funny with so many kids right under it! We made it to the fountains and the kids went crazy! There are all these signs that say, "no swimming" In fact two summers ago, the splash pads had been closed and it was still warm enough to swim, so Keelie and I (totally my idea) met downtown with our kids sot they could swim and somebody called the police on us! The nice po po man just told us that we weren't allowed to swim in the fountain! Obviously somebody up high in their office were jealous because they were at work and we were playing! BUT, on Saturdays, I think the Po Po just look the other way! Anyway, the kids played and the adults visited! It was our last visit with Tyrone and Annie before we moved for 6 months...it was sad to say goodbye! 
Happy Birthday Joey
The last party of the YEAR...Joey turned 5 on August 25th! Joey has always been my happy go lucky kid! He is the biggest tease you will ever meet. He finds something funny in every situation. He loves life and gets so excited about the little things! He started Kindergarten and is not sure if he loves it yet! There have been several morning that he wakes up not wanting to go to school. I am not sure if they get his humor! I have already had to go pick him up from the principals office. Apparently he was throwing rocks at the windows and when he was asked to stop he just gave the teacher one of his "go to hell" looks and threw another rock. So they called me to come and get him! I had a very hard time not laughing in his presence when picking him up at the office. I know his exact look and it makes me laugh because he is so good at it! Joey we love you!
Joey was so excited for his birthday...after celebrating 5 birthdays this summer, towards the end, he was getting less and less patient! We were staying at my sister Sally's house for the weekend and she was so awesome to him have his birthday at her house. We opened presents, dug into his airplane cake and then went swimming! The kids all had a blast! Thank you Aunt Sally and Uncle Stoney for letting us use your home!
Happy Birthday Tia
Our sweet little Tia turned 5 on August 13th! I really couldn't ask for a sweeter little girl! I have learned to appreciate her more and more everyday. She is very mild tempered, loves to help others, and dosen't complain when things don't go her way. She is a friend to everyone. I have noticed a little bit of a shy side to her since she started school. It has taken her a while to warm up to friends, however, every other day she is talking about a new friend that she has made! She loves to play dressups and doesn't go anywhere without this pink purse that her cousin Callie gave to her. She asks every Sunday if she can take her purse because it matches her shoes and EVERY Sunday I tell her no! You would think she would stop asking, but she doesn't! She loves school and has really worked hard to learn what she is supposed to be learning! She loves to be complimented and has learned to say "thank you" instead of "I know!" One of my most favorite things about her is that she has the ability to find anything! She saves her brothers from getting into lots of trouble because she is always willing to help them look for something they have lost! We love you Tia!
Tia was so excited for her Princess Tea Party! I asked Callie, Brenna, and Lexi to help with the party! We had 6 little girls over and they all came in their Princess dresses! The ugly stepsister (Callie, Lexi, and Brenna) put makeup on them, painted their nails, and doused them with a little perfume! I found these foam princess crown at Wal-Mart and they all got to decorate their own. We then went outside and had a little parade around the yard! They all looked so cute, all dressed up, walking in their hills, and waving their little hearts out! We then came in for presents, cake and ice-cream. We had a little tea party and they each got their own barbie cake to eat! Tia loved her party and talked non stop about it for days afterwards!
Hapy Birthday Dexter
Dexter turned 4 on July 31st! Dexter, Dexter where do I begin? I would have to say this child gets away with more than all the rest! Not because he does less, but because he does double and I don't want to get after him all day long, so I often find myself looking the other way! I have learned to choose my battles with this one! Sometimes it is easier to give him the blue cup instead of saying "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!" He has really grown up this last year. He is so curious and want answers to everything! He loves to crawl up on David's lap and look at all the pictures in his Medical Book and pick at his dad's callused hands! He is such a fun little boy to chat with and has a question for everything. He learned to ride a bike this summer and cruises up and down the sidewalks! He has the cutest laugh I have ever heard along with the biggest smile! I love it when he throws his head back to laugh...it is such a Mullenaux thing to do! Happy Birthday Dexter I will never forget the first day I saw you, taking you back to the hotel in Shreveport LA, thinking...."she gave him to us...we really have a baby!" What a journey it has been.
Dexter was insistent on a Helicopter cake. I wasn't sure how it was going to work...so I asked him if he wanted a helicopter cake or a cake with a TOY HELICOPTER on top that he could play with after we ate cake! Thank goodness he wanted that toy! Grandma Bryce was so awesome to let us use her back yard and all her water toys for his party! We had 7 cousins over for the party plus our 6! Dexter gets really shy when he is out of his comfort zone. All of the attention was on him when he was opening his presents and he didn't love this, but didn't want to lose out on his new toys! He was so funny and would unwrap them so fast then hand them to a kid that was standing by. Those kids thought they were "their" presents and would say "thanks Dexter!" The next day my sister Sarah said that Adam was sad when he came home because he didn't get a birthday present! Apparently Adam wasn't close enough for the handouts! We love you Dexter!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Happy Birthday Mason
Mason has always been my sweet little spirit! He cheers me on through the day. Anytime I do something "neat" in a 5 year old eyes I hear a "good job mom, good job!" He is my social butterfly! He makes friends very easy, and loves to visit with adults! I sometimes have to kick him out of adult conversation because he has too much input! He can't wait to grow up and be an Missionary! He talks about it non stop, "ya, when I get older I be an Elder and get to go on a Mission!" He loves being the oldest and reminds the kids why he gets to do some of the things he gets to do with a "because I am a big kid and you guys are just babies!" He can't tell a lie if he wanted to...okay he tries, but he blinks really fast and stutters. It's pretty funny! He learned to ride a bike this summer and has started showing off with this one hand madness! This evening Spencer said, "you know, your kids are really polite, but they aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer...Dustynn just walked outside and Mason Said, 'good morning Aunt Dustynn...oooh I like your shirt!'" We just finished dinner! Mason we love you...our lives wouldn't be the same with out you!
Mason turned 6 on July 6th! I talked him into waiting until we moved to AZ to have his birthday party with his cousins since I didn't know any of his friends! We thought it would be fun to take all the boy cousins his age fishing. All I have to say is we are so lucky we all have our eyes! There were hooks flying every which way! We grabbed McDonald's for dinner, took a boat ride, fished, only two fish were caught and they were both caught by Mason,then we opened presents, ate cake and last but not least had a Transformer Pinata! We lost our light the last 20 minutes of the party! David wanted to take the pinata back home and do it there..."NO WAY...the party is going to be over when we leave this farm, I don't care if they are digging in the dark for their candy!!" After we got it the car and dropped everyone off, he said "you were right!" Oh how I love those words!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Happy Birthday Mac
Mac turned 3 on June 27th. He was so excited for his birthday, but as it got closer, the cake was made, and presents were visible, he got a little protective of his birthday. If anyone started to pick on him he was would say, "you not invited to my birthday party on the boat...you can't have any fire engine cake!" He loved his fire engine cake. Anytime there is a conversation going on about birthdays he always says, "ya, and I have a fire engine cake!"
He is all potty trained and has been for months, but he still asks for a treat every time he gets off the pot! He keeps us laughing with little funny things he says. The other night he was ramming his head into David's shoulder. About the 3rd time he did it, David put his hand out to block him and the force pushed him back and he fell on his bottom. With a very surprised face he said, "hey dad...." then he got this angry look and said, "don't you DARE push me down!" He loves to play pretend with anyone that will play with him. He loves his baby Toby and anytime Toby is crying he comes up to me and says, "hey what happened to MY baby Toby?" He is such a sweetie and loves to comfort his brothers and sister when they are sad. We have had him in our home for 22 months. I have to be honest...when we went to visit Tia and Mac for the first time we thought, "what a fat little white boy...a cute little Asian girl...looks like they are a package deal and we can't take one without the other!" What would we do with out him! We just love him so much and couldn't imagine our lives with out this little boy!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
ADOPTION DAY
Words can not express how happy we our that our kids are legally ours! They have been apart of our family since the day we took them in...however having that gavel hit the desk and the piece of paper signed brings so much closure. The day was so perfect! We tried to invite everyone that was involved, but some numbers and email had been lost. The hearing started out with all the legal questions, then we got to tell the judge how much we loved them and how they changed our lives. The judge is such a good judge and is all about the kids. She talked about how every child needs a champion, it was kinda uncomfortable how much she praised David and I for doing what we do...in all honesty, we are the lucky ones to have such a wonderful family. She then went around the room and asked everyone what they thought about our family. It was so nice to hear their comments and just made us want to try to be even better parents! The judge ended with, "People ask me how I do what I do. I see the worst things that happen to children. But, I also see the best, and I would have to say, this is the best." It has been such a different experience here in IA than in AZ. They treated us more like family than a case number. We will miss everyone that put their hearts into our kids' case!
Jason Hauser our lawyer started it off with handing out Beenie Babies to all the kids! He also took over the camera for me, so I could tame the beasts! They had a bowl of candy on the table that I passed out to the kids. Toby actually spotted it first and just wouldn't let up until he got some...from then on it was a pretty peaceful hearing!
Left to Right, Jason Hauser (adoption attorney) John Gelnec (Toby's GAL) Steve Clark (Tia and Mac's GAL) Patty Bosen (Toby's Casa Worker) Stephanie Brown (DHS Attorney) and Judge Cohen.
Patty Bosen brought all the kids presents and me this HUGE beautiful bouquet of flowers. I think the last time I had flowers was on my wedding day! I came home and put them in a water pitcher. I didn't even own a vase. The next day when I was taking a nap David went to the store and got a vase and had them all arranged on the table!
To celebrate we headed off to our favorite restaurant...BANDANAS smoked BBQ! You haven't had good BBQ until you eat there! Afterwards we went to Chuckie Cheese to play the quarter games! $20.00 later and 6 tired kids that were all legally ours, it was time to head home and go to bed!
Happy Birthday Toby
I can't believe how big he has gotten! Toby turned the BIG 2 on June 18th! We have had Toby in our home for 18 months and I can't believe how fast it has gone by! He is such a fun little boy with so much attitude! He really doesn't know how small he is. When we are at the pool he walks up to big kids...8 to 10 year olds, gives them dirty looks and splashes them and he doesn't stop even if they yell at him. It usually just eggs him on more! He is all the sudden so idependant and can do anything. If I try to help him with anything he says, "MY DO IT!" We love him so much and are so greatful he is ours forever! Happy Birthday Toby
Toby loves Chocolate and Stawberries...so that is what we started the party off with! I went the extra mile and did sprinkles on them! The kids loved them. For dinner we had his favorite...sweet and sour chicken! We played Pin the Tail on the Donkey. I was going to have David be the donkey, but this was much less of a hassle!
He loved opening his presents! He didn't waste any time! He got a SpongeBob book and a Nemo bubble blower that he uses for a fan! And of couse a few little dollar store toys! He has really been into snakes lately. I am guessing because we find at least one in our back yard everytime they go out to play! So he picked a snake cake! "My nake cake!" is what I heard all day! After cake and ice-cream we took the kids to the pool AKA bathtime! It was such a fun day! I wish I could freeze time and keep my kids little...it is sad to think how fast they grow up!
