LOST Tooth!!

Just in the past hour, Owen has lost his front bottom tooth. It has been loose for the past couple weeks and Dustin couldn't resist the urge to tie floss around it and yank. Owen gave him the go-ahead and didn't leak a tear. We discovered that the new tooth is coming in behind the old - quite aways back - hoping they come forward or we will have two that will need braces before leaving the house. Enjoy the pics below.

Summer 2010

Since school has been out, all three boys have been involved with the YMCA baseball program. Owen was on t-ball and did really well. Tyler and Austin were able to be on the same team (making the scheduling much easier). Temperatures at the ball fields were actually decent too!
Tyler and Owen went right from baseball to football conditioning. Practice has begun and is 3-4 times a week for an hour or two. We have switched teams this year - thank goodness! Now I don't know what to do with four years worth of Wichita Gator t-shirts, hats, jerseys, sweatshirts, etc. The boys are now playing for the Wichita Raiders. Austin has decided that he needs a break (insert "gimme a break" sigh here).
We have had some extremely hot weather lately. Looking forward to this weekend when the high will be 89 on Sunday.
Took short road trip to OKC this past Sunday. We visited Bass Pro Shop and Bricktown Sunday evening. Monday started out with breakfast/lunch at the local Cracker Barrel and then onto Frontier City. We spent as much time as we could before melting - I think that we all were fried after just several hours. The place wasn't crowded and I think that the longest we had to wait for a ride was 20 minutes. Owen was a champ and rode all the big rides except for one - he was too short. They had a blast. On the way home we swung by Stillwater, OK and stopped at Eskimo Joe's for supper and shopping.
Just this past Friday, Dustin was involved in a accident less than a mile from the house. Enough damage to land the truck in the body shop (thought it was just cosmetic damage but come to find out there is a busted ball joint and who knows what else). We are waiting for insurance to come through - the other driver was cited and booked into jail for driving on a suspended license.
Dustin had appointment with a neuro-surgeon yesterday - deciding what is the next step with his back/leg issues. We are waiting for scheduler to contact us to schedule a procedure to test the amount of pressure he can handle in lower back. If he isn't able to tolerate it then he will have to have a spinal fusion done on his lower back. Not really the news we wanted to hear but knew that it was a possibility.
School starts Friday for Tyler. He has 6th grade orientation and will be in middle school this year. That's another one that is tough to swallow - Tyler in middle school. Austin will be in the 4th grade and Owen in 1st. They will all be in school on Monday morning.
Pictures are posted at my facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/debra.mullen?v=wall

Happy Mother's Day 2010

Mother's Day weekend got off to a rough start. Owen was sick Thursday night (vomitting and dry heaving) so Friday was spent at home deep cleaning the house. Think it was just a twenty-four hour thing as Owen didn't eat anything but a couple crackers and slept all day and night Friday. He was back to himself and feeling fine on Saturday.
I had saw in the paper that Botanica had free admission to all visitors on Mother's Day. I have never been there and decided that's where "mom" wanted to go this year. Dustin agreed but we didn't tell the boys. On the way, the questions were, "Where are we going?", "what's it start with?" "Oh, we are going bowling, right?" "Come on, where is this place?" "Great, we're going to the boondocks!"
When we pulled into the parking lot, we told them and this is what I got from them, "Man, this is going to be boring." "Who would want to go 'look' at flowers?", "Man, I wish I could have stayed home!". Well I was so pleased that my boys wanted to spend mother's day with me...HA!
Thankfully, the staff must know that BOYS do not like flower gardens and were handing out scavenger hunt BINGO games to them when we first walked in. They were sold and instantly interested in winning a "prize"! I have to say we all really enjoyed ourselves. There was a music group (can't even call it a band) that was there playing that relaxing 'zen' music. Was so peaceful sounding with the waterfalls in the background. Just needed a hammock, blanket, and pillow...would have been perfect. Many of the flowers were in bloom. Got to take several nature trails and watch the birds and squirrels. Weather was overcast and a bit cool. Light jacket and it was fixed. As the afternoon went on it began getting more and more crowded and I think the boys were finally getting tired of flowers. They turned in their papers for their 'prize' - Two for one admission back to The Botanica Gardens - They were so thrilled and I laughed! We will have to go back when the butterflies are in town though - -

Josh Turner

Another radio gig, free tickets (had to pick up as soon as they came out - they went quick!) to see Josh Turner at WSUs Koch Arena. This was several weekends ago. All I have to say is, "what a voice he has!!" We arrived a little later (first come first choice of seats) so we got to stare at his butt the whole time. Just wished he tucked his shirt in :). At the end of the show he introduced the band, his wife plays the keyboards (just to the left of him in the pics below - lucky girl!).


Needless to say, we met up with some friends earlier that evening and went to Margarita's. Just had some chips, salsa, queso, a drink or two and a shot of patron to start the evening. Well, Debra started feeling really good - got to the concert; either the sound was not good where we were sitting or Emily West (who opened) was really bad! Bucky Covington was suppose to be there but because of weather, unable to get here from Nashville, so we sat and waited for a long time for Josh to come out on stage - by that time the buzz was gone but we got some goofy pictures ahead of time.

It's that time again...

Needed to get the hair dyed again. There was leftover so Dustin convinced Owen to go dark too...he now has eyebrows!!

Fun Day at All Star Sports!!

So a couple weekends ago, Dustin & I took the boys to All Star Sports on the eastside. There was a radio gig going on and if you had tickets, you could get in free (free = lots of people = long lines but it was free and with a family of five things are getting really expensive, especially since the boys are getting older). The day was beautiful!! In fact, it got a bit toasty in the sun. Getting a block from a fluffy cloud passing was a much needed relief from the warm sun. Boys got to ride a few rides and we all played a game of putt-putt. Mom and Dad still have it - we were the only ones to get a hole in one. In fact, I think it was Owen that chucked his into the pond...Got a few pics for you to enjoy!

Updates from the Past

Just downloaded some pictures that were on my camera...

Thanks to big nana's generosity, Dustin, Big Nana, and myself enjoyed the movie "Clash of the Titans" 3D with the kiddos. This was a first seeing any movie in 3D - what an experience. With the goofy looking glasses, there was a need to take pictures! Thanks again Big Nana!!
Tyler, Dawn, Owen, Jayden and Austin in the back row

Austin above and Owen below


Austin and Tyler have decided that they want to share a room. Why? I have no idea but they know that is NOT a temporary thing - permanent for a long time. Once we find a use for the spare bedroom - it will be hard to give up. So anyway, Austin has moved downstairs to Tyler's room. Kind of crammed in there. See for yourself...

Spring is here!!

Yesterday, Sedgwick county was under it's first Severe Thunderstorm Warning of 2010! We are so pumped!

This was taken about 4:30p in the parking lot outside my office.



This was taken while driving on I-235, heading west from the Zoo Blvd interchange.

Reports this morning was that west Wichita had hail (golf ball size) and rain. Water was still standing in the ditches this morning. Where we live, nothing!! But the clouds that formed were pretty impressive. Can't wait for more.

Family Photos!!

It's been a long time coming - getting professional pics taken as a family. The last one that we had done was when Austin (yes, Austin) was nine months old...he will be turning nine next week. A bit over do to say the least!!

One Poor Baby "O"...

A few weeks ago, Owen came down with a fever and headache. Fever came and went over the course of four days. All that he complained about was, "Mommy, my head hurts." But as soon as the Tylenol or Motrin set in, he was up and moving. When the fever would spike, Dustin would wrap him up as a burrito in the blanket and keep him on the couch. Poor little guy!!

It's a Girl!!!

Yep, the numbers are beginning to turn in my favor. We welcomed home a baby girl this past week. Her name is Holly and she is loved by all. She is definitely a daddy's girl though!



Apologizes are going out right now to the grand-parents (Dad & Debi) - now I know this isn't quite the girl your wanting for a grand-daughter but in the Mullen family, it's as close as your going to get. She is joining Kohl - but Dustin says that Holly will be much more productive than Kohl ever will be...she is already showing signs of being a great hunting dog. Dustin's been working with her and she is pointing at the sign of a feather and fetchs. Can't wait for 2010s hunting season!

Bathroom Completed!

OK, so this is a bit late. Bathroom has been done since January 3rd. And I am just now sitting down with some peace and quiet to post. Have to say that Dustin and I did an awesome job...and we're NOT headed to divorce court! I tell you what, if you and your spouse can survive a home project while raising the kids...I think you have a pretty solid relationship. There were times literally that Dustin and I wanted to strangle each other or the closest thing within reach. This project should have been a simple one but we had quite a few unplanned hiccups along the way. The plumbing department at the west side Lowe's knows me by name and the staff at the Ace Hardware know that Dustin and I belong to each other - goes to show our frequent trips are paying off, we just don't know how. Pictures are showing the progress from last post to the completion. We found a hole behind the mirror - just the right size to hide the body of a 5 year old or 8 year old or even the 10 year old if we shoved good enough. Instead we put in a recessed storage unit mirror. Dustin took out all the pale yellow 70s tile back splash, counter-top, and sink - all was replaced with new. I spent an evening in the tile adhesive, aligning all the tile. Did you know that Lowe's will cut your tile for you? It was awesome and turned out perfect!! Oh and the walls got painted - goodbye pink and hello celery green. Dustin also painted the ceiling; so everything looks fresh! Ahhh, the missing toilet - glad to see that old thing go! It was always constantly running! We found the damage after ripping it out. The bolts rusted right out from under the flange - well maybe the toilet cause the flange was all rusted out too. We layed the tile floor - looks like tile doesn't it? Nope. It's the same stuff we used in the entry way last spring - sticky tile pieces then grouted. I love this stuff. A new "quiet" toilet! Completed with all the accessories. Just happened upon the dark purple for the towels and throw rug. It's perfect!! Now the shower is very close to the toilet - even closer than the original wall that was there. But here's the story on that - it wasn't suppose to be that way. The special order shower kit was busted when we received it and it wasn't anything like we wanted anyway...had to go to plan B real quick and purchase the kit we didn't want. As it turns out it's great! Guess it was meant to be after all. This is where our closet used to be. Now you can see what's left of it. We do plan to put a dowel rod in there to hang just a few clothes (work clothes for the week) and install shelves for shoes and "stuff". Will take the old curtains that hung over the closet and cut down to install on the inside of our "cubby hole".
Here is video - sorry that you have to turn your head/monitor to the left but I wasn't thinking when I shot the video.

I have already started thinking it would be great to have a new bedroom or kitchen but Dustin says that it all will have to wait for atleast another year. He says only one project a year. We will see...stay tuned.