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Not that Bullock has mellowed totally. A Type-A who admits to battling BlackBerry addiction, she talks at warp speed and makes to-do lists with a vengeance. "I will never stop multitasking," she says."But the priorities have shifted." At the top of the list are the kids. Bullock and James live a stone's throw from his ex-wife, Karla, and their children, Chandler, 12, and Jesse Jr., 9; he also has a daughter, Sunny, 3, with his second wife, Janine Lindemulder. "Everyone teases everyone," Bullock says. "So you better have your game on or you're in big trouble, because if you're taken down by a 9-year-old, that's a really humbling experience." James says his children "totally love and adore" Bullock. And though she can be a disciplinarian (Bullock impounds Pokemon cards as a punishment), "I'm excited to show them off. I'm going, 'Look at how smart he is! Look at what they did!' and they're like, 'Ugh, stop!' "
In addition to running herd over the James gang, Bullock has quietly worked for causes close to her heart: the Warren Easton school and helping to create a leadership academy for economically disadvantaged young women in Austin named for one of her heroes, the late Texas governor Ann Richards. Another labor of love is Bess, the Austin bistro Bullock opened in November, overseeing every aspect of its design herself. "She wanted to open a restaurant, and she happens to be a high-profile actress," says executive chef Brenton Childs. "But I imagine that if she wasn't a high profile actress she would have built a restaurant anyhow. She just loves to eat and drink and have a good time with friends and family."
