SHREVEPORT TRIP!

How could I have forgotten to post about our Shreveport trip!? It was last weekend!

We had a blast!

Kolbe was down at Keith's parents house, Nickolas went to my Mom's and Erik stayed at my grandmother's house. We left about 2pm on Saturday and came back about the same time Sunday.

It was so nice to make the drive and have peace and quiet, and a little adult conversation. We took our time, ate and enjoyed. Got to the hotel/casino (we stayed at....hm....I can't remember), but it was nice. A Marriot right next to the casino-within walking distance. We spent a good 6 or 7 hours gambling. At at the dinner buffet and had a good time. Of course we didn't win, but it's the entertainment value and just getting away. We stopped by another casino for about an hour the next morning.

The boys did great while they were spending the night out and we had a really good time. It went by WAY too fast!

Deep Sea Adventure

Today was an adventure!

I took the 3 boys to see "Deep Sea" at the Omni theatre in Fort Worth. It was playing at 1:15 so I started out there at noon. They were great for a majority of the time, and we were gone for a good 4 hours.

Highlights:
• Kolbe being so excited to get there.
• Walking to the theatre and Kolbe hanging onto my shirt.
• Seeing the dinosaur outside and Nickolas growling at it.
• Watching Nickolas watch the show.
• Seeing the kids play in the "fountain".

Hiccups:
• No parking because there was a job fair going on.
• The lights being off when we walked in and the kids being hesitant.
• The chaos getting the popcorn after the show.
• Kids fighting over who would hold the popcorn bag.
• Kolbe needing to pee on the way home (but changing his mind after I pulled off the highway and got him out).

They were fun to take and I really enjoyed it. Kolbe said he wouldn't go back though. =)
I have great boys!

Happy 2-Month Birthday Erik Mueller!

Erik is 2 months old today!

Yesterday we had his checkup at the doctor (with me taking all 3 boys by the way). Everything checked out well. Erik weighs 13lbs. 4ozs. He is 24" long. He had 3 shots and an oral. A few things we discussed-his thrush keeps coming back...I need to give him the medicine for a full week this time. He already had an ear infection so she was concerned about that. And, based on how he was laying inside of me he turns his head predominately to the left. We have been working with him to look the other way, draw his attention that way, lay him on his side at night so he turns that way, etc. We need to work on it for the next 2 months.

Overall, he is a joy and is healthy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Kolbe Helping with The Baby

The other morning I laid Erik on the blanket and told Kolbe I was going to get in the shower. I asked him to please give the baby his pacifier if he was really crying. He said "okay".

I get out of the shower. Quiet.

Kolbe comes into the bathroom and is VERY excited. Unusually excited, so I know something's up. He's talking so fast I can't understand him, but I hear the name Erik at the end of the sentence and once I heard that I knew I needed to go out into the living room to check on him.

What do I see? Kolbe has scotch taped the pacifier to the baby!! After I gasp, I start laughing...and explain that although that's a very smart idea...it's not necessarily the best thing to do and let's just keep the tape up higher...like out of reach...

At least he's a logical boy.

Goal Complete: Take Kolbe on the DART Rail

I have been wanting to take Kolbe on the DART rail for so long because of his love of trains. On Thursday when I had just him and Erik for the day, I decided to get some guts and take them!

We drove over to the George Bush Station and headed on the red line south. This route goes all the way down to the Dallas zoo. Kolbe absolutely loved it and was so excited that it went so fast. He also enjoyed all the station stops and repeated the names and was counting the stops until we got to ours. I decided we would get off at the CityPlace Station since it was in a tunnel. He enjoyed that a lot.

Then we hopped back on to head back north. I did miss the stop on the way back, but we got off on the next one and came back on the other train. I had Erik in the sling and he pretty much slept the whole way. The boys did great-Kolbe did great and enjoyed it. He wanted Opa to take him the next time!

I was exhausted when the day was done, but it was a fun ride!

Easter 2009

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday last week. That morning the boys woke up and hunted for easter eggs and went through their baskets. The Easter bunny really enjoyed hiding the baskets for them and putting out the eggs we had all colored together.

Afterwards we packed up and headed down to Oma and Opa's for the day. We had a lot of family there and the weather was a little chilly at first, but turned out nice. We had a nice lunch, visited and played with the kids.

What a great day to spend together and be thankful for our family and friends.

Credit Cards

It's amazing how the "economic crisis" is effecting everyone! Not only have we had some company changes that have directly impacted myself and my family, but now it's hitting consumer credit.

Fortunately, we own a home, have two cars, and currently don't have any large dollar expenses other than some medical bills from having Erik which we saved for. BUT, we do have some credit card debt that we have aggressively been paying off and THOUGHT that was the best thing to be doing.

Turns out-it may not necessarily be the best thing to do as a priority. I had one credit card I opened to finance some microderms. Paid it off in the 12-month, no interest window and was never late on a payment or abused the card. About 3 months after I paid it off they lowered my available credit, and about another 3 months thereafter they closed the account. NOW, it's going to say "closed by creditor" on my report and that available credit/income ratio will be hurt.

In the last 2 weeks alone I had another 2 cards that I have had for over 10 years, and used regularly but always pay on time and more than the minimum, they increased the interest rate by about 6%.

How is this supposed to be helping the financial flow when we have credit in good standing, have no major economic issues and manage our finances? This money towards interest could be going into cash flow but instead they are punishing people who are not a risk. Do they want EVERYONE to start hurting more in this state of the economy?

Apparently so, and in the meantime I am trying to do whatever I can to not jeopardize my credit score, but the government is making that very difficult to maintain.

The Arboretum

Two weeks ago I took the boys (all 3) to the Arboretum and met up with Keith's parents there for the day. Keith went to a game and enjoyed a much needed break with friends!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day! The weather was absolutely gorgeous. The boys really enjoyed the time there. The liked the pirate ship the most, but also enjoyed the flowers, climbing in the houses and the fountains and hills to roll around on. Erik was great and slept literally the whole time we were there with the exception of about 15 minutes when I fed him.

I think the most stressful part was getting into the gardens because the parking lot was so crowded we had to take a shuttle from a parking lot off-site. Quite the load with 3 kids and 2 strollers but it worked out!

It's amazing what you'll do so your kids can see plants! ;)

Arts & Crafts

At the end of my pregnancy, I was useless!! So, I have a lot of "making up" time to do with the boys. I have made an effort to have a lot of organized crafts and fun for them to keep them occupied, especially when we can't make it outside. It also gives me the chance to do specific activities with them.

So far we have done finger painting, working with clay, decorating eggs, making foam eggs for Easter and decorating and making and decorating bunnies. Lots of coloring as well. Some the the items I have for the near future are making model airplanes, making and flying a kite, building paper airplanes and more foam art. I also want to work on gathering items that begin with certain letters of the alphabet and creating boards.

This picture is a rose Kolbe, Nickolas and I made. Kolbe rolled up all the clay balls, Nickolas flattened them and I cut and molded them together.

I LOVE being back in the swing of things!

Visitors From Kentucky

Pictured is my Mom and her long time friend from elementary school, Kathy! Kathy and her husband, Mel were in town for a week and they made some time to come and visit. It was a great evening! We hadn't seen them in a good 6 or 7 years, and it was great to catch up.

We hosted and also had my grandparents over and sister and her boyfriend. The house was pretty full and we picked up a great meal, talked, let the kids play and just enjoyed the evening.

I grew up with Kathy and Mel and remember spending the night at their house, them being a part of milestones and Kathy being my Mom's best friend.

We sure miss them being in KY!

Bunnies

How appropriate with the upcoming Easter holiday approaching seeing as society created the bunny as a symbol and all.

Awhile back Kolbe was climbing down from the tree in the backyard, and stepped on these bunnies!! They were covered in hair, and the mother had dug a whole for them. They were barely recognizable-we couldn't tell if they were bunnies or rats. We checked on them every day to make sure they were doing alright. The boys were pretty good with them and didn't touch because we knew the mother may not come back if they did.

In about a week, they were already big enough to hop out. I had know idea they would grow that fast. I didn't see them for about 2 days, and unfortunately this past Saturday morning we found one in our swimming pool. I think the other 4 are not out of the yard and hopefully doing okay. What a crazy world it must be for them!