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!