Anna loves to "bounce" in this seat.

Things to do when you're bored. pt 2

 

Home prices continue to fall...

Here. And California Representative forecloses on her house.

The Sacramento home of Rep. Laura Richardson was sold in a public auction two weeks ago for $388,000. The Southern California Democrat bought the house for $535,000 with no money down in January 2007 and owed nearly $575,000 to Washington Mutual when the mortgage was sold earlier this month at a significant loss to Red Rock Mortgage Inc.

Rep. Richardson denied the report in a written statement Wednesday, “The residential property in Sacramento California is not in foreclosure and has NOT [emphasis hers] been seized by the bank,” she said: “I have worked with my lender to complete a loan modification and have renegotiated the terms of the agreement — with no special provisions. I fully intend to fulfill all financial obligations of this property.”

And it gets better...

James York, the Sacramento broker who bought the three-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom home, rejected the idea that the home hadn’t been seized. The sale of the home was announced in March. “She’s walked away from the property,” he said. “I would be happy to resell her the home for the $535,000.”

Richardson didn’t vote on the housing rescue deal that passed the House of Representatives two weeks ago and in a statement attributed her absence to her father’s funeral. But Richardson did vote last fall in favor of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, which passed and prevents the federal government from charging income tax on debt forgiven as a consequence of foreclosure.

Here is the full story:

And more.

"I'm Laura Richardson. I'm an American, I'm a single woman who had four employment changes in less than four months," Richardson told the AP. "I had to figure out just like every other"I'm Laura Richardson. I'm an American, I'm a single woman who had four employment changes in less than four months," Richardson told the AP. "I had to figure out just like every other American how I could restructure the obligations that I had with the income I had."

Cue the violins. She's a single woman who had 4 employment changes in 4 months. WHY was she buying a house? Moreover, why was she buying a house she couldn't afford? Her business is no excuse for neglecting her debt obligations.

Although others struggling with mortgages make far less, Richardson said it was "very misleading" to compare her earnings to the national median household income of around $50,000. The reason: Lawmakers are required to maintain two residences while other people don't have to, she said.

Yes, lawmakers must maintain 2 residences. It's a necessity required by their job. They don't have to buy 2 houses though. They can rent, like a lot of people do. They can buy a smaller house in whichever location they spend less time. Representative Richardson bought a $535,000 house. There is no reason she 'had' to do that. If prices are too high, a rental is actually a good idea. Now, the bank is saddled with a loan she is never going to pay. Just watch, as the Fed gets more involved in propping up the banks lopsided balance sheets, you and I are going to be footing the bill for this housing debacle.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, criticized Richardson for falling deeper into debt while choosing to spend more than $75,000 of her own money on her campaign—suggesting that it's more important to win a seat in Congress than to be fiscally responsible, a point Richardson disputed.

Sloan also said Richardson should not be in the situation she is while making a congressional salary, when homeowners around the country making $50,000 or less are struggling to pay their debts.

Here's more on the story.

Reflux solutions.

Since we are going to see a GI specialist to help Anna with her reflux, I decided to try one last thing. We bought a Tucker Sling for Anna to sleep in. We keep her inclined when she sleeps, but it isn't always easy as she slides down the incline during the night. The Tucker sling keeps them inclined safely without allowing them to slide down and so forth. For playtime, I improvised and put her playmat on an incline. There is a boppy pillow supporting her from below in the playmat. The foam wedge that the playmat is on is from Bed Bath and Beyond. Hopefully, these reflux solutions will work so we don't need to do anything invasive or continue with a questionable drug regimen. I don't like medicating infants unless it is absolutely necessary.

Anna Sophia had her 3 month doctor appointment this morning. She received 2 vaccinations and was weighed and measured, etc. She is 10lbs 14 oz (20%) and 23.4 inches long (53%) so she is gaining weight, but very slowly. I have started pumping and bottle feeding her because her feedings are really small and when she nurses, she doesn't nurse for long enough to get the fatty milk, so it is causing her some problems and not helping her gain weight. At birth, Anna started in the 70% (7lb15oz) so she isn't gaining as well as she should. She is otherwise very healthy and is meeting the major milestones. She hasn't slept through the night since I last posted that she did. Oh well. We will be taking her to a gastroenterologist to see if there is anything we can do for her reflux. She projectile vomited all over her doctor today, so I think the doctor is starting to believe me that there is a problem. Overall, I don't think that the problem is serious as Anna is gaining weight. She is in pain though and the zantac isn't helping her anymore.

I predict that Anna Sophia is going to walk when she 9 months old. She is very strong for her age and she *insists* on being held in a standing position all the time. She does not like her swing, bouncy chair or laying down. Caroline and Isaac walked at 12 and 14 months respectively and I really think Anna is going to be chasing after them in six months. She has managed to kick me in my stomach a few times and it was not pleasant.

Anyway, I just watched the American Idol finale. Yay I'm so happy my David won!!

Why pop up books?

I can't stand them. If I were to list my pet peeves, it would be near the top of the list along with bad spelling and the incorrect usage of who and whom. We received 2 pop up books about 6 months ago as a prize (long story) and I hid them in the best hiding spot I could think of at the time. Why did I hide them? Simple. It takes my children about 2 minutes to rip a pop up book and if I'm not paying attention 10 minutes to destroy it. We visited a bookstore once and Caroline was looking at a pop up book and the ripped an entire page in half. I bought the book out of guilt and immediately tossed it. Why do people make these? I know that children are entertained by them, but seriously, they last like 2 minutes before they get ripped by well-meaning and curious children who then cry and ask mommy to "fix it." Most of the time they aren't even fixable. Pop ups have gotten so complex that instead of a circus tent popping out of the fold of two pages, there is a merry-go-round with individual horses that move up and down as you pull at various tabs. Well, this evening Caroline found the forbidden pop up and I indulged her amusement with it. She turned each age was great interest and care and pulled at all the right tabs and watched the magic happen. A short time later, the book encountered stiff, but curious opposition in the form of a small little boy with a great big personality. He saw how interesting the book was and he pulled and twisted the pages until I heard "rrriiippp" followed by another rip until I realized that he had found the verboten book. Only one page has been destroyed, but I, a seasoned mom, know from experience that the next time the book is looked it, it will meet an untimely demise. Todd, disagrees with my views on these types of books, because he feels literacy trumps the occasional book shredding, but I doubt he has seen a sobbing child ask to give the book some medicine (or a bandaid) to make it better. The thing is, I hate hiding books from my children, because I want them to love reading and love books, but why o why are pop up books so easily torn and ripped? Books are like friends to us and I hate to throw them away, especially when the kids adore them. "Some Dogs Do" a recent favorite of the kids, found itself in the garbage after being ripped into tiny pieces by Isaac. I wish he would take care of my credit card offers, but still, he loves ripping paper. I think a lot of the time it happens by accident and then it becomes an interesting thing to do. Why does this bother me? I can't say for sure, but I know that there will be many more books that we will read to "pieces" before the kids are reading superstars. It is a small price to pay to learn to read so honestly I am not too concerned. I just don't plan on buying any pop up books if I can avoid it.

I've been trying very hard to take it easy on my abdominal muscles. I just had the hiccups for 10 minutes and it was rough! I haven't had hiccups for that long in years. It makes me think that hiccups are part psychological, because I kept thinking, "I need to stop...this hurts" Oh well, if that is the worst of my complaints, then I'm doing pretty well.

Today was a little better. Caroline and Isaac were mostly stuck inside with me, but it was windy and cold outside so they weren't missing much. I guess it doesn't get warm here until July or so... I'm feeling a bit better and I'm trying to take the pain medicine regularly so it doesn't get really bad. We played with Caroline's dinosaurs and Isaac's cars. We had some lessons in ownership and property (the cars are Isaac's and the dinosaurs are Caroline's) so the children were learning how to trade and take turns with the toys. I don't force sharing, because forced sharing isn't sharing, it's extortion. Just like forced charity isn't charity, it's usually known as taxes, but that's a while different post. Anyhoo...the kids played well together we read some stories too. I ordered a few $7 Amazon movies to keep my downtime interesting, so we will see how that goes. I go back to the surgeon next Monday to get my dressing removed and stuff, so I am taking it super easy until then.

This surgery thing is no joke. Whew. I am in pain and can't move around very much. I've been laying around watching movies and nursing Anna Sophia. The pain pills help, but I don't want to take too many of them. Todd is taking care of Caroline and Isaac for the most part, since I can't lift them. Please suggest some new movies to watch! I'm getting bored of my regular movies.

I'm home!

We are home from the surgery. Everything went very well and I am feeling okay. I will post more later.

Don't like gas prices now? Just wait...

Read this.

I have lots to say about this, but I'm sort of busy tonight with the kids (they aren't asleep) and getting ready for my surgery tomorrow. I can't eat or drink anything after midnight (water included), which should be fun since I'm going to be nursing Anna tonight. Say a little prayer for me while I'm under the knife (9:30am Friday) and I will be sure to update as soon as I am home.

 


Caroline is wearing the bat wings and "Boss" hat in this pic.

 

"Mommy, I want to fly!"

 

 

We've been a busy bunch lately. Caroline, Isaac, Anna and I have started going to Preschool in the Park, a program put on by the Battery Park Parks department. It's Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10-12pm at Wagner Park. The park, if you don't know, faces the Statue of Liberty and is mostly enclosed by a low bench type barrier. It's a large grassy area that is perfect for kids to play in. The Parks Dept brings balls, big foam things, dress up toys, play food, building toys and toys that you push around. The kids play for 2 hours and we go home and eat and take a nap. It has been very nice. Of course, Thursday and Friday, we have to improvise our day. Should we take the Staten Island Ferry? Or maybe a Water Taxi? Boats are always big hits with the kids. So is sand. Most of the playgrounds around here have sand, so we just bring our buckets and shovels and dig in! Blogger is acting weird, so I will try to publish some pics later.

 

 

 

 

Lawmakers considere a tax on college endowments.

Here is the story.

Legislators have asked state finance officials to study a plan that would impose a 2.5 percent annual assessment on colleges with endowments over $1 billion, an amount now exceeded by nine Massachusetts institutions.

I have two thoughts here.

(1) Welcome to Taxachusetts! Liberals almost always want higher taxes, so there you go.
(2) I actually think this is a good idea. Why should colleges be able to accumulate wealth without paying taxes on it? In general, I think all institutions should pay taxes, because it would discourage people from establishing non-profits with the intention of tax avoidance.

The idea has prompted a range of questions, including whether it is legal to infringe upon private colleges' tax-exempt status or single them out based on their wealth. It also faces significant opposition from the colleges and some skeptical lawmakers.

I'm sorry but "whether it is legal to infringe upon private colleges' tax exempt status" leaves me wondering why it is 'legal' for the government to abscond with half of my family's income???

But proponents say the colleges' vast accumulations of wealth - Harvard University has the biggest endowment at $34 billion - and their often modest contributions to their host communities justify the assessment.

Harvard's amazing endowment keeps growing, as does their tuition. The tuition at Harvard, is $32,557 for 2008-2009 year, a 3.5% increase over last year. This does not include room and board and the other associated fees, which brings the total closer to $50,000.

University leaders criticized the plan as a gimmick that would backfire by hurting institutions that are pivotal to the state.

"You'd be taxing success here," said Kevin Casey, Harvard's associate vice president for government, community, and public affairs. "Over time, this would put us at a real competitive disadvantage, which would drastically hurt the Commonwealth."

Oh please. "Taxing success"? Ummm, that is also what the income tax does. Unless Harvard eliminates or drastically reduces the tuition (they have $34.9 billion in their rainy day fund, after all) and actually makes it possible for people with lower incomes to attend the prestigious university, I really don't think they are in any position to whine about being taxed on their massive endowment.

I enjoyed this article.

Anna Sophia slept for eight hours straight last night. Very nice.

Hypermiling? Who knew?

Some people claim to get 100 mpg (driving hybrids)using these techniques.

More on hypermiling.

More on the cost of a college education.

A bubble in higher education?

Some people have already mentioned the fact that I am going to be paying for 3 college educations in a row. They ask: have you set up your college savings accounts? Are you putting money in every month? College is expensive, you know. Yes college is expensive. Why is it expensive? Are professor salaries high enough to justify $38,000 a year in just tuition? I think not. College is expensive because it can be. Everyone wants to go to college. And those who don't want to go are forced to by their parents. In NYC, everyone seems to be in college. There are many many colleges here. Some are traditional universities and others are internet based universities. I think college tuition has risen higher than the rate of inflation simply because there is so much money available to students--lots of government grants, low or zero interest loans guaranteed by Uncle Sam (YOU). If schools don't raise their tuition they are leaving that money for other universities to gobble up. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks this. Read this.

Celebrity sighting--

I saw David Schwimmer in Soho!

Hi everyone. It's me again. I've been really overwhelmed lately with 3 children, ages 3 and under. It's as though sometimes I have 10 children crying, wanting this or that, but not in this green cup, in the blue. Oh and no milk, only juice! No juice, water please ****sigh***** Now that I have 5 minutes, I want to give you all a quick update.

* I am having surgery May 16th to correct my umbilical hernia.
* Caroline is getting her hearing tested on May 14th.
* Todd is enroute to Tokyo for a week. He left his glasses in the cab and so I am overnighting his spare pair to him. It might arrive before he does.
* well that is all for now, because I need to go feed Anna Sophia BBL

 

Things to do when you are bored.

 

Put on daddy's pants.

Gun Control.

Fifty-four shootings in two weekends. Shot-up bodies recovered in groups of three and five. Is this Ramadi? Basra? No.

Welcome to Chicago.

Read it HERE. Via Instapundit.

Plant Rights.

I have nothing whatsoever to add. I'm stunned. Via Instapundit.