In the middle of detox

We are on week 4 of detox from vaccines. It has all been very interesting. The kids are taking a homeopathic called Thuja per our naturopath's advice. They go through the "reverse order of symptoms", which basically means that they exhibit every symptom and illness they have had since they were babies.

The first week they both had this awful green snot, that stuck to everything. I guess that was their systems getting rid of the bacteria. The second week Elle developed her milk allergy again. Justin had this nasty poop that looked like it had little black worms or dirt in it. It was gross. The third week Elle developed her bronchitis/croupy cough and Justin just kept pooping more and more. I guess his bowel is recovering.

The fourth week Justin grew I swear what looked like an inch. He has been growing and developing, but at a slower pace because his bowel has been unable to absorb and use nutrients as it should, due to the gluten allergy. He's been on the diet since he was 12 months, but I didn't get on the diet until he was about 14 months. We slip up sometimes, and he is still sensitive to gluten, but he is doing better now with the detox.

I think the reason he has kept up with his development at all is b/c he has been breastfed. 17 months is very late to walk, 12 months is very late to pull up, and 8-9 months was pretty late to crawl. I have had many people tell me that he was well within the range of normal, which is great, it just wasn't normal for my child, who had been developing fine and right on schedule until the shot. I don't know whether the shot precipitated the gluten problem by affecting his bowel or the gluten in his diet just brought out the side effects from the shot.

Elle has developed her eye problem again like she had as a baby, so I think detox is almost over. Justin is talking more, and more clearly now. It turns out that the trace of mercury in the one shot he got was not the problem, it was the aluminum in the shot, which can cause the same heavy metal poisoning and symptoms that mercury poisoning can cause. Dr. Sears had a very interesting section on it in his book.

It is interesting to note that boys often have neurological consequences from shots, and girls have respiratory and skin problems. Elle's exzema is gone, but only because we took her off of cow's milk. Her skin was awful. Her eyes itch now every time she has dairy. Hopefully it will go away again! Not that our bodies need cow's milk anyway. Studies of other mammals show that they do not need milk after they wean, because it has growth hormones designed specifically to help babies grow. Maybe that's why we keep getting bigger and bigger???

It has been interesting being on a gluten free diet. I don't get sick anymore and I've lost a whole bunch of weight, which at first I attributed to nursing, but I think it's more than that. Wheat has to be broken down to be processed, whereas corn and rice retain their whole grain form. Anything that is broken down turns to sugar in your body when it is digested. So even though Justin and I eat a lot of corn and rice, it doesn't seem to be turning into sugar and then fat.

It is interesting to note that Mexicans aren't fat, even though they eat a lot of corn, and Oriental cultures aren't fat, even though they eat a lot of rice. I think it is because of the above. Americans are fat for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the wheat we eat, that is in everything, even things you would not expect! The other reason we are fat is b/c of bottlefeeding, where the baby does not control how much he eats. It is easy to get a baby to finish a bottle, but there is no way you can get a baby to breastfeed if he doesn't want to.

Studies have been showing that newborns are overfed in the hospital. On day 1 a baby's stomach can only fit about 5-7 mLs (1/6 of an ounce), 22-27 mL (about 1 ounce) on day 3 when mom's milk comes in, and about 60-81 mL (2 to almost 3 ounces) on day 10. So what are we doing to babies in the hospital when they are fed 2 ounce bottles every 3 hours from birth? Overfeeding! And when that happens babies' fullness indicators are ignored by both the baby and the caregiver, and that leads to overeating later in life... and fat adults!

Ok enough of my rant, the kids are doing much better.

Today

He said:

Cookie
butterfly
tricycle
Elmo
Pine cone

I QUIT!!!

I quit my job, as some of you already know. I could think of a million reasons to quit and only one to stay, which was to help out WIC moms one on one. But because I was supervising people who help WIC moms, I was not able to do much one on one counseling, like I thought I would be in the beginning.

It was such a mess anyway. Meshawn asked me to write up a report for my replacement. It ended up being 14 pages. It turns out that the numbers of WIC participants we based the number of Peer Counselors on was wrong, it was supposed to be divided by 3, as the numbers are for three months, not one. So we hired three times more PCs than we needed.

That also means that my numbers of breastfeeding referrals were much better than they looked, since the numbers hadn't been divided by three. So instead of reaching 4-10% of moms, we were probably reaching more like 25-40% of moms. Which is good for this area.

The other problem is the State Breastfeeding Coordinator. She has been at this job for 11 years and not much has been accomplished. Unfortunately she is also the V.P. of the LLCA, which means I have to see her on a regular basis. It seemed that every time the program was going well, she would shoot it in the foot and change her mind about how she wanted things done.

So now that I am out of a job, Eric wants to quit too! He is actively looking elsewhere. I told him I would feel the same way if I was passed over for a promotion, and then they hired this jackass from Florida. Basically the chef is a little man with a Napoleon complex who wants things done only his way. He listens to no one. So Eric can do the dance a bit longer and then we'll find somewhere else to go.

I am really happy here right now, but... I don't think it is worth it if my husband is miserable every day. Plus the city is doing nothing to rectify the nasty housing that hasn't been torn down or gutted. It is really a health hazard for the kids here. Imagine if Justin wasn't nursing? He'd be sick all the time! And Elle has horrible exzema, which could be related, but is probably more related to something she is eating.

Anyway that is what is going on at the moment. I'm sure I'll have more news soon!

Little Eric and Little Katie

Justin's expanding vocabulary

He is saying more and more every day!

Now it is:

Kitty!
Elle! (sounds like Eow)
Pee Pee (and then he acutally goes pee pee on the potty)
Raining
Pretzel
Mommy
Hi (and waves)
Bye (and waves)
Nose
Ear
Mouth
Teeth
Ow or Boo Boo (and points to boo boo)
Outside
Lion

He learned how to say Elle after they spent their first night apart on Friday (we went to a LLL retreat). I don't think he knew she had a name, it was just "sister"!

He really is becoming a little man. He has gotten much taller, and suddenly lost all that cute chub around his knees. He was laying on my tummy today at the chiro, and she said he was already about half my length! He is going to be tall!

NO LINK BETWEEN BREASTFEEDING AND TOOTH DECAY

Breastfeeding does not cause early childhood tooth decay, according to
a new study. "Association Between Infant Breastfeeding and Early
Childhood Caries in the United States" analyzed data on oral health, 
infant feeding, and numerous other factors among children ages 2 to 5,
in the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Despite some reports that link breastfeeding, especially prolonged
breastfeeding, with dental caries, this study found no such increased 
risk. In contrast, maternal smoking was found to increase the risk for
dental caries.

Justin's new words

He is learning more and more every day! Some of his sentences are intelligible, but we are usually able to understand...

I don't want to.
get down
up!
let's go!
shoes?
walk
ride
rock
night-night
doe-doe

I love this town

As much as I complain about it (and who doesn't have a love/hate relationship with this city???), it takes my breath away to see how beautiful this city is. Every time I go over the GNO bridge, which is quite a lot these days since the majority of my clinics are on the Best Bank, I pass by downtown and it just gives me a good feeling inside to see my hometown. I was driving back from a PC meeting tonight over the GNO coming back to Metairie with the bridge and the city all lit up, and I have to admit it made me sad that we might have to leave in a few years just so our kids can go to a good school. But then I thought, as many times as we have left, we have always come back, and I know that eventually this is where I want to go to die! I can't imagine spending the golden years of our life in any other place. I wonder how many other people out there have also gone through the revolving door away and back home, and how many times? You can take the girl out of Louisiana, but you can't take Louisiana out of the girl...

Justin's new phrases

Where are you?
Why?
What?
Mine!
No! (even when he means yes)
Something that sounds like "what did you do?"
And now he can say-
bath
apple
cheese
tea
and say something that sounds like banana while making the sign for banana.

Amazing little critters aren't they?

From the Alligator Hatchin' Party last weekend

Choice phrases

"You suck!"
"You are a fat ass."
"You are a big fat phony."
All from my 3 year old who has taken up telling me what to do on a daily basis. Bossy.
Why didn't I believe that 3 is worse than 2???

Can someone find me a job?

I'd like a new job. Please. The job is going OK. But the clinics are not cooperating and doing referrals like they should. And my boss has said they need to do paper referrals instead of just printing out a list of clients from the daily roster of mothers and mothers to be who come in for their WIC appointments. But I need to double the number of referrals we are getting. Anyone see a problem here?

I am also thinking that I enjoy the one on one with breastfeeding moms much more than I enjoy supervising people who do one on one with breastfeeding moms. I want to teach breastfeeding classes and get paid for it. So I called Healthy Start today to see if they needed anyone to do that, and the director said it is possible, I need to just come in with my materials. So we'll see. Maybe I'll have a new job by Sept. 30 when my contract expires!

On getting off the train

So I finally got to watch Grey's Anatomy... the last four episodes! The season finale was so not worth it, but it got me thinking.

There are two interns sitting there talking to each other, one of which failed the intern exam, and the other who didn't take it at all. The one that failed is talking about being on a train going 200 miles an hour and not knowing how to get off.

What would have happened if I hadn't gotten off that train 10 years ago? I never intended to go Pre-Med. I just told my advisor that my favorite subjects in high school were Biology and Chemistry, and I was put on that track. Of course my parents were beside themselves when I told them my major, but I was not so thrilled. I had gotten on the train.

I ended up enjoying everything but Chemistry. High school chem did not prepare me for a lecture hall with 500 students, and a brilliant professor who couldn't teach his way out of a bag. All of my C's were in Chemistry. Organic chem was so hard, but Biology courses were so easy for me. I ended up being a TA for the Biology Dept.

After a grueling semester taking Genetics, which was so over my head, I had just about had it. I was tired of feeling like I was in over my head and getting C's in my subjects was just not me. My advisor told me point blank that I would never get into med school with my GPA, unless I aced the MCAT. I had never planned on taking the MCAT, nor did I have a desire to go to med school.

I had always felt like a girl in the boy's club in Pre-Med. Sure there were girls who did very well, but I was average for that track. I'm not an average student, never have been. So when I lost my scholarship because of those C's, I decided to change my major. I had finally gotten off the train. What a relief!

I made straight A's in my Nursing courses. Microbiology tests were easy, I got mostly 99s and 100s on them. My advisor kept telling me I was too smart for Nursing. But I was average in Pre-Med. What was I supposed to do? When I transferred back home with Eric I took the NLN, the test to get into Nursing School here. I scored so high that my advisor here told me to go back to Pre-Med. But I had had enough of that track.

Where would I be if I had stayed on the train? 32 years old, single, no kids, stuck in a job that I didn't like. Eric and I would have broken up had I stayed at TCU. He'd be a famous chef, I'd be an M.D. with $80,000 in debt. Or a Biology teacher in Fort Worth b/c I didn't get into med school.

I'm so glad I stuck with what I did. I had a great time in Nursing school, going out and playing at night, and being able to pass my classes with A's and B's. It was actually fun, something I rarely got to experience at TCU b/c I was always studying. I got some real world experience after nursing school that was invaluable. I'm so glad I didn't wait until I was 30 to enter the real world and start working.

Can you imagine what life would be like after 12 years of post-graduation from high school academics? Burnout is an understatement. That's one of the reasons I refrained from getting my Master's degree. I was so burned out by the time I graduated from Nursing school. Really, where would I be now?

I'm doing a job (or three) that I love, I have a great husband and two beautiful kids. The financial picture isn't that great, but so what? I'm glad I got off that train.

JUSTIN IS WALKING!!!

Justin started walking on Monday when I was at Dr. Newman's talk at the conference, in the hotel bar of all places. But it is real walking, all over the place. I couldn't be more pleased!!! Now I just have to go back to the pediatrician and correct the records that say he started walking at 13 months- but that is a different story entirely.

Video soon to be posted on YouTube.

Something else to face

Let's face this one head on too-

When you are working, especially from home, or in a job where you bring your kids, you start to see them differently. No longer do their little games and little faces bring joy every time you see them. You start to think they are getting in the way of your work sometimes. And that is a horrible thing to admit, but it is true.

I could never figure my friend Jennifer out. She ran this consignment shop on Hilton Head when we lived there, and she was always complaining that Gabriel, who is 3 months older than Elle, would never let her work! She brought him to work but couldn't get much done. He wanted to nurse a lot and when she didn't pay attention, he would bite her! I just didn't get why she always complained and didn't just sit down now and then and pay attention to him.

Needless to say, now I get it. A lot of my job is talking on the phone, and that is usually a signal for the kids to start running around the house chasing each other, or yelling, or Elle trying to get the Tylenol bottle or homeopathic tablets open so she can "take more medicine". And it's not just for work that I talk on the phone. The same goes for La Leche League moms and doula clients. Sometimes I need quiet to help a mom out who is having a hard time, and those calls don't always come at nap time.

So that usually leads to parking them in front of Sesame Street. It is the only thing I let them watch during the day, and I TIVO it to have it available. It's not like they watch anything besides PBS...

So a few weeks ago I was reading the paper (a rare occurrence these days- I also still have 3 episodes of Gray's Anatomy to watch and that ended in what, April?), and the AAP is talking about how bad it is for kids to watch TV at all if they are under 2. Well great, I think. That was a perfectly acceptable thing for my first child. She didn't watch anything until about 18 months, wasn't interested. But guess what, when I was 33 weeks pregnant with Justin, I was put on bedrest. And I can only farm my kid out so many times before we just have to sit and watch TV. After that she wanted to watch Sesame Street every day.

How bad could it be, I thought? Well, bad. Because Justin learned at a very early age to watch TV. As soon as he could sit in the Bumbo Seat he wanted to sit next to her and watch. He is much more distractible and cannot concentrate on one task like she could at this age. Is it the TV's fault? Who knows.

The point is that guess what, AAP, the TV is part of all of our lives. Our family has gone in cycles, of a lot of TV, and very little. But you know what? If my MIL or another family member lived next door, I could just send the kids over there for the hour I need to get work done instead of parking them. But I don't have that luxury and I don't know many mothers who do. So guess what, until our society circles back to the village concept, tired parents are going to use the TV to get a break.

That's the way it is, folks.

Let's Face It

Working is hard on a mom. But what I didn't expect was that now that I am working, I don't get as much flak from my in-laws about asking for help with the kids. It was like when I was staying at home, the assumption was that I was "running the day care", and they shouldn't have to help unless I had a dental appointment or the like. Of course most of this came from my FIL, my MIL loves to take the kids any time.

It is really strange the way our society views staying at home. It's almost as if we say to moms, you are at home, so you don't deserve any time off from your kids. That's your job. There is even this whole gaggle of SAHMs on the internet who think that if you put your child in preschool or mother's day out, you are farming your child out to someone else and you should feel guilty about taking time out for yourself. Many of them call it "glorified day care". Well whatever. Every mom needs a break now and then. I know I did.

So back to this SAHM VS WAHM VS WOHM. I think in some ways working moms who go to a job have the most help, in our society. They have the support from family or other caregivers who help raise their child(ren). This goes back to the whole village raising a child concept. No woman is an island and shouldn't be expected to raise kids on her own. How much easier things would be if you had your mom or MIL next door to just take the baby when things got hairy or you just needed a colic break!

But that is the expectation now, that a SAHM needs to just suck it up and raise the kids all by herself. If she has help from her family, great. But many times I was afraid to ask for help b/c I kept getting the subtle message that I didn't deserve time off if this was my job now...

So anyway, working at home can be difficult too, because you do have deadlines, like payday was this Tuesday and I had to get everyone's time sheets in on time and make sure they were correct. This is at the same time that Justin is trying to destroy the office while I work.

The thing that just baffles me is this: I had two jobs before this one, or actually three. Raising two kids, La Leche League, and my Doula business. But none of those mattered to my FIL b/c none brought in a regular paycheck. But now that I have a job that brings in money, he is all for watching the kids any time I need them to. I get no more flak for asking for help. No more, well, you should bring Elle when Paige is here because we already are watching a kid.

It is so strange and a sad commentary on the way our society completely devalues mothering...

A Typical Monday

0800- Cheryl Robichaux, the Breastfeeding Coordinator from Marrero, calls to find out if she is supposed to be doing referral forms yet. I say no, my Peer Counselors haven't been trained yet, but when they are she can start doing them. Right when she calls Elle decides she needs to go potty, and in the middle of the conversation she yells out, "MOMMY I POOPED!!!". Cheryl finds this mildly amusing. One of the perks of working from home...

HELLO?

YOU ARE WEARING A T-SHIRT THAT ADVERTISES BREAST PUMPS, PEOPLE. HOLLISTER MAKES BREAST PUMPS. CAN I SAY THAT TO THE NEXT TEENAGER THAT PASSES ME WITH ONE OF THESE ON AT THE MALL??? I BET THEY'D WANT TO CRAWL UNDER THE FLOOR IF THEY KNEW THAT...

I CAN JUST HEAR IT NOW... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

I'll sleep when...

...I'm dead. As my ex used to say. Of course this is the same person who stayed up every night listening to After Midnight until 5 AM...

My newest job

I am the new Secretary of the newly formed Greater New Orleans Breastfeeding Awareness Coalition. According to my boss, who is the President, GNOBAC and other coalition work is on my job description for WIC. So add that to my slate of things to do...

When am I going to get these minutes done? In between breaths? When I don't have LLL moms to call, or World Breastfeeding Week events to plan, or clients to call, or applicants to call, or Breastfeeding Coordinators at the clinics to call, or clinic visits to do, or paperwork to do (it's a state job- the paperwork never ends), or LLL meetings to plan, or advertising to do for my business, or action plans to write and contact lists to do for WIC, or...

What else can I volunteer for??? Am I nuts? I am starting to think so.

My Job

Do I love it or do I hate it? Much like my relationship with this city, it is always a toss up. I like working, and I like what I'm doing, but it is a fluid thing, changing from day to day. I never know what is going to come up.

As some of you know, I was made an example of at the last meeting with my two supervisors. Even though I had done my homework, my bosses had not talked to each other at all about what their visions were for the program. So I kept getting flak for doing things that my one boss said to do, from the other one.

Finally at the end of the meeting my boss stood up for me... but it was a little too late. I was ready to quit by then. Needless to say we had to meet first thing the next week to get everything sorted out. The problem is, this is a new program to the state. There are going to be many things that have to be worked out.

So tomorrow I go for more clinic visits. I have done almost all of my interviews, and have 5 out of 6 of my Peer Counselors selected. Now onto the approval process, then training, then roll out of the program Aug. 1. At least I have a deadline!

Now if I could just get some sleep, or maybe some child care, so that I can work during the day and stop staying up so late just to get things done...

Katie says...

... that I could sell Breastfeeding to a cow. Do you agree? I thought that was pretty good...

I can't believe this is happening

So work is busy. I thought before that I didn't do anything all day... it turns out that taking care of the kids is at least a 20 hour a week job. B/c now I don't have any time to do that. Eric is on vacation, so he is doing my old job while I do my new one. And I think he has figured out that it is actually work... b/c he said last night he wants me to quit b/c I don't spend enough time with them...

Anyway. Something will eventually have to give. It can't be LLL or my clients. But my kids are suffering b/c I am spending so much time working when I could be spending it with them. It's that old dilemma- do I work so we have money to do stuff with the kids, but not the time, or do I not work so I can spend time with them, but have no money? There is no clear answer.

I do like my job, though. My in-laws would die if they knew where the WIC clinics are that I have been going to. Well, they serve lower income people, so they are in those neighborhoods. I have never been scared to go into any neighborhood in N.O. and now I am even less so, b/c most are not repopulated, and the projects have these very high fences around them. Is that a bad thing to admit? I'm not sure...

My new job

So it's not so bad. The worst part is trying to figure out what to do when. I feel like I have already been working 40 hours a week between the kids, the doula business, and my LLL group. For the WIC job, I have had to push aside much of the second two just to get 20 hours a week in. My kids of course come first, so whatever doesn't get done, just doesn't get done!

Is it worth it? Yes and no. It is definitely worth it for the $$ because I no longer have to worry about it from paycheck to paycheck. And the consumerism bug doesn't bite you so hard in the ass when you have work to do. No, because I feel like I am spending much of my time making up for the fact that mommy is working to my kids.

Just today, I spent 5 hours in training, and the rest of the day nursing Justin, because I had to make up for the fact that I left him for that long. In no way am I ready to wean my child just for a job. You would think that a place like WIC would be amenable to taking breaks to nurse, but it's more like taking breaks to pump. I guess that is more acceptable, but I just can't pump for Justin and he hates anything from a bottle.

So anyway! I like working but it will take some adjusting after being out of the work force for 3 years. Oh well live and learn.

Backrubs

Lately I have been the lucky recipient of backrubs, complete with water, soap, and drying off, then kisses everywhere. All I need to do is to tell Elle that my back hurts, and the treatment begins. So nice after a long day! Who knew motherhood had these perks?

My new office mate

He is so nice, but he is small. He likes to push all the buttons on the printer. He also likes to unplug things from the wall and pull on the fax line. He has decided to bang on the keyboard any chance he gets so that I can't work. Quite a person to work with!

On being too good to be true

It usually is. My job- is going to be interesting! I am supposed to go out and plug a program that I have had no training on, and when I ask for info from my boss, guess what I get? Go ask someone else! Is that how it's supposed to work? I guess, like Ms. Ellen said, I'll have to look at it as a good thing. This just means that I get to do whatever I want with the program and develop it however I want to.
I guess the most stress comes from trying to work with two little ones running around, and keep them occupied. Also Elle has started going to her grandparents on Thursdays, and that can be stressful too, just being away from her. I guess I have gotten used to being with her all the time when she's not in school! Ah well school will be out May 22.

Strollers

When did parents decide that children can't walk? We went to the Zoo the other day and there were soooo many 3, 4, and even 5 year olds riding in strollers. It is really sad. Elle hasn't been in a stroller since she was about 15 months, because she wanted to walk, and wouldn't stay in it. Are kids just out of shape nowadays or what? Is this some new parental obligation I don't know about?

Elle's new song

Dadddddeeeeeee!!!
You don't say dammit and shits,
Dammit and shits,
Dammit and shits,
No you doooooooooon't!!!

Just pat me on the head, why don't you?

I hate pediatricians. They can be so pompous and think they know everything about breastfeeding, when in fact they know very little. They get no instruction in med school, and it is only optional for OB residents. I took Justin to the MD the other day b/c he was on a nursing strike. He would try to nurse, take one suck, then bite and start to cry. I knew something was wrong b/c he was eating and drinking from any cup he didn't have to suck out of. He had tonsillitis a few weeks back, but since he was eating, I figured that was resolved.

So I take him to the ped and I tell her what's going on, that he has stopped nursing, and she just nods like it is the most normal thing in the world. So I have to explain to her that there is something wrong when he goes from an every 3-4 hour nursing schedule to not wanting to suck at all. She gives me this weird look. Then she looks in his ears, and guess what? He has a raging ear infection in the left ear.

So we talk a little more, and on her way out the door, she says, "you go back to nursing now, little guy" like it is funny or something. The sarcasm in her voice really pissed me off. So what if he is 14 months? Hasn't she heard that breastmilk is still very important until he is 2? Has she ever read the WHO code? Probably not. I'm looking for a new doctor.

Today

We went to the playground today and Elle was so cute... kept telling the other kids "watch out for my brother!" and "let my brother go first". It was really sweet. They were playing together on the big playground, and went down the slides together. They just thought it was so much fun!

Strawberry Fest Pic

You might not be able to see it too well, but Hugh and Eric have strawberries on their foreheads and Elle has one on her cheek!

Ah men

Are we really the weaker sex? Because everything I'm reading about weaning says that boys should be nursed longer, since they are more prone to sickness. I remember the NICU nurses assuring me that Elle would be fine, she is a girl, and girls are much stronger than boys. She is actually. She has had much less of a problem with all the shots she has gotten, even the hot lots... and Justin reacted to just one.

So are we really weaker? Aren't we the ones who grow babies and birth them? And then feed them until they can tolerate solid foods? Someone has pulled the wool over our eyes. Women are much stronger than we are given credit for. Who is responsible for this farce?

Working in the hospital was an eye opener. The men were so wimpy when they were sick... but the women just put on a brave face and got through it. They were much better when it came to pain. And most of the time when a man was sick, he had his wife there to support him. But usually when the tables were turned, husbands couldn't be counted on to be there for their wives. It was their friends who were there for them.

God I need to write a book about all my hospital experiences. I think it would be cathartic. Gee I'll get right on that...

Take my daughter, please

Won't someone take her? She is driving me nuts. I know, I know, all three year olds are this way, but... the screaming and shrieking when she doesn't get what she wants is driving me batty. Take her please?

Allergies

Hello everyone,

I guess I should apologize for sending out mass emails all the time! My brain just gets clogged with all kinds of stuff, and since I don't journal anymore this is a good outlet. Dad pointed out the horoscope to me the day before my birthday, and said it fit me to a tee- it went something like this, "you are not always the last word. Other people do have opinions and you need to respect them". I had seen it and thought the same thing. So yes I know my point of view is a bit skewed sometimes, and I think I am right about everything. So just let me know every once in a while if I am being a PITA.

The last email I sent was in January... it's hard to know all that has gone on since then, but I will try to give you an update. Both Elle and Justin went for allergy testing to foods, and both were negative. The allergist said that it is highly suspicious though that Justin's symptoms go away when we remove gluten from his diet. She prescribed an antibiotic and a steroid to clear up the inflammation in his ears, even though he didn't have an ear infection. It worked for a while but then the ear pain came back when he started teething and cutting his bottom teeth.

So I got into a discussion with her when I was there with Justin about immunizations. She basically said that in this case the hygiene hypothesis applies, that our kids are too clean. They aren't exposed to endotoxins in the environment like children are who live in the country or on a farm, etc. So their immune systems are not stimulated the way other children's would be, and their immunities are down-regulated, while the part of the immune system that regulates allergies is up-regulated. So basically it is OK for your kid to play in the dirt and chew on shoelaces, it is good for their immune system.

Then we were talking about side effects from vaccines, autism, etc. She said everyone made a big deal about thimerosal (the mercury preservative in vaccines), so they removed it, but children are still suffering from autism spectrum disorders. I said that they had recently found that children with autism spectrum disorders also have sensitivities to gluten and casein (cow's milk protein), and their symptoms improve dramatically when they are taken off of foods that contain them. She had not heard of that.

Breast Pump T Shirts

I think it is just hilarious that all these teenagers are going around wearing Hollister shirts. The first time I saw one, I was like, don't they know Hollister makes breast pumps and colostomy supplies? Now every time I see one, I think- wow free advertising for breast pumps. Haha. If they only knew.

One of my girl

Here is a pic of Elle's things, all nicely laid out when she got home from school. And a pic of miss sassy pants.

I cut his hair!

Yes I cut his hair. I am his mother, I am allowed. Get over it. He was hot and sweaty, and now he is much cooler without all that girly hair. All the old people in the grocery store thought he was a girl.

Ugh

Why are people so damn intolerant of little kids? I know I used to be, so maybe I deserve it, but... I took Elle to the chiropractor today and she was kind of ugly to her. Yes, Elle had a meltdown b/c I made her stay in the room and close the door when Justin and I were getting adjusted. But that is par for the course with a 3 year old, I am learning more and more these days. But so what? She is my kid and I handled it. I am the one who has to discipline, not her. I was so aggravated. I just can't wait until people like that have their own 3 year olds. I am almost wishing it on them. Anyway...

Sweet girl

Elle came up to me today and said, "ooooh mommy, your back still hurts?", then rubbed my back and kissed it. She had been doing that in the morning when we wake up, when I ask her to, but never just out of the blue like that. It was so cute.

My poor daughter... it is amazing how much home videos will show you about your own life. It is scary sometimes. We take these little videos, snippets of our lives together, and I usually think, well, this is insignificant, but it might mean more when I watch later. And usually it does.

Like the other day we were watching some video from Jan and Feb, and Eric is filming, and I am sitting there playing with Justin. He pans over to Elle and she is sitting there alone on the couch, crushed. She looks like she is about to cry. I had never really noticed this, just noticed that she would act up a lot when I gave Justin extra attention.

So I began giving her more positive attention- most of it had been negative- don't strangle your brother, etc. I noticed at the playground that she loved when we played together, but when I would go back to see what Justin was doing, she'd freak out. Duh, mommy. She needs more attention.

I guess she thought I didn't love her anymore. Now that she is getting much more attention, loving, cuddling, rocking, etc, she is much happier. She keeps coming up to me and just hugging me around the legs, and saying, "I missed you so much mommy". It is enough to break your heart.

Wow. It is amazing what a little home video can do.

Da Nint' Ward and Chalmatianland

What else is going on in this brain? Oh- I went to see a client last week who lives in the Lower 9th Ward. My God, I have lived in this town my whole life minus about 8 years, and I had never been to that part of the city. Ever. I was really ashamed to tell her that. She lives in this gorgeous creole cottage that has been completely redone, with solar panels on the roof and everything.

The thing is, she and her husband and baby are the only people living on their block. There are two or three families/people on every block, most in trailers. It is so sad. I really admire someone like that, with that pioneer spirit. There are no services out there, no cops, fire dept, grocery stores, etc. The kicker is that most of the houses are gutted, just waiting for the "Road Home" to make them whole. What a joke.

Anyway, it is so sad! What a beautiful part of town. It is all residential, New Orleans style homes, and I think mom said it is an area with one of the highest percentages of home ownership in the country. The problem I guess is that most people once they pay off the mortgage don't have insurance to cover water that was up to the roof. It is worse than Lakeview.

Then we went to St. Bernard today for the crawfish festival. God the mudbugs were good! But the parish is in striking contrast to the one next to it, the 9th Ward. It is mostly white, whereas the 9th Ward is mostly black. St. Bernard has services, and a bank, and grocery store. They also have all these little spots set up with bunches of trailers. I think one of them was for the govt workers since it was next to city hall.

They had a place to go to apply for Road Home grants. This stuff doesn't exist over the parish line. I know Nagin is an idiot, but I can see his point when he says people don't want the poor blacks to come back. Just one look at this place will tell you that. I wish I had brought my camera. Maybe I'll have to go back again just to take pictures. I should have done that when I had a client in the Bywater too.

Anyway it is depressing. Where are all the people that belong in these scores and scores of houses? Are they coming back? And how? What a logistical nightmare. I felt sick to my stomach when we drove out of there. I am not completely naive, I know there was blight there before, but still. Those people deserve better than they are getting right now. Ugh.

I have time now...

Inspired by the moms who write Dooce.com and Fussy blogs, I am going to start blogging. There is way too much stuff in my head to wait a month, 6 weeks, or two months to write an email saga. Like did we have seagulls here before Katrina? I don't think we did. I forgot how annoying they can be. It is so strange to see them in the Wal Mart parking lot flying overhead.

I really think Katrina made New Orleans almost waterfront property. We're having weather like we used to have in Hilton Head. Nice, balmy, cool weather in the 70s and 80s, an actual spring. In the past spring in New Orleans lasted about a week. It went from bitter, rainy cold to hot and sticky just like that. Maybe our weather has changed permanently. It would make sense considering that places like Empire are now almost completely under water, where there was land before.

How surreal must that be? I think I read in the paper that in Cocodrie they can't plant gardens anymore b/c whenever there's a wind blowing from the south all the yards flood. And the people working at LSU down there have to go to work by boat now. Oh, Katrina. How you've changed our lives.