May pics

April and May pics are posted on the website www.kodakgallery.com/katieanderic. I recently added some pics from April that I forgot on my camera.

So much going on here! Justin got his tubes the beginning of April and that went OK- it took him a long time to recover, not from the tubes, but from the ET tube (breathing tube) they put down his throat for general anesthesia. It stretched out his uvula and I couldn't get him to nurse for anything for at least 12 hours. After a few doses of pain meds and some breastmilk to the back of the throat he finally started nursing again, but not until after I had pumped a few times. Pumping is the pits! Anyway it helped his hearing a lot.

We started a music class at Loyola in February, and we went after he got his tubes, thinking it would be better b/c he would be able to actually hear the teacher's instructions. You know he's been bad when all the parents and the instructor roll their eyes when you walk in the door! He usually screams in class that he wants to leave and generally acts up, or nurses the whole time. Well the last time we went he was awful. I think it might be overstimulation for him or he can hear that much better that it really bothered him. He threw fits the whole class, tried to hit another child with the drum stick, and needed a time out in the middle of class. He screamed at me quite a few times and was just miserable. No more music class for him!


When we went back to the ENT for his follow up, which is always awful b/c they make you wait an hour (try that with a kid who never sits down), he was even worse. Fussing the whole time we waited, nursing the whole time, and just generally being miserable. I know the people in the waiting room are always glad to see us get in to our appointment. Anyway the doc called him "disgusting Justin" in the office b/c he was literally climbing the walls by the time he saw us. Really, what did he expect after an hour in the waiting room? Needless to say I am not going back any time soon, I'll have Dr. C check his ears thank you very much!

So then on the 15th I had my OB appt which I think I wrote about the ultrasound. Yes there is only one baby. The OB is nice, but still a doctor, and expects me to just go along with whatever she tells me to do, which is irritating. She really really wants me to have genetic testing since I am over 30 (oh the horrors!), and since I have a higher likelihood of a positive AFP. I told her I would refuse an amnio if I did have a positive AFP, and she seemed not to believe me, b/c she said we'd talk about genetic testing again at my next appt. What about "no" did she not understand? I think we'll have a lot to discuss in June.

OK! So then at the end of April Eric went to cook for a job in Austin (not with Marriott). The corporate chef offered him the job and gave him the salary range. Eric was to negotiate with HR and the GM of the new hotel for salary and benefits. Well when it came time for the offer to come in, the corporate chef somehow let it slip that they were looking at other candidates. When Eric called him to discuss it, he said he had "moved on to other projects" and didn't know what was going on. All in all we are happy that it happened when it did, and not after he got there, so that he didn't drag other people with him to Austin only to find out that the support from the corporate chef wasn't there. The kicker is that the job was just re-posted, at $20,000 less in salary than what the corporate chef said they were going to pay.

So then- the regional person at Marriott calls Eric and tells him that he would like him to look at the Memphis job. The hotel is for sale, but the sale has fallen through twice. So we went up to MO to see the Reitmans, and then to Memphis to look at the hotel. Eric was pumped about doing it, but a little skeptical about the hotel being sold. Then they offered him only 2% above what he's making now, which is ridiculous since most of the time when you move you get at least a 10% bump. Ay! So they ended up hiring Mark's old sous chef from Marco Island, who was apparently cheaper.

The upside to this is that we are staying until after the baby. There are a few downsides, one of which was that we already had a few moving companies give us prices, already had a mortgage pre-approved, and I was talking with the LLL leaders in Austin about starting a group. I also closed the LLL bank account here. Not only that, we had several garage sales, cleaned out the attics and the house, got it ready to put on the market, did all the price research that involves, and I even found a midwife and OB group in Austin.

The other thing is Elle's school. I missed all the Pre-K registrations in December and February, so now I am trying to choose between her current school and one that will accept Justin and his behavior issues. The food issues aren't a problem at her current school, but Danielle's son was kicked out for "behavioral issues" and the fact that he was not "developmentally on par" with the other 2 year olds. So I am looking at a Pre-K that has a kindergarten attached to it, and if not I will enroll her at her school and put J somewhere else, although the driving won't be fun!

Catholic school is ridiculous now- $3800 for kindergarten at the local parochial schools. For 3 kids it's $7900. So not counting appreciation, inflation, and the increased price of high school, that is about $96,000 we would spend to send our kids all the way through Catholic school. That is way too much money in my book, even if there is financial aid available. I looked at the public school in our district, and before Katrina it was a 4 star school, but is now a 2 star school, and says on their website that they still "need help".

So there are three magnet schools I can try to get her into next year. Lusher is uptown and apparently takes kids from the community after kids in their district are admitted. Because it is now a charter school I think the rules have changed. There is also Metairie Academy, which I missed the enrollment for the $250/month Pre-K, which would have guaranteed her a spot. And then there is the International School which is a foreign language immersion program in the CBD, which has an admission lottery. Siblings are guaranteed to get in once your child is chosen for the lottery.

All of this enrollment needs to be done between Dec. and Feb., for kindergarten the next year. Eric swears that he will have found another job by then, but even so, Elle needs to be enrolled in Kindergarten somewhere, because I am not about to homeschool! I have a good friend and colleague who has 3 kids. She decided to stay home and homeschool instead of working (she has a PhD in breastfeeding), and is miserable. She never gets a break, and won't admit that she doesn't like it, because the financial benefits are too many to count. I'm sure she's good at it but she never looks happy! Homeschooling is great for the few talented and patient women who can do it, and I am not one of them!!!

So other than that things are going well. I am getting excited about the baby. I have these phases where I am nesting like crazy, getting everything organized and cleaning things out. I did get rid of a lot of baby essentials, thinking I wouldn't need them again, even clothes! I have an ultrasound with the perinatologist on June 18 so hopefully we'll find out the sex and I can get on with sorting clothes again.

Elle was so cute, we were looking through the Target baby registry catalog and came upon the breast pumps. She said, "oh those are so you can do your boobs- you know when the baby bites you? You know when you want to give milk in a cup? The baby in your belly can do that." And she keeps referring to the baby as a "she". I know kids have a 6th sense about that, so we'll see if she's correct soon!

Justin is a whole other story which I will send in another email.

Hope all is well out there!