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...