This just in....

J4 now has a lead level of 7. Back in January in the old house his lead level was less than 2. While 7 is still below the lead level limit of 10 the concern is that his lead level is rising! We believe the source to be our really old hard wood floors (have I mentioned our house is over 100 years old?)the health department said we could use a plastic backed padding underneath carpeting to stop the lead exposure, but I am sure this is very costly and not an option at the moment! I am going to look into the cost just so I can be prepared and in the mean time the director of nursing is contacting the environmentalist at the University to see what if any testing can be done to test the old flooring to be 100% sure and also to ask him if there is a cheaper alternative than carpeting 3 rooms and the stairs! She said we are walking on the floors and tracking the lead to other rooms in the house. Our main living area is downstairs, we have 1 wood floor bedroom upstairs and the hallway. The other bedrooms upstairs are carpeted and the bathrooms have linoleum. J1's bedroom has wood floors also but that room is easy to keep the other kids out of.

3 of the kids and I went for a walk last night. We went to the park and then walked across town and back. This is a photo I got of J2 just as we were leaving.