1.22.2009

flare up... out of xanax.

lead paint.  everywhere.  lead paint.  lead paint dust.  in my apartment.  on spoons.  on bowls.  on floor.  baby.  crawling.  hands in mouth.  call matt.  no answer.  call matt.  no answer.  google it.  no, don't google it.  lead.  heavy metal.  lead poisoning.  neurological complications.  remedial reading classes.  college?  happy marriage?  functioning adult?  my fault.  lead.  lead.  lead.  crap.

extreme?  maybe, but if at this moment you drilled a small hole in my head, that's exactly what would come oozing out.  i actually don't even know to what extent we've got lead in the walls and window sills; all i know is that it's a definite possibility here since our building was constructed in 1900 (crazy, right? 1900! think of the stories. maybe someone was murdered here. stop it, erin. focus: lead.).  so until we determine the risk, i have come to the rational conclusion that matt will be the one to open, shut and clean the windows and sills since he has the best health insurance.

11 comments:

k. said...

Oh dear.

Let's cover your entire apartment in saran wrap. Just until you figure things out.

Kat said...

I feel your pain Erin. Not to worry you further, but have you looked into the asbestos situation? My ceilings are covered in it. I read through the renter's agreement yesterday and it said, "do not sweep, wipe, poke, touch, or in any other way disrupt the ceiling. Asbestos dust can be harmful to your health. If the ceiling is damaged in any way or dust appears to be coming from the ceiling, hold your breath and leave the area immediately."
Yes, that's real comforting.

Jill said...

At least he'll have something to blame when he gets 2/10 on a spelling test right?

That is scary. I don't even know how to test that. If I was staying in our apartment for the next 5 years I would take ont he project of scraping all of the moldings. I'm pretty sure they have 20 layers of paint. awful.

Amy said...

Oh Erin, this is serious. When we were working on our house Rhett was a crawling baby. We thought we were being careful and never took our kids to the house. Turns out Berk was bringing the dust home on his clothes. I had Rhett tested and it was quite elevated. I had to clean everything and Berk had to strip at the door and put his clothes in a bag. THey say even real small levels can have an affect. It freaked me right out. I don't want to scare you too much ha ha. but we gave Rhett a blessing and he is doing great. He is starting to read and not in kindergarten yet. Go to your doctor and get his blood tested. YOu can also buy a lead test kit for your house at home depot. YOur body will absorb the lead and it is most critical in the first 3 years of life. Make sure he drinks lots of milk and takes a vitamin with iron. If your body doesn't have enough iron it will absorb the lead instead. Ok I hope I didn't totally freak you out. But I went through this and it was stressful. Please call me if you want. good luck. 801 540 1065

i'm h.mac said...

went thru the same thing. we were warned about it before moving in. by law if there is lead paint you have to sign a paper saying you knew about it. in boston kids under the age of 6 cannot even live in apts that have lead paint in them. we lived thru ours, they just told us other paint had been painted over it so we were okay, but dust? aye me.........

noelle said...

woah. i'm not sure i have a comment for this. smarter people than me have commented before... so, uh... good luck? and go give foxxy a little blessing?

hilary said...

scary! i don't even know what to say, i'm sorry! i hope that it's nothing you have to worry about. i think prayers and blessings would be the best solution at this point!

Lori said...

oh boy oh boy oh boy.

dani said...

we'll get em' we'll get those....

Anonymous said...

I feel so bad. This didn't even occur to me until you said something but since people have probably just painted over and over those windows I guess it makes sense? What did the apartment people say about it?

Kathryn said...

I had a day or two like that in our apartment in el DF. There was this spot where N liked to pick at the paint. I covered the whole thing with duct tape (and you thought that was just my awesome decorating skills)figured that would hold it in place, and hoped for the best. We did have his lead levels checked as well.

old me.