Yep, we got's 'em. Lice that is. The first day of school was this Tuesday. Monkey Girl made it all of an hour and a half before I got the call. The Drama Queen was also waiting when I got there. Home we go, where we wait until The Kate, the housemate, gets home with some Tea Tree oil. Into the shampoo it goes. Kids get scrubbed and then nit combed. While waiting on The Kate, pillows and blankets get hot washed.
Next morning the school nurse checks them over again. Still bugs. Actually, they're pretty bad. Especially in poor Monkey Girl's hair. Home we come again. At lunch, thinking what to do, I call my sister, the PA. "Try Crisco and a vinegar rinse," she suggests.This is after I let her know that I really don't want to do the harsh chemicals if I can avoid it. She's a good sis.(So is The Kate, who's my best friend, by the way.)
So, I get out what's left of the Crisco and plop Monkey Girl down in a kitchen chair. Our friend Levi, who's stopped by to chat, is clearly amused by the process. Monkey Girl is giggling and laughing. I was going to wrap her hair in an old shirt, but she suggests a plastic grocery bag. Levi suggests duct tape to hold it on. That got big grins. We did use packing tape. And there was much more laughter at the knowledge that my cousin made her daughter wear underwear on her head to protect everything from the oils.
The Drama Queen is next, but she decided to hide. I point out that if we don't do it now, she'll have to have it in her hair ALL night. She appears pretty danged fast and into the chair she goes. The only problem is that I'm pretty much out of Crisco and she's got A LOT of hair. It's cut in a shorter bob, but there's still a ton of it. Sooooo, out comes my little squirreled away bottle of olive oil and to work we go, finishing up with the lovely shopping bag treatment.
Now, all they have to do is sit and try not to scratch and squirm the bags off of their heads. For, oh, 5 hours or so. Making the best of a funny situation, they head upstairs to play doctors with their stuffies who have suddenly developed their own annoying cases of lice. The rational, other than their own little bugs? Doctors wear caps like that on their heads. Have I said on here that I really do love my kids? Well, I do. They were great about the bags and the oily heads for pretty much the whole time.
After dinner, it's into the shower with mom, Monkey Girl getting to go first. Shampoo out the Crisco. Pour on uncut apple cider vinegar. Listen to complaints because a. it's really cold and b. it smells really strong. Rinse vinegar. Shampoo again. Send out to Daddy to get nit combed. In comes Drama Queen, where I repeat the above process with the addition of many squeals and shrieks. Loud squeals and shrieks. One of these days, I really am going to need that hearing aid.
Anyway, out she goes to wait for Daddy's attention with the comb. I'm out the door for some very needed alone time, even if it is spent running errands. (I'm sorry for the extra work, Mandi. If I'd only known!) I get back about an hour and a half later and Mr. Incredible has just finished up with their hair. They can't get over how soft it is, thanks to the oil treatments and the vinegar. Many smiles occur. Pillows are found for the night, as I'd put the character pillows that they normally sleep with in the freezer.
Today's head check STILL found nits on Monkey Girl, but a teeny-tiny hatchling. *sigh* The Drama Queen got the all clear though. I came home, hit the internet for what oils might help and discovered this page: http://tiny.cc/lice . It's got me thinking that the olive oil was what really did the trick for Drama Queen. Right now, Monkey Girl and I are sitting around with plastic shower caps on our heads - the olive oil sinking in and doing it's trick. Why am I doing this? Because my head has itched like crazy since last night, it needs washed, and I'm going to be paranoid otherwise. And it makes Monkey Girl feel better.
Hopefully this will take care of the problem. I'll post back tomorrow and let ya'll know. (Yeah, I like pretending there's an audience out there! :)
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