Bugs Be Gone

Saturday, the day we had planned to have a family get together to celebrate my oldest and middle son’s birthdays (which are coming up in this next week) found me busier than usual.  We were cleaning the house and as I watched my middle son, he began to scratch his head.  I didn’t think anything of it until it he did it over and over again.  With this I decided to investigate a little further.  Once I investigated, I began making phone calls to the relatives to cancel the party.  I mean, how could I have a party when the intended has head lice?

I hate head lice.  I don’t ever remember getting those nasty little bugs as a kid but rather waiting until I was an adult, when my older kids were younger.  To make matters worse, I was broke.  Not money to aid in the treatment, and no vacuum cleaner to clean the beds and couch and chair he had spent the entire last week wallering around on. 

My mom was nice enough to make a trip to Wal-Mart to buy the dreaded box of lice killing shampoo.  It was terribly expensive but I know that my poor son can’t return to school until we have had him treated.  So with the party sounding like a no go I went to work treating his hair.  First the lice killing shampoo and then the tedious work of combing out his hair.  I know what you’re thinking.  You could have just shaved his head and not had to worry about any of this and you’re right.  But with school pictures just a few days away and him having gotten his hair to the new skaterboy hairstyle, I wasn’t about to shave him bald.  Besides he isn’t cute with no hair.  He looks goofy with his ears sticking out and he is very pale so a cut like that tends to make him look a little like a cancer patient on chemo.  

I worked on his hair for about 6 hours, going over it with a fine tooth comb, literally.  I wanted to never have to do it again.  I pulled out what seemed like a million nits and eggs but only 2 adults so I felt good that we wouldn’t have any problems.  I was wrong.  We weren’t even 24 hours out from the beginning of treatment and he was already itching his head.  So I checked.  A living little critter (not an adult) with it’s little legs just kicking away.  Great, the really expensive treatment didn’t work very well.  I should have expected it but I was hoping, I guess. 

Now I needed to find something to help kill these left over little beings to leave my son itchy scratchy free.  I checked online looking for a home remedy that would work well and one we already had all of the ingredients for in the house.  Well, I found some things online and am now trying them out.  Today I applied baby oil to his hair.  For those of you who are reading this, please wait until I tell you whether it worked or not before you try it.  The oil is very hard to get out of hair and can make a mess.  I’m hoping it will come out before picture day.  Well the oil worked nice, with exception of being difficult to get out.  Now I must wait and see if he starts to itch any more.  I hope not.  Everyone else is scratching at their heads and they don’t have head lice, I checked! 

Look for an update to the head lice drama and I can’t wait until tomorrow when he goes back to school and has to tell tehm he has head lice.  This should be fun!!!

Growing Up is Hard to Do

Today it has become official.  I am old.  My oldest son went to his first high school dance.  Yes that’s right, high school.  Dancing… He doesn’t really dance but hey he wanted to go and I didn’t have the heart to stop him.  He had a good time, danced with a few girls and some friends, was disappointed by the fact that nourishing himself with liquids cost him money, but was still very happy.  

I, on the other hand, got to thinking, as any parent would on the night one of the first grown up things happen.  I am getting older.  With every day that ticks by on the big clock of life I grow older, just as my kids do.  Before I could deny my age, as it is just merely a number, but then I started thinking about the past few years and realized that I have been listening to everyone else with regard to my life.  They all told me I needed to grow up.  I needed to spend more time with my kids, be a family, and a mom, not just a mom but a role model for my kids.  They were gonna need it seeing how the rest of those who are in their lives were like.  I stopped going out, I really got rid of friends left and right, all in an effort to grow up.

I can’t say that I ever really have grown up but I’m trying.  I want to set a good example for my kids, showing them the right way to be in this big bad world in which we live.  I can only hope they turn out as good people.  Right now they are on their way.