Wassup?

We are finally getting back to normal ... except for the fact that I have now, somehow, become addicted to the lines that the vacuum cleaner makes on the carpet. Is it just me or do those lines make the whole room seem cleaner for some reason? I think so!

Still doing the daily vacuuming (have no idea what I'm talking about? Long version, see the last post. Short version, LICE! Yeah ... yuck ... but the house is clean!), daily hair checks, daily sheet changes (y'all! my reserve sheets are ugly. just sayin. may need to resolve that. feel bad for my girls), and daily bleaching of hair paraphernalia. My hands are RAW, my washer and dryer are threatening a boycott and my husband wishes I would just make dinner already instead of just CLEANING the kitchen, but my house is clean! YAY! (kinda)

I also want to thank everyone SO much for your input (and SWEET words) on my housework schedule dilemma  I did come up with a plan and have been following it for a week now. And, while this can, by no means, be considered a normal week, so far so good.  I think it's doable!!!

Yesterday was my swing day - the day when I pick a room for deep cleaning - so I hit the guestroom/office, where stacks upon stacks of junk stuff were waiting to be gone through. Funny how we put something off for so long cause we just KNOW that the task will be horrendous, and then when we finally do it, it takes no time at all. Ahhhhh ... I can open the blinds again. And, since that is the ONE room in the house with windows that face the street, it's a huge thing! Nice to know that we no longer look like we have something to hide!!!

Now, here is my new (old) goal. The first couple weeks of the new year I was really gettin into my groove as far as workouts. Even my man was in on it!!! (somebody give me a quick AMEN on that one!) We were getting up at 5 and heading to the basement together for a work out. One of us would hit the treadmill while the other did strength or some other work out. It was like a daily early morning date ... that no one dressed up for and was not really all that romantic, but ya gotta take it when you can get it, ya know?!

So, I was doing well and watching what I was eating and everything was groovy ... til I hurt my back. I ran a couple miles that morning. Then I did a Jillian satan Michaels work out. And then I folded socks ... and hurt my back. Folding socks. Which just proves my point that no good can come from laundry. At least not sock laundry ... socks - and their sorting needs - are my nemesis. I constantly toy with the idea of finding a pretty basket and leaving it in a central location and throwing ALL socks in there and the family can just find a matching pair for the day ... is that wrong?

Anyhoo, I hurt myself sorting socks and it all went to heck. I'm feeling MUCH better and am probably ready to run again, but I'm kinda skeered to try. Just gotta get back up on that horse ... gonna do it today! Yep. I am! (now I have to, cause I just told you I would ... please stalk me til I do!!)  I have not gained any weight back - YAY - but it's been a stretch. I had to remove all jewelry and my glasses to make the cut this week.

This would probably be easier if I didn't have celebratory cookies after each successful weigh in!

Yeah ... I should work on that.

(sigh)

So ... that's what's up with me. Now it's your turn ...

WASSUP?!?!?!?!

Well, It's Clean NOW

This is SOOOOOOO one of those posts that needs pictures to show how truly epic it was.

But, honestly, if I HAD pictures ... well, I just don't think I would do that to y'all.

And then again, who had time to pick up a camera?

Hattie has dry skin, that gets even drier in the winter months. SO fun ... not.  As the weather turns cold, she starts itching.  That is just the way it is, so I never think much of it. But this winter, she has been scratching her head. THAT concerns me, so I have been going through her hair on a regular basis. I never found anything, so I thought all was well.

Now Sophie, on the other hand ... her skin is dry, but not NEARLY as dry as Hattie's.  But I started noticing some flakes in her hair and just figured it was a weird winter for scalp dryness.

Yeah ... I know ... I am a little slow.

Yeah.

Then it happened ... oh. my. word. did it ever happen.

(pause while I shudder in remembrance)

On Sunday we were getting ready for church. Hubby had left early, so it was just us girls. And, of COURSE, we were running late!! (see the last post on my lack of organization ... go on, go read it. It will come in handy in a bit for more reasons than one ... )  So, I got us all through showers and was getting ready to do the girls' hair. Hattie first - spray on the conditioner, comb it out, give it the daily check to make sure I haven't missed anything ... nothin.  And then I start on Sophie's hair.

(this is where the ominous music starts to play)

I spray it down with conditioner and grab the first section to pick through ... oh so many curls, must do tiny sections at a time. It is especially gnarly today, so it takes a bit longer. I pull my hand back to clean all the hair off (ALWAYS a handfull of hair with her) and look down to see it.

Them.

Y'all ... my hand was full of more than just hair.

Lice.  Lots and lots and LOTS of lice.

I do all that I can to not have a FULL ON PANIC ATTACK in front of the child who is deadly afraid of bugs, so as not to clue her in on the fact that there is a flippin colony takin up residence on her noggin!!!  I finish picking through her hair, wash a few (hundred) more bugs down the drain and RUN to my laptop to google the buggers to make sure that is what we have.

Yep. That is what we have.

Text hubby that we have a problem. Google natural remedies. Google all the store bought stuff and rashes, skin conditions and messes they cause. Panic again, cause did I MENTION the dry skin? YIKES. Take a deep breath and call the pediatrician.

Here is the thing I love very most about our pediatrician's office - when you call after hours, you get to talk to one of the pediatricians. They have a cell phone that they take turns carrying and one of them - NOT AN ANSWERING SERVICE - answers the phone.

Doc B. says mayo.  Slather everyone's head in mayo. Not miracle whip and not fat free. MAYO. And slather it good. Then wrap the craniums in plastic wrap and wait ... for eight hours. Hopefully they will be dead when you are done.

So we did - after getting hubby to run for more mayo (and a lice comb picker thingy). While we were marination and smelling like a picnic, Hubbs and I started on the house. (did you go read the other post when I told you to? Do it now if you didn't ... seriously!) Ya KNOW how I hate housework, but it had to be done. SO we stripped every bed, emptied all of Sophie's drawers, pulled the covers off the couch, vacuumed everything that would stand still, bleached everything that we could, set the washing machine to "sterilize" and cleaned the house top to bottom. Anything that could not be washed that way was bagged up and sent to the garage to chill out (literally) for a couple weeks.

I am fairly certain that my appliances - washer, dryer, vacuum, etc... - we wondering what house they were in. They probably felt like going on strike after all of that. And it was only just beginning.

Finally at about 9pm we got to wash the junk off and then the real fun began!!  We started on Sophie's hair. I picked very small sections at a time. Y'all, I literally had to clean that stinkin comb thing out with every pass, there were so many bugs in her hair.  It took forever!!!!!!  And that was just the bugs, which were all dead - thank the Sweet Lord in Heaven!!!! Then we did Hattie's hair (found 2 or 3 in her hair!!) and then hubbs did mine. I ended up just shearing his SUPER short. He and I were both clean.

WHEW!

By 11:30 we were all in freshly cleaned sheets.

And Monday we started again. More laundry. More vacuuming. More bleaching. And more picking. I had to get all the nits (eggs) out.  Hattie went first - she was clean. I found one nit and got it out of there.  Then it was Sophie's turn.

Four hours later, when I was only half way done, I called hubbs crying and begged him to go to a shop that we had been told about - Rapunzel's Lice Boutique (REALLY?!?!) - and get what all my friends who have dealt with this, had told me to get. Yes it's pricey, yes, I know but DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (pretty please)

He did.

And it was MAGIC!

The stuff they gave him to spray on to loosen everything up and their special little comb ... well, y'all, it was so worth it. SOOOOOOOOOO. WORTH. IT.

For real.

We got them both sprayed down and did both heads again. Hattie's was easy. Sophie's was ... well, it was easier than it had been before.

We changed the sheets again, vacuumed the whole house again, bleached everything down again, sterilized back packs and jackets and sent to sparkling clean heads to bed.

By Tuesday afternoon I could finally see the laundry room floor, all little heads in Sophie's class had been checked and things were back to normal.  Except for the fact that we are still vacuuming, bleaching, cleaning and sterilizing everything in sight, changing sheets and checking heads any chance we get.  And on Saturday, we get to re-mayo our heads and have all the fun again!

YAY!!!

But, ya know, at least the house is clean!!!!!