Things I have learned this week:

1. My washing machine makes a beeping sound to indicate that it has finished the wash cycle. This beeping sound is like fingernails on a blackboard to me. It. has. to. stop. Now.
2. The lice killing shampoo, Rid, is a waste of money.
3. Ditto for the "Robi-comb."
4. If your child contracts head lice, expect her to be out of school for at least four days.
5. Mine was out all week.
6. There is no shortage of lice removal advice on the internet.

Louse-y day

Yesterday, I washed Caroline's hair, combed out lice and what I hoped were nits. I washed (in hot water) her sheets, her blanket, her quilt, two pillows, about seven towels, all of our towels, the bath mats, her jacket and hat. I also vacuumed her mattress and the couch. In the middle of all that I had to take apart the vacuum cleaner to remove a sock that had gotten sucked in and stuck.

Because I did so much non-clothing laundry, I was out of casual, comfortable pants this morning. I woke up at 6:30 and hit the shower because I had to take Caroline to be checked at the school nurse's office and I had a GYN appointment later in the morning. We went to school, and damn if they didn' t find one nit about a quarter of an inch from her scalp. No school for Caroline today! Then they checked Bobby; he was clean. Then they checked me--one nit. F#$%^. Deep sigh. Time to go to the gynecologist, and what better way to make it really fun than to take two children along with me.

Bobby and Caroline spilled their snacks, bickered and shouted at each other the whole time at the doctor's office. I had arrived 15 minutes early. By 10:45, I still hadn't seen the doctor, and I was getting stressed because Caitlin gets out at 11:10. Add to that I had some concerns I wanted to discuss with the doctor (and I wasn't thrilled to have an audience) and it's getting dangerously close to that time of the month, and you end up with me in tears as the doctor finally comes into the exam room. Not exactly my finest moment. She was very nice about it and she worked quickly and thoroughly to allay my concerns. Then we had to sprint to get Caitlin.

After we got Caitlin, we made two stops (well, three if you count the brief potty break at home) for more lice paraphenalia. At Walgreen's I scored the Robi-comb. It's a fine-tooth comb that is supposed to zap the nits, and I'm hoping it works because I'd much rather do that than apply 16 ounces of Cetaphil to Caroline's head, comb that through and blow it dry. I do have to sanitize her sheets and pillows again, and mine too. And I did wash my comfy pants this morning, but all this extra laundry is putting me behind on the clothing.

I did find out that another kid in Caroline's class was sent home yesterday. The nurse told me they checked about 80 kids yesterday! What fun.

So, wish me luck as I try to get everything cleaned...again.

Here's hoping Caroline will be nit-free tomorrow. I would hate for her to miss the Halloween parade and the class party.

In case you were wondering...

where does the phrase "nit picking" come from? I can tell you. I have been trying to pick nits out of my daughter's hair this morning! It's nearly impossible since the nits are microscopic. Yes, we have head lice today. Awesome! Caroline came home last week with a note from the school nurse--someone in the class had them. I didn't really think about it until last night when I was drying Caroline's hair. I had seen what I thought was a flea. I suppose I should be relieved that my daughter doesn't have fleas. Somehow that seems worse than lice. Rob would disagree. He is completely skeeved by the whole thing. Of course, he didn't have to spend half an hour trying to pull a ridiculous comb through Caroline's hair while trying to find specks of dust to remove. In addition to applying the lice-killing shampoo, I've been washing everything Caroline ever touched in hot water. (Actually, just her sheets, blanket, quilt, pillows, and towels.) I didn't have anything planned today--nothing major that I wanted to accomplish, and now lice removal has become my day's project.

And on a much happier note, the Red Sox swept the Rockies!

Thursday thoughts

Where has the week gone? It's Thursday already? Time flies when you're walking back and forth to school...here's the latest:

• The Red Sox took Game One of the World Series. I gave up around 10:00--these games run so late! Why can't they start at 7:30 instead of 8:30?


• My feet have been killing me--and I mean, I've been taking ibuprofen because they hurt so bad. I iced my heels last night. I don't recommend it, although it did help with the pain. I am suffering from Plantar Fasciitis, btw. It sucks. I feel like a wuss. My gigantic Sasquatch feet are actually delicate instruments which apparently require all sorts of additional arch support! So at some point today I'm off in search of foot gear.


• And today, I am, yet again, off to the grocery store. We can't seem to keep food in this house! That and I keep forgetting to buy key ingredients like half-and-half (for my coffee) and diced tomatoes (to make the gravy for spaghetti) and ground beef (to make the meatballs). See what happens when I try to make a mental list? Not good.
• Don't you love the picture above? My mom was trying to take a picture of us on Sunday, and she had us standing facing the sun...this is what happened.

And here are the pictures!

I couldn't get the pictures to upload last night, so here are some highlights from Longwood Gardens.

Longwood Gardens in the Fall

My mom is up visiting this weekend, and today we went to Longwood Gardens. It was a perfect day to walk around the grounds and enjoy the scenery. Too bad the kids did not share this sentiment. I think they'll sleep very well tonight--we made them walk a LOT. And we capped off the day with dinner at P.F. Chang's, so I'm happy!

Odds and Ends

As I started typing "odds and ends," I found myself thinking "odds and evens." This goes back to the college days, where we had an odd/even rivalry (based on your year of graduation). I was an even--I guess I am an even--my graduation year never changed. Ever since last fall, thoughts of my alma mater just stir up a whole hornet's nest of emotions. I could dedicate a whole blog just to the drama of what has happened to Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Go to http://www.preserveeducationalchoice.org/ for more information--and to donate to the cause!

But back to my odds and ends: Wednesday is usually one of our crazier days. I should have known that something was up with Caitlin this morning when I went in the girls' room and found her still in bed. She's usually the first one up. Then, when I opened the blinds, she still didn't stir. It was no surprise twenty minutes later when she asked me to feel her forehead. She is running a low-grade fever and her cheeks are flushed. I kept her home. I guess this means she'll miss dance class this afternoon, so our afternoon just got a lot less crazy. Although I don't want to have to drag her out to Caroline's lesson if she's still not feeling well. Since we're basically stuck at home until 3:15, might as well do laundry! And I should finish cleaning the guest room.

Also, I could use some of this downtime to continue re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I know, it's the third time I've read it, and I probably need some kind of help. It's just such an exciting story and such a wonderful final chapter to the whole saga. I'm getting ready to hand it over to my mom (she's on Book 5 right now), and I couldn't bear to part with it without reading it one more time...

On to other heartbreak: the baseball playoffs. We're pulling for the Red Sox. They are killing me. And I'm trying to keep the faith. I know it's not over, no matter how bad it looks. That's the thing about baseball--you cannot give up on your team. But I sure do wish they were playing at Fenway. The crowd in Cleveland got right into that game last night, and having the crowd behind you is very powerful. I've gotta breathe, I'm getting worked up thinking about it. Maybe I should go tell Bobby to put on his Red Sox hat for the rest of the day. We need some good mojo out there!

Speaking of Bobby, I may as well rename the kid "Pigpen." My son is sweet; he is gorgeous; he can't eat a meal without spreading half of it on the table and the other half all over his face, hands and clothing. He is single-handedly trying to raise the stock price of the stain stick company. And now he's sitting on the couch picking his nose. I suppose this will all be funny when he grows up to be a neat-freak germophobe. God bless his little pointed head!