Lions, Tigers, and HEAD LICE!!

So, Monday night after giving Emily a bath I discovered that she had a severe case of headlice. Yuck! I can't even begin to explain the reaction that I get when I think of little tiny bugs all over my adorable little girl's head. (Gag reflex) So, my dad ran to the store immediately to buy some RidX and I proceeded to cover her hair in it. After letting it sit for a bit I rinsed it out and I can't even begin to tell you how many of the little buggers came out. After that I had to proceed to section off her hair and comb through it with a little tiny nit comb in 1/4" to 1/2" sections. This took a good portion of the night. I was so proud of Em though because for somebody who doesn't sit still for anything she sat still for 3 hours while I took care of her hair and she has continuously sat still while I sift through her hair to get out any remaining nits. And...Alessandra was just the best big sister. She knew how hard it would be for her sister to sit and just stare at the bathroom wall while I did that so she grabbed some books and started reading to Emily. For as often as those two fight, last night I couldn't have been more proud of them and how well they bonded together during a difficult moment.

While headlice can hardly be considered a "life trial". It's hard for a 5 year old who doesn't understand why she has little tiny bugs living in her hair and biting her head. So, having her big sister there at the ready to help comforted her.

In the meantime, while I was scraping the little things out Em's hair, my parents went through the entire house and disinfected, stripped bedding and started washing everything that could go in the washer. I appreciated their help because without them I would have been up all night taking care of it. I finally got done going through Emily's hair at about 11:00 pm. The poor thing was exhausted, her head hit her pillow and she was out like a light until about 10:30 this morning.

So, I checked Alessandra and all looked well until....she called me at 2:20 this afternoon and said I needed to come get her from school because her head itched so bad she could hardly stand it. All that went through my mind was, "Here we again. Does God really think that I don't have anything else to do?" So, we went through the delicing process and I stripped the bedding once more and needless to say, I think with all the laundry, hair washing, nit picking, etc. I am exhausted. I never want to have to do this again.

I do however think that my "primate" instincts must have kicked in because right about now I sure feel like a momma gorilla picking at the lice on her babies...only I'm not eating them...GROSS!!!