nits

Elliott was sent home yesterday with LICE!

Ugh!

Embarrassing, I know.

A parent’s worst nightmare once their kidlets enter preschool or the elementary years.

I b-lined it to Wally World for {the special shampoo}, comb and spray. But after some research online and proof that the cheap plastic fine tooth comb wasn’t going to work {we later set out for a flea comb!}, I decided to try a more {natural} approach.

Olive Oil or Mayo.

Pick your poison….er, monounsaturated fat.

{Best Foods ~ not just for sandwiches anyore!}

I read online that a woman used mayo and combed out the nits with success…not to mention her daughter had silky, shiny hair.

I didn’t have quite the same outcome, but I only left her condimented locks in the plastic shopping bag for about 2.5 hours and it said to leave it overnight! The white goo and the lack of oxygen is supposed to suffocate the lice and kill the eggs….ya think?

I’ve collected all Pillow Pets, stuffed animals and the like and have abandoned them to the garage in plastic trash bags for the next 3 weeks and have been doing MASSIVE loads of laundry!

UGH!

Keeping her home today and making sure the nits are GONE for good! Washing machine and dryer have been going non-stop and I’ve sprayed and vacuumed and sprayed some more. ;-(  Last night I did a second helping of the nasty, pesticide shampoo. I hate to use that stuff again so soon, but I think I was way too conservative when I did it the first time. I also read that a 1:1 ratio of distilled vinegar and water will loosen the glue on the eggs for easier removal. So we’ve also tried that! Between that, the two {toxic} treatments and the mayo application, I’m hoping we’re clear. Holden is still free of the pesky, wingless insects……knock on wood!

*****

This is one entry that I wish I didn’t have to make. It goes down as one of the {glamourous parenting posts}, I guess.

Yes, this is nothing but a pain in the @$$, but I know things could be much worse.

And, for that, I am grateful.

Edited to add: And YES, I did think about going the Sinead O’Connor route! I mean Britney Spears did it….

And I’m NOT even joking….not one little bit.