Lice, Friendship and Makeovers

One can not help but to start itching with just the mention of LICE. Try it. Say it outloud and I bet you start feeling that crawling sensation. That sensation has yet to leave me. Sitting here typing about it makes me start to itch. So, here's the breakdown-Lice has been going around at gymnastics, schools and yes slumber parties. Where have I been? Why didn't I know? 4 of the girls at the slumber party have been fighting the Lice battle. Fun for everyone. I should have wrote on the invitation, "Come share some fun, cake, games and lice".
This is the 2nd time we have dealt with Lice with the same child. The 1st time she was in preschool.
I remember freaking out thinking "what have I done?" "is my house dirty, are we dirty?" After a lot of research I found out that all the stigma's attached to it are untrue. It doesn't matter how clean your house is or how often your kids bathe they can still get Lice. I learned a lot the first time around so I didn't freak out as much. Still, it's not fun. This time she had a full fledged infestation.
On Tues when I sat her down to start the combing process I was a little grossed out after one swipe the comb was full! How could I have not known she had Lice? A week ago she was complaining her head was itching. I looked and dismissed it as dry scalp. A lot of eggs can hatch in a weeks time. Here is what I learned about getting rid of lice. Keep in mind I go to the extreme.
1. I bought stuff called NITMIX. It is chemical free. It's made of almond oil, lavender oil, rosemary oil, and geranium oil. This stuff is an amazing aid to help you do the MOST important part of delicing. Which is COMBING!!!!! A lot of people underestimate the vital part this plays. They just shampoo with a pesticide and think that will do it. The shampoo will only kill the adult lice. It will not kill the eggs(nits) So when they hatch in seven days you have to put more pesticide on their head and hope they didn't lay more eggs.
Combing is essential and having a good nitcomb. At this stage I combed and sectioned off her hair. I combed for two hours removing all live lice and nits.
2. You don't have to do this, but I then cut her hair (she needed it) This is not necessary at all.
3. I rinsed her hair.
4. I then put RID ( lice killing shampoo) in her hair (notice I did this after I combed)
5. I rinsed that out, then combed again. You get the idea about combing?
6. This is the time consuming part. I stripped everyone's bedding. We went to a laundry mat and washed about 10 loads worth of stuff. Everything from coats, bedding, rugs, robes, pillows etc..
7. We vacuumed and swept the whole house and threw the bag away.
8. Checked everyone's head.
For the next 7 days I will wash all bedding every morning. I will wash immediately pj's, clothes and coats after worn. I told you I'm extreme. I also comb with a mixture of the oils her hair everyday. At the end of the 7 days I will the use one last time the Lice killing shampoo. I will then comb every few days for the next month just to be sure.
I want to mention that both times the lice never spread to the rest of the family, only Faith got it.

So where does friendship from my title come in? The first day I found out she had lice, I would have gotten completely overwhelmed if it wasn't for Miss Stephanie. Miss Stephanie was such a huge blessing. I met Miss Stephanie almost a year ago when I emailed people off our church babysitting list. I was looking for some occasional help with the kids and house. God blessed me so much with her. I was actually getting discouraged about ever finding someone. We have been through a lot of babysitters, I mean a lot. They never lasted, I was beginning to think there was something totally wrong with me. Then Miss Stephanie came along and I LOVE HER! She is such a beautiful, sweet and godly woman. The kind of girl that I pray my daughters grow into. She has been there for us, prayed for us, and has grown to be one of my dearest friends. I called her and told her about the Lice, most people would have backed out of helping (understandable) but not Miss Stephanie she scrubbed and washed beside me the whole day. That's friendship. So, Miss Stephanie thank you for risking Lice for me.

And finally makeovers. Miss Stephanie has always had long hair. She has wanted to try something new for a long time, but always backs out at the last minute. Not this time baby!