Creepy Crawly

This week, a word was said.

It is the word that fills the heart of every parent with school age children with terror.

No, not "vaccination debate".

The word? Lice.

Yes, indeed. You read that right. Lice.

I was getting Princess ready for bed, and she seemed.... itchy. Now, we've never dealt with lice, and I've never seen it, so I had absolutely no idea. I thought maybe she was having a reaction to a shampoo. Or maybe - I don't know. Something. I looked at her head, and saw no crawling anything. I saw little white things, I wasn't sure if it was nits, or dandruff. Basically? Clueless.

Googling did not help. I asked my cousin if she knew. Actually, the first thing I said to her was "now, don't freak out.....". Well, I tried, at any rate, right? And as it turns out, she didn't know either. I ended up deciding to do the olive oil treatment, just in case. During the course of this conversation of what is it, and what should I do, we all start feeling itchy all over. Panicked cleaning binges ensued.

The olive oil treatment, in case you did not know, involves dousing the child's head with olive oil, and wrapping it all up with saran wrap or a shower cap. Just add parsley, and it's an italian meal! Kidding. I'm kidding. Anyway, douse the head with olive oil. Leave overnight. Cover with shower cap. This smothers any of the little creepy crawlies. Wash the hair with Dawn detergent in the morning, and comb out with a lice comb (I used a Robi).

On my first comb through, I knew we were right to do the olive oil treatment. I called L, and told her to take all the kids she had (hers, and some of mine) directly to the school nurse.

As it turns out, NOBODY else had lice. NOBODY. It was just Princess, the poor thing. And, as it also turns out, the olive oil is considered an acceptable and effective method for killing the little creepy crawlies. After having the nurse check Princess's head, she was deemed lice free, and allowed to go to class. Total amount of school missed: 1.5 hours.

The olive oil treatment will be repeated very three days for a total of two weeks. This makes sure that the life cycle is interrupted, and the beasties do not return.

Also, you can use essential oil of tea tree as a deterrent: just add a few drops to your shampoo bottle, and shake. EVERYONE is getting tea tree oil shampoo now. For the rest of the school year. And *maybe for the rest of their lives!

Pay It Forward

A week has flown by.

Appointments, directions, teachers, and meetings, along with the daily meals, laundry, baths, bed, and carpool line.

It's been busy, and while I did get a lot done, I didn't get everything I needed done. So here we are this week, with intentions to finish up what I had hoped to do last week. This week I have three appointments for Inquisitive (three!!), along with several others. And, the specialist for one of the kids is booked for nine months (!!!!), so I'm told that I get to find my *own specialist. Which means I have to - I don't know. Can I just delegate that one to the Mr? That sounds like *such a good idea!!

This past week, I walked into the laundry room, and somebody had folded a load of my clothes. It was a very small load - just a few tshirts and some socks - but it was a gesture that was much appreciated. I have no idea who it was.

This weekend, I spent a lot of time in the laundry room (okay, that's an understatement. I think I did a dozen loads of laundry). This morning when I walked in, there was a load on the folding table, and two dried loads waiting in driers. Originally, I put them on the folding table in separate piles.

And then, I folded them. All three loads.

And then, over the course of the day, three more loads.

And - WHY AM I DOING THAT? I HATE folding laundry! Heck, most of the time in a stick built house I don't even fold ours!

So why did I do that?

I knew it would make somebody's day. Or rather, more than one somebody's day. I also figured that, well, if we all do nice in the laundry room, it might keep the edge off the tension that can arise in a laundry facility such as this. It'll make it easier to *not throw somebody's clothes on the floor (as happened to one load of mine last week!).

This week, may I challenge you to go out of your way, to stop and pay it forward? Think about what you can do that might, anonymously if possible, make somebody's day. Put a quarter in a parking meter that has expired. Bring a neighbor's trash can up the drive for them. Pay the toll for the person next in line.

There are plenty of opportunities, take a look around and see what speaks to you. It only takes a moment, and it just may make a big difference!

Sit Still

We've been here in TX for just over a week.

The trip down was uneventful, if not hurried. I was anxious to get to my other kids, and I dare say we did nothing cool at all sight seeing wise. It was just - get to TX! See my babies! Hug them! Give them loves!

And I did. Lots of hugs and loves.

We have spent this past week doing nothing but life - getting used to the routines already set in place by my cousin, learning about the carpool line (and OH NO do NOT even think about MESSING UP THE CARPOOL LINE), finding the health food store, finding the grocery store with the big gluten free aisle, and finding Sam's Club (horror of horrors? There is no Costco here!!). I feel like I am going non stop, from the time I get up in the morning, until I go to bed at night.

Wake up. Breakfast. Get dressed. School drop offs. Come home. Breakfast dishes. Laundry. Fix lunch for the two kids not in school. Clean up. Run errands. Try to do things like: balance checkbooks, homeschooling, sweep, clean out car, make menu plans, grocery shop. Pick up kids from school. Check backpacks. Play. Dinner. Baths. Bed for littles. Dishes. Run back and forth six times to my cousin's house.

Somewhere in all of that, we also take the dogs out, answer questions like: how do you spell "graveyard", "Batman", and "believe", say prayers, remember to sign papers, take 4 yo out to play, wonder how come there are crayons in pieces all over the place, and wonder about how to get everything else done. And also, what IS for dinner, and OH NO, if I don't get it started now, nobody will get to bed on time!

Shockingly, I am oddly content with what is going on. It feels good to sit back, to breathe, to know that tomorrow will hold the same routine as yesterday, that the kids are HAPPY with where they are, that they love school and all their friends, and that I need not worry about answering fifty questions about Why Do You Home School and How Do You Know They Are Learning Everything They Need to Know In Life. Okay, so there are still two at home, one pre schooler and one middle school child, so I'm technically still homeschooling, but it's a lot different than having SIX at home all day.

Part of me wants to just pack everything up and go somewhere. I suspect that feeling will not go away, and in the meantime we can take short trips on long weekends, and make plans for summer break, spring break, and winter break. Here is my new mantra: It's Not Permanent.

I'll tell you a little secret though.

I'm kind of diggin' Texas.

You See That?

You see that? That's my blinker. It's on because I want to change lanes.

I know, I know. Shocking, right? I mean, who would actually turn ON their blinker, because they actually want to change lanes? Oh, wait, that would be me. This lane is turning into an exit only, and I do not need to exit.

So you, driver who just darted out from behind me the minute I turned my blinker on and forced me to go back into the lane that I want to NOT be in? YOU ARE TICKING ME OFF. Okay? That is RUDE. Also, what is the POINT of darting out from behind somebody that is obviously changing lanes. Hmmm. Let's see. Blinker on. Moving over. That? Constitutes a lane change. And you would be cutting me off because..... ???

This happens time and again, and quite frankly, I cannot even begin to understand it. It BOGGLES my mind.

Bad driver. BAD. BAD!!!! No cookie for you.



We're just about ready to take off for Texas. Of course, as with any to do list, things got shoved off or ignored completely. And basically? I don't even care. I miss my kids, and I want to GO! Leave. Good bye. I have to get a key to my sister tomorrow, and I have to do laundry. Those are two must do items. Oh, and I have to check our PO Box in our hometown. Besides. It's getting kind of chilly here. When it's time to turn on the heat, it's time to to go a warmer state!

Tonight Mr was driving. He missed a turn, so he flipped a u turn. I said "drive a trailer much?" His response? "I forgot it was there". Nice. Good one, honey. I'm sure the other drivers really appreciated that one! And I'm really glad a cop wasn't around when that happened, either!


Also? Why is it that I always discover my propane is empty at odd hours? 11 PM on a cold weekend night is really not an optimal time to find this out. I think I need a different propane meter. Mine sucks.

Let the countdown begin! This time tomorrow, we will be in Oregon!!

10 Reasons

One of the questions I seem to get a lot - both online and in real life - is WHY? WHY would you want to live in an RV? A TRAILER (say it like it's a piece of dog poo on your shoe, because apparently, to some people living in a TRAILER is the housing equivalent of dog poo on your shoe). It doesn't take much to find the upside, and quite frankly, I don't understand why MORE people don't do this!

1) I don't have to pay a huge amount to rent or utilities. Meaning, I have a lot less bills to pay on a monthly basis.

2) I don't have to mow the lawn

3) Don't like the neighbors? I move. It's that easy.

4) We use a lot less water than we ever used to in a house, even with conservation attempts in place. Ditto for electricity. Even if I turn on all the lights in the trailer, I'm not pulling as many watts as a 60W light bulb in a conventional house.

5) I don't have to deal with a landlord.

6) I can take my house with me when we go places. When everyone else is scrambling for lunch, I'm cooking something up.

7) I don't have to use rest stop bathrooms.

8) No home phone for telemarketers to bother me!

9) Two words: forced simplicity. For the most part, it's a good thing!

10) One word: cooperation! We're ALL learning about team work and cooperation.

If YOU live in an RV, post your reasons! I'd love to hear from you, and what benefits you gain from living in an RV!

Whoa

I just lost a kid.

Yes, that's right. A child.

We stopped at a rest stop. The two older ones, Free Spirit and Constant, walked the dogs. Inquisitive was right here next to me. Except, then he wasn't. And I didn't know where he had gone.

Free Spirit, Constant, and myself called his name. We looked through the truck. In the trailer. Under the beds. I tried to remember if I had seen any cars leave abruptly. I looked at the picnic table we had sat at the other day. No Inquisitive.

I start to panic. We checked the bathrooms. Walked around the rest area again. Checked in the bushes. On the other side of the parking lot. Okay, *now I'm starting to flip out. You know what? I'll call my cousin. She'll know just what to do (she always does!).

My cousin asks how long we've been looking for him. I tell her ten minutes. She says to grab ANY employees, and make them look. And to call 911. My head feels hazy. Why didn't I notice he had gone? He was RIGHT next to me! Did somebody TAKE him? How far could they, would they get with him? How fast can they put out an Amber Alert?

Free Spirit and Constant check the bathrooms again. No Inquisitive. I have my hands on the phone to dial 911.

The employee, however, was a little smarter than we were.

He checked the bathrooms that were "closed for painting". You know, the bathrooms that have CLOSED signs on them? The bathrooms that have tall orange and white cones blocking the entrances, so you can't go in?

Yep. THOSE bathrooms.

And that's where he was, oblivious to the face that we were looking for him. I get him back out to the car, and say "Inquisitive! We were looking for you!". He says "I was in the bathroom!". I tell him I know, but those cones were there to, you know, keep people out? He looks at me like I've lost my mind, and says "oh".

Translation: Mom, why would orange cones in a row keep anybody from going into a BATHROOM. DUH!

Moral of the story: When looking for small children, always check the bathrooms. Even if they have "closed" signs on them, and orange cones in front of the entrances. Also, calling your cousin is helpful. Because likely, she'll have half a brain, and be able to come up with a plan of action.

How So?

How is it even possible to be completely exhausted from a day where *nothing got accomplished?

I did absolutely nothing today - unless you count taking a shower, dumping the grey tank, and refilling the fresh water tank as "doing something".

Days like today with the 11 yo make me question my parenting skills - or the apparent lack thereof. Respite care for autism kids? Totally could use that about now.

In more interesting news, I found a video that made me pat myself on the back. RV'ing is environmentally friendly! I'm giving us extra points for that one. And? Here are some other great reasons to live on the road!

We're parked for the night, boondocking at a place north of Seattle. We're planning on heading to TX on the 24th, so we've lots to do before then! Including emptying out the trailer, and taking it for a wash, and a vacuum. Where DID all this dirt come from? Under the couch, under the mattresses - ugh. A little fall cleaning will go a long way to making mama a happy person (and that's another great thing about RV'ing - how many people can totally empty out their house in a day to deep clean it?). Wonder how many quarters that one is going to take.....