Update on the lice. . .

So the lice are gone, although I plan to treat the girls one more time just to kill anything that might still be lingering.  My hands were raw from scrubbing this house and I used every drop of hot water my faucets could produce.  I can’t imagine anything surviving that, but I know better than to underestimate those hateful little critters.  My mom came and helped me with the endless laundry (the final load is still sitting in the dryer. . .I can’t bring myself to fold one more load. . . I am so sick of laundry, I can’t even find the words for it).  She also checked my head every 20 minutes or so because I was so itchy.  She declared me lice-free, so I guess the itching is purely psychological.

So onto other news. . .we are having a fantastic snow storm today and the cemetery behind my house looks gorgeous with all the snow covering it. The girls are home from school today so I am enjoying a day with the kids.

Bryn and Lydia wrote essays on Inauguration Day about what they would do if they were President.  Here they are:

Bryn:  If I was the President I would give the mune to the por.  My favorite part of the job would be giving the mune.  I would be paid $100.

Lydia: If I was President I would make shere evewone will be kide.  My favorite part fo the job would be being the the wite Howe. I would be paid $100.

The rest of my day will be spent cutting up old magazines to make scrapbooks with the girls, and drinking lots of coffee.  Can’t wait.

An argument for homeschooling

Some of my long term readers will recall about a year and a half ago when we were struggling with where to send our girls to kindergarten.  After much prayer and discussion, we decided the local public school was the best option for our family.  Now, I may change my mind and forever homeschool my kids.  Wanna know why?

Head lice.  That’s why.

Yup.  I discovered it last night about 8:00.  After I had worked a long day, came home with a head ache and a sore throat and a deep desire to curl up under some blankets and veg out.  I got the kids out of the tub, started combing hair and soon my eyes were seeing things I did not want to see and my mouth was saying things like, “Oh no.  Oh God, please no.  Please, please no.  NNNOOOOOOO!!!!!”  I promptly cried.  Then I called my husband to come home from his meeting and stop by the pharmacy on the way.  Then we went to work:

Nasty smelling shampoo in the hair.  Sheets and pillowcases off the beds.  Coats, hats, hooded sweatshirts, stuffed animals, towels, rugs, all thrown in a pile to be washed.  Kids back in the tub to rinse out the nasty shampoo.  And then we combed. and combed. and combed.  Until 11:00 at night.  And I ate chocolate to calm myself down.

Today, I cleaned their room top to bottom, including vacuuming the mattresses, bleaching toys and throwing all stuffed animals into garbage bags to suffocate those awful lice.

I also have been doing laundry all. day. long.  and I still have at least 15 loads to go.  I am not exaggerating.

Check your kid’s hair.  Then email me your recommendations for homeschooling curriculum.

A Change of Heart

Usually I spend most of the winter trying to figure out why my forefathers decided to settle in the midwest.  I mean, c’mon people. . .why not Phoenix where the sun is always shining??  On more than one ocassion, I have declared my hatred of winter and all things cold.  But, a funny thing is happening to me: I’m thinking maybe, just maybe, I’m starting to like winter.  Today the snow is steadily falling, the air is a brisk 10 degrees, the roads are a mess, and we are stuck inside where it’s warm.  There’s just something about looking out my window and seeing my whole world turn white, about watching my kids trudge through the knee deep snow, stopping every now and then to catch a snowflake on their tongues.  It’s a cozy feeling, knowing I’m safe and sound in my warm house, forced to slow down for the day. . .off to refill my hot chocolate.

A Conversation with Daddy

Here’s the conversation Conrad just had with the 3 girls while he was putting them to bed:

Bryn:  Daddy, can I pray for Ellie?  Lord Jesus, I pray that Ellie would be a preacher like Daddy when she grows up.

Conrad:  That’s a wonderful prayer, Bryn.

Bryn: Do you know what I want to be when I grow up? I want to be an artist.

Conrad:  Do you still want to go to other countries and tell people about Jesus?

Bryn:  Yes! I want to go to other countries and show people my art.

Lydia:  Daddy, do you remember what I want to be?  I want to work for the church and have an office next to yours.  Are you still going to be a preacher then?

Daddy:  I’m sure I’ll still be preaching then and it would be fun to have our offices together.

Bryn:  And I want to make a whole bunch of art and put them all over  your office.

Ellie:  Daddy, I want to be a lion.

The Dentist

I took L and B to the dentist this week for what I thought would be a pretty routine visit.  Not so much.  Before it was all said and done, B had 3 fillings, L had 1 filling, a root canal and a tooth extraction!  And we’re not done.  THey have to go back next week for more work.  They were so brave through the whole thing. . .not a single tear anywhere.  Honestly, it was probably harder on me. . .I hated to watch it all, but worse, I hated that it was happening and I felt responsible for it!  I asked the hygienist what I should be doing to prevent another visit like this and she gave me a list of things (limit juice, pop, sugar, brush regularly, etc.) but I’m already doing all of that!  Ugghhh.  It was a discouraging report to say the least.  So now I’m on an anti-sugar kick and my poor kids will be brushing their teeth til the cows come home.

In other news, we spent the day shopping yesterday.  The older girls didn’t have school (teacher work day) so we took advantage of the opportunity to do something together.  B and L needed winter coats (now is the time to buy them. . .we got them at 75% off!!) and all 3 girls needed shoes really badly.  We got good deals on the shoes too so I feel a little more caught up in that area.

We spent the evening with some dear friends (Tom and Karen Beachy, Garret and Joanna Buehler, Kimmie and Jon).  Karen and Joanna made a fabulous meal which we thoroughly enjoyed and then we sat around and chatted about life.  Tom and Karen are the parents of Brian Beachy who died of cancer last March (see the link to his blog from this page).

We got home from the Beachy’s home and I found a note from my cousin Carla who is currently living with us.  Here’s part of it:

“I cleaned your house for you as a little surprise.  Now you can just relax tomorrow morning. . .”

Isn’t that awesome???  That’s the nicest thing that’s happened to me in a long time!!!  So here I sit enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee and catching up my blog, all because my bathrooms have already been scrubbed, the house is dusted and vacuumed, and my stress level is at an all-time low.  THANK YOU CARLA!!!  My heart is doing the happy dance. . .