Lousy.

And there I was sitting on the couch next to Clara.  It was 7:45 am on a Tuesday morning and I had miraculously gotten everything done five minutes early.  Five minutes before leaving with my two kids on the 20 minute walk to Clara's school.  I wish I had been late.  I wish I hadn't sat down.

There was innocent Clara - sitting beside me - coat on, backpack on. She told me something - I can't remember what - and I looked over at Clara.  She was in profile...and as I looked at her - a bug crawled out of her braid - winked at me - and disappeared back into her hair.

Silently I collapsed inside.  I split into three personalities - first - the freaked-out mom - screaming inside my head: "LICE!  LICE! AHHHHHHHHH!"

Then there was the calm, cool., collected mom: "Lice - I can handle this. Nothing a little trip to CVS and hours of combing a crying four-year old's hair won't cure."

And lastly - the insane, unhinged mom - "What can I do here?  Maybe jump out this window?  Shave all of our heads?  Set every item Clara's head has touched in the last week on fire?"

I cycle  through these different personalities for about thiry seconds and settled on a manageable combination of Calm, Cool, and Freaked-Out Mom.

Lice are truly disgusting and I only remember the one time I had them as a kid from the perspective of a kid, who didn't have to do any of the actual work associated with getting rid of lice.

So, metaphorical sleeves rolled up, I walked the kids to CVS - purchased lice shampoo - enough for all three of us lovely ladies and Gerald, and marched home.

Total Spent: 53.00

I had the girls strip down to their undies or diapers and slathered lice-killing shampoo in their hair - and then mine.  Spent the next ten minutes trying to distract Freya from wiping her head on the couch and then bathed Clara, Freya, and then myself.

Kids dried off for a bit and I stripped all beds - took all sheets, blankets and pillows as well as Clara's recently worn clothes and hats and got them ready for the wash.

Got kids sort of dressed and put five loads of laundry in to wash - on hot.

Total spent: 7.50

Went back upstairs.  Slathered conditioner in Clara's hair and began combing with the lovely lice comb.  After each comb through her hair I wiped the comb off on some paper towel.   I tried not to notice that some of the black specks were still moving.  20 minutes later...

I combed Freya's hair - no lice.

Then I took a deep breath and combed out my hair.  Luckily, I was able to keep from going totally insane because I too, was free of lice.

Bathe in turns - Clara, Freya, Me.

Get dressed - turn over wash downstairs.  5 more loads.

Total Spent: 7.50

Waiting for prescription lice shampoo - won't be at pharmacy until 4:30.

Condition and comb through Clara's hair for second time.  Half as many lice.   Good sign.  Still shuddering.  While doing this Freya pours a liter of seltzer on the couch.  

Make a late afternoon appointment for a lice-check at Clara's doctor.  She won't be allowed to return to school without clearance from her doctor.

Bathe Clara again.  Over the day I condition and comb and bathe Clara 2 more times. No lice.

Collect 5 loads of laundry and start folding.  Somewhere in here the kids eat lunch and Freya naps.

3:00 - I get a car to take us to the doctor - I can't bear the idea of walking in the rain after the day I've had.  

Car to and from Doctor: 13.56

Get to doctor - sign in - Clara is cleared. Doc says to use prescription shampoo in a few days to make sure nothing was missed.  Pay co-pay.

Total Spent: 25.00

Got to pharmacy near my house - a coupon bring the cost of the prescription shampoo down from 50.00 to 10 dollars.   

Total Spent: 10.00

Get home.  Make dinner, Clean up. Put kids to bed, all the while scratching my head worrying about phantom lice.

So, thank you, little winking louse, for irrevocably altering the trajectory of my day.  Thank you for reminding us that the tiniest thing can change the course of our lives.  I hope you're enjoying lice heaven.

Grand Total: 116.56.

And thank you to Clara - who totally kept it together and never cried once. 

That blanket got washed too.

Post-shampoo relaxing.

Halloween and November

The Fall has been a bumpy ride - beautiful weather, autumn trees, starting school, Halloween, taking ballet (Clara), talking up a storm (Freya), and an election with far reaching effects for everyone I know...but through it all there are these two little girls, bouncing along and taking it all in.

Halloween in our house is always a big deal.  It was preceded by many days of Clara dithering over costume choice.  She was pretty set on being a princess (with the occasional "ghost" or "ghost witch" thrown in) but which princess would she be and who would we all play as her supporting cast?  And make no mistake, Gerald and I were background players and Freya was  promoted to sidekick.

After much discussion Clara finally decided she would be Snow White.  Freya would be the faithful Dopey, Mom would get to be the Poison Apple, and Dad would be the Magic Mirror.  Halloween finally arrived, and it was an action packed day.  I attended a Halloween Party in Clara's Pre-K class.  There is nothing more fun than a bunch of 4 year olds clamoring to tell you about their costumes.  (It was heavy on the superheroes and princesses)

Snow White.

Dopey.

Snow White and the Poison Apple.

Magic Mirror and Dopey.

Then it was home for the Halloween party I put together for the kids in our building.  There were spooky decorations and a Monster Corn Hole game that I made.  You had to "feed the monster" to get a prize.  

Feed the monster.

Freya tries her hand at the Monster game.

The only shot of all four of us.

After the party,  it was time to trick or treat - Freya's second time but her first where she could knock on doors. As each door opened, Freya happily walked into each person's apartment, much to their chagrin.  Who needs a bowl of candy when you can go check out all those things on the coffee table?

Freya on her way out from checking out an apartment.

Freya made it through one building before Gerald whisked her off to bed.  I kept going with Clara and her friend Sara.  It was really fun and Clara is already talking about next year's costumes.

Shortly after we were hit with Election Day.  Clara was excited to be voting, as she always is, but she was also excited about "voting for  a girl" and talked a lot about Hillary Clinton.  We went to vote as a family and Clara went with each of us to fill out our ballots. Clara insisted on helping me to bubble in my vote.  It all felt so hopeful and exciting.

Going in to vote.

Post-voting lunch.

When the news came down the next day I tried to explain what happened to Clara without over burdening her with my disappointment.  She worked it over in her mind and said: "Well, can't both of them share the job?  It's good to share."

Wiser words were never spoken.

Sliding out of Summer and Galloping into Fall

It's been a crazy, fun, exhausting, and very hot summer. Clara loved summer camp and when she wasn't there we were cooling off in playground sprinklers with friends.  We are loving the cooler Fall weather.

Freya is officially a one year-old.    She has a confident walk that is quickly turning into a lurching sort of run that terrifies me on a regular basis.  She has a method to her madness though - this rollicking gait looks unsteady but she rarely falls down.  

Freya has a few words in her repertoire now:

Mama:  though she stubbornly refuses use it unless she's calling for me in the middle of the night.
Dada or Dadee: Much to Gerald's delight, she says this often and with gusto.
What's That?: Questions and point with a high pitched baby zeal.
Dog. Nice dog.: Surprised us too.
No no.: Freya has an interest in wires and plugs, which Clara never did. She repeats our: "No no" while she decides whether or not to let go of the cable box.
Go: This is recent.  She's trying it out.

And if you're willing to suspend all disbelief, her aunt and uncle insist she said: "Let me see that" while playing with her cousin Fred.  Let me see that, Freya.

In Clara news - Clara started Pre-K!  Big Girl School!!!   

Before we launched into the school year we took a little break at the New York State Fair.  Clara was the official "Purple Pig" Cheerleader for the pig races, and she and I took ride on a camel of all things.  When Gerald and I saw that Clara actually wanted to go through with this camel ride, I said to Gerald hopefully: "Want to ride with her?" "No thanks." was his quick response. (Thanks a lot, Gerald) One word of advice - when riding double on a one-humped camel, don't be the one who has to sit on the hump.  Clara got the good seat.

The purple cheerleader - very intent on the races.

Clyde the camel takes us for a spin.

And then it was back to the city, and back to school. Clara was a little non-plussed with the dress code - "Why is it SOOOO plain!?," so we spice up her outfits with crazy socks and hair accessories. The few days leading up to the first day Clara expressed some anxiety - new friends, a new place...but when the big day arrived she jumped right in. Every day she says she loves it and wants to go back tomorrow.  It's been a little like pulling teeth getting Clara to talk about what she's doing in school but this past Friday on the way home I asked her what she had learned in school.  She says: "I learned about science and technology.  Computer technology, medical technology, and tool technology."  Well...then.

...is officially in school!!!

This cool cat...