Lousy Day

Today I had a bazillion things to do. Tops on my list was to call Simplicity regarding some erroneous directions on step 2 of the pattern for Drama Queen's dress for a Civil War dance (which is just a week away!)

(STEP 2. Not step 14. Not step 21. This really irked me. If they're gonna screw up the directions, why does it have to be at the very beginning? Couldn't they have picked a later step? I'm working on this late at night when the kids [read: Screech] are in bed. Since I can't go past STEP 2 I have to wait until 9:00am the the next day, call the helpline, leave a message, and then wait for them to call me back. I was steaming, thinking of all the sewing I could have been doing!)

Next on my agenda was to drop Drama Queen off at Master's Academy of Fine Arts, then pick up Cutie, a sweet, 10-year-old homeschooled girl in my neighborhood. She LOVES Screech and agreed to be a mother's helper for a couple of hours so I could get some sewing done. After lunch, I was going to take Cutie home, put Screech down for a nap, then sew some more. Then, I planned to pick up Drama Queen and have her entertain Screech while I sewed even more.

In my mind's eye I could just see that shapeless pile of ordinary fabric transforming into a billowy, pink masterpiece!

Because Simplicity had not called me back yet, when we got to Master's to drop off Drama Queen I showed my pattern to several people to see if they could help. While the other moms were taking turns telling me, "I have no idea" and "I don't sew," someone came to tell me that a nit was found in Drama Queen's hair.

This was not on my agenda.

My choices were to: a) take her home, or b) remove all the nits right then and there.

Did I mention that her thick, ropy hair goes almost all the way to her tushie?

New agenda:

- Throw fit. (Actually, I skipped this one. I'm quite proud of myself.)

- Cry. A lot. (Did I mention that I had been up until 3am for three nights in a row, trying to work on that dress?)

- Drive to a good friend's house. Pick up fancy schmancy $25 nit comb. Cry some more.

- Drive home. On the way, tell Drama Queen and Pete that they are not allowed to speak to each other until further notice because their fighting is driving me looney. Cry some more.

- On the way, tell a shrieking Screech repeatedly that I'm sorry, but she may NOT play with a certain loud, obnoxious toy because it needs new batteries.

- Make mental note NOT to change said batteries. Ever.

- Fix lunch.

- Put Screech down for nap.

- Put self down for nap.

- Deal with nits later.

A sweet, helpful mom told me about a great article by Dr. Sears that dealt with how to get rid of lice. It was great because it gave clear, sensible information, even listing all the medicated shampoos in order from least toxic to most toxic. It also mentioned many homegrown remedies. Best yet, it saved me from the hours of research I usually log when I am facing a crisis.

I chose Nix because it kills lice AND their eggs (Rid only kills the lice), plus it keeps working for two weeks so it doesn't require retreatment.

I thought every one looked pretty cute in their disposable caps. Good thing about Screech, she's a real sport when it comes to things like this. She only screamed when it was time to take it off.

As I rubbed the Nix into the hair and scalp of each member of the family, the texture and slight odor reminded me disturbingly of a flea shampoo I had once used on my cat before Advantage flea treatments were available. Which made me wonder: Why can't I just open a little tube, squirt a little on each person's neck and be done with this mess? (There's a wide open business opportunity for all you enterprising moms out there!)

Speaking of messes, here's my new (not necessarily improved) agenda for tomorrow:


This doesn't even include the 4 loads I already did. (Sigh.) I don't think I'll be getting much sewing done tomorrow, either. Hubby suggested that I just take it all to the laundromat, but I don't have the time to sit there for hours and wait and fight people for the triple loaders. I might add that some of my most horrible childhood memories took place in laundromats. Oh, the agony! The torture! (And that was just from the cigarette smoke and country music!)

P.S. If you didn't get a chance to check out LTDCHix.com for the t-shirt giveaway, there's still time! We've extended the contest to Friday, April 11th! Click here to see how to enter.