They're BAAAAAA-AAAACK!!!

Lice.

I hate them.

With a passion.

Seriously, WHERE do they keep COMING FROM??? Because I'll drop it like it's hot! School's out, so no fear there, this house has been THOROUGHLY de-loused, and there are no other cases at daycare. *Tear* Neighbourhood children? Who knows. I swear, if they weren't girls, they'd be bald.

I found exactly ONE egg on Finnigan. My own personal theory is that his hair is so sparse and fine that Mommy Louse just couldn't hang on. I don't know what's more disturbing - the fact that I found a nit on my baby, or that there's a random louse on the loose... Here's hoping she went overboard OUTSIDE. *Shudder*

Rachel... Oh my dear sweet Rachel... Complete and Total Infestation. HOURS spent hunkered over her butt-length, curly/wavy/thick hair that is, sadly, the same colour as the damn parasites. HOURS. I shit you not. We had to break for meals, half her hair done up Laia-style, and spritzed with Lice-away to hopefully prevent cross-contamination. The poor girl was absolutely SHAKING at the end from having to stay still as stone for so long with her neck at totally unnatural angles. I can't tell you what it was like to just KNOW you didn't get them all - not because you didn't try your ass off, but because there were SOOOOO many that the odds are just NOT on your side.

Lily was pretty clear. She had less than the first breakout a few months back.

So, hours spent nitpicking before lice-treatments, then the 12-hour lice treatment (which is actually a scabies treatment - ask me more if you're interested. My Dr. recommended it, he says it's the be-all end-all of lice treatments) then 3x tea-tree shampooing each, then I blow-dried the girls' hair dead straight. This is a new step I've added. It's kind of like putting their little heads in the dryer. I figure that heat CAN'T be good for any remaining bugs, and I tell ya - straightening their hair made nit-picking SO. MUCH. EASIER! Holy softness, batman. For those that know us IRL, I'll have to post pics. The girls look soooo different with straight hair! Lily says she "likes [herself] sooo much better [that] way!!!". Lol, Laly... Nuked the bedrooms. Bagged the unwashables, dryer-ed the unwettables, and threw the rest in the washing machine. Vaccumed everything that wasn't a child. Vaccuumed, flipped, and rotated the mattresses. Waterproofed them. New-sheeted them. Removed all stuffed animals and superfluous bedding from room. Threw out pillows. Nit-picked AGAIN. Lice-away'ed their hair, put it in tight braids, and sent them to bed. I'm exhausted.

Tomorrow, I get to do most of that all over again.