lice, lice baby

The hubs and I got the email from daycare, and since they feel the need to email about anything and everything mundane, we ignored it.  Until the subject line of "Lice in Your Child's Classroom" or something else to the same effect was noticed.  It's not the first lice outbreak, certainly won't be the last. But the hubs and I are stumbling in the dark, blindfolded, when it comes to lice.  Neither of us have ever had lice, nor have either of our kids.

Britton was scratching her head like crazy, and I knew enough to know that it was a sign of the dreaded lice moving in.  But every time I checked her head I saw nothing.  Flash forward to the assistant director calling me, in her beautiful British accent, telling me that they've discovered lice on Britton's head.  And then she of course felt the need to add, "She's been scratching her head all day!"  And I know that translates to, "How could you NOT have seen the lice infecting your poor child's scalp?"  But honestly, the lice are tiny and the same color as her hair, and I just never saw them.  

The hubs stopped by Walgreens to get the lice shampoo kit, and I tortured that poor girl with chemicals and a steel comb for the next hour.  All the while, the hubs is stripping every bed linen, every towel, every piece of clothing that may have ever touched Britton's head, and he's running six loads of laundry in the hottest water our over-worked hot water heater will put out.

I made Britton wear my robe while I was combing her hair, and she loved the robe.  So when her reward for her responsibility chart came up due, and the Elsa costume she really wanted was sold out everywhere (seriously, everywhere, and I'm not paying $250 on Amazon), I spied this robe at Kohls and hooked the girl up with her own robe.  Funny enough, I was at Kohls in the first place because I was buying Britton new headbands.  We had soaked her headbands overnight, and what I thought was dish soap was actually bleach alternative laundry detergent (the hubs added it and I just assumed, and yes we all know what happens when you assume), and the bleach destroyed all her headbands.  Bright side?  If those headbands did have lice, no way they survived.  And they made it into the trashcan regardless.

Barrett doesn't have lice, but doesn't he look majorly concerned?

And not at all convinced that my constant vacuuming is keeping the lice at bay.  That's sideways eye, and we both know it.

We ignored the recommendations to suffocate the lice with olive oil on Britton's scalp every night for two weeks (is there an easier way to destroy bed linens than OIL?) and went with the chemical treatments, twice, a week apart.  And the hubs and I can't stop scratching our own heads. Psychosomatic is real!  500 checks of our scalps has yielded no lice, but the very idea gets me scratching like I'm trying to remove hair follicles.  

Hopefully this is all behind us because I can't handle anymore infestations.  I would much rather take walks in the rain!

easy rider

This weekend, the hubs and I drove off for the mountains of southern West Virginia.  He's been itching to try out his new RZR on the Hatfield-McCoy trail system, and I've been itching to sleep in.  The hubs found the cutest cabin, only 2 miles from the trailhead.  It's really a trailer (it's on wheels), but the perfect size for two people.

The inside…  Wood, wood, and more wood.  I would say it was perfect, except that the mattress had a horrendous hole in the middle of it, and every night I managed to roll down into it, smashed into the hubs, and woke up with back pain.  And the heat didn't work.  And the water heater held enough water for a four-minute shower.  Other than that, awesome!

We got muddy.  MUDDY.  Everywhere.  Covered in dirt and mud and it took two washings for our jeans to come clean.

The town, Bramwell, WV, caters to the emerging ATV tourism, and is better off for it.  Bramwell used to be a coal baron mansion town, one of the first places Chanel No. 5 was introduced, the richest town in the United States at one point.  But out went the coal, so out went the money.  The Hatfield-McCoy Trail, and the ATV owners who frequent it, are keeping this small town in business.  Below is one of the coal mansions, currently for sale for only $259,000!  Don't you love the speed limit signs for ATVs?

A lavender mansion, also for sale.

Main Street, downtown Bramwell.  Bramwell is only 15 miles from Princeton, so we did go into Princeton for dinner every night.  But the Main Street has the most incredible old soda fountain and diner, and we made sure to get lunch there on Saturday.  Yummy peach ice cream and the best burgers this side of In 'N Out.

This old suspension bridge is right outside the trailhead.  It's in complete disrepair, as is the majority of the town of Bramwell.  

We made it out on the trails twice on Saturday, and were rewarded with beautiful sunny weather and warmer temperatures.  The trails weren't crowded, this close to winter.  Once I got used to the sheer drops on either side of the trails, I started to enjoy it!  My arms were sore the next day from holding onto the "oh shit" bar, but I was in surprisingly good shape, considering the twists and turns and bumpy trails we took.

Happy riding, ya'll!

adios, helmet

Here he is, wearing his helmet for the last time.  I took Barrett for his three month head scan yesterday (seriously, three months already?!) and the orthotics guy was certain that the helmet was coming off today.  I won't drown on about the numbers, but suffice it to say that Barrett's head is symmetrical and perfect and round and in no way flat anymore.  Luck was on our side, as was timing and a convenient head growth spurt.

Barrett's hair has gotten so long.  And light.  And curly.  It's amazing how much I missed out on seeing when a helmet covered his head 23 hours a day.  I snuggled him extra close during his bedtime bottle, realizing that it had been too long since he could get really close into my arm crook.

The before and after.  It looks so subtle on paper.  But he's gone from flat to Charlie Brown and this scan proves it.  And the helmet has been put away, no longer needed.

the caroline quilt

When we were visiting Jessica and her family at Thanksgiving, Caroline asked if I would make a quilt for her.  I knew she'd be moving into a queen-sized bed soon, but I don't think I can make that big of a quilt.  So I told her I'd make a lap-sized quilt she could fold on the foot of her bed.  Caroline likes pinwheels, but also wanted turtles, cupcakes, crabs, gummy bears, and narwhals.  I decided that the pinwheels would cut the fabric into too-small pieces and you wouldn't see the motifs, so I went with the Scrappy Summer Quilt instead.  If it looks familiar, it is - I made it this summer!

I may have had a little too much fun with the fabrics!  I got crabs and flamingos at the beach, turtles, cupcakes, gummy bears, narwhals, and also pinwheels, text fabric (Caroline loves reading), kids with umbrellas, and little Russian nesting dolls.  Then I threw in a healthy amount of my scraps.

I kept the solids bright instead of primary - hot pink, medium pink, turquoise, robin's egg blue, medium blue, yellow, orange, and green.

The backing fabric is a beautiful turquoise floral print, with solid binding (Kona Pool).  Caroline's room is painted almost this exact color.

I free-motion quilted the entire quilt, and when I got to the bottom left corner, I free-motion quilted Caroline's name in cursive.  Can you see it below?  I know it's hard to make out - look at the solid hot pink and white blocks.

And Caroline did get her pinwheels!  I used the solids to make a pinwheel pillow sham.

Happy girl!  She loved it!  And it was fun making it for her.  Caroline is interested in sewing, and anything I can do to foster that interest is worth it.  

aunt jessica & co. come to town

Britton has been uber excited about Jessica coming to visit, and her excitement went out of control when she found out that Caroline and Garrett were coming too!  Jessica and I try to plan regular visits, but we haven't all seen each other since Thanksgiving and needed some family time.  

And Sadie thought the visit was all about her.  We let her think that anyway!  Instead of crowding up our few days together with activity after activity, we decided to play it loose.  On Saturday morning, Caroline and I took Britton to ballet while Jessica babysat Barrett.  The hubs took Garrett out on his new RZR, and then we all met back up for lunch at our favorite Mexican food place.  

After lunch, all the boys headed home while us ladies went shopping.  We hit Joanns, Kohls, and Old Navy, and all came home with goodies.  That night we piled into Jessica's van and hit Handels.  Pittsburgh people love their ice cream, and every ice cream place is open year-round, even in the winter!

Britton has been requesting stories about Jessica and I as kids, and it just tickled her pink to be around her cousins and aunt.  And I look at that TEENAGER Garrett and remember taking baths with him as a toddler (and totally embarrassed him with those stories) and I remember watching a one-year-old Caroline empty kitchen cabinet drawers and sit in them.  

One thing Caroline really wanted to do was sew a yellow polka-dotted skirt. Actually, she wanted to make a dress, but my sewing skills aren't that advanced!  So we compromised on a skirt and I think it turned out beautifully.  Caroline picked the eyelet ruffle trim, and it just made the skirt perfect!

2/3rds of the cousins representing!  We all had a blast, and can't wait to get together again, sooner than later.

first read: hooked on phonics

This evening, as I was reading Britton some bedtime stories, she asked if I could help her read some words.  Lately, I've been stopping for one word on every page and helping her to sound it out.  I try to mix it up and have her try different sounds - "sh," "st," and "ck" are our favorites because they are so common.  The thing is, Britton has gotten many words correct, but it's because she recognizes the word, not because she's reading it.  Until tonight, that is.

We were reading a library book from school, and Britton sounded out "bite."  She went threw the sounds a couple of times then says "Bite.  Bite?  It's bite!  It's bite!"  I said, "Yes it is!  Britton, you just read your first word.  You can read!"  Man was she ever excited!  She of course wanted to read the entire book at that point, but we had just read five books and were both getting tired, so we went with one more page.  The second word she read?  "Wipe."

She wanted to go downstairs and tell the hubs the good news, and was she ever proud of herself.  And we were proud right back!

barrett: 10 months old

Yes, he does look rather shocked in these photos!  And he's sporting his random red right cheek, that comes and goes and we have no idea what aggravates it.  Teething?  Jalapeños?  Who knows.  Already ten months old, and his first birthday is sneaking up on us, and it seems strange because he doesn't seem almost a year old yet.  

See that helmet?  Good chance he won't have to wear it after his March 18th doctor's appointment!  The orthotics team is excited about his progress, and as they said, we lucked out that he grows so much because it made his head mold faster.  Speaking of bigger - Barrett has moved on from baby food and is full-on into the wide world of solid real food.  So far his favorites are tortillas, pasta, peas, manwich, turkey, bread, mashed potatoes, cheddar cheese, and carrots.  He's still on white carbs like an undergrad going through her first breakup, but I assume he likes how easy they are to eat.  Barrett has six teeth in now, and is acting like more are coming in.

He's still not crawling, but lays on his belly and scoots across the floor, while bringing up one leg like he wants to crawl but then changes his mind!  Barrett can pull up on anything, but prefers grabbing onto one of us to yank himself upright.  He's babbling, but still no first word.  He is happy and sweet and smily.

Likes:  Britton and Sadie, his swing on the swing set, being outdoors, bubbles, cruising in his walker

Dislikes:  strong wind, loud noises, strangers

55 months old

Past the halfway point of her fourth year, I find myself constantly surprised that Britton seems to get older by the day.  Normally I don't have these revelations about someone I live with and see every day, but she is growing that quickly.  And that is the most evident in her patience.  Britton is ridiculously patient with Barrett, even more than I am most days, and I will overhear her interactions with him, with her sweet words and delighted banter, and I turn into the Grinch when his heart grows three sizes.  I can't take credit, because I'm not responsible for it - it's just how she is.  

School is going well.  Britton is excited about starting kindergarten next year, though I haven't scared her yet with concepts of "homework" and "standardized tests" and "Common Core."  Those concepts just scare me!  Her class is going through the alphabet, one letter per week, and Britton points out anything and everything that starts with her letter of the week.  She sounds them all out, and asks me how to spell words.

Britton and I went sledding this afternoon, and actually got to go on a walk yesterday afternoon (turned into a bear hunt, but in 50 degree weather I would have hunted anything), and it was so great to finally get outside and spend time in the fresh air.  Britton and I got so used to going on walks together after dinner, and this winter has confined us all indoors for weeks at a time.  We are all ready for spring!

Lately, Britton has been really interested in my stories.  "Tell me a story about you and Aunt Jessica when you were small, Momma."  "Tell me about your first Christmas."  She wants stories, the longer the better, and funny makes it good too.  And she listens so intently, so openly.  Then she will tell me a story in return, and it's in no way real and sounds like what her dreams must be like and I love it.  She is a natural story teller.

Likes:  sausage and egg breakfast burritos, hot chocolate after sledding, pulling Barrett around the house by looping her lasso through his walker

Dislikes:  being cold, when Sadie sits on her on the couch