Lice :(

Well, we survived our first experience with lice. It really wasn't all that horrible. And as I began telling people they in turn told me that their kids recently had it or I was asked if I live in Castle Hills. Evidently there is an epidemic in Castle Hills which would explain why peppermint oil is completely sold out at the Sprouts next to Castle Hills. No one tells anyone when their kid gets lice which makes the problem worse. They just keep giving it back and forth because they don't know how to truly handle it and they won't ask for help because God forbid anyone find out your kid got lice. Most schools do not send home a notice to parents until at least 3 parents in 1 grade level report that their kid has lice. Most parents do not ever report it so for 3 to come forward is a lot. But every school is different and some may send a not home with just 1 report. Please set your pride aside, tell your child's teacher, be a good neighbor, and give people a heads up that it's going around. Then they will at least do a head check on their kid and catch it early and when your kids play together they will simply know to put their child's hair up and spritz it with peppermint oil. No big deal. We do know who Kellyn got it from and her mom was so nice to come over and help me pick it out of Kellyn's hair on Columbus Day. Luckily we had the day off from school anyways. I put her hair in tight french braids, sprayed it with tons of hairspray, and sent her to school the next day, but I was so worn out with the combing and the crying that I made an appointment at the Texas Lice Squad. Praise God I was told about this place. Again, lice is such a secret that no one knows of this amazing solution to the problem. Our lice issue was literally over in a matter of days. This is not the norm. People usually go months!

Kellyn actually liked having lice because she got her head rubbed, her hair played with, her mom learned some new braiding techniques which all her friends complimented, and she got to watch movies while it was being picked out. 

This place is like this magical land of lice removal and information that makes all your stress go away. Kellyn had fun watching a movie while they combed through her hair with magnifying glasses after shampooing and drying it with something that loosens the "glue" on the nit. I spent 5 hours doing what they could do and guarantee in 1 hour!  And I still didn't get it all after all that crying! She didn't even cry once there!  They used Mane 'n' Tail Detangler! They combed through mine and Rhett's hair. Miraculously we didn't have any lice! They said the best thing to do was to put peppermint oil in your shampoo and conditioner and pull long hair back in a braid. I put a few drops in my hairspray too. It was pricey, but well worth it. Their is simply no other way to truly get rid of lice and their eggs other than picking them all out and they are so tiny and hard to see it is nearly impossible without a magnifying glass and bright light. They give you a 100% guarantee that lice is out of your life!! That is priceless. 

Funny how I knew nothing about lice merely 4 days ago and now I am an expert. I learned a lot from my wonderful friend who has been dealing with lice since school started. She was kind enough to spend 2 hours at my house combing through Kellyn's hair and gave us some of her special shampoo which killed the bugs immediately. She also told us about a magical place called the Lice Squad. They book up so fast for appointments, but we got in at 3:00 on Tuesday. So, I learned that Tea Tree Oil stuns the lice bug, but nothing kills eggs. I also learned that Peppermint Oil repels lice and so does Coconut Oil. The Lice Squad sells a Mint Spray which is basically peppermint oil and water. I made a small spray bottle of Peppermint, Tea Tree, and coconut oil and water to just spritz on all our hair every morning before school, church, play dates and what not per the suggestion of the nurse that worked on Kellyn's head. She said that she just uses your basic Suave shampoo, but adds peppermint oil to it. She said not to buy any fancy shampoos or conditions. Lice hate peppermint oil and will not want to crawl to a head that has it. I also found out that lice do not jump! They crawl quickly. You must physically touch hairs and heads for lice to spread. And they cannot live off the human head.  so you don't need to bag everything up for 2 weeks to suffocate them. They will starve to death in 24 hours. Only a human can be infested not a house. You're lucky if your kid scratches his head because 50% of people who have lice don't ever itch from it. Those who itch are having an allergic reaction to the lice saliva. Those who do not are not allergic to the lice saliva and can go much longer with it before ever knowing they have it.