Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sick.

We're back. The trip was incredible, Zeni is a great baby who coos and blows spit bubbles, there are so many things I am planning on writing about, but for now all I have to say is SICK.


I've seen worms coming out of all but one orifice of the human body. I've been puked on, peed on (and not by my kids), eaten live beetles and drank (drinken? drunk?) snake bile, all with more interest than detest. But there are two things I truly cannot stand - boat rides (due to unfortunate sinking experience somewhere between Phnom Phen and Siem Reap) and lice.


This morning I'm getting Zeni out of the baby bucket (the infant car thing) and notice she has this weird bug on her back. I show Jeremy. We both say gross. I would like to interject here that "gross" is, in my mind, a perfectly normal response for a lay person to give to a little crawly bug. "Gross", however, is not an acceptable response for a TRAINED PHYSICIAN. Where is the differential? The diagnostics? The STAT and the shocker paddles?? Thanks, honey.


Later this afternoon, while no one is napping, I have just rescued Zeni from Hayden, who is chucking tea cups at her head. I am making a bottle when I see another of these bugs in her hair. My heart drops. I know. I put the little fucker in a zip lock and waited until Jeremy (who, I would like to add, took the opportunity to go for a run while I tried to wrangle two over tired no napping children..) returned and showed it to him.


he - Gross

i - look again dude! It's gross AND it was in her hair! Is it lice?

he - oh, yeah, I think so.


thanks, doc.


AWH MAH GAWD.


So we have taken the following steps -

1. all household members have been scrubbed with bleach and something called "nix".

2. everything that can be washed in HOT water has been.

3. everything that can't be washed in the washing machine (like household pets) has been put in trash bags and sealed for two weeks.


I still feel like there are things crawling all over me. How do I fit the couch in a trash bag? Can I get one of those things like they had in ET when a huge zip lock bag goes over the whole house? Or what about one of those bio hazard scrub down stations where they take off the top layer of your skin?


Sick Sick Sick.


Sick.


but cute kids, eh?

13 comments:

Jen said...

Okay...I have this reaction with the word l-i-c-e. I start to itch. I absolutely empathize but then you look at that picture and WOW.... it is all worth it. They are beautiful together. Congrats.
Jen
PS What do you do with live household pets? I am trying to prepare for our return.

jen said...

i've been waiting to see that picture!
welcome home!
now...i'm all itchy too.
thanks (for both...).

Tania said...

Welcome home! She is absolutely adorable. Too bad she brought extra friends with her! I can't wait to hear more about the trip after you get all settled in.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful...totally beautiful (the kids, not the lice...those are, well, gross).

Congratulations.

Harvard to Homemaker said...

Jen(1) - I have no idea what you do with household pets. I think the type of lice that live in human hair cant live in animal hair, and that's what I'm banking on.
Thanks for the congrats, more on the trip to come!
elise

Renee said...

I feel your pain...didn't come home with lice but plenty of other nasty bugs!

Amalia said...

Yey! I heard you were back...I LOVE the picture!!! Your children are BEAUTIFUL!!!!

So...about the lice...Gross. indeed. My mom would wash our hair with KEROSENE. Yes. kerosene. (a la, let's kill some of my children's brain cells while we are at it!)...Hope your stuff works and that now it's just the four of you!

Looking forward to seeing you soon...xooxoxoxo

Unknown said...

So beautiful!! so so beautiful.

I've been itching since i talked to you yesterday! i hope the nix is doing it's thang.

xoxo

coffeemom said...

OH!! Welcome home!!! LOve the picture and hate teh lice. UGH. WE've had lice, a long time ago. brought home from school. I still itch just thinking about it! It'll pass. Maybe the products are better now... I felt JUST like you though! My sympathies! But remember, it'll pass (but you'll probably inspect heads for months!)

Jebena said...

I don't know if I should cry, laugh, (your writing voice is absolutely comical), scratch or scream...but then you go and post that picture --- those two have stolen my heart! Sorry about the lice --- I hope you don't have to cut hair to get them suckers out.

Sara said...

Just started reading your blog. Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

I work in a school and my nightmares ALWAYS include lice! Rinsing hair in veg. oil and wrapping in saran wrap to sleep in for the night has worked for us!

The Soucys said...

Lice scares the crap out of me. It makes me itch just thinking about it. I feel for you!

But you're right- you've got super cute kids!!!!

iloveadoption said...

We didn't have lice come home with us - but ringworm (which is really a fungal thing, not an actual worm). And hubby and I have been scratching now for a month (although we show no signs of having it). 2 more weeks of treatment and then we can stop scratching! (BTW the kids' sores healed up within a few days, but dr says they are slightly contagious until treatment is finished.