The following is from a school newsletter a reader sent along. To all the responsible parents, school staff, medical people, daycare providers, church staff, etc., Wacky Mommy says THANKS for dealing with your lice and NOT BEING A JERK, I appreciate it.

No, we don’t have lice again, but my head is still itching from last spring.

I recommend you save this letter, crib from it, and circulate it if and when you ever need to. May you never need to.

love,
WM

Head Lice

A Plan for EnLICEnment…

Hello parents and guardians of our beloved students! It’s head lice season. Hats, scarves, costumes, cuddly blankets and pillows. Warmth is good. Cuddling is good. Head lice? Not good.

There is a lot of misinformation out there for the parent – or teacher – who discovers the critters on the head of a child – or children. How did they get there? How do I get rid of them? Who can I talk to?

The answers are now being put out there for all to easily see!

Our school library now has four or five books for kids that teachers or parents can check out, to tell their kids about head lice. There are also a couple of books for caregivers explaining how to get rid of them. Soon there will be a binder with information in many languages that teachers can photocopy and send home with students.

Everyone and anyone can -and do- get head lice. They are persistent little pests. Getting rid of them is not as easy as just a shampoo – you must comb and comb and treat and comb some more, washing tons of laundry and putting non-washables in plastic bags and vacuuming and – whew! It is work; several days of hard work. There are many parents at the school
who have had to deal with it. Those of you who would be willing to be on a list, available by phone to help a newly nitpicking parent, please e-mail me, and I will make that list available. Then, when you are in the throes of it, you can call me or another mama and we’ll try to help.

Some brief info:

Not surprisingly, chemical shampoos actually may NOT work well, especially as directed. Contrary to myth, olive oil, coconut oil, tea
tree oil, and mayonnaise CAN work. This is good news for our environmentally-minded families! And there is more good news! You can actually take steps to prevent getting head lice.

The obvious things: don’t share hats, pillows, combs, hair ornaments, etc. (be sure your kid has bike helmet at school, for example, so they do not have to borrow).

The other things: use tea tree oil shampoo; when someone in your class has head lice, start checking your child each day for several days. Make a spritz of water with seven drops each tea tree oil, lavender oil, and rosemary oil, and spray your child’s hair – and your own – thoroughly and allow to dry. Smells good to humans – wards off head lice!

The district website, sadly, pooh-poohs the use of natural oils (which I can personally vouch for). This chart shows the efficacy of the chemicals out there: It may surprise you.

Head Lice to Dead Lice

For really good information, I also recommend:
Head Lice Info
Alt Medicine
Hints and Things
Harvard Edu

So… start prevention and detection now! Check your head, too! And TALK to other parents about it. The school district says that there should be no stigma about it, since anyone can get it; in the same breath they encourage ‘discretion’ so that kids with it don’t get made fun of! Discretion, shame, and secrecy only perpetuate the stigma. Let’s be informed. Use the books and materials in the library. Use natural oils. Call parents who have been through it. Don’t panic. Be enLICEned.

Thanks,

Responsible Mom

You will find it’s never too late to plan for the rest of your life, even if you’re not going anywhere over at Grasshopper. It’s the last post I will be writing for them — life has gotten too damn busy here, and I don’t want to do it half-crocked.

Well, I would like to do it half-crocked, actually, but how can I get there on half a glass of wine? I want the entire bottle or I want nothing. Understand, heart? No, it’s okay. I’m a big girl.

I’ve found a few ways to trick myself — virgin Bloody Marys (that just sounds so wrong), herbal tea, decaf coffee.

And half a glass of wine.

From e-mail I received from MomsRising. (Would you like to buy T-shirts from them and support the cause? Click here.)

Dear MomsRising Member,

Breaking News: Congress voted today (Oct. 18, 2007) on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but didn’t gain the 2/3 majority needed to overturn the President’s veto. Now, we have another chance. In the coming weeks Congress will bring children’s health insurance to the President again — and they need our support.

With 1 in 8 children in our nation living without any heathcare coverage, we still have work to do. The good news is that your more than 60,000 emailed letters to Congress, along with the work of our partner organizations, helped build the support that made the vote close enough to try again.

TELL CONGRESS TO KEEP UP THE GOOD FIGHT: Sign our NEW petition to tell Congress: “Children’s health care is a top priority. Bring the expanded State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to the finish line. The members of Momsrising.org thank those in Congress who have led the way on this issue, and support their continued leadership. We also urge those who voted against the bill to rethink their positions.”

*Click here to add your name to our petition. This petition will be delivered directly to each and every member of Congress. The more signatures we get, the more powerful this petition will be.

ASK YOUR FRIENDS TO SIGN THE PETITION TOO: Petitions grow by one signature at a time, and every signature matters. Do you have a friend (or ten) who you shares your sense of outrage at the President’s veto and Congress’ inability to overrule it this time? This is the moment, right now, to forward this email to them.

*Don’t forget to sign the petition and pass it on.

We can do it! –Katie, Kristin, Mary, Ashley, Amy, and the MomsRising Team

P.S. In case you need some facts to inspire you, here are a few reasons the SCHIP program is so important (and great facts for your rally signs!):
*12% of American Children don’t have any insurance coverage at all
* The U.S. Ranks 37th in the world for infant mortality
* One-in-five U.S. jobs does not provide health insurance, a pension, or wages high enough to support a family
* For a family of 4, one year of health insurance costs an average of $11,000
* Over 1/2 of all bankruptcy filings in 2001 were a result of medical expenses

P.P.S. Here are a few articles about Congress’ vote.
CNN
NY Times

-Your donations make the work of MomsRising possible. To donate today on our new, secure website go here.

Have you heard about Walk + Bike to School Day? Yeah, I was wishing I hadn’t at about 6 a.m. this morning. I had volunteered to get up early (not much earlier, mind you) and leave a bit early (half an hour) to be a “station person” and meet up with whatever kids wanted to join us to (get this) walk to school.

What a concept. (more…)

Dear American Kids,
You’re SOL for health care, do you know what “SOL” means? Ask mommy! We have people to go blow up now, and big, shiny weapons to buy. I like shiny things, don’t you?

Love,
Dubya (more…)

My heart beats funny. (more…)

My kid has been throwing up all morning, pobrecito.

I’ll write tomorrow. Off to do laundry.

xxox

WM

Edited to say:
2:30 p.m.: asking for popsicles
3:30 p.m.: asking for snacks
4 p.m.: telling his father and me, “I’ll eat anything I can get my hands on.”
10 p.m.: I think he’s all better. Knock wood.

You’ll find a post from me that will make you itch if you click here.

Sorry, if previous post offended any Satan worshippers who don’t want to be associated with church. Alternately, if it offended any church-goers who didn’t want to read about sex toys and “Weeds.” Alternately, any government officials who don’t want their right to kill grandparents, domestically or internationally, taken away from them.

I can only blame that post on the fever I’ve been running for over two days now. What is the deal, fever? No stomach bug, no cough or anything. Just this fever that keeps going back and forth between 101 and 103.

Edited on Friday a.m. to say — fever wavering between normal and 100. Better than 103, anyway. Happy Labor Day, everyone! We’ll be celebrating Wacky Girl’s 8th birthday and our 9th anniversary.

to my husband, I say: happy anniversary, my love. Te amo.

xx wm

“Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.”

— Lucius Annaeus Seneca, philosopher (BCE 3-65 CE)

Seneca, you were smart! You philosophers — isn’t that the way it always goes? I am smart, too. I am trying to be 1) consistent 2) not angry 3) more patient. With the traffic, with the kids, with the weather, in my relationships. With the stuck-up pool ladies. (No, I’m not saying which pool. But here’s a clue to help narrow it down: The one with the most Stepford Wives. “…one of these things/is not like the other/one of these things/just doesn’t belong…” Can you guess? The thing that doesn’t belong is me.) (more…)