Summer - The Good

So, in spite of the situation with the lice, summer hasn't been ALL bad.  We harvested Murphy the cabbage, and donated him to the local food pantry.

Sour cherries appeared at the farmers market, and so there was delicious sour cherry pie.

Daphne and I took a road trip to Indiana, which was lots of fun.

We had lots of good food, spent time with good people and dogs, explored a cave, and found an old skool merry-go-round on a playground.  Grandma came back with us and spent a couple of days.

We went blueberry picking at my favorite blueberry picking place.

Blueberries are the best thing about summer.

Daphne started drum lessons.  She's good!  Her teacher is awesome and jams with her to Led Zeppelin songs.  She loves it.

We went to HPNY for the 4th of July.  We got spend time with cousins, go on a big hike through the woods, and meet the newest puppy, Tootsie, who is awesome and calm and nice.

Plus we got to go kayaking around the lake, which was my favorite.

I have been back at work, teaching people to knit.

And Daphne is learning to make a quilt.

We all went to the movies on Sunday, and it felt almost like we were a normal lice-free family.  I think we actually ARE a normal lice-free family now.  But I don't want to jinx it.  

This weekend should be pretty low-key.  I am hoping to knit, and make something with all these blueberries and go somewhere for a belated Father's Day outing since gin on the head shot the wheels off the REAL Father's Day.  Poor Kev.

So, summer isn't all bad.  It's hot, but there are only 77 days until October!

Coming soon...the Facebook vacation.  Worth it?  Stay tuned...

Of Lice and Gin

Here are Daphne and Kev, celebrating Father's Day. You may be wondering why Daphne is wearing a Father's Day shower cap, and I'll get to that.  But first, let's back up a little.

Since I last blogged a blog, Daphne turned nine.  Her birthday was on Free Donut Day, which is awesome.

She spent the night with her girl scout troop in tents at the National Zoo.  Lions roared in the night.  Also awesome. Once in a lifetime.

She bridged from Brownies to Juniors.  Again, awesome.  (Look how pretty her hair is.  Sigh.)

She finished third grade.  Woohoo!

This is all great, right?  So, why the long face?  And the shower cap?

BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN THE SUMMER OF LICE.

We are a family with more than our fair share of critter invasions.

First, there was the Thanksgiving Mouse.  Then, there were ants.  And fleas.  There was squirrell-in-the-wall day.  And then more mice. 

But THIS is the evil evil Summer of Lice.

Sometime between her birthday and the last day of school, Daphne put her head in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

Do not let anyone tell you lice is "no big deal."  It is a huge deal.  It is a NIGHTMARE.  There have been tears, arguements, battles, and moments of complete and total give-up.  There might have even been cuss words.  The stuff from Rite-Aid did not work.  Lice these days have become SUPER lice, and are no longer affected by OTC treatments.  Plus, it's toxic.  I don't know about you, bu I don't like pouring pesticides on my kid's head.

So, eventually, desperation set in. The interenet was consulted.  Various home remedies were suggested, including olive oil, tea tree oil, and MAYO.  No way was I going to cover Daphne's head in mayo.  So we went with the most experimental home remedy we could find.  It was only tried by one person that we could find on the internet, but it worked for him and his family.

Gin.

Yep.  Gin.

Not ketchup...the ketchup bottle was just the vehicle for completely saturating my child's head with distilled alcohol.

So, that is the reason Daphne was wearing a shower cap on Father's Day.  Because Father's Day turned into Gin-on-my-Head Day.  

Poor Daphne.  

Poor Kev!  It was not the greatest Father's Day.

Daphne spent four hours that day with a gin-soaked head.  She couldn't even help me cook Kev's Father's Day breakfast because I was afraid to let her near the open flames on the stove!  The last thing we needed was a kid with hair on fire, although I am positive the lice would not have survived it.

Anyway, several weeks later, after two more "just in case" gin-on-my-head treatments, countless hours of combing, and a very uneven (but cute!) haircut executed by yours truly, I THINK we are at the end of this terrible terrible experience.  The gin worked!!!!  DANG!!!!!!

There is always a chance we missed something and they could come back.  But I am feeling hopeful for the first time since summer started.  

In spite of the lice, there have been some happy fun times this summer, but I will save those for the next post.

I hope you are having a bug-free summer, wherever you are.

I am not Martha, and I Don't Care.

Today, I saw the word "tablescape" on an Instagram photo and it sent me right over the edge.  Granted, the table in the photo looked lovely, but seriously.  I can't take any more.  All of this Pinteresting and Style Blogging has gone too far.  Tablescape.  You wanna see a tablescarpe?  Look up there.  That's our dining room "tablescape," with its mis-matched napkins and Daphne crumbs and homework papers.  

I. Am. Done.  

I love my dining room table.  Wanna know why?  Because I have dinner there with my family every night.  Not because of meticulously folded napkins or fabulous centerpieces made of twigs and berries.  

After seeing the word "tablescape" this morning, I finally got the kick in the ass I have been needing.  I finally see how silly it all is.  My house is never going to look like a magazine, and I don't care.  Hey Kev!  Guess what!  It's FINE with me that the living room furninture doesn't really match.  As long as I can sit on it and be comfortable and read "James and the Giant Peach" with you and Daph, that's all that matters.  

I feel free like I haven't felt in years.

In other news, we took the girls to the dump last week.  It was truly educational and inspiring.  And it didn't even stink!

Over Memorial Day weekend, we decided to have a sort of Staycation.  But I don't think I'm going to call it that any more because it's a word that sounds too much like tablescape, so I'm just going to say we hung around town and made the most of what home has to offer.

Kev took the day off on Friday, and we walked to lunch at this French place downtown that we've never tried.  Mussels and Fries.  Yep.

When Daphne got home from school, we rode our bikes to meet some friends at Dry Mill Winery, and Daphne climbed around on rocks while we ate cheese and crackers for dinner.

Saturday, Kev grilled some salmon and we ate on the porch (see tablescape above), and then camped in the back yard.

It was a cold and noisy night.  One neighbor was having a party, and the one on the other side decided that 8:30 pm would be a great time to mow his lawn.  Daphne slept through everything.  Kev and I didn't get much rest.  It's really weird to sleep in a hat.  But it was still fun, and an adventure for Daphne.

She had Eggo toaster pancakes for breakfast, with chocolate chips and whipped cream for good measure (see tablescape below), and it was pretty much the best day ever.

Meanwhile, I knit in the tent because I was NOT inside cooking a big fancy breakfast (see tablescape above).  

Good times for me.

Later, we went to the mall with an agenda, and got all kinds of things except the things we went there for.  I got FitBert (above), and I love him.  This thing is just what I needed.  I feel obligated and motivated, and you just wait until November when it's time for Moms on the Run.  Because I am going to run that 5K and I just might keep on going. Like Forrest Gump.   I even have a coach!  I love my kid. She made me do "Frankensteins."

The thing I was knitting in the tent is finished now.  It's a cowl, and it's going to be a beginner class that I will teach at the Finch.  I hope people sign up for it.

The whole time I was knitting, the yarn reminded me of cheetohs.  I like the cowl, though, and will probably make myself one if we get some colors that don't look like snack chips.

OK...I have been sitting here long enough.  FitBert is probably not too happy with me, so off I go to climb some stairs or something for a little while.  

I hope you had a good Memorial Day.  Stay tuned for the June Swirl.  

PS.  I feel like I should say, for the record, that the person who used the word "tablescape" is a wonderful person, who I like a lot.  I just think there is a lot of pressure out there in the interwebs to have this Ideal Lifestyle, and I don't want to be part of that.

The Storm before the Calm

It has been non-stop around here.  The calendar is full, and there are still a few weeks before things settle down a little.  All good stuff but it's pretty exhausting, and hard to find time to sit and knit or read or think.  I end up doing all my thinking at night when I'm supposed to be sleeping.  

Mother's Day was great.  I requested that I didn't have to cook or make any decisions, and that's exactly what happened.  

Kev made crepes.  Daphne made me an awesome card and this painting, which I love.  

We went out for lunch, and Daphne and I did a little sewing:

Definitely a good day.  I have a nice family.

The weather has been weird.  Hot and then nice and then cold and then hot again.  There has been enough "nice" to spend a lot of time on the porch, or outside in general:

The school has challenged to kids to go screenless for 2 weeks and get outside more.  That will be easy for Daphne.  All she wants to do is play outside.  That makes me happy.

The Girl Scout year is almost over, and it seems like we have saved everything for the end of the year.  Last week, the girls delivered cookies to the pediatric staff at the hospital, and all the troops from the school had a big picnic at the park.  

Right after the picnic, Daphne had field hockey practice.  That was Friday night.  Then, Saturday, she had 2 games.

We had a nice big storm on Saturday night which cooled things off a little.

And by Sunday the rain had mostly stopped just in time for the Girls on the Run 5k.

Kev was Daphne's running buddy again.  She beat him by one second again.  I love her face in the last picture.  She was so happy and proud.  

They have decided that next time, I will be Daphne's running buddy.  This might be the biggest challenge of my life.  But I am going to do it.  I have until November to get ready.

Coming up, we have a Girl Scout trip to the landfill, a camp out at the National Zoo, and their bridging ceremony/cookout.  Kev's family is coming to visit.  I am hosting my book group and teaching knitting classes and going to various meetings for Girl Scout leaders.  Daphne's birthday is coming up.  Field Hockey continues.  And end-of-the-year school stuff is happening (Field Day, Donuts with Dad, class party, teacher gifts, etc.)  It's all really fun, but it's a lot.  I told Daphne I am looking forward to summer, and I meant it.  There needs to be a little slow.  

Daphne is turning 9 soon.  That is half-way to 18.  Good grief.  We definitely need a little slow.