Unfortunately there is more to the story. Part II has good news and bad news.
The good news is that now we don't think Princess had a tick embedded in her head all week. The bad news is that we found a tick on Flower yesterday afternoon.
Flower was in the bathroom and I went to help her finish up. I helped her off the potty and noticed something in the crease of her leg. You guessed it, tick number 2. I sent Princess to find Dear Husband. He is a pro at tick removal (and yes, his service is available to anyone in need) now so he showed up with alcohol and tweezers. Princess brought the sandwich bag. DH removed, bagged, and labeled the tick in seconds. Now we have a collection of frozen ticks.
You are probably wondering what the good news is. Flower's tick was barely in her and I know it wasn't there Friday at bedtime so we think she picked it up Saturday morning. We didn't leave the house Saturday morning. This means Princess might have picked up her tick in the house, most likely on Thursday.
From the online research we've learned ticks can only live on another animal or in wet environments. When we got home from our hike on Monday we were all soaked to the bone and muddy. We threw our wet clothes in the laundry. Then we found the leaking water heater and I immediately forgot about our wet clothes.
Thursday I decided to do laundry. I remember sorting the damp, smelly stuff from Monday and cursing myself for letting them sit for three days. I sorted the laundry on the floor downstairs. There is a large plant very close to this area. We think the ticks (hopefully only 2) made their way to the plant or one immediately found Princess.
Now we are all performing tick checks twice daily. I am examining every small round brown thread in the carpet. Keilie dog is wearing a tick collar. I am praying we only brought 2 ticks home with us. DH is leaving tomorrow on a fishing trip and will be gone all week. I hope I won't need the tweezers in his absence.
As a side note, we were seated in church this morning when Nana, Papa, and Grandma M arrived. Princess started shouting to Nana as they approached our isle, "Nana, Nana, guess what....Flower got a tick too!" Flower was standing next to me by the isle so Papa leaned over to say hi to Flower and ask me if she really did get a tick. Flower immediately pulled her pants down and showed God, Papa, and those seated near us the little red mark on her groin. The child is not modest.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Ticked Off
Do you ever have one of those days when you feel like a failure as a mother? I had one yesterday.
It all began Monday when we went for a hike. We got caught in a rainstorm and forgot our snack bag in the pickup but that is another post.
Fast forward to Friday morning. The girls were brushing their teeth and I was combing their hair. Princess wanted pigtails. As I started to brush her hair she said her head hurt. I asked her if she hit her head on something and she said no. I started to part her hair looking for a bump and found a tick. Yes, a tick. A wood tick to be exact.
I’m sure you have already done the math. Four days. It had probably been there since Monday. Four days a parasite had been living on my child and I didn’t notice.
In my defense, both Nana and myself had bathed and shampooed Princess since Monday. I combed her hair every morning this week. Great Grandma M even brushed her hair on Thursday afternoon. None of us noticed the tick. Princess didn’t notice and apparently it didn’t hurt until yesterday.
I immediately called Dear Husband. Ticks fall in his area of expertise. He didn’t answer his office phone or his cell phone. I left messages to call me asap. Then I got the tweezers out. I had all the methods of tick removal running through my head; burn them with hot tweezers, smother them with petroleum jelly, and never, ever let them break off in your skin.
I took a deep breath, grabbed him with the tweezers, and pulled. The second his little legs started flailing I was done. Up until that point I wasn’t sure if it was still alive. I thought maybe he was dead and would pull out easily. I was wrong.
Since he didn’t look like he wanted to come out of Princess’s head easily, I got the petroleum jelly out. I covered him in it. Big mistake. Now Princess had a tick embedded in her head covered with Vaseline. Even if he did pull out I wouldn’t be able to see it so how would I know to remove it. Then DH calls and we discuss all the information he was reading online. Tip #1 – Never use petroleum jelly, it just makes them mad. Check.
I called the doctor and they told me to bring her in over the lunch hour. I decided to try to wash off the Vaseline so I put Princess in the shower and tried to gently clean it. That didn’t work very well either. I am going to be washing Vaseline out of her hair for the next month. I was able to get enough of it off so we could see the tick again so that was good.
DH came home from work. He said he could tell by the sound of my voice I wasn’t going to be able to pull the tick out. He was right. He read online to pull very, very slowly and let the tick release on its own. He did and it worked perfectly. One tick removed completely.
We got it done in time to go to the end of year picnic at school. Then we went to the doctor. He examined the hole in Princess’s head (it’s about the size of a pencil eraser and bright red). He said we did a great job removing it. DH said we were supposed to take the tick to the doctor so I did. The doctor said not to worry, ticks around here don’t carry the really bad diseases and this one probably doesn’t carry anything due to the area where we picked him up. Nonetheless we are to put the tick in the freezer and keep an eye on Princess for the next week. Any sign of a fever we are to come in immediately and bring the tick for analysis.
Princess is very proud of her tick. She showed it to everyone we saw yesterday. Her music teacher lived in Maryland and she said ticks were so common there that her pediatrician’s office removed and tested every single one. I guess we should feel fortunate we don’t have to deal with ticks that frequently.
Nana and I still can’t believe we both missed it all week. The part of my brain that tries to rationalize everything is wondering if maybe the tick was hiding in her coat all week and got on Princess Thursday night. It’s probably not true, but it makes me feel better.
It all began Monday when we went for a hike. We got caught in a rainstorm and forgot our snack bag in the pickup but that is another post.
Fast forward to Friday morning. The girls were brushing their teeth and I was combing their hair. Princess wanted pigtails. As I started to brush her hair she said her head hurt. I asked her if she hit her head on something and she said no. I started to part her hair looking for a bump and found a tick. Yes, a tick. A wood tick to be exact.
I’m sure you have already done the math. Four days. It had probably been there since Monday. Four days a parasite had been living on my child and I didn’t notice.
In my defense, both Nana and myself had bathed and shampooed Princess since Monday. I combed her hair every morning this week. Great Grandma M even brushed her hair on Thursday afternoon. None of us noticed the tick. Princess didn’t notice and apparently it didn’t hurt until yesterday.
I immediately called Dear Husband. Ticks fall in his area of expertise. He didn’t answer his office phone or his cell phone. I left messages to call me asap. Then I got the tweezers out. I had all the methods of tick removal running through my head; burn them with hot tweezers, smother them with petroleum jelly, and never, ever let them break off in your skin.
I took a deep breath, grabbed him with the tweezers, and pulled. The second his little legs started flailing I was done. Up until that point I wasn’t sure if it was still alive. I thought maybe he was dead and would pull out easily. I was wrong.
Since he didn’t look like he wanted to come out of Princess’s head easily, I got the petroleum jelly out. I covered him in it. Big mistake. Now Princess had a tick embedded in her head covered with Vaseline. Even if he did pull out I wouldn’t be able to see it so how would I know to remove it. Then DH calls and we discuss all the information he was reading online. Tip #1 – Never use petroleum jelly, it just makes them mad. Check.
I called the doctor and they told me to bring her in over the lunch hour. I decided to try to wash off the Vaseline so I put Princess in the shower and tried to gently clean it. That didn’t work very well either. I am going to be washing Vaseline out of her hair for the next month. I was able to get enough of it off so we could see the tick again so that was good.
DH came home from work. He said he could tell by the sound of my voice I wasn’t going to be able to pull the tick out. He was right. He read online to pull very, very slowly and let the tick release on its own. He did and it worked perfectly. One tick removed completely.
We got it done in time to go to the end of year picnic at school. Then we went to the doctor. He examined the hole in Princess’s head (it’s about the size of a pencil eraser and bright red). He said we did a great job removing it. DH said we were supposed to take the tick to the doctor so I did. The doctor said not to worry, ticks around here don’t carry the really bad diseases and this one probably doesn’t carry anything due to the area where we picked him up. Nonetheless we are to put the tick in the freezer and keep an eye on Princess for the next week. Any sign of a fever we are to come in immediately and bring the tick for analysis.
Princess is very proud of her tick. She showed it to everyone we saw yesterday. Her music teacher lived in Maryland and she said ticks were so common there that her pediatrician’s office removed and tested every single one. I guess we should feel fortunate we don’t have to deal with ticks that frequently.
Nana and I still can’t believe we both missed it all week. The part of my brain that tries to rationalize everything is wondering if maybe the tick was hiding in her coat all week and got on Princess Thursday night. It’s probably not true, but it makes me feel better.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Babies, Babies, Babies
We've had a run on new cousins lately. Auntie A gave us two beautiful baby girls in February and they came to visit us last month. The girls had a wonderful time with the twins....and they never had to share since there was a baby for everyone!
Ten days ago Cousin C graced us with his presence. We made a quick trip north last weekend to meet him. He is the most handsome little guy I've seen in a long time. I took a few pictures so you can see my babies holding my brother's baby. Auntie S and Uncle S are very proud parents.
If you look closely you'll notice Princess is toothless. In the past month she has lost four teeth; her top middle teeth and two lower teeth next to her middle teeth.
My baby graduates from pre-k tomorrow. Yes, I did say graduate. After graduation there is a reception. It should be interesting.
Ten days ago Cousin C graced us with his presence. We made a quick trip north last weekend to meet him. He is the most handsome little guy I've seen in a long time. I took a few pictures so you can see my babies holding my brother's baby. Auntie S and Uncle S are very proud parents.
If you look closely you'll notice Princess is toothless. In the past month she has lost four teeth; her top middle teeth and two lower teeth next to her middle teeth.
My baby graduates from pre-k tomorrow. Yes, I did say graduate. After graduation there is a reception. It should be interesting.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Yankees
Completely out of the blue at dinner tonight Princess took a drink of cold juice, winced, and said to Dear Husband "My teeth can't stand cold things like you can't stand the Yankees."
Monday, May 24, 2010
Horizontal or Vertical?
You may recall the girls have their music recital tomorrow night. I try not to worry about these things too much, but I won’t lie to you, I want them to do well and look adorable.
Friday afternoon I was in the kitchen when I heard Flower wailing. I ran to the stairs and saw her walking out of the playroom in tears holding the side of her head. I could tell by the sound of her cry she was really hurt. Upon further investigation I determined she and Princess were playing with my laundry basket, which is one of the tall narrow types, and Princess left the room leaving Flower stuck in the laundry basket. Flower attempted to exit the basket, tipped it over, and fell face first into the dollhouse.
Flower must have hit the dollhouse pretty hard because she pushed it back a couple inches. Her face did not look so good. Her left cheek took the majority of the fall. She had a big purple spot the size of a golf ball on her face with a vertical welt down the middle. My first thought was how am I going to cover that up for the recital?
We iced Flower’s cheek as much as she could stand. Her lip and nose were also sore to the touch so I was expecting a big bruise. By the time Dear Husband got home an hour later most of the purple was gone. I was hopeful.
Saturday morning Flower’s face looked remarkable well. She had a 2-3 inch purple bruise down her cheek but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Yesterday the bruise was starting to turn black and green so I’m hoping it will lighten up by tomorrow.
Last night as the girls were getting ready for bed, Princess was bouncing around moving the herd of stuffed animals from her bed to the floor so she had room to sleep. All of the sudden she comes running into our room crying and holding her head. She fell head first on Flower’s bed and hit the side of the frame with her head. She had a big purple spot with a 3 inch horizontal welt across the left side of her forehead.
Within seconds Flower was on the scene with the ice pack. If our summer continues in this manner I’m going to need to invest in another ice pack.
Friday afternoon I was in the kitchen when I heard Flower wailing. I ran to the stairs and saw her walking out of the playroom in tears holding the side of her head. I could tell by the sound of her cry she was really hurt. Upon further investigation I determined she and Princess were playing with my laundry basket, which is one of the tall narrow types, and Princess left the room leaving Flower stuck in the laundry basket. Flower attempted to exit the basket, tipped it over, and fell face first into the dollhouse.
Flower must have hit the dollhouse pretty hard because she pushed it back a couple inches. Her face did not look so good. Her left cheek took the majority of the fall. She had a big purple spot the size of a golf ball on her face with a vertical welt down the middle. My first thought was how am I going to cover that up for the recital?
We iced Flower’s cheek as much as she could stand. Her lip and nose were also sore to the touch so I was expecting a big bruise. By the time Dear Husband got home an hour later most of the purple was gone. I was hopeful.
Saturday morning Flower’s face looked remarkable well. She had a 2-3 inch purple bruise down her cheek but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Yesterday the bruise was starting to turn black and green so I’m hoping it will lighten up by tomorrow.
Last night as the girls were getting ready for bed, Princess was bouncing around moving the herd of stuffed animals from her bed to the floor so she had room to sleep. All of the sudden she comes running into our room crying and holding her head. She fell head first on Flower’s bed and hit the side of the frame with her head. She had a big purple spot with a 3 inch horizontal welt across the left side of her forehead.
Within seconds Flower was on the scene with the ice pack. If our summer continues in this manner I’m going to need to invest in another ice pack.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
It's Raining, It’s Pouring…
Days like today make me glad I am a lazy parent and don’t sign my kids up for soccer or other outdoor sports. It is 37 degrees with a steady, soaking rain. Is was raining when we went to bed last night. From the looks of the yard it has been raining all night. I love it when there are puddles of water in the ditch.
Last night was movie night. We watched Hotel for Dogs. It was cute. Dear Husband didn’t like it, but the females in the house did (including Keilie Dog). The girls didn’t take a nap yesterday because we had errands to run after music class but they made it through the movie. I wasn’t sure if Flower would but she did.
I have been debating naps lately. Princess doesn’t nap at daycare anymore and hasn’t for about a year. However by 8:00 pm during the week she is done. On the weekend Princess and I snuggle on our bed and watch HGTV. She usually falls asleep for about an hour.
Flower still takes a nap at daycare. For about the last month she has been having a really hard time falling asleep at night. However, if Flower doesn’t get a nap, by dinnertime she is a bear.
Last Friday I decided to skip nap and see what happens. Flower fell asleep at 6:45 and missed roasting marshmallows. Yesterday we skipped nap and stayed up late watching a movie. They went right to sleep and slept in this morning. It was fabulous. I am sure it was a fluke, but I’ll take it. Maybe it was the weather. It is a perfect morning to sleep late.
We have a birthday party at 5:00 this afternoon. I am thinking about skipping Flower’s nap again today since she went to bed so well last night. The downside to skipping nap might be a birthday monster. What is a mother to do?
Last night was movie night. We watched Hotel for Dogs. It was cute. Dear Husband didn’t like it, but the females in the house did (including Keilie Dog). The girls didn’t take a nap yesterday because we had errands to run after music class but they made it through the movie. I wasn’t sure if Flower would but she did.
I have been debating naps lately. Princess doesn’t nap at daycare anymore and hasn’t for about a year. However by 8:00 pm during the week she is done. On the weekend Princess and I snuggle on our bed and watch HGTV. She usually falls asleep for about an hour.
Flower still takes a nap at daycare. For about the last month she has been having a really hard time falling asleep at night. However, if Flower doesn’t get a nap, by dinnertime she is a bear.
Last Friday I decided to skip nap and see what happens. Flower fell asleep at 6:45 and missed roasting marshmallows. Yesterday we skipped nap and stayed up late watching a movie. They went right to sleep and slept in this morning. It was fabulous. I am sure it was a fluke, but I’ll take it. Maybe it was the weather. It is a perfect morning to sleep late.
We have a birthday party at 5:00 this afternoon. I am thinking about skipping Flower’s nap again today since she went to bed so well last night. The downside to skipping nap might be a birthday monster. What is a mother to do?
Friday, May 21, 2010
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