SAD

S A D

Seasonal Affective Disorder, that is.

While this disorder implies that during the colder, cloudier, sun lacking months, people are actually sad and depressed, I personally do not feel sad about anything, except that I have to spend roughly an hour bundling my kids every time we walk out the door.

However, I have much less energy this time of year, which I completely blame on the lack of sun.

I realize there are people who always have bountiful energy levels, no matter what the weather, but I figured there were many like me who are moving at snails pace during these inevitable Chicago gloomy months.

But then two years ago I had a blood test and found out that I actually was Vitamin D deficient. The interesting thing about this blood test two years ago... It was taken in January, but the hospital had a new system of delivering the results via Internet, that I was not completely made aware of. I thought I would receive results in the mail if there were any abnormalities, as is usually the case. When I received nothing, I continued on with my mundane, low energy exerting life.

Then I had a repeat test in August, after two months (at least) of SUN, glorious SUN, and my Doctor said,

"I guess the supplements were helpful".

"Huh, what supplements?"

"Didn't you get the Vitamin D. supplements that I suggested, due to your Vitamin D. deficiency?"

"Huh, what vitamin D. deficiency?"

Apparently, my supplement came in June and July by way of a HOT, UV ray spewing, cancer causing, ball of gasses and fire.

So the next fall, I decided to take Vitamin D. supplements, which may help, but I can tell you (because we went to Miami last year) nothing compares to the Vitamin D. one gets from the Sun. I don't care if you drink milk directly from the utter of a cow, or down Vitamin D. supplements like they have "Vicodin" written all over it, the Sun is poignant when it comes to soaking up the "D".

I needs me my Sun fix!!!

A few summer's ago, one of my friends attempted to scold me for conveniently "forgetting" to apply sunblock to my children's exposed skin before they went outside.

It can not be done - scolding me, that is. I do not accept scolding for the wise choices I make.

First off, I do apply sunblock to my kids, part of almost every day of the summer months. I do take skin cancer seriously.

BUT -


I also realize the benefits of the sun.

When an article came out, shortly after the attempted scolding incident, about the rise of "Rickets" in children and the rise of Vitamin D. deficiency in children - in the US of A, my friend was embarrassed of her scolding ways.

(There are so many articles I will not link just one, but google "Rickets on the rise" and you can read if you like)
Rickets is a "soft bone" disorder. It used to exist, mainly in Countries where malnutrition was inevitable. It can happen to infants when expectant mothers have vitamin D. deficiency and continues when children are not drinking enough milk or getting enough sun. Vitamin D. is necessary for the proper absorption of calcium. And calcium is necessary for ensuring the development of strong bones.

Personally, I do not think that lack of milk, is the real culprit. I think we have become a society that becomes afraid of any possibility of Cancer, and we take extreme measures. But I always carry the belief, that everything that exists in the world can be BOTH harmful and beneficial. It is a game of measurement, really.

We used to lack the degree of technology we have today, and technology has been beneficial to us greatly. But it has also been hazardous.

I know this, because growing up, when my father left work between 5 and 6 pm, he was DONE and could relax and spend time with his family. But now, how many people leave work with a phone still attached to their ear? They get home and check their e-mails. They put the kids to bed and then ignore their wives, because they love their lap- top. (I mean, NOT my husband, ahem, ahem...)

(okay - I realize that this post has taken an unexpected turn, so I will move back to SAD)

So many kids are spending way too much time indoors with their WII's and Playstations and not enough time worshiping the Sun. (Worship may be a little strong, but go out and ride a bike.)

And when they are out in the sun, their pores are submerged in chemically concocted UV ray blocking lotions.
So the new recommendation is to allow yourself and children to be exposed to the sun for approximately 20 minutes a day when the sun is not at it's peak.

But this time of year, in my City - there is no sun. It has gone to the other side of the world (to be scientifically correct, the other side of the world has gone to the sun, but, you know .... blogging license).

And I hope Australia is NOT taking it for granted. I want my sun back ... or a trip to Australia, because beggars can't be choosy.

For me personally, there is no substance, milk or supplements, that gets absorbed like the Sun does. I will pop my Vitamin D. pills in the mean time. I will kick my own ass into high gear, getting myself to jog, forcing myself out the door where I am met by gloom and miserable weather conditions. I will allow my children to be my "sunshine" in the morning.

But you better be kind to MY sun, Australia, and New Zealand, and Aboriginal People. Because, I want it back in pristine condition. And I want it back even BETTER than we had it this past summer. I want it back just raining down oodles and oodles of Vitamin D.

I am kind of SAD. Because I miss my Vitamin D.

The Cook Is Back!

It seems it is about a year since I began this blog and I have to say,

NOT TOO SHABBY!

When I initially started, it was also in the midst of our fall Holiday season and it took time to become consistent, much like right now.

This weekend begins the eight day Holiday of Sukkos.

Long story short - when we Jews were running for our lives out of Egypt (Passover story) we had to wander a desert for 40 years. In this desert, we dwelled in huts. We commemorate this time by building ourselves a hut, typically in our backyards, and we eat our meals in this hut.

The hut can be made out of any material, so long as it is an appropriate height, has at least 3 walls and the top is covered in a natural resource, such as bamboo or evergreen leaves. The hut is supposed to feel like our home, so we decorate it as well. It mostly will end up resembling a cabana decorated like a Christmas tree.

And to pre-empt some questions.

Yes, if it is bitter cold one must still eat in the Sukkah (only men over 13 are actually REQUIRED to eat in the Sukkah). However, if there is torrential downpours of rain, we may retreat to our home.

I remember years that we were eating with winter coats, scarves and gloves, which may be how this year is looking. However, other years, it was so hot - we were running from bees.

Anyway - this has all just been some side information to my point.

I will be cooking ONLY one meal out of four (in the first days of Sukkos). But, that meal consists of 15 adults and 9 children.

Normally, this would not phase me, but herein lies the problem.

I am a bit rusty in the kitchen.

Until last December, my parents were living with me for 16 months. I did some Holiday cooking and Sabbath cooking, but it was always shared by my Mother's input. In December, when they left - I was already 4 months pregnant and I pretty much only cooked for my immediate family of 5, which is no biggie. I would have loved to have company more often, but

1. I had a major aversion to raw chicken and meat, so all chicken and meat was purchased already cooked.

2. I get major sciatica if I stand for long periods of time, so I could not spend consistently long amounts of time cooking around my kitchen.

In May, I had a baby, and I already know by my fourth child, that it will take me approximately 3 months to really learn my baby and get back to myself. Meaning, do I have a baby that has a mild temperament allowing me to get things done? I DO! And, am I getting "enough" sleep and did my energy level return so that I can be productive? Yes, and Yes!

So, that brings me to the beginning of October, and I feel like I have not embarked on such a mission for almost two years.

I know how to cook, but where have I been for almost two years? What have we been eating? Where are all my "special" recipes? I have to pull out the big guns now. I have people to impress.

(Really, I am not the sort of person who EVER feels the need to impress, it will suffice that everyone finds the food tasty and does not come down with food poisoning.)

So, I will be busy for the next two days, and maybe, just maybe I will become one of "those" people who takes pictures of her food and posts it on a blog for people who can only look and salivate over something they were not invited to eat.

Wish me luck!

Head Banging

Yesterday was Yom Kippur, and I survived....




JUST BARELY.



I used to fast rather well. In fact, I used to fast REALLY well, until a few years ago. I suspect the change might have to do with the recent caffeine fix I developed. I actually do not feel the need for coffee every day if I can eat, but if I do not have food in me, I apparently at least need the coffee. And my caffeine fix only comes from that one cup in the morning. I do NOT drink soda or any other caffeinated drinks. I only eat chocolate from time to time, and I only have just that ONE cup of coffee a day. But when I have no food in my system, AND lack my coffee fix, I am like a druggie on her first day in rehab.

I get the shakes, and I think I might actually be sweating. And the migraine, oh LORD, the migraine...

Yom Kippur is our day of atonement. We have a hearty meal before the fast begins, this year - sundown Sunday night. And we may not eat ANYTHING or drink ANYTHING until sundown Monday night.

I was at Synagogue Monday morning until 2 pm and I felt the headache coming on. It did not help that the baby was having one of his off nights the night before and was not sleeping well. I had a babysitter at home watching four kids who were probably bored out of their minds. How many books could they read and how many board games could they play before they turned on each other? Well, I was not there, and what I did not know, could not hurt me.

On Yom Kippur the kids may eat, but they may not utilize electric objects, so no TV and no music. They could not take an outing to any child friendly activity center. They must have been going stir-crazy.

When I came home, my babysitter was still in our house sitting by as the kids were strangling each other watching with earnest as the kids played very LOUDLY. I crashed in my bed, but could not really sleep because the noise was unbearable. I felt throbbing in my head like a sledgehammer slamming into my frontal lobe over and over again. And the waves of nausea came on. I wanted to vomit, but there was nothing IN ME, TO throw up.

Hun, who was also napping, relieved the babysitter at 4:20 and then I had to (very reluctantly) relieve Hun at 4:50 so he could go back to Synagogue for the final evening prayers.

Bam woke up at 5 pm, and the earliest I could coerce my other 3 children into bed would be 6:30.

An hour and a half of pure joy with all 4 overtired, stir crazy and hyped up on G-d knows what amounts of sugar via babysitter that I was unaware of, children all with an ax just buried in my forehead and the feeling of being in a small dingy knocked over again and again by waves of nausea - terrific.

I had my 5 year old give her baby brother a bottle, which he did not really want, as I tried to lay on the couch and ignore the children. I could not ignore the fact that Ate was doing the "poo poo" dance. I grabbed him and put him on the toilet, that he very much let me know he did not want to be on. I left him there to do his biness, and I retreated to the couch while my baby lay on the floor with no toys just flailing his arms.

Now it felt as if someone had a clamp around my entire head just getting tighter and tighter over my temples, and someone could have been doing a lobotomy on me and I would be none the wiser.

Ate was finished and I had to clean him up. And the kids needed supper.

Supper? The girls had cookie crisp cereal and milk. Ate chose the slightly more nutritious, cheerios and milk, followed by cottage cheese. I was fortunate that Bam sat quietly in his chair while I fed the older three. Well, quietly besides the grunting noises he was making, because he was FINALLY unloading whatever it was that kept him up the night before.

I got the older three to bed by 6:30 and once the noise level in the house dropped, I was already feeling slightly better.

And by slightly, I mean, the clamp was removed but the ax was still embedded, and I got off the dingy but I was still standing on a floating, bobbing dock.

On my way down stairs from putting the older three to bed, I could smell the stench of what Bam had done still sitting in his chair, which was not beneficial to my state of nausea. And then I opened his stretchy - holy mother of sh#$ (which was NOT the word I was thinking at the time, because IT WAS Yom Kippur after all).

It was probably his biggest load since he was born (not the most perfect time). I will spare you most details, but it was down his left leg.

After he emptied out, he then decided to fill up again, but thankfully he fell asleep just before 7 pm.

I still had at least a half hour until the end of Yom Kippur, so I went back to sleep as well. At about 7:30, I broke my fast (in bed) on two rapid release Tylenol capsules, a glass of ginger ale (it was decaffeinated, it was for the ginger, not caffeine), and a couple of pretzel rods. I went back to sleep until the baby woke up just before 8 pm, and Hun was not yet home.

Hun arrived home shortly after 8 pm and he was so helpful. Hun gave himself to eat and gave the baby to eat as well. I had no appetite (ironic, considering I had not eaten for 24 hours). I was feeling much better, but terribly tired. Hun took care of Bam for the duration of the evening and I high tailed it off to bed.

I seriously think that intravenous coffee drips should be allowed during Yom Kippur, it would have saved me a lot of problems.

And now, just one more year until we have to do this again.

Doctor Of WHAT?

Watch out - Ranting and Raving ahead:

When I was in nursing school, I remember a few comments from people along the lines of,

"Why don't you already become a Doctor?"
or
"And then do you follow that with Medical School?"

I wanted to strangle these people.

Nursing is NOT a pre-requisite to becoming a Doctor. They are two very different jobs, with two very different functions.

ONE of the reasons I became a nurse, is because I hate Doctors. Doesn't make sense to you? You may be thinking, don't you have to work pleasantly alongside Doctor's as a nurse?

Here is the thing -

Nurses are patient advocates, Doctors are NOT.

Of course there are exceptions to this rule. There are some amazing Doctors out there. But try to find them, it's like trying to find that toe nail that flung away with the cut of the scissor and is wedged into tiny carpet fibers.

The good ones are highly sought and getting an appointment with them takes months. By the time you reach your appointment date, you might be dead.

There are also many nurse "Ratcheds" out there as well. They are nurses who are just mean and nasty and have forgotten what it means to be a nurse.

But in general, I stand by my previous statement. Nurses look out for the well being of the patient and most Doctors just look out for the well being of their bank account.

I have come to this conclusion, both as a patient and a nurse.

There are even specialty hierarchies of crappiness amongst Doctors.

In the nursing world, it is a known fact that Surgeons, specifically are the most arrogant of Doctors.

I once told my mother that ALL surgeons are arrogant, they have to be. Her reply was that they are confident, not arrogant.

My response was,
"NO! ALL surgeons are arrogant." They have to be arrogant to do what they do. A human being has to have arrogance in order to cut deep into the flesh of another human being. It is essential to being a good surgeon. They must think that they are impervious to ever making a mistake when cutting a chest cavity open (or other areas) and slicing through vessels and arteries and then reattaching minuscule blood vessels, etc...

Could you do that?
I could not.
I have no problem jamming a needle into your vein, but I could never take a scalpel in my hand and slice across your abdomen.

And, within this specialty hierarchy of arrogant Doctors, the most arrogant is the
NEUROSURGEON.

How arrogant must one be, to saw off the skull and actually manipulate the human brain.

But there is one even higher on the arrogant totem pole,

the Pediatric Neurosurgeon.

Oh, wait - there is actually one even worse -

the NEONATAL Neurosurgeon.

When I was working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, years back, there was one such Neonatal Neurosurgeon.
Sure, when he was in the OR, performing his surgeries on the tiniest of brains, he was GOOD at what he was doing. He was the best, in fact.
But outside of the OR, well there is no other way to say this -

He was an ASSHOLE.

Arrogant surgeons do not leave their arrogance in the Operating Room.

Each surgery he performed made him anywhere from 100, 000 - 250,000 dollars. Yes - EACH SURGERY.

Thankfully, I worked in a hospital and a unit where "Naughty" Doctors were reprimanded. If a Doctor was out of line with the nurses, he would lose OR privileges. Losing OR privileges = losing loads of money. This kept the pompous sons of b$@*&#* on their best behavior.

When, I moved to New Jersey, I had an interview in a very prominent hospital.

I remember specifically being asked,

"What was the Nurse/Doctor relationship in the hospital you previously worked at?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you get along?"

"For the most part, I guess."

(I still was not sure what she was asking. Did she want to know if the Doctors and Nurses ware cavorting? Was she asking if our hospital was all "ER" and "Grey's Anatomy"? I mean, it might have been if we had a Clooney and McSteamy and McDreamy or any McHotties, but we were a real hospital, not a fictional one.)

"What I mean is, how do the nurses deal with Doctors who are not so nice?"

"Oh, the Doctors faced consequences for ill behavior (no pun intended)."

"Well, over here, if a Doctor is nasty, the nurse has to just grin and bear it. Bite your tongue. Deal with it... Can you handle that?"

"Yes,

wait... no. You mean to tell me, that in the year 2000, you feel the need to be subservient to asinine Doctors? You allow Doctors to get away with bad behavior? You force the nurses to deal with a hostile work environment? Why? How do frustrated nurses make for great health care providers. This stupid policy of yours seems quite counterproductive, don't you think?"

Well, needless to say, I did not get that job.

I guess that it was a good thing, I couldn't really say I was surprised. This was "New Jersey" after all.

But it was eye - opening to me.

As a patient, I had my share of doozies when it came to Doctors.

Remember when I took Erythromicin ?

My stomach could not handle this sort of anti-biotic and I ended up in the hospital hooked up to an IV.

So years later, when I was having my employee physical in the New Jersey hospital that I actually did get a job at, I was asked a question,

"Do you have any allergies?"

"Well, I am highly allergic to fish and "INTOLERANT" to Erythromicin."
(notice my specific choice of words.)

"What happens when you have those things?"

"Well fish causes anaphylaxis and Erythromicin caused chronic vomiting and dehydration."

"Well vomiting is not an allergy."

(uh, Doctor - grow some ears, I said, I was "INTOLERANT" to Erythromicin).

"Anyway, nowadays we would give you Zythromax."

"Well my husband took that and it was highly concentrated and he had a reaction, so I would not take it as well."

"Well, that was your husband, not you."

"Yes, but it IS from the same family as Erythromicin, so I would think that my body would find it too concentrated as well."

"Well you should just do what your Doctor tells you."

OH BITCH, YOU JUST OPENED A CAN OF WHOOP ASS! IT'S ON NOW BEEYOTCH!

You should do what your Doctor tells you to do???????????

See, that sentence actually came out of her mouth, at which point I realized a number of things,

1. I should not be surprised, she is from New Jersey.

2. What the hell did she do wrong that she is relegated to only practicing as a Doctor in an employee health clinic.

3. She is from New Jersey

4. She may be deaf and DUMB.

5. That sentence is the reason so many patients NEVER question their Doctors and take medications that are awful and undergo needless treatments, or do not take medications they need and do not get treatments that are helpful.

I can not stress this enough...

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO QUESTION A DOCTOR. DO LOOK FOR ANOTHER DOCTOR IF YOU FEEL YOU ARE NOT BEING HEARD. DOCTORS ARE NOT G-D AND ARE NOT INFALLIBLE.

That is the arrogance of Doctors. They do not like when you come in and diagnose yourself. They want to be the one to prescribe the next course of action and when they can not figure out what is wrong with you, they will either tell you it is all in your head, or you are depressed, rather than tell you,

"I have exhausted all I can do, maybe you should find another Doctor who might benefit you more than I can."

When I moved back to Chicago, I needed a Doctor at some point. I had no time to search, so I just went to the Doctor my parents used. He was fine when it came to diagnosing strep or virus, but beyond that, an actual MORON.

I went to him one summer twelve times. I kept getting sinus infections, I was having many migraines.... and chronic fatigue. I also had chronic neck and upper back pain for years.

He kept telling me it was allergies, even though the allergy medicine did nothing but antibiotics finally did. He made no further suggestions when I kept coming back to him, at which time I asked,
"Shouldn't I go see an ENT at this point?"

to which he replied,

"You know what, you should probably see an ENT at this point."

Thanks, great SUGGESTION.

(The ENT, was a whole other story, won't get into.)

I was back at my general Practitioner with more head aches at which point he said, angrily, might I add,

"Well what do you want, a Cat Scan? Those things are expensive."

That was the last straw for me.

I now searched for a really GREAT doctor. I found her, and guess what - I waited 4 months for my first appointment. But she IS GREAT. And I still see her.

The first appointment, she asked,

"Have you ever had an MRI?"

"Uh, no..."

"Well, why not? It seems like the next logical step."

Yes, I like the way you think Doctor Greatness, "LOGICAL".

So I had an MRI, and guess what we found...

A cyst in my maxillary sinus cavity (NOT ALLERGIES ASSHOLE)
Stenosis of my spine
Some bulging discs in my neck
And muscle spasms in my upper back.

So apparently, my previous Doctor was ALMOST right, some of it
WAS IN MY HEAD!
And the rest in my neck and upper back, and no I was not depressed, but how ironic that crappy Doctors probably cause depression in patients who feel helpless.

I have learned to question Doctors and the health care industry (not in Obama sort of way).

The health care industry HAS unfortunately become money making ventures, and they have lost sight of patients needs.

Hospitals - are businesses
Insurance companies - are businesses
AND
Pharmaceutical companies, are BIG businesses.

First one out with a drug or vaccine makes the big bucks. So I don't trust that their drugs and vaccines are tested responsibly. Case and point, drugs like Vioxx which killed people because it was determined later that the amount of study was exaggerated leading to the removal of Vioxx from the market. This happened with other drugs as well.
Pfizer has been fined over and over again, among other reasons, for offering perks to Doctors for pushing their drugs. So your Doctor might prescribe something for you (like Zythromax which may cause you to wretch uncontrollably) because of the perks they get, and not because it is the best drug for you.

I am not one who is anti-vaccines, in general - but I do question the new ones and weigh the benefits against the risks. I am in NO way telling other parents what to do.

I do not give my kids the Chicken Pox vaccine, it was studied in Japan for 30 years before it came out, not in America. My DNA is not the same as that of a Japanese (trust me, it makes a difference).

When it first came out, only one shot was intended to be enough. Then it was realized they were wrong, and they added booster shots. I was supposed to give my oldest daughter her Varicella Vaccine when I just had my third child. The Vaccine CAN cause a mild contagious case to break out. Why would I give the vaccine to my daughter and then possibly expose my newborn (who can not get the vaccine) to a disease that would be more dangerous for him.

I do NOT give my children Flu vaccines. I am pretty sure that a new strain will pop up anyway. I teach my kids all the precautionary measures to take. My oldest daughter did get swine flu, that was verified. I am pretty sure my second daughter may have had it as well, that was not verified.

Yes - it is true, the flu CAN be deadly, especially for small children, elderly and infirmed. Getting in a car can be deadly as well. I will not keep pumping my kids full of EVERY chemically concocted vaccine that comes out one week and is on the market 3 weeks later. I just DO NOT trust the greedy money making Pharmaceutical companies enough to do so.

I have conversations with my Pediatrician about this all the time. We have a lot of mutual respect for one another. Although he CAN NOT tell me that it is ever okay to NOT get the vaccines, I can easily tell which vaccines he thinks are superfluous and which he thinks are imperative. And I will repeat, I DO give my kids many of the vaccines.

The problem I have, are the Doctors who do not let educated patients and parents question what is going into their or their child's body. It is surely okay to read about the medications, treatments and vaccines and ask questions before we.
JUST DO WHAT OUR DOCTOR TELLS US TO DO.

The reason this post is written today, because this "Doctors are educated and must know what they are doing" concept, keeps coming to the surface.

A friend of mine told me last night that she keeps getting migraines and her medicines are not working anymore.

I told her to get an MRI.

She said,
"Well, the Doctor did not suggest that, I don't want to ASK for it."

ASK FOR IT!

This morning, I saw my SIL attempting to drop my niece off at the same school that Ate attends. My niece was really acting up and crying. I inquired from my SIL, if she was okay. My SIL then informed me that yesterday morning she took her to "walk in" at the Doctor and was told that she had a "minor ear infection", no need to do anything AND it was okay for her to go swimming yesterday.

So, as I noticed her acting up and touching her ear that my SIL confirmed was the ear in question, I asked,

"And, is this my lovely, adorable, good natured nieces temperament on a regular basis?"

"No, she is definitely not herself."

"I get why Doctor's are against antibiotics, it is definitely overused by overly anxious parents of kids with viruses, but I am against pain in children. Go back to the Doctor and get her antibiotics so her ear can heal."

My kids have seen the Doctor she had seen the day before. He is not our kids regular Doctor, but was the one on call for "walk ins".

I can not stand him. He is one of those, text book Doctor's who ONLY pays attention to the objective facts, ie. the throat is red, it is not red, the ear looks bad, it only slightly looks bad, it looks fine, as opposed to listening to the parent.

He likes to look in the throat and announce,
"It doesn't look like strep, she does not even have fever, just a virus probably - drink plenty of fluids."

ASSHOLE!

Humor me, I know when her throat hurts, and I know when HER THROAT HURTS.
Take the culture.

What's that? It's strep you say?

I could go on and on with this topic. The bottom line is this -

As patients, each one of us has to take responsibility for our own care and health. We can not solely rely on a Doctor or his knowledge. I don't care how many years of schooling a Doctor has had, or how long he has been practicing - Doctor's DO make mistakes and do not always make the right choices for our benefit.

Do not feel guilty questioning a Doctor.
And if a Doctor ever makes you feel uncomfortable, stupid or guilty for questioning him,
LEAVE
and go find a new Doctor.

New Years

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

TO ALL MY JEWISH FRIENDS!

HAPPY WEEKEND TO ALL MY NON-JEWISH FRIENDS!

AND....


A VERY HAPPY SEVENTH BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL "LICELESS" SO!


MY ANIMAL LOVING,
PORTRAIT DRAWING,
PROJECT MAKING,
STORY WRITING,
DRAMA SHARING,
GYMNASTICS TAKING,
DEEP END SWIMMING,
FIRST BORN

SO!

The Great Plague Of '09

Remember when I posted a video of "Cousins Gone Wild" ? We were hanging in our quaint cabin on the Kibbutz, and the kiddies were rolling around together. I asked you to pay attention to their close proximity.


This moment may or may not, have contributed to the "Great Plague of '09".

I did not want to talk about this before the Plague became contained and the "all clear" could be sounded, but it made the last couple of weeks this past summer, just a JOY. (DO NOTE SARCASM)

The day after we returned to the USA, my kids returned to camp. They were a bit jet lagged, but they were excited to see their friends. That day, I went to camp at 1:00 to pick up Ate, and there was a note in his cubby, that a case of head lice was making its way through camp. I pretty much ignored the note.

My brother and sister-in-law returned to the USA a few days after we did, because they decided to spend a few extra days in Israel.

They returned on a Thursday and my SIL called me on a Sunday.

SIL "Uh, do you know what nits look like?"

"Yes, I am pretty sure I do."

"Well, I think Y (her daughter) may have nits, and now I am kinda itchy as well."

(I was getting itchy while talking to her)

"Would you like me to come over and confirm?"

"Would you be so kind?"

So I went over, and long story, short -

CONFIRMED!

I only found a few though, so this was probably a pretty recent case. At this time, my SIL who was staying in my sister's apartment in Israel, and furthermore, whose girls were sleeping with my sister's six year old daughter, informed me, that at some point she heard my sister talk about T. (my sister's daughter) and "eggs" in the same sentence, and she somehow did not think she was referring to the, full of protein, chicken laying kind of eggs. But she ignored it, sort of like I ignored the note from camp.

So while I was standing there, and subsequently finding myself scratching my own head, it finally occurred to me, that if her kids caught lice from my sister's lice infested kids (because all kids in Israel, pretty much are always lice infested), then my kids could very possibly be infested as well. And this did not sit well with me.

So I went home and did a little lookie look, and there was nothing. NADA!

But I know, that it was still possible that they had lice, and that the life cycle had only just begun. So I continued checking for two weeks, and still, I did not find anything.

And at this time, I figured,
I LUCKED OUT!


And Summer went on...


The children continued camp as any liceless children would do.


They had dress up days -



This was "CLUE" day at camp. So decided to be Miss. Peacock.
She also dressed up as Dorothy from "The Wizard Of Oz" at which time I gave her two lovely French braids.


We had movie in the park...


At which time there was plenty of rolling around on the blanket.


We had plenty of carnivals that yielded plenty of painted faces....

Which required someone to lean in very close.

We even had our first ever sleepover -

And even though E. did bring her own sleeping bag, they HAD to share So's bed.

I washed all my kids hair every night.

I combed all their hair every morning.

I hated that the chlorine and sun was turning their hair to straw and it was getting hard to comb through it.

And yes, you may have noticed that the previous pictures were concentrated on So, specifically.

Her hair was just unmanageable and I planned to give her a good hair cut,

AFTER THE SUMMER.

Summer was not over, we still had my nieces combined birthday. At this time, my niece and her husband were in town from Israel and the kids were all over him...


I even made So's usual "get your gross hair out of your face" ponytail, that morning.

As I did as well, the next day, after the birthday party, when I noticed ....

THE FRIGGIN' COLONY OF NITS CLINGING TO HER HAIR!!!

It was now, the two weeks of time between the end of camp and the beginning of school, and my first thought,

"Yay, now I KNOW how I will be spending these two campless, schoolless, weeks with my kids."

My second thought,

"Holy Mother of blood sucking parasites, all the kids at the birthday party, the kids on the carnival rides, the kids rolling around on the blanket, the kids at camp .....

OH MY G-D, E.! Why did you have to share a bed???

I decided, the only people to call at the time, were the people who most RECENTLY came in contact with So, and the mother of the child who came in CLOSEST contact with So.

I called my SIL to let her know, and I was nice enough to leave the job of phone calls to her birthday attendees up to her.

I called E.'s Mom, and she was kind enough to not kill me.

Everyone else - well, I figured it can't really be proven that they got it from my daughter.

At this point, there was no way to even know if So did indeed catch the generous egg laying louse in Israel or right when she returned to camp. For all I know, some other child in camp is the generous donor.

But it doesn't really matter.

Lice is a right of passage for any child, right?

I scrupulously checked and rechecked my other kids, but I did not see anything. I combed through with a lice comb, and still, there was nothing to be found on anyone elses head.

And then I did what any other lazy desperate responsible mother would do.

I called "Hair Fairies".

I had two weeks, before lice check day to get this infestation under control, and I went to the specialists.

"Hair Fairies" is a salon like atmosphere that was created for one purpose and one purpose only - getting rid of lice.

And, because I was scratching, I was checked as well. But I had nothing. So I guess it was sympathetic scratching.

And let me tell you, going almost every 3 days for treatment and nit removal, it took exactly that - TWO WEEKS to get rid of ALL her lice.

Her last check was the day before lice check at school, and that is when she got the "all clear", just in the nit nick of time. (I know, corny, but I had to.)

Oh, but it was not just treatments at "Hair Fairies". No. Of all the possible weeks my washing machine could break down, you guessed it...

I needed to wash sheets every night. I had to wash all the clothing and objects So came into contact with. I refused to let her sleep with her stuffed "Fiona" doll or anything else because I wanted nothing extra to wash. I already had to drag 4 kids, baby paraphernalia, and mounds of linen and towels and dirty clothing to my Mom's house to be washed. I was so adamant about her not sleeping with any sort of object that required use of washing machines, that when she kept waking up, telling me she needed a doll to hold onto, I gave her a hot water bottle instead, because at least I could wash that in the sink.

I was so sick of washing sheets and blankets, that I went out and bought a whole new bed set, just to have some relief.

I have no idea why she was the ONLY one in the household to get the plague. I even had my housekeeper go to "Hair Fairies" to be checked.

I never realized how thick So's hair actually was, until the great plague of '09 was upon us.

She actually has beautiful hair.

The plague has passed. My washing machine is in working order again. I did not find many heads of nits when I did lice check in So's school. (which means, either this was not a huge summer of infestation, or I am a really crappy lice check lady)

And

I

Never

Ever

Want

To

Go

Through

That

Again!!

My Happy Meal!

What makes me so happy about this picture?

Well, I DID say my posts about our time in Israel were done. Which is true. But I never said I would not post about our return flight home.

This is actually not so much about our return flight home as it is about -

McDonalds!

I mentioned in one of my posts that it was a treat for us "kosher" eating people to eat at Pizza Hut. This is because, there is no kosher Pizza Hut any where in the world, EXCEPT Israel.

The same can be said for McDonalds and many other franchise eateries.

Sbarro, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King... I don't think Israel has a Taco Bell. Israel is still behind on importing the Mexican food.

There are many facets to what "kosher" actually implies. I can tell you straight out what it does NOT imply. It has nothing to do with food being "blessed" by a Rabbi.

All the meat that kosher eaters consume are from specific animals and were slaughtered in very specific ways by someone who is learned in the area of slaughtering for kosher purposes.

The meat carried by any of the aforementioned establishments do not come from the kosher slaughter houses.

We also do not have eateries that serve both meat and dairy as the above establishments surely do.

We are limited to the number of Kosher eateries we have in our community. And we have to choose a restaurant by first deciding if we are in the mood for dairy or meat. Do we want pizza or burgers? Do we want cheesy pasta or steak. We can't have both.

So, that being said, when we are in Israel, the world is our oyster (so to speak - oysters and other shellfish are never kosher). We can go practically anywhere and find a kosher eatery near by. And more fun, we can eat at those recognizable American franchises (some, not all of them are kosher).

So I got me a BIG MAC and French Fries and my kids got Happy Meals.

HAPPY MEALS!!! They were so HAPPY!

Hun - happy
Ate - happy


LOOK - A happy meal toy. My kids never get little toys in our kosher eateries.
(note to self - if I ever open a restaurant, offer happy meals with toys in it. But call it "Simcha Meals" so I don't get sued for copyright infringement. {"simcha" means happy}).


Ro may be all the way in the back, but I can see her smile.
Ro - happy.

Uh, Bam's "Happy Meal" came a bit indirectly, but now he sleeps happily in his little bassinet.
Bam - happy.


Mommy and So very very happy.
Even after eating my McDonalds at 12:30 in the morning. (I figured it was 4:30 in the afternoon Chicago time.)


And we arrived Happily in the USA, Mommy and her little ducks - all in a happy row.