My Life in Mono...

Tackling Nits and Lice for First Time Mums

Last week, my little girl came into my bedroom telling me that her head it itchy.  I brushed it aside telling her that it might be the summer heat that is making her head sweaty and prickly.  The next day, I noticed that she was constantly scratching her head and that is not usual.  I calmly told her to sit in front of me and with my hair tied back, I scanned her head for confirmation.  HOUSTON WE HAVE A CASE OF NITS AND LICE.  Sigh.  My worst nightmare and pet peeve has come true.  I guess it is a right of passage for school age mums.  In my case, I got it at the end of the "school year", well technically the Lil' Tiger is not in Big School yet but she is in Montessori School and we are on a Christmas to New Year Holiday, which means that she got "infected" by it when she was still IN SCHOOL! 

I had a whole flood of bad memories coming back in my head, having personally dealt with Nits and Lice during my wee years, I remember the ITCH. Owh the itch, the constant scratching and bleeding of the scalp. The smell of the treatment that mum used and my grandma combing my hair with a red double sided fine tooth comb.  I personally hate them with a passion.  

Jumping up and down  trying not to panic, as we were meant to go to the beach that afternoon, my good friend, Kelly, confirmed that we do have the case of Nits and Lice and told me to get to head to the Pharmacist at once to get a bottle of treatment. Now,  although I am all for doing it naturally for my little girl, I was not prepared with how I was feeling that moment.  Panic started to sink in and I wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible.  I am thankful for my friend for calmly telling me that everything is okay, all we need to do is treat it and go off on our merry way.  

We got a bottle of Moov Lice Treatment and a metal blue fine tooth comb. Ahhhh the comb.  So we meet again.  We sat down in Kelly's bathroom with the Lil' Tiger and started combing her hair.  It was horrible.  It took me back to the time where I had to do the same.  Poured the treatment on her hair and drove home.  The treatment said that it only takes 10 minutes but I made sure that it stayed on for at least 30 minutes just to be sure that I nuke the little buggers!  

We are now clear of Nits and Lice so I am now on preventative mode.  I will need to treat it one last time before my paranoia will allow me to calm down.  

THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNT SO FAR

1. Remain calm and try not to attempt to burn every linen and clothing items that have been in contact with your child.  Instead, strip the bed down, put everything in the washing machine, wash it in a hot cycle with your usual laundry detergent and add a few drops of Tea Tree essential oil during the last rinse cycle. 
2. Remember, they hate Tea Tree and Lavender Essential Oil. So make them  your best friend during this time of need. These are only used as a preventative measure. Meaning, I would only use them to help me prevent the Lil' Tiger's head from getting them.  If you have an "infestation", I would strongly suggest you get a treatment from the pharmacist as usually the lice would have laid eggs and eggs are a bitch to get rid off. 
3. Now there are two train of thoughts with this but, one train says that Lice do not like dirty hair.  They live and breathe in clean hair.  The tip is to not wash your hair thoroughly every day but do it every other day or wash it during the weekend. This may go against my instinct but they say it works.
4. If your child has long hair, and by long I mean below the ears long, tie it up.  Braid it up and make sure there are no fly aways. This is where you become a ballet mum.  Everything in a nice neat bun, hair clips and HAIR SPRAY! I may or may not send the Lil' Tiger to school in a bun the next time but Hair up and some sort of deterrent hair spray, which I will share in another post, is my first measure. 
5. Call and let the school know.  Don't be a dick and send your child to school with Nits and Lice in their hair.  Once you have confirmed that your child has an "infestation", be the responsible parent and call the school and FOR GOODNESS SAKE TREAT YOUR CHILD! I know of parents who send their child to school sick and this is not the time to be reckless.  Lice spread fast and usually silently as it usually takes at least 6-7 days for an infestation to be detected and by that time it's too late.  So do the right thing and CALL THE SCHOOL.  It is okay to be known as the parent with the child who had lice.  It is not okay to be known as the parent with the child who infected the whole class with Lice! 

 

NATURAL HAIR DETANGLER & CONDITIONER (AKA THE SECRET LICE PREVENTER)

 

I adapted this Natural Hair Detangler & Conditioner from Live Simply to suit my needs.  

Ingredients

• 1 tbs Aloe Vera Gel (make sure it is 100% aloe vera gel.  I use Sukin Brand Aloe Vera Gel)
• 1/2 to 1 tbs vegetable glycerine (you can get them in most pharmacies, health food store or baking stores.  Lil' Tiger's hair is fairly long so I used 1 tbs.  you can half that amount if your hair is short)
• 5 tbs of boiled or distilled water 
• 10 drops of Tea Tree essential oil
• 10 drops of Lavender essential oil
• 10 drops of Peppermint essential oil (this also help repels those pesky buggers)
• small spray bottle

How to

• with a funnel add all the ingredients above in the small spray bottle and shake well. 
• use on damp hair and comb through.
• I have used it on my own hair, again with my paranoia, and it works well just as well. 

I hope to God that you do not have to deal with Lice but I was told that every mum will have to go through it in some form or another.  Now, if you would excuse me, I am off to wash my hair from the treatment.  YES.  I DID IT ON MYSELF AS WELL.  Again, PARANOID ANDROID. 

Have you been through an "infestation"? Share your tips and stories! 

 

Lemons for eggs...

{Free range eggs swapped for my lemons}

2 weeks ago, I tweeted about how my lemon tree was full of lemons and I don't know what to do with them. I had loads of tips and ideas on what to use them for and how to preserve them. I did all of that and still I was left with buckets and buckets of lemons. 

I had a Twitter friend asked if she could have some lemons and in return, she will give me eggs from her chooks. I was sold. I didn't like to see all my lemons go to waste so I said come on over. :) She did and I got these beauties. So far I have had 3 of her chook's eggs and nothing taste as delicious as free range, freshly laid eggs. YUM. 

I think, we should all do swaps like these from time to time. It brings people together and it helps us not to waste food. 

Would you be willing to do a swap with me or anyone else? 

Sucking it all in...

This is the sign outside our front door as you enter. I am a pack rat and have collected a few things over the years, ok.... not a few but heaps, and I am slowly trying to get rid of them. I have been really good the past year, trying not to by anything new or significant that can clog up our house. 

One day, while trying to distract myself from cleaning the house, I went online to look for a new and more powerful vacuum cleaner for the house. The one that we have is slowly dying and I thought maybe we should invest in a really good one. Seeing that I do not have a disposable income anymore, we have to really budget for one. I looked at the vax.co.uk (don't ask me why I looked at a UK site, it seems like things are cheaper over there than here in Australia) and I saw some pretty awesome ones that they have there. The prices are pretty resonable as well. So I spoke to M and asked him if we could get one.

He told me "NO. Why do we need one our current vacuum is still good". I knew he would say that to me so I told him that we needed a stronger vacuum that could vacuum both tiled floors and carpet floors. Since we have carpeting in all our bedrooms, the vacuum has to also be powerful enough to suck out all the dust mites breeding in our carpets. I spoke to him in a language that an accountant knows...

DUST MITES + CARPET - POWERFUL VACUUM = ALLERGIES + ECZEMA

Now, that got his attention.I also said that it might be good to have one since the Lil' Tiger's Eczema can also be triggered by dusts. His eyes widen a little bit more. When asked what can these vacuums do, I told him that the Vax floor cleaners can vacuum at least 4 litres of dust, it uses the single cyclonic technology so it's easy to clean and etc. 

He said he will think about it and do his "research" and will get back to me soon. Fingers cross we will get a pretty decent vacuum soon because I am worried that the current one that we have, might die on me mid vac. 

What sort of vacuum cleaners do you use? 

Zoom Zoom...

M and I had a huge discussion the other day. Don't worry, it was not a heated one. It was more of a "what do you think?" type discussion. We were talking about cars. It came up after we saw a photo of the new Mercedes SLS AMG in a magazine somewhere over the weekend, and it got us talking about cars and etc. 

One thing that came up was the car loan that we have with our current car. We bought our trusty car not too long ago ( I think it was in 2008) and the repayments are almost done. M asked if we should get a second car just so that we do not have to "fight" for the family car we currently have. He came up with the pros and I came up with the cons (repayments, road tax, another petrol tank to fill, maintenance). The cons side was longer than the pros, so we decided to rethink our situation again in a few years time when our kids are a little bit older. 

Although I liked the idea of a second car for our little family, I didn't think that it was necessary. We live so close to public transportation and I sometimes think that it's easier to catch a train to the city so that I don't have to pay massive parking fees and I sometimes don't like the idea of going round and round and round just to find an empty spot. To tell you the truth, that stresses me out. 

We decided that, once the loan for the car is paid up, we would set the money that usually goes to the loan, to our savings account so that when we have our next child, I would be able to take a longer maternity leave to be at home with the kids.  

I think that is a brilliant idea. :)

Do you have a second car for your family? Is maintaining the second car a huge issue?

Another worry rant...

I seriously need to get my finances in order. Currently I am using an app to track my day to day expenses to see what goes in and out of my account and my wallet. It's not looking really great at the moment.

With July etching closer and closer, I am starting to frantically get things in order so that we can pay our council and water rates. This is one of the things that SUCKS when you own a house. I am also starting worry about our gas and electric bills. Why? Well because come 1 July, the carbon tax will take effect and as a consumer, I am not sure what to expect. I have been hearing things about it. Some good and some bad. It's the bad ones that bothers me. Electricity and gas bill will go up they say. *sigh* How much more are we going to have to pay? Already I am paying at least $250-$350 per bill (I think it comes quarterly) depending on what season it is. Will it go up to $400? We are already making cuts here and there. Not using the heater as much as we can this winter and not using the dryer unless it's an emergency.

At least in the eastern state they have an option to compare energy prices and go with the ones that offers the best and affordable prices. We in Western Australia do not have that luxury to do so. There is no competition here and it sucks. I am not sure why we are living here at the moment. It makes me feel like packing up my family and just leaving the country to go live somewhere affordable. I get heart palpitations when I received a bill for something. I don't know how families with one income do it. How do you do it? How do you own a place and still have money left over to do something fun like go on a holiday?

Anyway, just my usual weekday rant. Normal posting will resume shortly.

Money Talk

I think from time to time, I would like to share my thoughts on money and expenses. I think earning an income and how you spend that income is one of the most important things in your adult life. Whether you have a combined income or each have a separate one, I think it is important to step back and assess the health of your credit.

In my family, M and I both earn an income and we share our finances. Although we are married and share everything in life, we split most of the things we pay for i.e the mortgage, child care and etc right down the middle. Now this works for us and by no means that I am suggesting that it works for others. We have been doing this since we both started our relationship and we are both comfortable with it. It also makes us accountable for huge things like the Mortgage and Child Care. These are the two biggest thing that we cannot afford to lose.

From time to time, I go online and get my credit checked. There are a lot of credit checkers  out there on the internet. All you have to do is google them. Lifehacker has a great tip on how you can get a credit check and why you should do it from time to time. . Why do I do it? I do it because it is a mental note for me to get myself in check. This is a reminder so that I do not go over in spending and living within my means. A credit check is also a good way to know how your finances are and where it is so that when you go and borrow money from the bank, either for a mortgage for the home or a car loan or to get a credit card, you know where you stand and it will make it easier for you to approach banks.

I usually tell people that M is the accountant in our household and he is. He has a spreadsheet of every big spending that he does and what goes in and out of his expenses and I think it's a good idea to have something like that just to have a look on your everyday expenses as well. I am beginning to do the same thing. I just need to look for the right app for my iPhone.

Woud you like to share your tips on finances with me and my readers?

Guest Post: Perth Wife...

I would like to introduce Perth Wife to the MiLM blog. I know Perth Wife through Twitter and I absolutely love they way she writes. She has a great sense of humour and at the same time has this "cut the crap" honesty that I like. 

Today, she will be sharing her tips on Combining Finances after a marriage. I think it is really important to discuss with your partner about this as it can get messy at times. 

 

Combining Finances - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly by Perth Wife

Firstly, Husband and I didn't combine our bank accounts until about a year after we were married. We had meant to do it earlier, but what with getting over the paperwork overdose that comes three seconds after you get married, then the honeymoon, then the gift opening, then the thank you cards that needed to be sent, then a bunch of other uninteresting crap and the resuming of normal life, combining bank accounts just seemed to get forgotten about. Then occasionally (usually once a month when our separate bank statements from our separate banks arrived in the letterbox) one of us would murmur, "We really should sort this out and combine everything. It'll be easier."

So one day, we did. It was a very bland afternoon visiting a few different banks. But since going from my own bank account to one I have to share, this is what I've learnt:

The Good

Husband is a nerd who pays all of our bills. On time. Every time! I no longer have to worry about overdue fees on my phone bill (or paying interest on my credit card). I also don't have to spend time going through envelopes, logging onto our online banking system, making sure there's enough money in our everyday account for the mortgage payment to be paid before moving a large chunk into our savings account. It's bliss!

The Bad

It doesn't really feel like "my" money. I know, I know - it's our money. But because I'm a traditional housewife who doesn't do any form of paid work, I often get the guilts about spending money. Even on stupid things like an expensive grocery shop where I bought bulk packs of meat and seafood to freeze down. I feel the need to apologise for spending a lot, even though the next month of grocery shopping will be quite cheap whilst we munch our way through the kilograms of lamb, beef or prawns I bought previously. When I've mentioned this to Husband, he looks at me like I've suddenly just started talking Farsi. "It's food, we're eating it, it's not like you went out and bought a two kilo's of diced diamonds to freeze down and turn into casseroles."

And let's not even start about the money I spend on a few little hobbies of mine! I always feel the need to ask permission before I buy anything. Again, Husband just says, "As long as you get enjoyment out of it, use it and it doesn't go to waste, then go ahead. And stop asking permission. It's OUR money!"

Yes dear, all right - OUR money.....

The Ugly

When I had my own bank account, I could slip the occasional expensive purchase past Husband. Nowadays, he sees everything - our damn bank account lists everything in chronological order as soon as he opens up the online account.

Admittedly, I'm a pretty reasonable person. But occasionally, I splash out. $650 on a pair of shoes? Why not - they were on sale! In a classic style that I'll wear for years! (And I do actually mean that - I have an awesome, and expensive, pair of boots that I've so far had for eight years that still look great.) But every time Husband sees a purchase that exceeds $500 for something he doesn't deem necessary or worthy or useful (such as food or the aforementioned hobbies), he has a minor coronary event. When I had my own bank account, I could smuggle these rare purchases into my wardrobe and tell a small fib about how much it cost. These days, it's impossible.

But at the end of the day, combining bank accounts has made life easier and simpler. We both know where we stand financially rather than each having to talk about how our separate bank accounts are doing financially and who should pay the electricity bill this quarter because the mortgage and phone bill is coming out of the others account. It's no longer fiddly, or difficult. All our money is there in one spot. And all I have to do is remember to save up physical money and pay in cash if I want to make a large purchase on a handbag - it wouldn't do to give Husband a heart attack because then I'd have to pay all the bills myself. And that's, frankly, boring.

The cost of energy...

Ok. Just a little ranty post becuase I just paid my last energy bill for the last quarter. I have to say that I am not too happy with forking out that much for a necessity in daily life. I can imagine it going up and up in the next few years. Gone were the days where you paid almost nothing for using electricity or gas. 

I remember as a student, we paid $7 bucks per person per quarter for gas. SEVEN FREAKING DOLLARS! AND there were 3 adults in the house. Now, we pay at least 20 times that amount and there is only M, the Lil Tiger and me in this household. How much GAS  can 2 adults and a baby use? *sigh* I am worried what it will do to my family budget. We are on a tight one as it is. 

Then I read this article on the news the other day. "Household electricity prices are to rise by up to 17 per cent more from mid-next year and up to 25 per cent a year later," it says. 25%! NICE. How do these companies expect us to live??! I know that they are a business and they are providing us with a service but 25% is too much of an increase! 

So what are you doing to save energy? To be honest, I am seriously thinking of going back to Victorian days and live by candle light. 

Today's Fav...

 [via Storage | Glee ]

I may have to use this idea when the Lil' Tiger starts colouring. I remember when I was younger, mom use to put all our colouring pencils, magic markers and crayons in a used ice cream tub or big milo tins. 

Spending Hiatus: Week 4

I know I missed 2 weeks of the spending hiatus. I am sorry. Life just took over. So here is last week's review.

MONDAY

Nettball - $10

TUESDAY

Walter's Vet - $127.00

Bank's charges - $5.00

Mortgage payment - $600.00

WEDNESDAY

Spotlight - $25.51

Home and Health Insurance - $31.65

THURSDAY

Petrol - $48.28

Groceries - $215.26

FRIDAY

Dinner - $40.00 (I owed Tiff her dinner from last week)

SATURDAY

No spending

SUNDAY

No Spending

TOTAL SPENDING: $1,102.70

No bad. I have cut down spending tremenduously.  I have not been clothes shopping or op shopping in a while. The only thing that I spend on these days are yarn to crochet. But I think that is slowing down now as well because I have all the supplies that I need to keep me busy for a while. All the yarns were on sale anyways.