...to put the girls' hair up

...don't they look sweet?

If only the process of putting their hair up went as smooth as they are sweet.

There was a time, once upon a time long ago, when I believed that doing my daughters' hair each morning would be our peaceful and sweet bonding time.  It would be the time each morning when we would chat and talk about the day-to-be.  My little girls' would share their secrets and worries.  In my mind, I was standing behind them, peacefully, lovingly brushing their luxurious locks.

Newsflash.  Doing their hair in mornings doesn't exactly look like the pictures of tranquility I had concocted in my daydreams.

Usually it involves yelling for the girls from the top of the stairs to, "Hurry up and find a brush for the love of all things holy!"

(Why is it that we can never ever find a brush?)

The next moment usually involves me holding my breath while I oh-so-carefully brush through their snarls.  My cautiousness always invokes screams and cries of pain and torture.

I promise, this visual is no exaggeration.  One would think I am plucking their hairs out one-by-one.

This whole hair-doing process most always leaves me exasperated and then I typically allow them to escape before I ever even pop in a barrette.

This week is different.

This week there has been reported cases of lice at their school and in Audrey's class.

I am in a panic/frenzy/crazy-keep-the-lice-away mode.

The only preventative measures I can really take (besides keeping them out of school which is unrealistic) include:

1.  Lecturing them about what not to do at school (e.g., share brushes, hats, lay on the carpet etc...)
2.  Put tee tree oil in their shampoo and conditioner each night.
3.  Put their hair up each day before school.

This morning while I was putting Audrey's hair up and she was complaining and protesting our conversation went something like this:

• Audrey:  "You put tea oil in my hair last night!  You don't HAVE TO PUT UP MY HAIR"!" (note:  she thinks its from my tea bags...it does come in a brown bottle after all).
• Me:  Sit Still!  Stop moving.  Turn your head.  This doesn't hurt!  Audrey...putting your hair up is just another trick that works to keep those lice at bay.
• Audrey:  I didn't know that lice lived in the sea!

Some mornings, doing their hair is so-worth all the trouble.