Just crying into my towel over here

Totally left you all hanging there didn't I? So sorry. I had a big ol' post written in my head about how we met our frugal February goals (woo hoo!) and even some inspirational nonsense about how just sticking with something, seeing it through to the end was the real reward. And about I used my share of our FF savings to buy some crazy craft stuff my friend AC talked me into. (I think it was about a 30 second phone call, but do you see how I like to blame someone else for my purchases? It feels like it lets me off the hook.)

And I was ready to write all of those things. It was Monday, March 1. I was working from home on papers and since I wouldn't spend my day on the computer I was ready to spend my evening typing up my little posts. However, a fateful phone call changed all of that. And now, to protect the innocent (and because I'm not really sure how to use real pictures) I present to you a bit of Short Arm Theatre. (Spelled theatre because I'm fancy.)

Please enjoy the following (clip) artist rendering of the events...

Here I am on the phone earlier in the day...

Feeling a bit smug because thanks to my dialing quick fingers I had just won the following:

...to our local movie theater. And a gift certificate to a local restaurant. I was sure it was going to be a great day. I was wrong. Here I am 45 minutes later after another phone call...

And 25 minutes after that phone call at the local big box buying...

And 15 minutes later I picked up my precious bay-bee from school. We went home and I spent the next 2 1/2 hours doing this...

Combing and combing and combing. Quite literally with a very fine tooth comb. You could say I was...
nit-picking.

Oh yes. Somehow, over 9 years of daycare and public school my peeps had avoided the head lice. But that record was over. I thought I was going to die. I was totally grossed out. The school nurse was very nice, with lots of "it happens to everyone at some point" and more "it's really common and hard to avoid once someone else gets it" and an extra helping of "it's nothing to be embarrassed about." Still I was mortified. Needless to say my OCD kicked into high gear. After a bit more of this...

there was lots of this...

And when I realized exactly how many blankets and pillows and car seat covers and stuffed animals and bath towels and sheets and clothes and bath mats we have/use on a daily basis, I collected all of these...

(Wasn't it so handy that we just ended frugal February so I had a few "extras" laying around?)And I went here:

Where I proceeded to use 12 washing machines and 9 dryers and washed every single thing I could jam into a machine. I'd like to also let you know, at no time did I look this relaxed. Just as I was finishing getting the last load going, the first one finished. And just as I'd finish folding the load from one dryer another one would beep. It's been a loooooong time since I was in a laundry mat. Let me save you the suspense--they haven't changed much.

Everything that couldn't fit in the washer went in the basement. Like this...

I'm pleased to say after much checking and lots of vacuuming and lots of spraying and lots of hot water we are all clear. Thankfully no one else got them. (Knock on wood.) So please do forgive me for not writing for a few days. I was a smidge busy.

And finally, this last picture? Well this was what I used as a blanket and a pillow for the first 3 nights of this adventure.