Wednesday, June 24, 2009

How To Go Crazy In Two Hours Or Less!

We have been battling a flea problem in our house. Our lovely cat roams the countryside and brings back tiny, biting souvenirs from his travels. I used to be the manager of the dog and cat department of a pet store, so I know a lot about killing fleas.

But none of it was working. I was excited to hear of a natural remedy that I did not know about, as I am tired of being bitten. 'Cuz fleas love me.

My wonderful mother-in-law did some research for me and found that eucalyptus is a great natural flea repellent. Eucalyptus essential oil on a cotton ball will keep fleas out of the house.

Perfect. One would assume that this would be a great addition to a child's bedroom in order to make sure the cat's fleas do not bite the children.

That assumption would be wrong.

Evidently, eucalyptus is also known for refreshing the body and invigorating the mind. Adding a couple of drops of eucalyptus to the bedroom of two very active little boys who are in a bit of a rebellious streak and have new big boy beds that they can get out of on their own, will actually leave you twitching and wondering if the insane asylum is really as peaceful and quiet as you imagine.

It will leave you exhausted after three hours of constantly putting them back in their beds in an attempt to get them to take a nap. They will learn new games, like put-your-brother-in-the-laundry-basket-and-close-the-lid-and-sit-on-it, as well as hide-and-seek-behind-the-curtain-and-then-run-back-to-bed-when-mom-comes-in-and-wonder-how-she-knew-you-hid-right-next-to-the-touch-lamp-that-is-suddenly-turned-on.

You will be baffled as to how they managed to stay in their beds, but still collide so that Ben is bleeding from the gums and Grant is crying and holding his forehead.

And at some point, you may have to wonder who it was that threw up in Grant's bed.

You will be secretly impressed that every time they get out of bed and find their sandals and put them on, they actually get them on the right feet. But you cannot compliment this achievement, since they are supposed to be napping.

And at some point, about two hours into it, you will be fervently cleaning the kitchen in an attempt to drown out the sound of them playing in their room. You will not go in there because you fear you will lose it and beat them/sell them to the highest bidder first human (or large mammal) you see. And you will run across the bottle of essential oil and actually look at the label, which reads, "Eucalyptus. Exhilarating." And all the pieces will fall into place.

You may or may not cry.

But you will remove the eucalyptus, and it will take another hour or so for them to calm down. You cannot open the window for fear they will climb out, since they have basically been given an all-natural Red Bull.

Your other kids will wake up before the boys fall asleep, and you will have no quiet time at all. Which is never a good thing when your goal is to maintain the last shred of sanity that you have left.

On to plan B...

3 comments:

Carmen O. said...

Thanks, Tiff! I've been wondering how I could accomplish losing my last thread of sanity! Now I know... :)

Kelina said...

Oh, Tiff... Always read the label. You should know that by now. I shake my head at you. However, I loved the part about the touch lamp! It's kind of like when kids hide and giggle. They're always so surprised that you can find them...

CulyQFun said...

Wow, sounds like a fun afternoon. Guess next time you'll read the label....but really how is it helping with the fleas?