Sparkling Adventures in Child Neglect - "Gayby" on Board

[ILoveJellybeans]

Yeah, Brioni could be cutting her hair off because she wants to make her lice go away :( That is just really sad :

[mausi]

Are you fucking kidding me? In what world is this appropriate behavior?

hair.jpg[/attachment]

The problem being, of course, that Brioni is not confident in her personal style. She wears a hat or hood at all times to keep her hair covered.

I don't know how lice spreads... is it possible for the lice to go from the girls and onto the airplane seat? And then spread to the next person who sits on that seat?

Either way, makes me dread my upcoming trans-atlantic flight. Ugh.

[utter solitude]

I don't know how lice spreads... is it possible for the lice to go from the girls and onto the airplane seat? And then spread to the next person who sits on that seat?

Either way, makes me dread my upcoming trans-atlantic flight. Ugh.

Yes, it's possible. The most probably way to get lice from a plane ride would be if the person sitting next to you has them, and they crawl from that person to you. Which is pretty unlikely. That's why they spread quickly and most often in schools: kids huddle close together at recess and touch each other a lot, the lice might be on their hat or coat and then crawl onto another kid's stuff, etc. Lice don't jump from person to person, they have to walk, so avoiding prolonged close contact with another person's head or head items is the best way to minimize the risk.

But the probability of getting lice from a plane trip is comparatively low. And you can always take simple precautions to put your mind at ease (bring your own pillow, etc) I have a friend who has a crazy phobia of lice... she recently took a plane trip to another state and actually brought a jacket just to drape over the seat.

[hoipolloi]

I don't know how lice spreads... is it possible for the lice to go from the girls and onto the airplane seat? And then spread to the next person who sits on that seat?

Either way, makes me dread my upcoming trans-atlantic flight. Ugh.

According to the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/epi.html) person-to-person contact is the primary source of new infections but it's not impossible to get head lice from wearing clothing from an infested person or sitting/lying on furniture recently used by an infested person.

So, yeah, unwitting PAX on those airplanes might be in for a bad surprise, not mention the Icelandic duo.

[mausi]

Yes, it's possible. The most probably way to get lice from a plane ride would be if the person sitting next to you has them, and they crawl from that person to you. Which is pretty unlikely. That's why they spread quickly and most often in schools: kids huddle close together at recess and touch each other a lot, the lice might be on their hat or coat and then crawl onto another kid's stuff, etc. Lice don't jump from person to person, they have to walk, so avoiding prolonged close contact with another person's head or head items is the best way to minimize the risk.

But the probability of getting lice from a plane trip is comparatively low. And you can always take simple precautions to put your mind at ease (bring your own pillow, etc) I have a friend who has a crazy phobia of lice... she recently took a plane trip to another state and actually brought a jacket just to drape over the seat.

That's good to hear.

Now I can funnel most of my in-flight worrying to keeping the plane afloat with the power of my thoughts. ;)

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Wait, does Lauren treat them for live or do they just live with it?

[Blahblah]

Isn't there still a red alert for Icelandic air space due to volcanic activity? Wonder if the gold star boys (oops sorry, Sparkles) have paid for travel insurance.

[nausicaa]

According to the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/epi.html) person-to-person contact is the primary source of new infections but it's not impossible to get head lice from wearing clothing from an infested person or sitting/lying on furniture recently used by an infested person.

So, yeah, unwitting PAX on those airplanes might be in for a bad surprise, not mention the Icelandic duo.

Yeah, I really wonder how the Icelandic duo is gonna handle all of this. From what I've read about them, they seem a bit...persnickety.

[mausi]

Isn't there still a red alert for Icelandic air space due to volcanic activity? Wonder if the gold star boys (oops sorry, Sparkles) have paid for travel insurance.

Last I read they lowered the level to orange.

[thoughtful]

Another new post, with pics from Brioni's birthday party.

Brioni is hatless (a FU Internets or Brioni's choice -- who knows?).

I think the watermelon "cake" is actually a cute idea.

Lauren:

Hagai is a “foodieâ€. I have a special knack of attracting people into our lives who love to talk about, shop for and prepare elaborate dishes. So when I called him up last month and explained that we would be in Melbourne for Brioni’s birthday, Hagai was delighted to organise a special menu to cater to Brioni’s vegan sensibilities as well as more conventional tastes!

Mooch, mooch, mooch.

If anyone else wrote "I have a special knack . . ." about something that isn't really a skill, I would picture them rolling their eyes or chuckling -- y'know, a tone that implied they were joking or even being self-deprecating.

With Lauren, I'm not so sure!

[Cheetah]

I thought Calista was the one who was wearing hats all the time because she was self-conscious about her haircut, not Brioni. Calista has looked the most unhappy of those girls lately.

On a different note, a lot of airplane seats have a removable little cloth piece right behind where an average-sized adult's head would rest. They are removable for washing. Now whether the airlines actually bother to switch them out between every passenger service is a different question.... I'm guessing most long-haul flights do start out with clean linens there for the most part.

[formergothardite]

She has a special knack for attracting people who will do stuff for her? I think the people just pity her children.

[thoughtful]

I thought Calista was the one who was wearing hats all the time because she was self-conscious about her haircut, not Brioni. Calista has looked the most unhappy of those girls lately.

You are right. Here is Lauren's post about it:

sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=1982

Sorry about that.

[Idolatry]

"their general enthusiasm for life and contentedness despite a lack of routine encourages me that we’ll have an excellent adventure overseas with very few emotional challenges!"

Yes, no way this trip could have emotional challenges. No way that could happen.

[utter solitude]

I lovehate that watermelon thing. First, it's pretty awesome, and food art is something I'm into.

However, that is not a fucking cake. Lauren, it is amazingly easy to make a VEGAN cake! I highly doubt Brioni asked you for a watermelon to call a cake. You could have had your "friends" make a wonderful vegan cake and talked about how authentic and sparkly it was.

But then, a cake just doesn't scream "VEGAN!" as much as calling a fucking watermelon a cake, now does it?

Signed, someone who believes children should be allowed a birthday cake

[ViolaSebastian]

"their general enthusiasm for life and contentedness despite a lack of routine encourages me that we’ll have an excellent adventure overseas with very few emotional challenges!"

Yes, no way this trip could have emotional challenges. No way that could happen.

Wut. She's traveling to Iceland to give birth and then give that baby up. This whole damn trip is an emotional challenge.

[So Many Lies]

Personally I quite like the watermelon cake. It's not much different to, say, ice cream cake. It's just a variation. It would be different if she only got watermelon cakes year after year.

[So Many Lies]

Wut. She's traveling to Iceland to give birth and then give that baby up. This whole damn trip is an emotional challenge.

Very unrealistic! Especially as their home is in a bus which won't be with them on the trip, they will get home sick. Plus the PND will kick in. I can't believe she has this little forethought.

[So Many Lies]

Yeah, I really wonder how the Icelandic duo is gonna handle all of this. From what I've read about them, they seem a bit...persnickety.

Persnickety is totally the right word!

I also think the couple, being in their own environment and having got what they wanted will be a *lot* less accommodating than Lauren thinks. Well, they won't have to pretend to like Lauren once their son is born. And Iceland, though tolerant, is quite unbending on social conventions. They may not want 4 scraggly girl (!) children jumping all over furniture climbing in and out of windows and all that. Not to mention Lauren's insistence this is all a big "love affair".

I'm sure the couple would be polite and all but I also can totally see them saying "look, it's time you all went home and left us alone"!

I can't bear it. It's so embarrassing. She's going to feel really cast off I fear.

[happy atheist]

Aisha looks so uncomfortable in the picture where she's watching the face-painting. Poor thing.

[utter solitude]

Personally I quite like the watermelon cake. It's not much different to, say, ice cream cake. It's just a variation. It would be different if she only got watermelon cakes year after year.

An ice cream cake is still *cake*. This isn't a cake shaped like a watermelon: it's an actual watermelon.

I have no problem with the watermelon itself, I actually love it, my problem is in touting it as a cake, and pretending that it's exactly what Brioni asked for. I would not be surprised to find that someone asked Lauren about making an actual vegan cake and she declined, because the watermelon is more eye catching as far as the whole "MY DAUGHTER IS VEGAN! How cute!" goes.

[So Many Lies]

An ice cream cake is still *cake*. This isn't a cake shaped like a watermelon: it's an actual watermelon.

I have no problem with the watermelon itself, I actually love it, my problem is in touting it as a cake, and pretending that it's exactly what Brioni asked for. I would not be surprised to find that someone asked Lauren about making an actual vegan cake and she declined, because the watermelon is more eye catching as far as the whole "MY DAUGHTER IS VEGAN! How cute!" goes.

I guess it does rather smack of the "look at MY awesome vegan kid".

[utter solitude]

I guess it does rather smack of the "look at MY awesome vegan kid".

That's what I'm saying. Lauren is big into appearances, and replacing a cake with a watermelon is a good way to do it.

Although, again, it was a marvelous work of art.

[happy atheist]

Last year for Brioni's birthday she conned a different friend into making a Raw Vegan Blueberry-Chocolate Cream Cake: sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=1917

Raw Vegan seems much more hardcore and showy-offy to me than a watermelon. I imagine she just couldn't find anyone this year to do it for her, and we know she would never be arsed to do it herself.

Here is last year's Day in Unschooling post: sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=1912

Slightly more actual education activities because they were freeloading visiting with a family of unschoolers.

But half the kids were sick, so they spent a lot of time napping.

[16strong]

I can speak personally on the watermelon cake. My dad is a vegan, and a watermelon cake is something he has asked for for his birthday before. If Brioni particularly likes watermelon, I don't doubt that she specifically asked for one. Kids are usually pretty black and white concerning likes and dislikes. I can fault Sparkles for many things, but not this. Plus, it looks pretty cool. A lot of effort was clearly put into making it.