Cabin Fever

This has been a week of highs, lows, and boring middles. The first half of the week was beautiful, sunny fall. My birthday was six weeks ago and I finally got my friends together for a birthday dinner. Having a birthday at the end of August has always been difficult. I have postponed many parties since so many people go out of town that week one last time before schools starts. We had dinner at my favorite restaurant, Kachka. It is Russian cuisine and is so amazing.
A few days later Dean and I went to the hospital early in the morning so he could have a cyst removed. It was tiny but uncomfortable and the doctor said it would eventually rupture if we didn't take any action. The hardest part was watching him get put under deep sedation for the procedure. The staff worked quickly and soon he was woken up with a popsicle to which he replied, "yum," and I knew he was alright. I was so impressed with everyone who worked with my son that morning. Thank you to everyone who works in the healthcare field! After that my job was to keep him calm (ha, ha) and home so he didn't pop his stitches. We did lots of coloring, crafting, reading, and tv. We even baked an apple cake that didn't rise like it was supposed to, but still turned out to be delicious.
Then Thursday night, right before I pulled dinner out of the oven, the power went out. There went my plans to crisp up the chicken skin under the broiler. Cooking dinner by headlamp isn't my favorite, but it was a bit of an adventure.
By the time the weekend rolled around I was really ready to get out of the house and do something. However, yesterday morning as we were making plans for the day Gianna came down with a fever, which of course led to another day spent at home. There was also a looming storm which had us busy; me baking bread and making soup (with the leftover chicken) before dinner time so we would have food if the power went out again, and Vincent pulling down the bean trellis that was threatening to topple with each new gust of wind. Fortunately we didn't lose power and were able to stay cozy in our warm, well lit home. Happily today everyone is feeling good and looking forward to school tomorrow.