Of cabin fevers and other kinds of fevers

Tonight, our little Eva is sick with a fever. No other symptoms, just a fever. This is how her older brother's terrible bout with Kawasaki disease started four years ago. I am trying very hard to be strong and positive, but that good old Post Dramatic Stress is kicking in big time. I half wish I were an alcoholic and could drown my anxiety in wine tonight. But I won't, not even a glass. I want to be alert for the times she will wake up in the night, so I can come to her bed site, feel her sweaty forehead and have all my mother's intuition intact.   

On a more positive note, we have weathered snow storms and power outages this week with lots of pizzazz. We got so bored that we invented crazy games, like draping a sheep skin rug over ourselves, almost peeing ourselves laughing at one another.

Eva, or Tina Turner

Lukas, or Hagrid from Harry Potter.

Kai, or Sasquatch

Me, or, as Kai says, Lady Gaga

Steve, or Mister Neanderthal

Before the power went out (for 24 hours), I had started bread dough, which I couldn't bake in an oven that requires electricity. So Steve and I played around with the coals in the wood stove and got them to a point where we could put the bread in our chicken brick and bake it that way. I expected it to burn to a crisp, but guess what happened?

Dinner, that's what.

The snow storm brought lots and lots of the white stuff, and the boys went nuts in it. I have very old cross country skis and boots I hardly ever use, so the boys claimed them for themselves to practice fancy ski maneuvers with them. I can hardly believe that these babies of mine fit into my boots. It is inconceivable.

Steve had plenty of fun playing in the snow as well. He built a snow fort with the boys, in which Lukas insisted on spending the night. By himself. When Steve told me Lukas would spend the night in “The fort”, I thought he meant the enclosed, moss insulated, windowed, and roofed tree house fort. I was not happy about the idea, but consented, not wanting to be a boring old mother who doesn't let her kids do fun stuff. Then I realized that they were talking about the SNOW fort, and my face fell. I let him do it. He loved it, of course. Check off another rite of passage (for him or for me, you ask?).

I took this picture out of the barn in the morning when I fed the goats.  I had to wake Luke up in his snow cave - he was so cozy, and fast asleep.  Here he is, heading back in for pancakes.

When the sun finally came out and the snow started melting, we found ourselves at one of the wild creeks in our neighbor hood. Do you think kids can get fevers from being held upside down over a raging creek, for fun?

Sigh. Eva really liked it. Please do send positive energy and prayers her way tonight, will you? And maybe some for the PTSD mama, okay?