"Je suis malade dans la tête"

"I am sick in the head", literally translated, or "headache" as we would call it.  A phrase I have heard far too often in the last couple of weeks.  A phrase that I began to take lightly, as Lucien has become the master of the *cough cough* "I'm 'sick', I can't go to school" routine.  Last week it was a headache and sore throat that kept him home from school for 2 days, in my care (with no extra pay).  This week I picked him up from school on Tuesday and, what do you know, ANOTHER sore throat, this time accompanied by an ear ache.  I thought to myself "come onnnn Lucien, enough is enough already", but I soon realized that this time he could actually be serious.  Sure enough, by Wednesday morning, he was hurtin' for certain.  He laid on his bed all day, reading and playing DS, barely speaking 2 words and eating just about nothing for lunch.  Now, Val was scheduled to fly to Moscow on Thursday morning for work, and being the smart woman she is, knew that Nico wouldn't think to take Lucien to the doctor while she was gone.  So, she got Lucien a doctor's appointment at 7pm Thursday night.  I get a call from Val at 8pm: "we're on our way to the emergency room".  3 hospitals and countless doctor's later, Lucien is admitted to the Paris Children's Hospital.  Turns out he had an abscess in his throat that was gradually expanding, therefore obstructing his throat and affecting his ear canal.  They were able to decrease the size of it a bit by sticking a needle down his throat and extracting some of the bacteria from it, but it didn't help much.  So, they put him on antibiotics and kept him overnight to see if the swelling would go down, but if it didn't, he would need surgery Thursday morning.  Long after I was home and asleep Thursday night, I get a call from Nico around 1:30am telling me he needed me to work at 6am the next day so he could go visit Lucien.  Luckily, he didn't need surgery, so Val was off to Moscow and I signed my weekend away...at least this time I didn't mind, as it was for a very valid reason.  Later that morning, I was off to the hospital to keep my LuLu company for the day.  Bringing with me our favorite games, Rummikub and UNO, we were set for the afternoon.  He was in brighter spirits when I arrived, but was unable to speak or swallow due to the swelling.  We spent the afternoon playing games, making father's day cards, and (me) making a fool out of myself for his benefit.  I had to leave around 5pm to pick up Alice, and as I was leaving I said to him "I'm sorry you have to stay here alone for a little bit.  Do you get lonely, is it scary being here without mommy, daddy, or me?"  To which he replied with the first audible laugh all day, and a "NO WAYYYY, I LOVE it here!" (as he points to the TV, his DS, and the bowl of ice cream his nurse had just brought him).  Gotta love it, kids really can make the best out of every situation.  With that, I was on my way, feeling good about the time we spent, and not guilty for leaving.  Lucien is back home as of 2pm today, sans surgery.  Still rather uncomfortable to speak and eat, he is feeling better.  The only plus side to this experience?..he no longer has the energy to fight with his sister :)  Praise God.  Mom, now I know how you felt all those years...

Lucien putting on his brave-face (while kicking my butt in UNO)

Alice, being her usual charming (?) self...after getting into the Nutella.

In other, more exciting news, I finally cashed in that cooking class that Val and Nico gifted me for my birthday way back in November!  Luckily my friend Ellie had received the same gift from her family, so we registered together!  The title of the class was "Les Farcies" or "The Stuffed", as we made pesto/tuna risotto stuffed tomatoes, codfish stuffed zucchini flowers, and beef/fig stuffed onions.  It was very fun, but also very challenging, as the class was taught in French and NO one spoke English.  We managed to get along just fine, though, and actually learned a few techniques, as well as delicious new recipes!  I will definitely be making the stuffed tomatoes again, mainly because that's the only recipe I still fully remember...

Beautiful kitchen work space!

The feasting table

Our chef du cuisine!

Stuffed onions, fresh out of the oven

YUMMM!  Fresh tomatoes, stuffed with tuna and pesto risotto.

Zucchini flowers stuffed with pureed codfish, red peppers, and zucchini.

Boiled onions stuffed with ground beef, figs, and herbs.

Not much else to report on this end, except the exciting news that my mom finally booked her plane ticket (round 2) to Paris!  She'll be here for 11 days, 6 of which will be spent in Holland, 1 in Versailles, 1 in Nancy, and hopefully 1 in Champagne, leaving just 2 days in the city of love.  Plenty of time to have a picnic on the Seine, stroll my favorite neighborhoods, go for a bike ride, and NOT be tourists.  So excited!!!