It has been a very crazy week, which started with Kirk getting up on Monday morning and saying "I don't feel very well."  The day then progressed to both of us barfing, Kirk reclining and moaning in a chair all day, and me up and about servicing the child's and dog's needs.  Of course, I put in a teary call to my midwife asking if this meant I would miscarry.  She very calmly assured me that I wouldn't, and to try to stay hydrated. 

Tuesday I took my first sick day ever at this job, and though my tummy got better, I developed a very sore throat that seems to require Tylenol extra strength (how I mourn the loss of Advil) at two in the morning so I can sleep.  Now, nasal congestion and ear pain sinks in.  On Tuesday, I also got a tax reassessment which states I now owe another $1000 dollars, which I cannot see as being possible, as I still have left over tuition credits and geez, I didn't make hardly anything last year.  I don't understand how CRA caculates things.  I also spent the day bleaching the entire house sans carpets, though I spent my fair share of time scrubbing out pee stains from a certain new puppy who does not seem to understand that she can pee on things outside other than snow, which is now almost gone.

On Wednesday after work and taking child and dog to park, I opened our freezer to take out one of the meals I spent a whole weekend cooking and took a moment to process the smell and water dripping.  Apparently, the freezer, which contained at least two weeks (read $200) worth of meals and berries from the summer, had been unplugged by a certain name-starts-with-K someone by accident.  I also spent $100 on a portable carpet cleaner for said pet stains.

This morning, I had had enough of the "I'm tired" and "College is too hard" comments by students and basically told one of them that I registered his disapproval with an assignment but was not going to argue further about it at 9:00 in the morning.  Also, I lived with someone who worked 100 hour weeks and never complained (I do all the complaining in that department, though I didn't say that) and we all have to work hard to get where we are at, and he's had three weeks to sort out his particular issue.  I also told one student that since we had covered professional email standards, I would appreciate it if he would use these standards in his communication with me, to which he replied via email:

Dear Brenda,

Ouch.

Cheers,
W*******

I also had to tell two other students that while I was glad they were sorry they had missed their in-class assignments worth 10%, not waking up to your alarm was not a good excuse and yes, I was absolutely certain they could not make it up.

Upon going into the kitchen this evening to prepare dinner, I noticed a wierd engine burnt out smell.  It seems our microwave had imploded at some point during the day while I was away.   Did you know it is possible to spend $1000 on a new microwave (not that I'm going to). 

A week perhaps worth forgetting, though the one positive to a gastro is that it seems to have rid my newly swollen ankles and fingers of excess fluid accumulation that was making it hard to wear my shoes and rings.  I'm hoping this was a part of the 9, yes 9, pounds I gained last month.  I have been trying much harder to watch my diet and sugar consumption since then.  Another positive is that I realized that when I get gastros, as bad as it is, I never actually feel nauseous.  This doesn't mean I'm comfortable because my stomach has stabbing pain, but it doesn't make me want to die.  What makes me want to die is when I eat avocado, mango or non-organic banana.  Anybody else have a sensitivity to that combination? It's something about the latex compound... I was also wierdly releived that Kirk and I both got the bug at the same time so that I didn't have to live in mortal fear of his touching things and the possibility of germ transmission for days on end. 

Also on the plus side as been absolutely glorious, early, early spring weather.  We have been going outside without jackets - shock!  awe!  glee!  Anja has also had a blast this week because her preschool has had a March break, and she has had a 16 year old over to babysit.   They have gone to the park, bicycled, gone to story time, bought some new crafts, and of course, with the weather, spent lots of time outside, so Anja has been tuckered at night.  She has also managed to avoid all my germiness.

Wednesday night Anja and I were in the store buying dinner after said freezer episode and we were wandering up the cereal aisle and she pointed at some of the more colourful boxes (i.e. Lucky Charms) and said "look at those Mummy."  I said "I know, but they aren't very healthy.  They are full of too much sugar."  Anja thought for a few moments and then said "But why do stores sell things that aren't healthy?"  Smart kid. 

She has taken to uttering threats on occasion.  Her favourite and most diabolically uttered is "Then I'm going to put mud on you."  Tonight, it was "then I'm going to take ketchup and mustard and SPRAY IT ALL OVER THE HOUSE."  Kirk managed to keep a straight face, but I couldn't. 

I do wonder if kindergarten will be challenging enough for her, though I'm trying not to be one of those yuppie helicopter mothers about it.  It's just that I went to her kindergarten orientation meeting and the biggest things the teachers stressed were that the child should know how to hold a crayon and how to cut things, with a little bit of letter recognition thrown in.  Can I just say Anja can write the entire alphabet, is learning sounds to letters, can write to 20, is learning French grammar, etc?  Now, I know every parent thinks their child is smart, and she will probably enjoy the play atmosphere, the bus and the new friends, but she is way past learning how to hold a crayon (to this I offer all credit to her preschool).  I don't know quite how she will fit into the public school system.  Kirk skipped a grade because of his brains, but it wasn't terribly the best for him in terms of social development - as he says "try being the youngest and smallest kid in class.  And the only Protestant in a Catholic school, too."  I guess we'll see how it goes and keep our eyes and ears open.  Indeed, I guess in Sunday School at church she asked the teacher "how did the Roman's knock down the temple walls?"  and then proceeded to ask me "Mummy, why did Jesus move away from Bethlehem?"  To which I sputtered my guilt-laden "do I really believe this, should I really be telling her these stories, how do I clarify literalism and metaphor" kind of answer. 

The dog continues to be a dog.  She picks up everything - EVERYTHING - off the floor and sidewalks and has a special affinity for socks.  A catalogue of things I have pulled from her mouth this week:  screw, drywall anchor, dominoe piece, Anja's stuffed cat, dog, mouse, elephant, bookmark, a combination of all of our socks, a block, a bra, a bloody bird feather, a stranger's dirty kleenex, food wrappers, a stranger's spat out gum, a dryer sheet, etc, etc.  When she does find a particularly tasty household object, she likes to scurry as fast as she can under beds, directly under the middle where it is impossible to reach her.  It is ever so comfortable for me to be on my hands and knees trying to get at her with my big belly.  She likes to nibble at toes and pant legs still.  She will lick me awake at 6 every morning if Anja doesn't get to me first.  One thing I don't like is she seems to be a bit bossy with other dogs and I cannot get her to stop pulling at her leash at them.  People tell me this is puppy like and she just needs to be put in her place, but I HATE dog fights.

As my gestational diabetes test came back fine, the midwife and I are in agreement that we should start natural methods of induction at 37 weeks.  Which means - da da da da da - hopefully I only have another 8 weeks of being pregnant. 

I should go to sleep, being as tired as I am and knowing that I will be harrassed awake at 6 again tomorrow.  What do 21-year-olds know about being tired?