Happy Thanksgiving!!

After several weeks of successfully thwarting multiple strains of the flu (including, we think, swine flu) my body finally succumbed to the common cold. It wasn't too bad, just a couple of days with a swollen throat and sinus congestion, but it really made me tired. Yesterday I woke up when my alarm went off at 6 am to get ready for school, and my body said NFW. It was pitch black outside and I didn't even want to exert enough energy to turn off the alarm, which, by the way, was right next to me. So I went back to sleep and forgot about school yesterday. Aside from taking Amelie for walks and occasionally adding a few stitches to my needlepoint project, pretty much all I did yesterday was sleep. It was amazing, and now today everything is fine.

On Wednesday Esther picked up the kids because she wanted to give me the afternoon off so that I could watch the kids at night while she went out and had her free time. Apparently when she went to pick up Gustav, he kept asking her where I was and why I wasn't picking him up. Freaking cute! Although he still gives Esther trouble, he really hasn't caused any problems for me in a while. Pauline, however, has been one angry little person these past few days. When she cries, you can hear the anger behind it, and there's not really any sadness or pain at all. The other day she pulled a Gustav and stood at the door screaming and crying when Esther went to the store to buy some bread, and didn't stop until she got home. But with Pauline it was worse because she was actually kicking the ground and the door. She wasn't sad or worried that Esther had left, she was angry. Maybe she's finally actually hitting that "Terrible Two" phase. For the most part, though, she's still sweet little Pauline.

Esther was talking to me about when Pauline was a baby the other day. She said that when the midwife handed her Pauline, she looked at Olaf and said, "Well, she's our daughter, but she's not very pretty." I couldn't believe when she told me that, because you never hear parents say that. Everyone thinks their baby is the most beautiful thing on the planet, and right after she was born Esther made a comment about how ugly Pauline was. Then she showed me pictures, and her statement was an honest one. When Pauline was born, she had black hair and nearly black eyes, and her nose was smashed to one side so it looked really crooked. And, apparently, she came into the world angry and was screaming for the first half hour of her life. Looking at these baby pictures, you wouldn't believe that it was actually Pauline.

Today I dropped off Gustav at Kindergarten and then took Pauline and Amelie to the forest. When Pauline saw her buggy in the back of the car she insisted that we bring it. I could not figure out how to open the freaking thing!! Seriously, you know these things are designed to have a simple, one button setup, but if you can't find the button you're screwed. It took about 5 minutes to figure out how to open it, and then about 15 to tear it back down when we were finished. The whole time I was trying to figure out how to get it to collapse, Amelie was hiding behind a tree and peeking at me because she didn't want to go home. She's so precious. There was also one point during our walk that I felt like I was in Lord of the Rings. It seriously looked just like that scene where they're first starting on their journey and they find the mushrooms in the road. The wind started blowing the trees, and as I looked up at the swaying Ents and down the leaf covered road lined with trees, it was just like when Frodo heard the Ringwraiths and the wind rustled the leaves and he told the other 3 to hurry and get off of the road. Yeah, I know I'm total nerd, but I also know that that description will paint a pretty vivid picture of what it was like for anyone who reads this, so whatever.

Esther cooked lunch for Pauline and me today. It was the first time since I got here that I haven't been able to eat the food. It was liver and onions, and I just couldn't do it. I did try it, so it's not like I refused, but I just couldn't eat it. The texture is wierd, and it kind of tastes like a cow. And no, I don't mean beef, because beef doesn't taste like a cow, it tastes like beef. It's kind of like how I can't drink goatsmilk or eat goat cheese, because it tastes like I just walked up and licked a goat. I don't really know how else to explain it. Anyway, the potatoes and onions and cooked apple slices were delicious, so I just ate those and left the liver to Esther.

Tomorrow is Gustav's birthday, so tonight Esther and I are going to bake a cake or two, and tomorrow a bunch of his friends and their parents are coming over. It should be fun, and I'm really excited about it. Now I just need to find something to give him for his birthday.