I'm sitting home wasting my vacation days

I only get three weeks a year and figured it was no problem to take a week now since I'll be off on other leave during Christmas. Otherwise I'd have been cringing at the use of the precious five days. So I'm here with the kids. Its been pretty good, despite Iain and his sometimes screechyness. And Cael deciding that potties are for suckers and its a much better idea to pee in his undies. I've been using popsicles and "lollipops" (his word...) as bribery.

Gail was supposed to have her surgery yesterday. You know where this is going, don't you? Yep, it was CANCELED. The special instruments that the surgeon booked were for whatever reason not available and no-one let him know until an hour before she was scheduled to go under the knife. She was prepped and ready for the surgery when he came in and said it would have to be rescheduled. They sent her home drugged and pissed off.

The doctor was livid. Gail was upset that she put everyone out this week for nothing. I'm upset that I'm going to have to find alternate arrangements for potentially two weeks in January, because as it is I was slated to go back to work a couple of days before the eight weeks were up. I tempted fate by hoping that she might be well enough to take the kids back that week. Partly because when you count the weeks, she actually would have off for nine weeks. Now it might be ten. And I'm pretty sure I can't change the dates on my income averaging form because I would have to do a whole new application for the extra week(s) and the minimum I can apply for is five weeks. So it looks like I'm going to have to take ANOTHER week of my precious vacation leave and will have none to carry over into the next fiscal year.

Any other government folks out there who can shed some light on HR policy for this? Can I simply add another week to the end of my already applied for leave without pay on income averaging?