I made it to bed at 2:30 again last night. This morning, it was already 8:45, when we woke up. Whether the kids woke up late, or we didn't hear them, we'll never know. We fed them, and then Randy took them downstairs, while I went back to bed. It was after 10 am, when I looked at my phone before finally falling asleep. It was hard getting up, but I decided to just put their food into the warmer and go back to bed. At noon we fed them, I put Tammy to bed, and Randy was downstairs with the boys, while I cooked our lunch. We ate downstairs, and then Randy tried to fix the stroller. It was damaged by the airline, both times, flying to Mali and back, and that damage now affected the wheel and the tire has a hole. He couldn't do anything about it, and had to take the stroller as it was.
We put the boys to bed at 1:30, hoping they'd get some sleep before we'd leave an hour later, but Emmy usually doesn't sleep at that time. Sammy does, but today he was not tired. After a while of Sammy whining and Emmy talking, they also woke the girl up, and as they were all up, we started dressing them and getting them and ourselves ready to leave, which takes some time anyway.
We left on time at about 2:30; it was cold and snowing. It takes some time to get the pediatrician's office which is in our old neighborhood; two subways and a tram ride. We had to first go to the pharmacy and pick up their shots, then we met with my Mom in front of the building, and up we went.
We spent some time in the waiting room, though not too long. Just enough for Grandma and the little ones to have fun together. Grandma gave them cookies and tickled them, and so there was lots of laughter and fun. Randy was holding Sammy, who was watching it all from a distance.
Once we were called in, we undressed them, and then the doctor listened to their chests and looked into their ears and mouths. They don't trust doctors any more, and so they all screamed, even though it didn't hurt. The doctor let Emmy touch the stethoscope, but it didn't make a difference. After examining them, he gave them each their shot. I held Tammy, and then Emmy, and in the end it was Sammy's turn, who was held by Randy. They all cried, and they wanted to be with Mommy. We dressed them, got an appointment for next month, and left.
Since the boys had not slept in the afternoon. Emmy fell asleep in the stroller and slept in there for a long time. Sammy doesn't sleep in the stroller any more, and Tammy had had her nap and had fun. We had given them snacks the whole time we were out and about. We had to change subways, and unfortunately, now it's the elevator when we go home that is being renovated, meaning that you cannot use it for 2 months (while it was the one going the opposite direction last summer). That meant we had to get on a subway going the OPPOSITE direction for two stops, and then take the same subway line there to turn around and go home. A hassle. And today it was later than usual, so we only got home at 6 pm. That meant they ended up eating nearly an hour later than usual; I did not give them their usual food as that would have taken too much time to prepare, just some bread with cream cheese, bananas and soup. Emmy hadn't had any snacks on the way home. Then we went into the bathtub, where they continued eating. They were all tried and cranky, and so they didn't stay in the tub for long. We even had to get all three out at the same time, which we had never done before.
Sammy was crying at first, but then he fell asleep. The girl was crying, but since I sat down by her bed, she fell asleep. However, Emmy had slept too long too late, and so he was wide awake. His bed touches his brother's, and he ended up waking Sammy back up, who was so very tired. I had to hold Sammy for a while to calm him down, and then I was able to put him back into bed. I moved Emmy's bed away from his brother's a little. At least Emmy was just walking around in his bed and having fun, and not crying.
After they were all asleep, I finally got a chance to give Randy a little pastry with candles, sing Happy Birthday, and give him his gift. Then we returned to our normal routines. It was definitely not his most exciting birthday.
