3 years 7 months 20 days

Day 1327. In December our heating downstairs stopped working. They came, determined what was broken and said it would be ordered. To this day it's not been fixed. Now they announced that another person was coming this morning to look at what they need to order. They called me at 7:50 to say they were late and arrived 20 minutes later. We were still in bed, even though the kids were obviously up. Randy opened the door, showed the guy to the broken thermostat, he took a picture, and now we're again where we were in December, waiting for the part to arrive and be installed.

After the guy had left, Randy made breakfast, then I cleaned them up and dressed them. Sammy had speech therapy again (the pictures showing him at physiotherapy yesterday), and I needed to go to the post office, and so we left together at 10 am, much to Sammy's delight. It was raining all day today, which gave the kids an opportunity to use their new umbrellas. We got on the subway together. At the second stop Randy got off with Sammy, who did not hear or see me waving him good-bye. When he noticed that I wasn't there, he was very upset.

Tammy, Emmy and I continued to the next stop. We went into the pharmacy first, then went to the post office so I could mail the yearly pictures of the sponsored kids in Mali. Tammy kept saying she was hoping they'd get candy, as an employee had once given them some. She was disappointed, when they didn't get anything. From the post office we went back to the subway to go home.

By 10:45 we were back home. On Wednesday the kids had picked out two DVD's at the library, and so I had asked Randy to get out the TV with the inbuilt DVD player. I tried to make it work again, but it's just too old. I then set up Randy's old computer, and it was also a challenge, but I finally got the DVD running. I could finally return to the kitchen to make lunch.

Randy and Sammy returned before noon, and it was close to 12:15, when we sat down at the table to eat. After they'd had some dessert, I cleaned them up, and they went to their devices, even though time was short until nap time. And so it was closer to 1:30 that I put them to bed. I believe Emmy was still awake too, not just Tammy, when I walked away, but surprisingly it worked. They never called for me and just fell asleep. While I was really tired, it was 2:45 before I lay down and closed my eyes, so a little late. My 3:30 student had canceled, so it was not a problem. After only half an hour, Emmy walked into the room. He lay down with me briefly, but then got up again. The boys were both up, and I could soon hear Tammy as well. I believe Randy went downstairs with them. I was still in bed, when my alarm went off just after 4 pm. It was time to get up and get ready and get them ready.

We all left the house at 4:30 pm. It was still raining, and it was really windy. We got on the subway, then took the elevator up to street level and walked to the tram stop. We rode the tram for one stop, then had to walk a little to get to the school. And there were lots of people there today. It was the first lesson of the second part of the course, and so there were quite a few new kids in class. There were nearly too many kids.

The teacher started the same way as always, with a song everyone had to dance to and then freeze, when the music stopped. She put blocks on the floor that the kids had to stand on, when the music stopped. I was dancing with Sammy whose wheelchair I pushed over a block, which worked out perfectly.

And then Tammy had peed in her pants. It was the very first time they had left the house for a class without a diaper on. This morning they had gone to the post office without a diaper, but that was a short trip. I decided to let them try to go to class without. It seemed that her pants were fine, and so Randy took her to the changing room to give her a diaper. I don't know what had happened, but a very short while later her pants were wet. I had brought backup pants, so I changed her. Emmy came along to the bathroom for that occasion and used the toilet. He got home without any accidents. Surprisingly, I would have bet that it would have been Emmy and not Tammy that has an accident.

The teacher had everyone imitate animals again, and she had them try different ways of walking, from toes to heals to the inside and outside of their feet. She also had everyone sit on the floor and stretch a little. Before we knew it, it was already time for the final song, the one you can't get out of your ears.  Sammy was back in his wheelchair at that point, and so I walked with him, as it was a walking song where we periodically changed direction. Then it was time to put coats and shoes back on and to go home.

It was still raining, and so we chose not to walk all the way to the subway but to take the tram, even though it meant waiting for it for a while. At least it was a new one that came. After we got off, we took the subway home, where we arrived at 6:30. Today the kids had not watched any videos, as Randy had taken books along for them to read, and it worked.

Randy left us right away for a pickup, and so I was on my own. The kids sat down at the table with their devices, while I brought them the food I had cut. They had already had their bread with salami and apple on the way home. They then continued eating in the bathtub. Then I got them out and ready for bed. We then read a few Bible stories together, I prayed for them and put them to bed. It was about 8:10 pm. Sammy kept asking about Daddy, and I kept telling him he was on his way home. And then he finally walked through the door, much to the kids' delight. After they had calmed down, I sat with them for a few minutes, then Daddy sat down in the chair, and I went to the kitchen to make my time-intensive salad. I wasn't even done making it, when Randy joined me in the kitchen. After I was done eating, I went back to work. Now it's 1 am, and I still have to clean up the kitchen.