3 years 7 months 30 days

Day 1337. It was a tough night with Emmy coming and going and keeping me up. I was so tired in the morning, and I let him know that it was not nice of him to prevent me from sleeping like that. After they'd had breakfast, I cleaned them up and dressed them. Randy always dresses Sammy, and while I've switched to summer clothes, putting short-sleeved shirts on Tammy and Emmy, Randy is still putting long-sleeved ones on Sammy (plus a long-sleeved body underneath).

At 9:45 I left the house with Sammy; Tammy was not so happy about it as she wanted to come along. Sammy was excited to be going somewhere with Mommy, as it's been a while since it was just the two of us. It was raining a litte, and it was quite a bit colder than yesterday. We took the subway for two stops, then crossed the street to the medical center. We rode the elevator up, registered and sat down in the waiting room. Sammy was a little suspicious of what was going on, and you could tell that he was a little afraid that something unpleasant was about to happen. I kept telling him that they were just taking a picture of his bones on the inside, that was all.

After we had waited for a while, we were called inside. I got Sammy out of the wheelchair, and we walked into the room with the big x-ray machine in the middle. There was a blanket lying on its bed. I put Sammy on it who was now a little scared and was told to pull his shirt up and his pants down, as it was a hip x-ray. It's just a check-up. Last year his hips were perfectly fine, and I expect that this time as well. The guy put a blanket around my waist to block the rays and asked me to hold Sammy's legs so he wouldn't move. Sammy had my other hand in his grip, holding on tight. The guy left the room, took the picture, and returned. And with that it was over. I dressed Sammy again, put him back into the wheelchair, and we sat back down outside to wait for the picture. You could tell that Sammy was relieved.

After a few minutes we received the picture and left; they'll send us the interpretation in a day or two. We stopped at the bakery and then crossed the street again to take the subway home, where we arrived at 10:40. I took Sammy downstairs to his siblings and sat down at the computer to work. An hour later Randy and the kids already came upstairs, just as I started cooking, making a quick meal. Just after noon we sat down to eat. It was Tammy's least favorite meal, so she did not eat much. They'd all had a pastry that I had brought home, so that's probably why they all did not eat much. But they all had icecream. Tammy and Emmy then started watching videos, while Sammy wanted to listen to children's songs. At 1:15 I put them to bed, and by 1:30 I was able to walk away, even with Tammy not yet asleep yet.

By 2 pm I got to lie down as well for a much-needed nap. I could hear some kids, while I was asleep, but was actually woken up by my alarm at 3 pm that I quickly turned off. I was still tired and had to force myself out of bed. When I went to the kitchen, I found that Randy and all the kids had already gone downstairs. I started making sandwiches and cutting apples to take with us to exercise class, then sat down at the computer to get ready for my 3:30 pm class. I taught for an hour, then had another student for an hour. When I finished at 5:20 pm, the kids were all ready to go. I quickly put my shoes on, and off we went to make the 5:32 train.

We were partly running, the kids having fun running and having us chase them, and therefore we made it easily to the train. We had to carry Sammy over the steps into the old train. Once we got off the train, we still had a little bit of a walk ahead of us. It was raining a little, which is why the kids had their umbrellas with them, but the wind was so strong, that it was hard for them to hold them up.

When we reached the school, there were a few new people waiting there. It was the first class of the second half of the semester, and I still remember how lost we were our first time there. I rang the bell to get into the school, and the janitor opened the door for us. We carried Sammy in the wheelchair up the staircase, then I went down a staircase with him, much to his delight; he was laughing all the way down. We were still a bit early, so we waited with the other people outside a little before going into the locker room. Once the teacher arrived, we could go inside the gym.

The kids went straight to the ladders on the wall again. Then the teacher asked the new kids their names before starting with a race to the other end of the gym and back. Then he handed out hoops, so that the kids were horses, with us holding the other end of the hoop and racing once again with them. Thirdly the kids lay down on the floor, and we pulled them to the other side of the room and back. Sammy really enjoys that and had fun.

Then the teacher said to play with the hoops, while he was setting up the equipment. Tammy showed how she could make it spin around her waist, and she's actually doing a good job. Sammy wanted to be with me, and I sat down on the ground with him and had him lie on the big ball, bouncing up and down and rolling into all directions. He was having lots of fun. Tammy and Emmy started jumping off the vaulting box the teacher had set up, and once the rings were coming down, Tammy was the first one there to get on. Emmy was next, and Sammy was also waiting impatiently to get on. All three had lots of fun swinging with their feet in the rings. And now that I have shown Tammy and Emmy how to get off, they do it like that every time.

And they also spent a lot of time jumping off the box. Emmy did it many times without needing a hand, but whenever I was close, he wanted my hand to support him. Tammy wanted me to keep taking pictures of her mid-air, and she always checked them out right after.

Then the teacher started putting the equipment up again. I put Sammy back into his wheelchair and left with him to go to the bathroom, while the other kids did one more last race. When we got back out, the class was over, and it was time to put their shoes and coats back on and haul Sammy over the two staircases again.

Leaving the building, the rain wasn't too bad, and the kids still wanted to walk on the little wall along the sidewalk. And Tammy said that she now did not need my hand any more, which of course meant Emmy did not need a hand either, and they did just fine without.

When we reached the train station, we still had 10 minutes until our train's departure. I had already gotten the sandwiches and apples out for them and was feeding them, while they were watching videos. We then got on the 7:23 pm train, an old train, and rode it the few minutes home. It was run by the Austrian train company, and it still had a conductor. When we got off, he gave the kids a children's ticket each as well as a little booklet to color with a little pack of crayons. The kids were excited about these unexpected gifts, especially the tickets. They ran to the  machines to validate their tickets, putting them in again and again and again. Then they put them into their pockets so they have them again next time we go somewhere.

By the time we were home it was 7:40 pm. I warmed up some leftovers that I gave to them at the dining room table, then cut up some fruit I brought to them. Then they went into the bathtub that we had not filled, before we got them out and ready for bed. Even though it was late, I still read them a Bible story. Then I prayed for them and flew them into bed. It was about 7:40, when I sat down by them. They talked for a while, then I asked them to stop stalking and to go to sleep. I was holding Sammy's and Tammy's hands. At 9 pm I got up and left, thinking at least the boys were asleep, but it seems only Sammy was. I could hear them a few more minutes, then it got quiet without either one of us having to come sit down by them again. Randy was already eating, and I started getting myself something to eat as well. After I was done eating, I started going through today's pictures. Now it's after 1 pm and time to clean up the kitchen and go to bed.