Day 1313. Yesterday we stayed at home, except for Sammy who had his weekly physiotherapy session. And I taught a few lessons online.
This morning Emmy was up way early again and put his headset on right away that tells him stories. I told him today that I won't leave it out for him anymore but that he needs to go back to sleep, when he wakes up that early. And so I soon had three kids asking for different things, while trying to get a little more sleep. At around 9 am Randy got up. By 10 they were going downstairs, while I got ready to sit down by the computer and work. Yesterday Sammy's therapy center was not happy that he had come with a cold, and so we canceled his speech therapy appointment this morning. That gave me some much-appreciated time to get work done.
Randy and the kids came back upstairs just after noon, and by 12:15 we were all at the table to eat. Tammy was the only one who ate everything. Both she and Emmy have underwear on in the morning, when we stay home, and they're always proud to tell and show me that it's still dry, when they come up for lunch. Yesterday, we did an experiment. They both kept their underwear on during nap time, and it stayed dry even while they were asleep. Emmy then wanted a diaper, while Tammy kept the underwear on until the evening. It was the very first time that she had done a whole day without a diaper!
And we had another first. A while back Sammy started saying "potty", and we put him on the potty, when he does. Yesterday or the day before, it was the first time that he both peed and pooped into the potty! We were so proud of him!
After lunch and dessert, the kids started watching videos, while I went back to work. At 1:30 pm I put them to bed for their nap, while Randy left on a grocery store run. I sat with them until the boys were asleep and Tammy was close, then I went to bed myself. I was just falling asleep, when the door bell rang. I jumped up to get the package that was being delivered and went back to bed. At 3:20 pm my alarm went off, and I got up to get ready for my 3:30 pm student. Suddenly all three kids were up as well, and I had to rush to give them what they wanted and then sit down by the computer, where my student was already waiting for me. I taught until 4:20, then got ready to leave as well. The kids were already nearly ready.
We left the house together and walked to the subway. It was a warmer day today. We took the subway, then walked to the tram stop and rode it for one stop. After a little more walking we reached the school, where their dance class is taking place every week. We went in, and soon more children showed up for the class. The first activity was us dancing, and every time she stopped the music, we had to stand on those colored bricks on the floor. I was dancing with Sammy for most of the time and simply rolled his wheelchair over a brick. Tammy and Emmy also danced with Sammy briefly, and so did Randy.
Then we formed a circle and had to only dance with the body part the teacher was saying. Then she tried to have the kids dance with a body part that the others then had to guess. Emmy went first and chose his butt.
Then we all sat down in a circle on the floor, and opened our legs wide. She had everyone stretch a little bit, then ball up like a turtle. Sammy was between my legs and did a great job. Then it was finally time for the final song; Sammy had been asking for it throughout the whole class. It's a song you can't get out of your mind, and it's pretty cute, talking about the different things you can use as an alarm clock. I carried Sammy for most of the time, as we walked in a circle singing the song. Then the class was over.
We started our long walk back to the subway, then got on. There were two other wheelchairs right there. Sammy did his usual button-pushing by the door, while the other two wanted to watch videos. As I was with Sammy, Randy held the phone for them to watch. Most of the time the kids now hold the phone themselves.
When it was time to get off the subway, Emmy had a fit as he wanted to continue watching. He must have been pretty tired, as he had a series of fits until he finally went to bed. I put him on my shoulders, but Tammy was jeaous, and as Emmy had already been on my shoulders before dance class, I got him back down. He had another fit, and Randy then simply picked him up and threw him over his shoulders, carrying him to our building that way.
By 6:30 pm we were back home, but Randy had to leave again right away for a pickup. And so I was once again all by myself with the kids during dinner time, the third time this week. They sat down at the table with a video, and Sammy had the new CD player playing children's songs. I started making their food and taking it to them, and they were eating it. Then it was time for the bathtub, and again Emmy had a fit, when I turned the video off. They were playing and eating in the bathtub, then I got them out one after another and got them ready for bed. We read some Bible stories, I prayed for them and put them to bed. And then Randy returned, so the kids got up to see what he had brought. It took a little time before they were back in bed. I sat down by them for a little bit, but Sammy was asking for Daddy, and so he took my place. Sammy was quite active for quite some time before he finally fell asleep, and it seemed that he was the last one to do so. I got myself something to eat, and then went back to work. I also took a little time to look at activities to do with the kids during Easter break next week.
