Day 1316. I believe it was once again Sammy who was the first one up this morning. Emmy was lying next to me and sleeping and got up just before 8 am, so at a decent time for once. We then woke up Randy, as we had to get up with Grandma coming at 9 am, and she arrived earlier than that. The kids were still eating breakfast, when she did. They finished up, then I dressed them, and Grandma went downstairs with them. I went to the kitchen to make a casserole for lunch. Once it was in the oven, I also went downstairs to join them.
The kids were having fun with Grandma, who had brought a few books to read to them. They also showed her how they swing on the rings, and how well they play the drums. However, she thought they were way too loud, when they played, and Sammy also held his ears. We wanted to take a picture with Grandma, which wasn't that easy, to have everyone look at the camera at the same time.
Just before 11 am Grandma left, and I went upstairs to work a little. Then some packages arrived, and I took the toys that had come for Sammy downstairs to him. They were second hand, but full of buttons, which is what Sammy enjoys, and he was having fun with his new toys. The other kids also liked some of the stuff that had come. Especially when Emmy's new Sam umbrella arrived later, he was overjoyed. Randy then got out a princess umbrella for Tammy, which brought a big smile to her face as well.
At noon Randy and the kids came upstairs to eat, and I had already put the food on the table. They ate well, and Sammy and Tammy had icecream. Tammy then put the chocolate icecream on her face on purpose, thinking it was lots of fun, and I took her picture, before taking her to the bathroom to get her cleaned up.
It was 12:30, so I let them watch videos for half an hour. At 1 pm I put them to bed a little earlier than usual, as we had to leave the house at 2:30 pm. I encouraged them to sleep, especially Sammy trying to resist, and was soon able to leave their side. By 1:30 I lay down myself, set an alarm for 45 minutes, and closed my eyes to sleep. It was Emmy who was up first, waking me up as well, not long before my alarm went off. Then I got up and started getting them ready to leave the house. Tammy was pretty sleepy and therefore cranky, but we all left the house on time, even before it was 2:30 pm.
We walked to the subway that we took for a few stops, then we had a little walk ahead of us. It was a really cold day, temperatures being close to freezing. We were glad once we had entered the planetarium. Even though I once studied astronomy at university, I have to admit that I had never been to the planetarium before. Today they had a children's "movie", explaining the stars and the moon using a mouse family that traveled to the moon. Even though it was from 4 years of age up, I'd decided to give it a try.
We lined up to get our reserved tickets, paid, and then I had to change Emmy's diaper. Once reunited, the doors soon opened to let everyone in. Right near the entrance there was plenty of space for Sammy's wheelchair next to the rows. He was a little unsure about what was going on and was glad, when I got him out of the wheelchair. The other kids were full of anticipation and impatient for the program to start. And then it did. It was a little slow-going at times, but they were interested and attentive the whole time. Sammy not so much. He sat on my lap, but also on the chair with Emmy, and with Daddy. We just tried to keep him happy. The movie lasted about 50 minutes, then it was over. We put their coats back on and went back out into the cold.
Right outside the planetarium, there as a huge globe that was spinning. It had a staircase going up to the top, so Tammy and Emmy ran up there to look down and to check out the globe. Then we continued on. Because of the cold we went straight back to the subway and went home. On the subway they were watching "The Mouse on Mars" - short videos for little children that I had watched myself when I was little.
By 4:15 we were back home, and they went downstairs, while I was glad to have some time to work. I did not have any students today. And so I enjoyed working without having to watch the clock. It was after 6 pm before Randy and the kids came upstairs. Tammy started playing Peppa Pig games, Emmy watching Firefighter Sam, and Sammy listening to children's songs, while I went to the kitchen to make their dinner. They soon sat down at the table and started eating, while continuing their activities. Then they continued eating in the bathtub, eating most everything. Once out we sat down to read Bible stories, and they always want me to go on and on and on. I then prayed for them and flew them into bed. It was just after 8 pm, when I sat down by them. Sammy soon started asking for Daddy, who took my place once he had finished eating. I then worked some more before going to the kitchen to get myself something to eat. After having eaten, I continued working. Now it's only 12:30 am, so I'm probably gonna continue working for a little while.
