3 years 8 months 12 days

Day 1350. It was a typical morning today. After the kids were done eating, I dressed them, and just after 9:30 we left the house to walk to the train station and take the 9:50 train, which we did. The kids were short-sleeved, and it was warm, though a little chilly with the wind. After we got off the train, we had to wait around 10 minutes for either one of the two trams, which was pretty long. And as long as we had waited last week, which was the first time that we had the swim class at 10:30 instead of 10 am. I guess that's the schedule. Thankfully it still worked out for us to be by the pool on time.

We got on the tram and rode it for two stops, then walked the rest of the way to the swimming pool. It was the first time that the outside area was open, and so we had to pay more as we had to purchase a day ticket because of it. When we changed, it was the first time I did not put swim diapers on the kids. Instead, they went to the bathroom before we went to the pool. By the time we got there, the previous class was not over, but we didn't wait long.

This new class has mostly older kids, and kids who can already swim somewhat without any help. It doesn't seem to be a very homogenous group, but today's class was better than last week's. The water was once again pretty cold, and Sammy was saying "cold" the whole time.

After the greeting song we put swim rings on them, and they had to swim to the other end of the pool and back, and then one more time. Then she had them swim on their backs. Emmy did that remarkably well, while Tammy's legs were going all over the place being less effective. It seems that the class was shorter than usual, as she was suddenly doing the good-bye song and the class was over. Today the kids got their certificates for the passed swim test they did a few weeks ago.

With the outside area available, and as we had never seen the outside, I wanted to check it out. We looked out at the window and were impressed with what we saw, but never actually tried to go outside. Maybe it will be warmer next Sunday. The kids still wanted to go into the baby pool, and so Tammy and Emmy went inside and started playing with someone's toys there, as well as taking some of the swim teacher's stuff that she took back once she'd noticed. Sammy was cold, and so Randy was holding him with a towel to warm him up. After the kids had played for a while, we decided to leave.

It takes us some time for everyone to be dressed and ready to leave. We then walked back to the tram stop. The kids were once again picking flowers off the lawn. We rode the tram for four stops, got off, and then wondered whether we should go to McDonald's or Burger King. The kids had never been to Burger King, but it was right there as well. With the McDonald's toys so terrible these past few weeks, we finally decided to give Burger King a try. Once we had found the entrance, we found it nearly empty inside. The toys were better than at McDonald's, so we decided to stay and try it out.

I ordered on the board about what we order at McDonald's, and it seemed a little more expensive. Then I sat down, and Randy went to get the food. I enjoyed the onion rings, but my burger was not good at all. I would have had to pay extra for onions and pickles inside. And of course they have the much greater drink selection and free refills. The kids enjoyed the icecubes coming out of the machine, as they like putting those into their mouths. And the high chair worked a lot better than at McD's as it was bigger; the one at McD's is pretty tight for Sammy by now.

After we were done we got on the tram and rode it back to the train station. We were lucky that we only had a few minutes to wait for the 12:57 train. By 1:15 pm we were home. The kids had not watched any videos on the way home, and when I said it was nap time right away, especially Emmy was upset about that. But then he was the first one in bed. By 1:30 they were all in bed, and by 1:45 I was able to walk away.

It took me until 2:30 before I lay down myself, which meant that I did not get to sleep as long as I would have liked, as the kid come straight to me after waking up. Just after 3 pm both Tammy and Emmy were suddenly with me, so sleep was over, even though I would have liked some more. Emmy brought me a book to read to him, which I did, then another one I also read to him. But by then I really had to get up as I still had to make their dinner-to-go boxes. I went to the kitchen to do just that, then I dressed them for church. Just after 4:30 pm we left the house.

We took the 4:50 train and then rode the tram to church, which is quite a lot of stops. Then we still had to walk up the hill to church, where we arrived just before 5:30. Worship was going on by that time. We walked to the front, as usual. The kids picked up some fabric, and I gave Sammy some. I sat down on the stairs and moved Sammy around to the music. Tammy and Emmy started laying out the fabric on the floor; especially Tammy is a real organizer.

There was a new family of three right there, and the Dad started talking to and interacting with Sammy. I could not hear anything as the music was so loud. Then Sammy was the first one to ask to go upstairs. Just before 5:45 Randy and the other two kids went up the stairs, while I was looking for someone with a key to the elevator so we could ride it upstairs.

Once on the upper floor, I took Tammy to the bathroom, then I left them there and returned to the sanctuary, where I stayed until just after 6:45 pm. Then I returned upstairs. When I walked into the room, both Tammy and Emmy shouted my name and ran to me. Then Tammy showed me the crown they had made, and so Emmy got his as well to show me, and I took their picture. Sammy also immediately wanted to come to me, so Randy put him on the floor so he could crawl to me. He wanted to see Anna, and so I put him into the chair, then we put the shoes on the other kids and left together. All three kids rode the elevator down with me.

The service was not over yet. Sammy had been saying Anna's name all day and was happy to see her. We all walked into the lobby, so that we would not disturb the service. Sammy was really happy to see Anna, even though he started asking about Sonja. Tammy also wanted to see Sonja. However, she and Emmy were running around and making a lot of noise that could be heard in the service. We repeatedly asked them to be quiet, but to no avail. There was no way we could go to Sonja during the service. And then it was over, and Sonja came through the lobby. All the kids greeted her, but then she had to move on as she had a job to do. It was time for us to leave and go home. We put Sammy into the chair and their jackets on and left.

And it was quite chilly by that time, so thank God I had brought the jackets. The kids were crying because I said there was not gonna be any videos on the way home since they would not stop making all that noise. They continued pleading with me. Once at the tram stop, I got their food boxes out and tried to get them to eat. We did not wait long for the tram, and they continued eating on the tram, as well as crying. Periodically I could get them to stop crying, but they both cried a lot all the way home.

When we got to the train station, we had just missed the train, and so we had 25 minutes to wait for the next one. As Sammy loves the subway and kept asking for it, we rode the elevator down to the subway, where there was a big and safe area that the kids could play in while waiting. Tammy and Emmy started running around and wanted me to chase them, and I did. All the while feeding them as well as Sammy. When the train departure started getting close, we rode the elevator up to the platform and then got on the train. They were still asking for videos, and crying, when I said no. Once we got off the train, I put crying Emmy on my shoulders, and asked him to stop crying if he wanted to stay up there. Now Tammy was crying, because she also wanted to be on my shoulders. I told her that she could be on my shoulders the second half of the way home, which Emmy did not like. He was upset at first, when I put him down and lifted Tammy up and sat her on my shoulders. Not much later we were back home. And then I thanked Sammy for his great behavior all the way home, when his siblings were melting down. Sammy did not add any drama or issues, like putting his hand on the wheel or on the brakes, like he likes doing.

By 8:15 we were back home and started getting them ready for bed, which took a while. They still wanted to read a Bible story, and I finally gave in and did. Then I prayed for them and flew them into bed and sat down by them. 9 pm was not far off, so it was pretty late for them. I stayed with them until 9 pm, then Randy took my place. I got myself something to eat, then went back to work. Now it's 1:30 pm, and I still have to clean up the kitchen before going to bed.