3 years 8 months 24 days

Day 1362. The only thing typical this morning was that the kids were up really early. Today I was the one more more awake early today, though, being the active one, even reading a book to Emmy who had come to me in my bed, after having said no for a while and that it was simply too early. At 9 am Randy finally got up, and today I had to get up as well and go to the kitchen to make breakfast. They hadn't been eating their oatmeal breakfast (what Daddy eats) which gets Daddy cranky, and so I decided it was time to give them something new to possibly encourage them to eat.

I happened to have some white bread and asked them whether they wanted jam or honey on it. Tammy wanted jam, Emmy honey. The boys loved it, but Tammy wouldn't even TRY it! I can only imagine what it's gonna be like, when we're in the US, and they get all these new foods set in front of them. After breakfast I cleaned them up and dressed them. Randy was getting Sammy ready to leave the house with him at 10 am to take him to speech therapy. I never turned my computer on but turned the TV on our dining room table on, together with Fire TV, and started playing some French kids' videos to review the greetings, colors and numbers with them. Sammy was sitting in his wheelchair by us, waiting for Randy to be ready. When he grabbed the chair to leave with him, Sammy started crying, as he wanted to stay with us. I felt bad for him, but Randy gave him his beloved horsey and that comforted him enough to soon stop crying.

After they had left, I continued reviewing some French with them, then reviewed the musical notes with them that they've learned in piano class, then played a competitive game, where they needed to be able to count to five. Emmy surprised me, when he was actually able to do it - once. Tammy won the game, and Emmy is unable to lose; he starts crying. I then gave Tammy candy for winning, and Emmy one for having been able to count to five.

Then I gave them another sheet each with task to complete, and they did it perfectly. I then put those sheets into their binders, and they each got to choose a sticker to put on the outside of their binders. School time was over with that. They started playing and watching videos, while I still could not turn my computer on to work. It was 11 am and time to go to the kitchen to cook.

I made something I hadn't made in a long time and that the kids had never had, just to bring a little variety into what we eat. Just before noon Randy and Sammy returned, and a few minutes later we sat down to eat. None of the kids finished what was on their plates, which wasn't much to start with. They had dessert, then Tammy and Emmy continued watching videos, while Sammy went into Emmy's bed to watch children's songs on the Alexa device. Randy left right away for the grocery store, so he'd be back quickly, as I had to teach at 2:30 pm already.

Today it wasn't 1:15 yet, when I started the going-to-bed process, as it always takes some time to get them cleaned up and dressed and to try to get them to go potty before lying down. I also had to pick out clothes that would be comfortable for dance class. They were in bed before 1:30, and I sat down by them. I still can't believe they don't need pacifieres any more and don't even ask for them any more. Today the boys fell asleep as quickly as they always have, and I was able to leave before Tammy was asleep.

Just after 1:45 I lay down myself, as I really needed a nap, but I could only set a 35 minute timer. When it went off, I was so very tired that I did not want to move. It took me longer than usual to turn the alarm off, and so Sammy was awake as a result. Randy had just gotten back and wanted to close his eyes for a few minutes, so I had to get Sammy out of his bed, even though I only had a few minutes before I had to start teaching. I put him on the floor and gave him some toys to occupy himself, which is not his strength. He kept asking for Daddy. At 2:30 I had to start teaching and could still hear him call for Daddy.

I was so tired that I had a hard time opening my eyes all the way in front of my bright computer screen, and that for the whole lesson. Well, it wasn't 50 minutes as usual, as my student had to leave early, cutting it down to 30 minutes. And so I was already done at 3 pm. Sammy was still playing by himself, Emmy was up too, and Tammy was just waking up. I had some time, turning children's songs on for them, and hoping Randy was gonna give them an afternoon snack. He then took them downstairs with some snacks. At 3:30 I started my next lesson that lasted until 4:20. By then the kids were ready for us to leave the house, and I took a few minutes to get myself ready. Then we left the house together at 4:30 pm.

It was A LOT warmer than it's been; it was a stark difference. We didn't even need coats but could just be short-sleeved. We walked to the subway and rode it for a few stops, then went up to street level and walked to the tram stop. We rode an old tram for one stop, having to carry Sammy over the high stairs, then walked the short distance to the school. The previous class had already ended, and so we walked inside the classroom and took all our shoes off. Then the class already started.

Today she put out foam blocks to stand on instead of newspaper. Everyone was dancing, and once the music stopped, everyone was supposed to find a block to stand on. I was dancing with Sammy and rolled him over a block, when the music stopped. Randy was dancing with the other two, and at one point I was surprised to see him pull Tammy on the floor, and then even both of them at the same time. They were loving it.

After some time of dancing with Sammy, I got him out of the chair so he could have more fun, with me able to throw him around more. However, he's also getting heavy, and my arms were getting tired, so I finally put him on my shoulders, which he loved.

The teacher had a drinking break and opened the door to the courtyard to let some cool air in. All the kids went to the door, and it was our kids that started observing the ants on the ground. All the other kids then joined them in watching the ants.

Then we played the "fire, water, ice" game. Sammy had been saying "fire" for a while, and there it was. Every time the teacher stopped the music, she said one of the three words. "Fire" meant having to lie down on the ground, "water" to get on the chairs, and "ice" to go to a corner of the room. I did the game with Sammy.

Then we sat in a circle in the middle of the room doing some of the stretching exercises. Emmy didn't feel like it, and Sammy is not really able to do them. Then I was surprised that she already started the final song, the song Sammy likes so much. His name for the whole class - "kikiki" - is even derived from this final song we always do, which is about different ways to wake someone up, including the rooster, therefore "kikeriki". Instead of putting Sammy back into his chair, I put him on my shoulders, as he enjoys that more. Even there it was getting hard towards the end, as I had to hold on to his hands tight to keep him safe up there.

Then the class was over. We put their shoes back on and left to go home. Even though the weather was nice, we walked to the tram stop and took the tram back to the subway. Then we went straight to the subway and rode it home, where we arrived at 6:30 pm.

I had brought some cut-up apple along, but not bread with salami. The kids sat down to eat, and I gave them the bread and then the fruit I was cutting up. Then they went into the bathtub, where they continued eating. We got them out and ready for bed, then I sat down with them to read a Bible story. I prayed for them and flew them into bed. When I sat down by them, it was 8:15 pm. I stayed for some time, then Randy took my place. Only the boys were for that, not Tammy, so she was whining. While Randy had already eaten, I went to the kitchen to get myself something to eat. I sat down to eat, then went back to work. Now it's approaching 1 am, so it's time to finish cleaning up the kitchen and go to bed.