4 years 1 month 16 days

Day 1507. Yesterday Randy took Sammy to kindergarten. At 9 am the cleaning lady came, and at 10 am I had a student. After kindergarten, Randy went straight to the therapy center for a one-hour physiotherapy session from 11:30 to 12:30. And so Tammy, Emmy and I had lunch by ourselves. When Randy and Sammy arrived just before 1 pm, Sammy had had so many snacks he was not interested in eating, and so he ate after their nap.

In the afternoon I was supposed to have a student, but he canceled. And so I was able to get more office work done. In the evening I had a student at 9:30 pm, when the kids were already all asleep.

This morning the boys woke up with the alarm clock; Tammy always needs longer. At 8:15 am I was the one leaving for kindergarten with Sammy, a week after the last time I had done so. Sammy was really happy about that. He kept saying "new U-Bahn", but unfortunately it was an old train once again, which upset him. I then pretended to push an invisible button on the old subway train door, which he thought was funny.

Today there were a good number of kids at kindergarten. Last Wednesday I had been able to leave the room for half an hour, and it was not a problem. But today Sammy was asking for me the whole time. His teacher kept trying to distract him, but he still asked for me. And then she sent me out of the room, when he was already whiny and wanted to be with me. That was tough, as I knew he was gonna cry hard and not be comforted. And I was right. He kept crying, and her tries to distract him didn't go far. After 15 minutes she let me come back in and hold Sammy. After a few minutes I was surprised, when Sammy agreed to do the half hour exercise class on the schedule, when they said that I could stay and that he would be able to see me. And so I stood by the window and watched, and Sammy was fine. After it was over, we said our good-byes and left. Sammy was ready to get on a new subway train.

But first we stopped at the grocery store right there, as we needed a few items. Then we walked to the subway, and I was determined to get on a new train with him, and wait for a new train if need be. Thankfully the first train was already a new one, much to Sammy's delight.

By 11:15 we were back home, and Sammy went downstairs to play with his siblings. As for me, I went straight to the kitchen to make lunch. At noon we all sat down to eat. Then the kids were playing until 1:15, when I put them to bed. However, nobody wanted to sleep today. I even lay down with Sammy, but he would not go to sleep. I left and returned a little while later; by then the other two were asleep. And this time I was able to get him to fall asleep. But it was already 2:15 pm. And that meant that I did not get any sleep, even though I closed my eyes for a few minutes. My alarm went off at 2:45 pm. I got up and got ready to leave, then got the kids ready.

Just after 3 pm the Mobile Support lady came to play with Sammy for 90 minutes, while I left with Tammy and Emmy to take them to exercise class. We talked briefly, then we made our way to the train station. It was a very hot day again, temperatures going up to 26 degrees, which is unheard of for the middle of October. The kids were wearing their exercise clothes and sandals. We got on the train, then bought some chestnuts at their request and started walking to the school. On the way we passed a grocery store and went in for a few items, then continued to the school. I helped them put their sneakers on, gave them their bottle, and helped them tell the teacher their names. Then they went inside the gym, while it was time for me to leave and find something to do for 45 minutes.

This time I had brought my computer with me to use the time well. I had thought of going to the nearby McDonald's, but there was a table with benches right outside the school, and given the beautiful weather, I sat down there and started working on my computer. Three other Moms sat down by the same table and were having an interesting conversation talking about their search for the right school for their kids. I enjoyed listening while working. Five minutes before the end of their class, I went back inside, just like many other parents, and had their folder for the weekly stickers at the ready to hand to them. When the doors opened and the kids were coming into the locker room, I handed them their folders, and they went back inside to get their weekly sticker. The folder said that "rolling" was what they had done this week, and that next week they'd be doing somersaults. It usually takes a day or two before I get the teacher's report plus pictures from the class.

The kids were all excited, when they came out, and told me about the class. I put their sandals back on, and off we went. We had 10 minutes to make the 5:01 pm train, and I needed to make that one, and so I encouraged them to walk fast. Unfortunately Tammy was complaining about her shoes, saying they were too small, so she was having a hard time. But we made the train, thank God, and they got to watch videos on my phone on it.

By 5:15 pm we were back home. Sammy was really happy to see us. Tammy and Emmy went downstairs to play with him, while I was getting ready for my 5:30 pm student. Time was a little short, but this student is always a little late, so it worked out. Five minutes before I was done, Randy and the kids already came back upstairs, and the kids tried to talk to me, making it hard for me to teach the last few minutes. After I was done, I turned the TV on for them to watch some videos until dinner time. I then went to the kitchen to warm up some leftovers, while Randy started putting another shelf together. I continued in the kitchen, making bread with salami and cutting fruit and giving it all to the kids. At about 7:15 they went into the bathtub, where they continued eating. Then we got them ready for bed. I read a bedtime story to them, then prayed for them and put them to bed. Randy was already done eating, so he sat down by them. I made myself something to eat, ate, then went back to work. Randy went to bed early, so I had to go to the kitchen to continue writing. Now I'm gonna work some more, with the goal of going to bed by midnight or not long after.