4 years 1 month 19 days

Day 1510. Yesterday Randy took Sammy to kindergarten, while I had a student at 9 am already. After lunch, they went to bed earlier than usual, at 1 pm already, as we had to take the 2:30 pm train. It took them a long time to fall asleep.

We took the train, then got some chestnuts, and took the subway to the school where Tammy and Emmy have their dance class at 3 pm. We all dropped them off together, then went to the library on the ground floor. First I was looking at books with Sammy, then Randy did. Then we went back upstairs to pick the other kids up. They'd had fun in class. However, not allowed to watch, I have no idea what they are doing and would definitely like to know.

The kids wanted to go to the playground, but I had lessons scheduled, so we needed to go straight home. They went downstairs with Randy, while I taught from 5 to 7 pm. Then I made their dinner.

This morning I was surprised that it was already 7:45 before the boys were up; usually Sammy is even up before the alarm goes off at 7:15 am. It was a blessing to get to sleep a little longer, and I went back to bed after having helped Sammy out of bed and having put him by his toys. Tammy slept a little longer, then she also got up to play. We stayed in bed as long as possible, then made breakfast for them.

Just before 10 am we all left the house together and took the subway downtown. Sammy was so happy, when a new subway train came, and all four subways today were new trains, much to his delight every single time. After getting off, we walked to the music school, where Sammy and I said good-bye. He wanted me to be ethe one to go to the playground with him, even though I would have liked to see what they do in class. And so Randy stayed in class, while I took Sammy to the nearby playground.

It turned out to be a long hour. After only a few minutes Sammy had already done every single thing on the playground, so I sat down with him and let him watch some music videos, which he enjoys. Then I took him back to the swing and didn't just swing him but made the swing turn, which he greatly enjoyed. He was laughing and giggling the whole time, and I think he got everyone's attention doing so.

It was after 11:30, when Randy and the other two arrived. They were also eager to enjoy the playground. I then started helping them, while Randy took Sammy. They had a zipline that they all enjoyed getting on. I was tired and had enough, and it was nearly noon, so I suggested we'd go home. We walked to the subway and rode it home.

At 12:30 we were home, and I immediately made a quick meal in the kitchen. Tammy said she didn't want to eat that, but she was the only one eating everything on her plate. Then they all started playing and watching until nap time at 1:30 pm. Randy was already long gone by then, having gone on a much-needed grocery run. Emmy was determined to sleep on the ground, but I told him it was too hard and that I did not have a mattress to put on the ground. He had a fit. After putting Sammy down, I climbed up to the top of the bunk bed to lie down by Tammy, and then Emmy also came to the top to sleep in his own bed. That way they both got to have Mommy and hold my hand. I thought Sammy was gonna fall asleep, but he didn't - again. Tammy and Emmy were getting close. I finally got up to go help Sammy and sat with him for some time. It was already after 2 pm, when I walked away, hoping they were all close to falling asleep. When I lay down in my own bed, it was quiet in their room, which made me hopeful. But then Randy returned, and I soon heard Sammy. It looks like the boys never went to sleep, only Tammy did. When my alarm went off at 2:50 pm, the boys were up, while Tammy was hard to wake up, as she had not slept that long. We left the house at 3:10, and walking really fast, we actually made our 3:20 pm train.

Getting off the train, we bought chestnuts again, then took the subway for a few stops and walked to church. We got there a little early, but it gave us the chance to talk to a few people. It was our first time there since returning from the US. When the service started, we stayed in the back. I had (a tired) Sammy, while the other two were running around and having fun. They were eager to leave and go to the baby room, but I told them that there was a kids' program now that they were 4 years old and that they had to wait until they were told it was time to go. It was longer than what they are used to.

And then we could finally all leave the room and follow the teachers to one of the smaller rooms. There were a few other children in the group, most quite a few years older. They had no program today, but brought two big boxes of toys instead, and so they had lots of fun during the 90 minutes we were in that room. So much so that they did not want to stop playing and were sad, when it was over.

Sammy was playing with Duplos at first, and we were also playing ball together. He joined us in one board game, and then Randy played with him. Emmy got a plastic tennis racket and a ball out and greatly impressed us all with his ability to hit the ball. After percussions and soccer we've found something else he's really gifted at! And he was enjoying it too. Then he also played with Duplos, just like his sister, and then I sat down with them at the table to play oversized micado with them. Two other kids joined us. However, it was too hard for them, so we soon stopped playing. Instead I got a board game out that was for their age, and we played it twice, once with the same two other kids, and it went really well. Tammy was also playing with another girl, putting little pieces of different colors into a frame, and then she got another game out that she played her own way, not following the rules. And then it was nearly 6 pm and time to go.

We walked back to the sanctuary and stayed outside the door for 10 minutes, waiting for the service to be over, but it wasn't. We were all tired, so we finally decided to just go, as we had already had a few conversations before. We walked to the subway, rode it to the end, and then had very little time to get to the train platform to make the train home and not have to wait another half hour for the next train. I asked the guy getting on the elevator with us to let us ride it straight to the platform so we could make our train, but he didn't care and punched the button for it to stop on street level first. Very nice of him. Thankfully we STILL made our train.

By 6:45 we were back home, and I went straight to the kitchen to make their dinner. They ate some at the table, then continued in the bathtub. Then we got them ready for bed. I read a bedtime story to them and prayed for them, then it was time to sleep. Tammy needed a long time and was calling for me for a long time. Randy was sitting on the chair between the boys' beds. I got myself something to eat, and then turned my computer on for the first time today to work.

Now it's midnight and time to clean up the kitchen and then be the last one to go to bed.