Day 1565. I had forgotten to turn off the 7:15 am alarm that we need when Sammy goes to kindergarten. Randy got up right away, and so we ended up having plenty of time to get ready to leave the house just before 9 am.
We got on the subway and rode it for a few stops, then we had a 20 minute walk ahead of us. I still remembered how freezing cold it was last year, when we did this; so much so that the kids had been crying. Thankfully it was not quite that cold today and the sun was out; it was just below freezing.
We got to the ship a few minutes bfore the opening of the door and were the first ones in line. They opened the door perfectly on time, and we went on. It was different from last year in that they were only using the bottom floor of the ship, and there was no assigned seating. There were also a lot fewer people than last year. This year they had a second boat doing the same ride; I guess it had been too full last year.
We went to the front, where we could see the stage for Kasperl (traditional puppet show), and chose the big window table in the first row. Emmy picked up the glass bottle with the menu rolled up and stuck inside right away. A few minutes later we could hear that same bottle fall off another table and shatter into pieces. Soon the waiters came by and removed them all from the tables. We ordered some drinks that soon arrived.
The kids were impatient for Kasperl to arrive, but we still had some time. The doors had opened at 9:30, but the ship wasn't leaving until 10:30 am. And so we decided to walk around and see whether we could find the face-painting station, and we did. There were two ladies who were setting up their equipment. They said it would be a few more minutes. So we walked on and went to the bathroom. Then the ship took off, and we briefly looked out the window before returning to the face-painting station.
The ladies were already painting other kids, so we had to wait in line. Tammy wanted to be first, and so did Emmy, so I suggested doing scissors-paper-stone to decide who was going first, but Tammy refused to do so. And so Sammy went first, followed by Emmy, and Tammy last. I sat down with Sammy who first wanted a duck, but then said Mickey Mouse. I told her to do something simple because I wasn't sure how much patience he had. The very first time he wouldn't let anyone paint his first, but this time he did really well, and she could probably have continued painting for a few more minutes. He didn't really look much like Mickey Mouse.
Emmy wanted to be a lion, and she did an outstanding job. You couldn't even recognize him! Tammy wanted to be a princess, and as she had a Frozen T-shirt on, she got a blue ice-princess ornament painted in her face. She was looking really pretty.
We returned to our table, and again the kids wanted Kasperl to come. Then we heard a conversation between the captain and the people at the dock. They said there was an important-looking guest who should have been on our boat, and the captain asked them to bring him. And so a boat with that person went around our ship once, then docked with us. It was Saint Nicholas who stepped on board and walked to the front, which his big bishop's staff and a big sack filled with gifts. The kids were watching him. He also had an assistant - a lady dressed as an angel. He greeted everyone and asked everyone to shout out their names. Then he asked the all-important question, "Have you all been good?" And everyone shouted, "yes". Then it was time for the gifts.
Every child had a ticket to exchange for a gift. I carried Sammy forward, while the other two were standing by us. This year St. Nicholas didn't pose for a picture with each child. And Emmy wasn't happy, when it was the angel who gave him the gift. But then St. Nicholas bent down to him anyway, and he handed the bags to the other two kids. Then we returned to our table.
After St. Nicholas was done, it was finally time for Kasperl. The kids had already eaten some peanuts from their gift bags, but then I saw that the food was out. It was soup as well as spaghetti with tomato sauce - cheap food. While the kids were watching, and Randy was stuck by the window, I was the one to go to the buffet and get the food. I had to go several times to get soup for everyone, and then plates of spaghetti. However, the spaghetti really weren't good. The kids tried to eat while watching Kasperl, which was a challenge, as they had their backs to the stage while eating. The show itself was pretty nice.
And then it was already over. The kids wanted to eat candy from their bags, which they did. Then Emmy claimed that the bag Tammy had taken was his bag. We had proof that it wasn't, but he didn't believe it and had a fit. He was crying and went on the floor under the table. Nothing I said made a difference. It was sad to see his beautiful face-painting dissolve with the tears. And he kept going for a long time. I then needed to go to the bathroom, and so did Tammy, so we left together. Emmy followed us. He had finally calmed down. After the bathroom, we walked by the face-painters who didn't have any more kids to take care of. I asked Emmy whether he wanted them to fix his face, and he said yes. And so the lady did a good job fixing the worst part, but of course it wasn't quite as nice as before.
We returned to our table, where Sammy had already been crying for us, which he always does, when he's left alone with Daddy. We all sat down again, and the kids were then playing and eating candy. They took napkins and started cleaning the windows so they could see out. Tammy then came over to Sammy, and it was just so cute how she first hugged him, then talked with him and kissed him. They have a really special relationship.
At 12:30 we docked again where we had started. We put their coats back on and were one of the last ones to leave the boat. Then we had that long 20-minute walk ahead of us again. The wind made it colder, but it was okay. When we reached the subway, there was a little ice-skating rink and Christmas market there. There were people on the ice, so went over to check it out. It was small, but decent. The Christmas market was still closed until 3 pm. Then we saw the prices for ice-skating there. They had a big bear board with a hole for your head set up there, and Randy had to lift the kids up to be able to look out. That's how I got this great picture of them.
There was nothing else to do so we headed to the subway. In the morning we had been in an old train, which always upsets Sammy big time and makes him cry for a long time. And so I had promised him we'd wait until a new train comes to go home. The first train that came was an old one, so we let it go. 6 minutes later the next subway came, and it was an old one again, so we stayed put again. The next train was in another 6 minutes. Randy said that we needed to take that train, and I couldn't believe it, when it was also an old train. This time we got on, and Sammy was crying, but I felt terrible that I had not kept my word. It twas unacceptable to myself. So I told Randy that he and the kids could get off and go home, but I was gonna go on a new train with Sammy. We all got off at our subway stop. Emmy decided to stay with us, while Randy and Tammy went home.
The train going back downtown, the way we had come, was the first one to come, so we got on. We had to ride it until the platform was such that we didn't have to take any escalators to go back the other way. After three stops we got off. After we got off, I noticed that the platform to go home was not right there and told Emmy that we needed to get back on the subway. He got on first, then the door started beeping and flashing and closing. I quickly rolled the wheelchair between the closing doors, which made them open up again, so that we could go inside. It was a scary moment, realizing that Emmy could have been in that subway alone, not knowing what to do. I then talked to Emmy and told him what he needed to do should this ever happen. It took me a while to get over this, though.
We got off the next one and waited for the train going home. Thankfully it was also a new one, and Sammy cheered in delight. There was a little boy nearby, about 6 or 7 years old, who asked his Mommy why Sammy had cheered. They kept talking, so I finally told him why. The boy then observed us and interacted with us until we got off.
By 1:40 pm we were back home. Tammy had put a nice dress on and a hairband, and she looked so pretty that I took her picture. The kids then got their tablets and were watching stuff to relax. Soon the tiredness really hit me, so I lay down to take a nap and fell asleep. Eventually Randy took the kids downstairs. I was supposed to have students from 4 to 6 pm, but the first student canceled, which I didn't mind. It allowed me to stay in bed longer. At 5 pm I sat down at the computer for my second student, and she never showed up. She wrote me later that she had fallen asleep, which is why she had missed our lesson. It allowed me to work on the computer instead.
At 6 pm Randy and the kids came upstairs, and I soon warmed up some leftovers, as we hadn't had much of a lunch. At 6:30 pm I went to the kitchen to start making their bread with salami and cut up fruit for them. They had some, then continued eating in the bathtub. After they all had their pj's on, we opened the advent calendars, then I read them a story. They all brushed their teeth after having eaten some chocolates, then I prayed for them and they went to bed. Randy sat down by them, while I went to the kitchen to make myself something to eat. After having eaten, I went back to work. I was so very tired that I went to bed just after midnight without having written my report.
