Day 1560. Sammy was up early, the other two slept a little longer. At 8 am we got up, when the alarm went off, and the kids were eager to open all their advent calendars.
Just after 9 am we left the house together to catch the 9:20 train. It was just below freezing, but it had stopped snowing and the sun was coming out. After we got off the train, we had a really long wait time for the tram, so that the swim class had already started, when we joined them in the water. There was lots of diving today, which the kids enjoy. They seem to be the oldest and the most advanced in this group of kids. After half an hour the class was over, and our kids put their own swim rings on. Tammy wanted only one on each arm, Emmy had two, and Sammy three. Sammy was a little cold, but we were all having fun playing in the water, with me chasing them. After a while we went to the baby pool, where the water is much warmer, and the kids were enjoying it for some time. Then we showered, went to the changing rooms, got dressed and left to take the tram for 4 stops to go to McDonald's for lunch.
We walked to the tram stop and had just missed a tram, which meant once again that we had to wait for a really long time, about 15 minutes, just like in the morning. Tammy was whining that her hands were cold as she was the only kid without gloves today; we had been in a real rush to get out of the house in time. We finally got on the tram, rode it for 1 stop, and then the driver told us there had been an accident, and we all needed to get off. Just great! In the cold, we walked the one stop to the train station and then got on the subway to ride it for one stop to go to McDonald's. That gave us the chance to warm up a little bit.
And so it was already 12:15 by the time we got to McDonald's, much later than usual, which was obvious by how full the place was. After we had ordered, we did find an available table that worked well for us. Everyone was really hungry and happy, when we got the food, and we had a great time together. Then we took the tram back to the train station, where we were lucky to only have to wait a few minutes.
By 1:15 pm we were back home. The kids got their electronic devices to watch stuff, and I soon got so tired that I decided to lie down for a nap. Eventually Randy took the kids downstairs to play. And it was Emmy who woke me up, when he came back upstairs and wanted something from me. It was 3:45 pm by that time. I had already said, when we got home that I doubted we'd make it to church tonight. Yesterday had been a long day, and then today, and i was just exhausted. And so we stayed home for some much-needed rest. Emmy went back downstairs, and I enjoyed some quiet until 5:30 pm, doing some basic work that I consider relaxing. Then the quiet was over, when the kids came back upstairs. At 6:30 I went to the kitchen, warmed up some leftovers for the kids that I gave them, and made some bread with salami and cut up fruit for them. Sammy was in the kitchen with me and having fun with me. After having eaten, they went into the bathtub, where they continued eating and having fun. Then we opened the chocolate advent calendars, I read them a story, they brushed their teeth, I prayed for them and put them to bed. Randy had finished eating, so he sat down with the kids; Sammy was already asleep. I went to the kitchen to get myself something to eat, and after having eaten, I went back to work. Hopefully it won't be too late before I make it to bed.
