4 years 5 months 10 days

Day 1623. The boys were up early, and Emmy kept whining that he was hungry. And so we got up early this morning; that had not been my intention on a Sunday morning. At least I slept more last night, waking up with coughing spells less often. After breakfast Randy took the kids downstairs, while I turned my computer on to finish the German translation of our newsletter.

It was before 11 am, when I went to the kitchen to start making stew for lunch. It took me a while, then it sat on the stove simmering. At 12:30 we sat down to eat.

After lunch it was already time for the kids to put their costumes on. It was the first of four events today, where they could wear them. And they were really excited. Tammy is a princess, Emmy a firefighter, and Sammy Micky Mouse. Once we were all done, we left the house just after 1:30 pm.

We took the subway to go to the amusement park, where the event was taking place. It was an outdoor event and supposed to be a parade. The temperatures were not low, but the wind was so extremely strong that it felt cold. We ran after balloons and Emmy's helmet today after they had been blown away by the wind.

When we got off the subway, we could already hear the music and someone speaking. We were heading that way, together with other parents and kids who had gotten of the subway. It was supposed to start at 2 pm, and it was just after. There was already quite a crowd at the main square there. We started walking around and found the balloon station first. Each kid got a balloon with a cord. I tied them on their arms. Then we walked on and saw a bubble machine blowing bubbles into the air. We walked on and found where they had set up a few games, but nothing interesting. The kids wanted their faces painted, so we headed that direction. We found it and lined up with the other people.

We stood there for quite a long time, but it was moving extremely slowly. The parade had already left. Finally we decided to give up and started walking in the direction the parade had taken. There were lots of people everywhere. We walked by lots of rides, and some were open. Some were even kids' rides, but the kids were okay not to ride them. We were heading to the other end of the park, where Kasperl has his home, and then from there, it's not that far to the other subway stop. There are also lots of kids' rides near Kasperl.

We reached the theater at 2:40, and the first show was at 3 pm. There was already a long line that we joined. A few minutes later they opened their doors, we bought the tickets and found ourselves seats in the middle. We hadn't been there in a long time, so the kids were really happy. I had Sammy sitting in my lap, and the other two to my left and right. We still had to wait for more kids to come in. In fact, I've never seen the theater this full before! The show of the day was called "The ice crystal". It started with the crocodile showing up, and even Sammy took notice and laughed. What he enjoyed most was the music, moving his head and arm with the rhythm. They all enjoyed the story/show they were watching. Then we put their coats back on and left.

When we left the theater, we saw that the kids' rides where all closed. They were disappointed, but just a little. We started walking in the direction of the subway, withstanding the cold and the wind. We were glad, when we got there and got on the subway to go home.

Just after 4 pm we were back home. I'd had a bad coughing spell in the theater, drawing people's attentin, as well as on the subway. I was tired, but I still had the French translation of the newsletter to do. Randy and the kids went downstairs, while I turned my computer on.

I wasn't very inspired and was tired and made progress only very slowly. At 5:30 pm Randy and the kids came back upstairs. I then closed my eyes because I couldn't work any more. I had a few coughing spells, then I actually fell asleep. It was Emmy who then came to me and woke me up for something completely trivial. I was not happy. But once 6:30 was approaching, I got up to warm up some leftovers for the kids, and then cut up fruit for them that I took straight to the bathtub for them. They ate in the water, then we got them ready for bed. I read them stories, they brushed their teeth, then I prayed for them. Sammy fell asleep really quickly. Tammy lay down in my bed, and Emmy went to his bed, with Randy sitting down next to him. I went to the kitchen to make my salad, which takes about half an hour. Then I took Tammy to her own bed and sat down to eat. After that, I started working again. Now it's not quite midnight, and my eyes are falling shut, while I'm writing. Time for bed!