Day 1629. Tammy now sleeps most of the night between us in our bed. Last night she was really restless, moving all the time, and then Emmy came and left a few times as well. As as result I was awake way too much after having gone to bed late. And so I was really tired this morning. Randy got up at some point to make breakfast for the kids, while I had set my alarm for 8:30, as I was teaching at 9 am. It was hard getting up, and I was still very tired, when I started teaching. I then taught for two hours, while Randy and the kids were downstairs, where they were playing. After I was done, they came upstairs and Randy went to the grocery store. He had about an hour, as the food delivery was supposed to arrive by noon at the earliest. And they were very ponctual. As Randy wasn't back yet, we waited for him. Then we unpacked it all and put it on the table that I had put a birthday tablecloth on. Spareribs, wings, chicken nuggets and pizza. Everyone got to eat what he liked.
Then I got the cake out, put candles on it, and carried it to the table. We sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY (again), then Randy blew out the candles. It was time for the gifts. The kids had made drawings for him, and he opened the box that was from me. I got him ice-skating shoes, so that all of us now have shoes and can go ice-skating together. Then everyone had some cake.
There was not much time to rest after lunch. Randy closed his eyes for a little bit, while the kids were on their tablets. Then I got them ready to leave, putting their costumes on them. At 2:15 we left the house together. We got on the subway, then had to take a bus. We had just missed one and had to wait nearly 10 minutes for the next one. Still, we got to the dancing school right on time.
The kids had gone to a weekly dance class there all of 2022, but we hadn't been back sinde. However, I still get their emails, and when I saw the info about the party, I decided it would be nice to go, as there was no other party today that we knew of. After we showed our tickets, we found out that they actually had an elevator that Randy and Sammy could ride up on. I walked up the stairs with the other two. There were already a lot of people and children there, in the big dance hall. They had set up tables, but we didn't have any seats as those were an additional expense.
We then saw the face-painting station and stayed there, lining up patiently so that our kids could have their faces painted. It took a while, and one of the dance teachers tried to get us to come to the room, as they wanted the kids to participate in the games there. We still stayed. And then it was our turn. Sammy went first, and she painted Mickey ears and a nose on his face. He had no issue with it at all and did great. Tammy came next, and she wanted to look more like a princess. Emmy came last. What do you paint on a fireman's face? She said she couldn't do a firetruck, so she ended up painting fire.
Then we went inside the dance hall, where the teachers were already doing children's songs/dances with them. A few kids were really participating all the time. Our kids were not that interested. They participated in some, and later it was only Tammy who joined the dance. They did participate in the games, though, like musical chairs with little carpets, or the freeze game.
Halfway through the two-hour program they had a break, where each kid could go pick up a traditional Austrian donut filled with apricot jam. As we didn't have a table, Randy and the boys sat down on the ground, while Tammy was with me on a little bench. They ate some of their donuts, and Randy the rest, as only kids had received one, just as only kids had had to buy a ticket for the party.
Then the program continued with more songs/dances. Our kids preferred playing with the balloons. Sammy was cranky, whenever he was with Daddy, as he wanted to be with me, and so I was playing with him, making him laugh and have fun. We ended up right outside the dance hall and had fun there, together with Emmy who had joined us. Tammy then came as well, and then one of the teachers sat down with the kids. We didn't know her from our time there, but she showed real interest in Sammy. She was playing with him and talking to him until the end at 5 pm. Then we went to the locker room to put our shoes and coats back on and left to go home.
Emmy was extremely tired and could have fallen asleep on the bus. By 5:45 pm we were back home. I was not only tired, but also hungry and thirsty, and made the soup I eat every night right away. I also got some food for the kids, and cut up more fruit for them after having finished my soup. They then ate some more in the bathtub, and we got them ready for bed. We continued our nightly routine with Bible stories, praying for them and brushing their teeth. Then Tammy lay down in my bed, while I went to the kitchen to make my salad. When I was done and took her to her own bed, she hadn't been asleep as long as normally, so she woke up and wasn't too happy. I hadn't finished eating my salad, when she already showed up to lie down next to me in bed again. She ended up lying down on the bottom of the bed, where there was room, and is still sleeping there. It's now exactly midnight, and my eyes won't stay open any more. It's time to go to bed. Tomorrow we have to get up early again.
