4 years 9 months 24 days

Day 1758. The boys were up early again, and then it didn't take long for Tammy to wake up and get up. Randy left with Emmy around 8:30 to take him to kindergarten, while the other two stayed at home with me. Today they broke out even more, and Sammy is worse off than Tammy or than Emmy was. I feel bad for them. They are covered with blisters that itch (chickenpox). It's been going round in Tammy's and Emmy's kindergarten, and Tammy and Sammy got it from their brother. There's a good chance that Sammy passed it on to the kids in his kindergarten last week.

A while after Randy had returned from kindergarten and a run to the grocery store, he took the kids downstairs, while I stayed upstairs to have more quiet to work. They returned upstairs at noon. As they'd had a snack late, we had lunch later than usual, at about 12:30 pm. Randy and Emmy returned after 1:30 pm, later than expected. Randy had lunch and a break, then he went downstairs with them just before I started teaching at 2:30 pm. I stayed upstairs to teach because of the better internet connection and less noise.

Originally, Randy was going to take Emmy to their make-up piano lesson this afternoon. Tammy wanted to go really bad as well, but there was no way. Then Emmy wanted me to go with him, and as I was curious to see how the other teacher was teaching the same class, I agreed. However, I did not expect Tammy to be so very upset about me not staying with her and Sammy. I told her that I was going to be home with them tomorrow, when Emmy was going to their exercise class, but that was no comfort to her. When I'd say that I'm staying and Randy going with Emmy, it was Emmy who had a fit, crying for me to go with him. So the decision was made for me to go. After I was done teaching, Emmy and I got ready, and I had to listen to Tammy having a fit, crying and screaming because she wanted me to stay home. Randy tried to calm her down, but he only succeeded after we were gone. 

At 3:30 pm Emmy and I left with our scooters so we'd be faster. We took the subway, then rode our scooters to the music school, where we arrived 5 minutes before the class was to start. There were only few people there. It's much more crowded on Saturday, when the kids have their regular class. Emmy briefly played with the cubes, but then it was time to go into the room.

There were only two other students, both girls, in that class. I believe they've already had one make-up class with this teacher before, but Randy had gone with them. And so I was curious to see how he was doing the class, compared with our kids' teacher, and I was really impressed. He was probably less funny, but he taught them a lot more. I couldn't believe how much more he asked of them to do on the piano, as well as on the board, and in terms of names in music theory. And he was even saying the class was more relaxed because it was the last session of the year!

That's why he got a bubble machine out to start with. He played the piano with one hand, while holding it with another hand, and asked them to pop as many bubbles as possible, while he was singing. They were enjoying that.

Then they sat down at their pianos, and he asked them one by one to come forward and play a song. Emmy played the song he'd done at the concert on Sunday. Then all the kids opened their books to a new song, and he had them play it. It was harder than what Emmy is used to, and I helped him as much as I could. The teacher also did some warm-up exercises for their fingers that they've never done before in their own class. And he had them jump from one note to another one not next to it, which was new to them as well. Quite challenging. And they had never put colored stickers on their piano keys, which made it EVEN MORE challenging.

Then they went up front, and they drew the notes on the board. He also reviewed the different notes in terms of length.

Then it was singing time. He did one song with them that they had done at the concert, and another one. He even did some voice exercises with them!

Then he got his violine out. He's actually also the violine teacher at that music school. He reviewed all the string instruments with them and showed them what you can do with a violine. And then it was finally story time, which always comes at the end. Emmy got his sticker, and even though it was not his last class, he also got to pick a gift out of the treasure box. He chose a party trumpet, where the paper extends, when you blow into it, and was very happy about his choice. He'd soon torn the paper, which made the trumpet louder, which is actually what he wanted and made him happy.

We left and rode back to the subway and then home. Randy (Sammy) called while we were on the subway. We got home pretty early, around 5:20 pm. Everyone was happy to see us. They were hungry, so I soon warmed up some leftover lasagna, then cut up fruit for them for dinner. After the bathtub, I had to put lots of white lotion on Tammy and Sammy. I guess it dries out the blisters and reduces the itch. Sammy was pretty much completely covered with it. Both of them had more blisters than in the morning, but I think they've about reached the turning point.