5 years 2 months 26 days

Day 1913. I got the kids ready for kindergarten, then Randy left with them to take them there, and I was able to lie back down, as I had no commitments. On the way to kindergarten they ran into someone from church, and Randy took their picture.

I got up at 10:30 and started working. After 11 I went to the kitchen to start making lunch. Then I got the documents together that I needed in the afternoon. Randy left at noon to go pick up Sammy and came home with him 45 minutes later. We all ate, then Sammy played, and I did some more work.

At 2 pm we left the house together and took two busses to go to Tammy's and Emmy's kindergarten. It was the first time they were there until nearly 3 pm. They both said they preferred getting picked up earlier. But today was a special day which was the reason for skipping exercise class. We had an appointment to come to their school which is in the same building as the kindergarten. And so they could keep their house shoes on, and we just walked over to the school part of the building.

It's a small school, with only four classes, but it's one of only three Christian (evangelical) schools. I was very relieved when they were accepted after having been on the waiting list. Today the director had invited half the parents with their children to come for enrollment.

We gathered in the classroom that is going to be their classroom next year. It has a cage with mice, and so the kids went straight there to watch them. Those mice will be theirs, when they start school next year. And we also found out today that the school is getting a dog then as well - for all the grades.

The director, a young lady who attends a Baptist church with long-time friends of ours, talked briefly and introduced the lady who is going to be our kids' teacher (in white on the left). She looked very nice, but I heard later from Randy and the kids that she seems rather strict. She took the children downstairs to play, while the parents stayed for the paper work. Randy went with them with Sammy. The teacher had some crafts and paper and crayons, but Emmy doesn't care for that and preferred playing soccer, which she didn't want.

Us parents upstairs, we had a stack of papers, forms, to fill out. In my case twice, one stack for each kid. That took us the whole time until 3:45 pm, when the meeting ended. We had a chance to ask questions, but there weren't many. We have another appointment in February, when they're going to evaluate the kids to see whether they're ready for school, and then another day in May, when they get to spend a few hours at the school there, together with the 4th-graders.

At 3:45 pm we left the school and walked to the tram stop. Randy wanted to stop at the toy store on the way home so the kids could walk through and we could see what they like to inspire us for Christmas. I was able to move my 5 pm student to tomorrow which made it possible for us to do this.

We rode the tram for one stop, then got off and went inside the big store. I had never even heard of that store before. We then walked through all the aisles, from one to the next, and the kids had lots of stuff to look at. It took us all quite some time. When we left (we did buy one ball), Sammy was crying as he had liked the Peppa Pig cuddly family so much and wanted to take it home. We walked to the bus stop, and I was able to distract him and get him laughing again.

The bus took us straight home, after a little walk, where we arrived around 5:40 pm. I went straight to the kitchen to start making their dinner. After having eaten, they went into the bathtub, then we got them ready for bed. But tonight Emmy just couldn't fall asleep. He came crying to me, saying his feet were hurting, and fell asleep lying next to me in my bed. Thankfully I had finished eating. Randy then carried him to his bed, but later he came back, crying again, and fell asleep next to me again.  It's 1 am now, and a few minutes ago Tammy came and asked whether she could lie down in my bed. So they're both in my bed now, and it's time for me to join them.