5 years 27 days

Day 1853. Yesterday I taught in the morning, then I made sure we both got something to eat before leaving the house. I left just after noon to go pick up Sammy from kindergarten. When I got there, the main teacher told me he was off walking around the kindergarten. Someone left to let him and the teacher with him know that I had arrived, and soon I saw him walking towards me with his walker. He was beaming from ear to ear, when he saw me, and I filmed Sammy walking so well. It's a shame that the walker we have at home doesn't work for Sammy, as this one sure works well.

By 12:45 we were back home. Randy had left just before 12:30 to go pick up the other two and take them to their tennis class. I used to be the one doing so but as Sammy just cries and cries, while waiting for us at home, we have now switched roles. They had their tennis class from 2 to 3 pm, and by 4 pm they were back home.

Sammy and I had a good time together, and he never cried. He did want to call Daddy, which we did. But I also got to do some work, while spending much time playing with him or helping him or letting him watch our home videos on my computer.

Once Randy and the kids returned home at 4 pm, I started teaching and did two students, teaching until 6 pm. Then I made their food, starting our evening routine.

Today was a very long day, and the first regular Saturday of this semester. The boys were up early, and Tammy (who sleeps in our bed every night) was woken up by them just before 8 am. Randy made breakfast for them, as usual, and I got up, when my alarm went off at 9:30. I was very tired and didn't really want to get up, but I did to make sure everyone was ready to leave the house.

We left at 10 am and took the subway downtown, then walked to their music school. It was a warm and sunny day. We got there a few minutes before the class was to start and went into the classroom. Soon the class was full, but it was 5 minutes after starting time and there was no teacher. Then the founder and director of the school came in and let us know the teacher was out of town and that she was substituting. I took the opportunity to ask what had happened to their previous teacher who'd said she'd continue teaching our children. She told us that the lady had quit to focus on her studies. What a shame.

Well, as the founder of the school and author of their curriculum and method, I thought she did an amazing job as their teacher. She was also the first teacher to address the parents and give them some pointers for how to have the kids practice at home.

As every other teacher, she started with the greeting song, but she had the kids sit on the floor in the front and made them sing. Emmy was the loudest singer and did a great job. The teacher actually praised him several times. Then she had them sit at their pianos before they came back to the front. In fact, they went back and forth between the front and their pianos a lot. She reviewed the piano keys and the length of notes, and she had them play the right notes with the right fingers. They even did something new - whether intentional or not - when they played the black keys for the first time.

Last week, Emmy had lacked concentration and participation, while Tammy was amazing. Today it was somewhat the opposite. I had taken Emmy's soccer shirt away last week and told him he'd get it back if he did well today. He was concentrated and participated and did really well. I was very impressed. Today it was Tammy who was not very motivated and whining.

The teacher also taught them a new song with actions. Again, Emmy did really well. Then the class was over - after the good-bye song. Tammy was disappointed that there was no story for the second week in a row. They received a homework assignment book where we have to record how many minutes they practice. They then get stamps and get a gift at the end of the semester depending on how many stamps they have.

Sammy had done very well during the class. He was with Randy, when the kids were at their pianos, and with me, when they were in the front. I let him look at pictures on my phone which he enjoys. Towards the end he was getting a little impatient and wanted the class to be over. After the good-bye song, the kids got their stickers for the week, then we left the music school.

We walked back to the subway, but got on the other line and rode it only for one stop, then switched to yet another line. We rode that line for quite some time, much to Sammy's delight. After we got off, we walked to the McDonald's there. It was just after noon, which was perfect. We used to go to that McDonald's, when they'd had their swim class right there two years ago or so. I was glad that it was not packed and that we found a table easily. We had a good time eating and left earlier than necessary at about 12:50 pm.

We crossed the street and walked to the swimming pool. Two years ago the kids had had their class there in the small, hot pool in the sauna. Now that they are big kids, it was gonna be in the main pool. It was their first class after the summer, and the first class with a new teacher.

We walked in and went to where you pay. We had never been in this pool before, so we didn't know anything. We paid, and the lady told us that they had a separate entrance for wheelchairs. She told us where to go and that she was gonna tell someone there that we were coming. We left the building again and walked around the building to where that other entrance was. We rang the bell, and a man opened the door for us. The wheelchair changing rooms were right there, and we were the only ones there. We put our swimsuits in and locked our clothes up. The door to the pool was right there as well. We left the wheelchair in the changing room and walked through the door to the pool area. How convenient! I could see staircases everywhere and several levels. Thank God we didn't have to conquer all that.

It was a huge, old-fashioned hall with only one but very big pool. There was also a small kid-pool at the end of it. We started walking in the direction of where we saw a bunch of kids and swim tools lying around. A lady immediately approached us and asked us not to take the kids to the kid-pool before the class because the water was so much warmer in there. We still had 15 minutes until their class was to start. She gave me a sheet, where I had to write their names down and sign. She turned out to be the founder and director of the swim school. After the class we talked a little before we left.

We first sat down by the pool and watched, then I suggested to the kids to sit on the side of the pool and put their legs into the water, which they did. The water was pretty cold. Especially Sammy was impatient for the class to start.

And then it did. The teacher introduced herself and asked all the kids' names. Then we went into the water. It was really cold. She also started the class with a greeting song; she took Tammy right away for that, as we were two adults with three children. It was a new song. Then she gave all the kids swim rings. Tammy took one on each arm, Emmy wanted two even though he's also alright with one, and Sammy got three each. Then she poured balls into the water, and they had to grab them and take them back to the bowl on the side of the pool. She wanted to see how everyone was doing swimming. Then she had them swing in a certain spot and watched them individually, then she had them swim on their backs and watched them. I had told her about Sammy and what he could and couldn't do. Soon both Sammy and Emmy were freezing cold and didn't want to particpate anymore. But when she asked the kids to jump into the water, Emmy definitely wanted to do that and did it quite a few times. And then the class was already over, and she did the same good-bye song they've always done. She had Tammy again for that.

We left the pool and went straight to the kids' pool, where the water was so very warm and pleasant. Still, Sammy's lip was still quivering for a while before it stopped. We then had lots of fun together in that kid pool that was actually quite a good size, and there were lots of kids in it.

After a while we were all getting red eyes, and the first kid wanted to leave. Randy had wanted to leave much earlier already, but then we actually did. We walked back to our private changing room, and after having been dressed, the kids enjoyed the hot air coming out of the hairdryer on the wall. Then we left.

There was a playground right there, and so the kids asked to go there. Randy was very tired and didn't really want to, but we went there. The kids were having lots of fun. I put Sammy in the swing and let him go high, while Emmy wanted to climb to the top of this thing and have me watch him. He then surprised me more in how fast he went down, sometimes just swinging off the ropes. They did a few things, then we left to go home, even though they would have wanted to stay longer.

Walking down the road to the subway, there was water coming out of a wall that they immediately were attracted to and enjoyed playing with briefly. Then we continued on to the subway and took two subways to get home.

It was exactly 4 pm by the time we were back home. It's gonna be a challenge in the future to go to the 5 pm service on Saturday. I was really tired and just wanted to get some rest like Randy who sat down in a chair and rested. But the kids were adamant that they wanted to do the experiments that had come in the mail. I felt up to it, so I gave in.

We opened the box and pulled out the three bags with an experiment each. They were water experiments. Each bag contained detailed instructions with pictures, some items needed, and a list of what was needed that we have at home. I have to say, I was very impressed and wholeheartedly recommend this company that wants to make science appealing to kids. The kids helped me and loved each one of the experiments. There'll be more boxes coming in the mail.

After we were done, I finally had some time to myself. I sat down on my bed with my computer and went to work finalizing their schedule. I had waited to find out when their new tennis class was going to be, and they had told me today. That allowed me to choose when they could do the other classes, and unfortunately it eliminated one class altogether because of the time clash. However, I was happy with their final schedule. The only downside was that there was not one day of the week without a class. Tammy has two classes she does alone, while Emmy also has two classes he does alone. The others they do together.

While I was working on all that, Sammy came to me instead of playing by himself or watching his tablet. He climbed up on bed with me and stayed for a while. When Emmy was saying he was hungry, I got up and started making their dinner, which started our evening routine. Now it's going on 1 am, and I have yet to take care of the kitchen before going to bed.