Day 717. Last night I headed to bed at 12:15 am. And it was a rough night. Tammy came to me at 3:30 am. I walked her back to her bed, and she continued sleeping. At 4:30 am Emmy came to me, and I walked him back to his bed, but he returned, so I walked him back a second time, and he came again. I was too tired for this. Randy goes to bed earlier than me, and he agreed to sit in the chair by Emmy's bed until he's asleep again. And he did. I don't know what time it was when Emmy returned in the morning, but we all sat down for breakfast before 7 am. After breakfast, we stayed upstairs and got ready to leave at 8:15. I was so tired I tried to lie down for a few minutes here and there, but wasn't very successful.
Just as we went out the door on time, the single stroller suddenly fell apart, with Tammy in it. I got her out and moved the stroller back inside. I got the tricycle instead and put Tammy on it, and we left. We just about made our bus. We got to the dance studio on time.
We sat down on the mattress and waited as we were a few minutes early. Emmy was playing with a snake. Then the teacher started with the greeting song, where each child stands up when their name is called and turns around one time. Next she did a few songs, where the kids sit on our legs and we move our legs. She had Sammy on her legs, allowing us to have the other two. Then she brought out the drums, and Emmy's face lit up. She also had the huge drum in the middle, and Tammy was the first one to walk up to it, hit it hard, and quickly run back to her seat. She did it a few times, and Emmy did it once as well. They enjoyed hitting their drums.
Then we did a few songs, where we walk in a circle, moving different ways according to the words of the song. Emmy is now really stomping his feet, when that part comes up. They were both on the floor participating. Then it was time for bubbles. She put a bubbles song on, and every adult had a bottle and started blowing them. Today our three just sat there watching, not chasing any.
Then it was playtime. They could get out of the closets any toys they wanted, and they went for it and had lots of fun. Tammy found two dolls and put one in the stroller that she pushed around the room. She always has to have more than one doll. Emmy found a crane on a vehicle and pulled it around the room. They also all sat on cars or motorcycles and enjoyed moving around. The teacher hat brought out a Pikler climbing element, and Tammy was the first one on it. When she got to the top, she asked me for help. I know she could have done it by herself, but gave her my hand. When Emmy went up a little later, he did it all by himself.
Then it was snack time, and Emmy was the first one sitting down. They ate quite a bit, with Tammy eating all the ham and cheese off the bread and not the bread. She also surprised me when she was eating grapes, as she had not liked them at home. One of the other kids got choked bad and was crying hard for some time. Our kids are very empathetic and kept looking at the boy with concern, saying "aua" (ouch). Even once the boy was long over it and happy again, Tammy was still pointing at him saying "aua".
They had some more time to play before it was time for the last few songs/dances. Randy ended up with Tammy and Emmy who were both walking, and so I ended up making a video but some parents don't want their kids' faces on Facebook so I can't upload it. After the goodbye song, everyone was waving at each other, and then we left, put our shoes on, and walked back to the bus stop. Once we get off the bus, it's still a little bit of a walk home. Sammy as in danger of falling asleep, but we kept him awake. We got home just before 11:30.
I had put a chicken into the oven before leaving, and quickly warmed up the last two of those specific baby food jars, and so it wasn't long until we sat down to eat. They got some icecream after the main dish, but Tammy did not want it today, and so Emmy ate it. Then I cleaned them up and dressed them and put all three to bed at the same time. It was a little later than usual. They were all tired, but Tammy was so tired she wanted her Daddy, and so Randy sat down on the chair by their beds, and soon they were all asleep. I moved Tammy to her bed, but Randy stayed anyway and continued sleeping, while I was cleaning up. Then I turned my computer on to work, but I was very tired. Randy finally got up to get himself something to eat, and was still eating, when Emmy woke up. I had only just closed my eyes because I was too tired to go on. I got Emmy, who didn't stay with me long, but walked over to Daddy. Randy went downstairs with him, and a few minutes later I took Sammy downstairs as well. The boys hadn't slept very long. And Tammy also woke up earlier than usual, and I took her downstairs as well, and returned upstairs to work.
At 2:30 I called them upstairs to eat, as I heard quite a bit of crying. I cut up some fruit, got out the peanut butter and cereal with fruit jars, and went on the balcony. After everyone was done eating, they went back downstairs, where they stayed with Randy, while I was hoping to get a bit more office work done. However, I still hadn't had a chance to take a nap. I was planning on going downstairs at 4:45 pm. At 4:30 I finally closed my eyes. Ten minutes later Randy burst in with Emmy, shouting that he was hurt. There was just a little bit of blood, but he wasn't even crying any more. But it was time anyway, and so I went downstairs with him to stay with them. I was very tired, ten minutes having been way too little.
I got these flutes, where the paper rolls out when you blow into them, and we had some out at snack time already, and I took some downstairs later too. They enjoy them, but tear them apart quickly. Emmy wanted to look at a photo book, and so I got the new July book out. Then he wanted the table down, then the chairs, and then paper and crayons, and so we sat down to do some drawing. Then We were watching animal videos on my phone for a few minutes, before it was time for me to leave. They were tired, cranky, and especially Emmy very upset when I stopped the video. I tried to comfort him, but could not, and had a hard time leaving without him following me. Thankfully he stopped crying after a while. I can hear everything while making their food in the kitchen.
At 6 pm I called them upstairs to eat. Tammy threw a fit and didn't want to eat anything, while Emmy did a good job. I had to get her out of the chair, and then she sat in my lap, lying on my chest. After she had calmed down, she at least ate some soup. Once they were both done I combined their leftovers onto one plate and took it to the bathroom. Then I always go to the bathroom with Emmy first and put him on a potty, as he often poops into the water. It's still too early to use a potty, but we still do it. Then I put him into the water, and then get Tammy to put her in. All three had fun in the water, and Tammy finally ate while playing. Sammy finished all his food, but not the other two. Randy then brought Sammy's special high-calorie drink, but his siblings wanted it really bad, and they drank most of it. Then they all came out and went to bed. I sat down with them, and Emmy would not let me walk away. He was pretty tired and fell asleep rather fast. Thankfully the girl let me walk away, when I did. I was able to get my food done and eat, and then continued working. I still have to clean the dining room, but hope to make it to bed at a decent time.
