Day 1128. This morning I had to set my alarm for 8 am. It was hard getting up. After breakfast we dressed them and left the house at 9:10 to take the 9:20 train. When we got off the train and walked to the tram stop, they saw the chestnut stand and wanted some. However, it was too early in the day; they were not ready. And Emmy threw a fit because he wanted them so bad. I alway have a store-bought bag with me that we then opened to eat.
We got on the tram, and when we got off, it was raining. We walked to the swimming pool in the rain and took the elevator up. We got there before 10 am, and the class starts at 10:20. We all changed into our swim suits and walked down the stairs to where the pool and the class was. The previous class wasn't over yet, and so they sat down on the side of the pool to watch and wait. Once it was over, we just slid into the water right there. Last week there was only one other kid there, today there were 3 more, bringing the total to 7 children. Two of the kids were twins.
Emmy wanted to go swim into the deep right away, before he had any swim rings on, and I had to stop him. With the swim rings they can move around freely, without any help, and did so without any problems. After a while the teacher told us to take one of the three rings off, and then another one. With only one ring on each arm they were having a really hard time, especially as it was already towards the end of the class and they were tired. The teacher had them lie on their backs today, which is something they could not stand, when they were 1-2 years old. I was very surprised to actually see them lie on their backs in the water and not have a problem with it.
40 minutes is pretty long for the class, but I still think it's better than the 30 a lot of classes are. We got out of the water, showered, and went upstairs to the cabins to change back into our clothes. Obviously it takes time with three kids. Tammy and Emmy both had really red cheeks from all the effort in the hot water. Finally we were done and walked to the elevator. However, that small elevator is in big demand, and so I walked down with the kids, while Randy first carried one stroller downstairs, and then the other. That way we were able to leave without waiting forever.
It was still raining. I had promised them we'd have lunch at McDonald's, and that's where we were heading. There was one right there. They sat down at a table, while I went to order the food and bring it to the table. Today Emmy ate a whole cheeseburger patty with cheese (without bread) by himself, while Tammy still refuses to eat the meat. And they still don't have any decent toys. We were having a fun time. When it was time to leave, the kids asked for balloons, but that McDonald's didn't have any.
We left to walk to the subway stop. Just as we were about to turn towards the elevator, the kids spotted a caroussel. I wouldn't have noticed it. We walked up to it and bought 4 rides, as the kids implored us to let them ride. Emmy got into the firetruck. He's been playing being a firefighter a lot. Tammy got into a jeep, and Sammy into the batmobil. Then the ride started. We only had one ride left, so we kept it for next week. It was time to go home.
We got onto the subway, where the kids were watching videos, and they did so all the way home. We had to take two subways and were home by 12:50. It was time to go to bed. By 1 pm they were in bed, and I sat down by them. The boys were asleep fast, as for Tammy, she was not quite asleep yet, when I walked away. I myself went straight to bed, knowing I really needed that sleep to keep going.
It was Emmy who was up first, as usual, then his brother, and soon his sister as well. They could still have gone downstairs with Randy, but didn't. I was obviously up too, as a result, and turned my computer on so I could prepare my 8 pm lesson. Just before 3:15 pm we left the house.
We took the subway, and then the bus. Thankfully it was not raining any more. We had left the house a little early, and so we got to the dancing school earlier than usual. We were the first ones there. At 4 pm the substitute teacher started the class. She had done it once before two weeks ago. There were a few other kids there. Having swimming and dance on the same day is really too much for our kids. They were pretty tired, especially Tammy, who did not participate much. But some of the other kids were also not very motivated. You could tell that the teacher was getting frustrated with them, and once gave them a big speech about everything that was not allowed, after Emmy had pushed the chair across the dance floor only minutes after she had told another child not to do so. In fact, she was so frustrated she did the good-bye song 5 minutes early and left the room, putting music on for us to be on our own the last five minutes. It's a good thing the regular teacher is back next week.
Because of Emmy's crankiness, he ended up on my shoulders once, where he had lots of fun, and then Tammy got to be up there as well. I had Sammy most of the class, though. Because of the kids' lack of motivation, the teacher even asked THEM what song they wanted to do, and then she did "head, shoulders, knees and toes" just for Sammy, who really loves that song right now. She did another song with body parts, and Sammy did a great job pointing to the body parts just like his siblings were doing.
One time, Tammy went to the entrance and lay down on the floor in front of it, and Emmy lay down right next to her. That's how tired they were! The class wasn't over yet at that point, and Randy walked over to them to get them off the floor.
Once the class was over, we put their shoes back on and left. We started walking to the bus stop, but first went into the grocery store. We had a few items on the list. I was once again shocked at how empty the shelves were, but this time the reason was that they were remodeling the store and closing it for a few days, and so they were trying to empty it all out. We didn't get everything on our list, but got more than was on our list. The kids had a kid cart each, which they loved, and they put the items into their carts. We checked out and put it all into the strollers, then walked to the bus stop. We got on the bus, where they were watching videos again. Then we got on the subway, where they continued. By 6 pm we were back home.
Just in time for me to start making their dinner. Randy had bought some bubbles real cheap, and the kids wanted to blow them on the balcony, and so they went outside, while I was in the kitchen. At 6:30 we sat down at the table to eat, then they continued in the bathtub. By 7:30 they were all in bed, and I sat down by them. At 7:45 I had to leave, and Randy took my place. They weren't very happy. I took my computer and went downstairs to get ready for my 8 pm class. I taught business English until just before 9 pm, then prepared my 10 am class tomorrow. It was 9:30 before I went upstairs to get something to eat. By the time I was done eating and started working on today's pictures, it was already late. And as I started late with it all, it's now 1:20. Thank God I've already cleaned up the kitchen and can go straight to bed.
