3 years 2 months 21 days

Day 1177. After a short night, the alarm woke us up at 8 am. Of course the kids were already up, thanks to Emmy. After breakfast we dressed them and left just after 9 am.

After a four-week break it was finally time to go to their swim class again. Holidays and construction had kept us away. We took the train and then the tram to get there. The kids were really cranky today and unruly and were making a lot of noise on the tram, not happy about this and that. I heard old people around us complain and talk about today's way of raising your kids. We did everything we could but were not very successful. I was glad, when we got off the tram.

We walked to the building and took the elevator up a floor to get to the area, where the class was taking place. We all changed, then walked downstairs to the pool. The previous class was still going on, so we sat down on the side of the pool, dangling our legs in the water. The kids were eager to get in.

Finally the previous class was over, and we went in. Sammy had already been playing with a ball. After the greeting song, they got swim rings for their arms, Tammy and Emmy two on each arm, and Sammy three. Then they had to swim through a tunnel. All three did great. Sammy did greater than I had ever seen him do, his mouth not going under water at all. Then they got a ball they had to push through the tunnel. Then she had them stand on the bench and throw the ball, and then go after it into the water. She also had them dive today. She gave them rings that we put on the bench they were standing on, and then they had to pick them up, and to do so, they had to dive. Sammy loves diving, and I helped him. Tammy and Emmy tried to avoid going under, but it was the only way they could do it. The teacher put goggles on Tammy, but it was a disaster. After that Emmy wouldn't even try them.

They were most excited, when she got the slide out. They were walking out of the water to go slide down, and they went up there again and again. All three loved it. The 50 minute class went by really fast. We did our final song, with Tammy being held by the teacher for it. Then it was time to leave the water. As we walked up the stairs, the teacher said to me that our kids were so very well-behaved, doing everything we're telling them. I chuckled thinking of our tram ride this morning, and told her that that is not always the case.

We showered and changed back into our street clothes. We always go to the McDonald's right there after swimming, but Randy discovered that in the hurry to leave the house he had forgotten to bring his wallet. We had no money on us, just a few coins that he had in his pocket. What were we gonna do? There was no way to pay electronically there. We had no choice but to go home. I ended up using my food delivery app to order from McDonald's to be delivered to our home. Of course they were hungry, and so they had quite a lot of snacks on the way home.

Right at the subway entrance, there is a carrousel that they've been going on, when we go by there. As you buy 4 tickets at the time, we had collected 3 tickets. However, I only had 2, as Randy had the third one at home. He found enough coins in his pockets so that we could buy 4 more rides so that Sammy could also ride. Tammy and Emmy went into the teacup today - for the first time - and just loved it, laughing the whole time they were going round and round. Sammy was in the jeep today. Tammy and Emmy were resisting and crying, when it was over and I pulled them away. They wanted to keep going. I told them next week.

We got on the subway, and to avoid another crying and shouting match, I let them watch videos on the way home, where we arrived at 12:15. The food was supposed to arrive at any moment, but it was after 12:30, before it actually arrived. They were really excited, especially that they got three different smurfs and didn't have any of those yet. However, they didn't eat as much as usual, after the snacks they had already had. They did all have icecream.

We were still at the table, when Christine arrived just before 1 pm. We pay a minimal fee for her services, and she'll be here probably twice a week for a few weeks. Today was her second day with us, for this year, as she first came a few months after the kids were born. And so they hit it off with her right away again. They were excited to see her, and she joined us at the table. She then helped getting one of them cleaned up, but then started cleaning the dining room. I put the kids to bed at 1:15. They were not happy, wanting to play with Christine, but I told them to sleep quickly so they could go play with her sooner rather than later. Once they were asleep, I left their side. Christine was cleaning the kitchen, and then she made a mushroom sauce for us before going downstairs. I turned my computer on to get ready for my afternoon lessons. Then I turned on a 22 minute timer and closed my eyes. After ten minutes I was still awake, as I heard Randy return from the grocery store. But then I must have fallen asleep, as the alarm woke me at 2:45.

I got up to get ready for my 3 pm class. Randy and I were talking softly, but then Emmy walked up to us. He was eager to go downstairs to play with Christine. Then Sammy woke up, and Randy took him downstairs. At 3 pm I started teaching, and me talking probably woke Tammy up who then also went downstairs. I had to teach until 5 pm, which I could only do thanks to Christine being here, since Tammy and Emmy just started a piano class last week, and it started at 5 pm. Randy left with them just before 4:30. First it was noisy, while I was teaching, and then it was quiet. I finished teaching just before 5 pm and started doing tidying up to do some physical stuff and rest my brain. Christine and Sammy were downstairs, and Sammy heard me, so he wanted to come upstairs. And so it wasn't long until they came upstairs. They were watching me work, while I got the chance to catch up with Christine. I held Sammy a few times, who was in a good mood, but asking for Daddy ever so often. Christine had to leave at 6 pm, and then I put Sammy into his chair and rolled him to the kitchen to be right next to me, while I was making their food. Just before 6:30 Randy and the kids returned. Sammy was excited to finally see his Daddy again. His siblings asked for some food from me that I gave to them, but no videos as the food was about ready. They all sat down at the table, ate some, then went to the bathtub, where they continued eating. I was watching the clock, as I still had an 8 pm lesson. I then remembered that I had asked my student whether we could start at 8:10 pm, so that gave me some extra time. Thanks to that I was able to sit down with them and fulfill their wish of reading a bedtime story. Then I prayed for them and put them to bed. I sat with them for a few minutes, and left them at 8 pm to go downstairs with my computer. Randy sat down in the chair to stay with them. I taught until 9 pm, did some more work, and went upstairs at 9:30 to make my salad. It was 10 pm before I could sit down to eat. Randy had fallen asleep in the chair. Because it was already so late, it was late before I could start working on today's pictures, and it took longer than usual. Now it's 1:30 am and time to do the dishes and then go to bed.