3 years 6 months 4 days

Day 1283. With Emmy as my alarm clock I did not have to set an alarm this morning, even though we had to get up an hour earlier than usual. He was the first one up and got his headset to listen to stories; that way he keeps quiet and does not wake his siblings up. Tammy then joined us, and soon Sammy was up as well. At 8 am Randy got up, then I got up to make hot chocolate for the kids and try to get Sammy to eat some more. Just before 9 am the doorbell rang; it was the cleaning lady who comes every 3 weeks. A few minutes later the Mobile Support lady arrived. It was the first time we got to see her face since she started coming to work with Sammy in January of last year (before that we had someone else). Today is March 1st, and starting today we do not have to wear masks in public transportation any more, nor in pharmacies, just in hospitals and doctors' offices. We'll see whether we'll have to wear them at Sammy's therapy center, but it shouldn't be the case. How liberating it was to travel in town today!

The lady went downstairs to play with the kids, while I started tidying up. We just got a new shelf that Randy had put together to put up kids' toys and books upstairs, and I picked up everything off the floor and the counters to put it in there. It looked so much better! While tidying up upstairs, I kept my eye on the clock and stopped   a few minutes before 10 am, as I had a student at that time. I closed the doors to our bedroom and sat down by my desk to teach, while the cleaning lady was vacuuming right outside my door at some point.

The Mobile Support lady left at 10:30, and I finished teaching just before 11 am. I then went straight to the kitchen to start cooking. Once I had it all done and simmering on the stove, I returned to my computer to work, then the cleaning lady went downstairs, while Randy and the kids came upstairs. They were watching videos, while I was working, and just after noon we sat down at the table to eat. I had made a classic Austrian dish for the first time, and it turned out really well. However, I'd put a little too much pepper into it, and so the kids did not want to eat it. Sammy stopped eating it first, and I gave him the leftovers I had from yesterday that Tammy also had some of.

They did not want to eat dessert, as they wanted to continue watching their videos, and so only Sammy had dessert. At 1:15 I put them to bed, but I did not stay with them, as I needed to close my eyes as well before my 2:30 pm lesson. And so Randy sat down with them, while I left my door open upon their request. Soon they got quiet, and we adults also fell asleep. When my alarm went off at 2:20, it was a rough awakening. I turned it off as quickly as possible and was glad that it had not woken up the kids. I was so tired that it was really hard to force myself up, and it must have been visible, when I started teaching at 2:30.

Right on the other side of the door I was sitting by were the kids' beds, and so Sammy soon woke up because of me talking, and Emmy was up just moments later and even walked into my room. Randy then gave them some snacks and played with them upstairs for a while. Tammy, who sleeps really well, woke up quite a bit later. Randy started getting them ready for our departure, while I was still teaching. I was done at 3:20 and helped getting them and everything ready for us to leave.

We left at 3:30 pm, and I immediately noticed that it was warmer again, probably because of the sun shining. We quickly walked to the subway and got on. After a few stops we got off again and still had quite a walk ahead of us. Tammy wanted me to carry her on my shoulders, and even though she's getting heavier and heavier, I soon gave in and lifted her up, but I had to take her back down before we'd reached the school. We immediately went up the staircase and to our classroom, as it was time for the class to start. Still, there was only one other student in the classroom at that time; two more arrived later.

The teacher started with a greeting song, going from student to student, and at the end of the song she asks the child their name. Tammy was first, and she just looked at the teacher, then said Tammy and nodded, when asked whether she was doing well. Sammy actually said "oui", when she asked if he was doing well, and Emmy also answered correctly with his name when asked. Next she had the children stand up and hold hands for her self-created action song that is really not working that well, plus she keeps changing the words. She tried to teach the children the song and actions. Tammy did not participate, but Emmy actually tried.

She then did something new, teaching them the numbers from 0 to 3. She used her fingers to show the numbers, and Emmy really participated, while Tammy was still not interested and could not be motivated. The teacher then got papers out that had the numbers on them as well as the hand with the fingers. I had Sammy with me and was doing the numbers with his hand. Then the teacher handed out papers and crayons to color. She tried to get them to tell her in French what color they wanted, and our kids repeated the French names of the colors. Some they already know now.

Tammy is now really good at coloring; she holds the crayon correctly and has started to actually color within the lines. Emmy still does not hold the crayon correctly, and he just draws lines everywhere, ignoring the printed picture. I tried to show him how to hold the crayon, but he couldn't care less. I then went back to helping Sammy stay on the paper instead of coloring the floor.

They then put the crayons back into the box and gave their papers to the teacher who put them to the side until later. She then got a book out to read to them. Tammy and Emmy both listened very attentively, as she told the story in French. It was a cute book. Then Tammy was really excited to get another paper to color, and again she was doing a great job. And then the class was already over. They took their picture off the board again, put the stuffed animals in a drawer and stacked the pillows. We put their coats and shoes back on and left to go home.

Going home, we walked to the nearby subway stop. It was arriving as we got off the elevator, and we got on. But then it turned out that we were going the wrong direction, so we had to get off at the next stop and now go two stops back. I told them no videos, as Tammy had not participated in the beginning of the class, and Emmy was not obeying at the end of the class. They didn't seem to mind. Just before 5:30 we were back home.

I immediately went to my desk as I had a 5:30 student. I could hear Randy helping the kids get their coats and shoes off, and then he went downstairs with them. My student asked me to finish the lesson early today, which suited me. I then went to the kitchen and started making their dinner. I was surprised that the kids were still happily playing downstairs, as they usually cannot wait to come upstairs to watch videos. I was actually able to get their plates ready and put them on the table and had to call them upstairs. They then ate a good bit at the table, and continued eating in the bathtub. Then we got them out and ready for bed. It was nice not to have to watch the time, as I have to do, when I teach at 8 pm. It was actually only 7:40, when we sat down to read the Bible. And today I was able to read more; especially Tammy always wants me to keep reading. It's a Bible that's like a comic book so that there are plenty of pictures making it come alive. After we were done, I prayed for them and flew them into bed, making them laugh in the process. It was just after 8 pm, when I sat down by their beds. We talked for a little bit, then I encouraged them to stop talking and sleep. Randy then soon came to take my place, so I could go to the kitchen to make myself something to eat. The kids were still awake and active for a while, tonight especially Sammy, for some reason. I sat down to eat, then went back to work. Now it's 1 am and time to clean up the kitchen and go to bed.