Day 929. Last night it was going on 1:30, when I went to bed. Sammy was crying quite a bit several times during the night for some reason. In the morning Tammy got up around 7 am, but did not come to us. She started playing right away. Sammy was crying so hard that I went to get him and put him in bed between us. After a while Emmy came, but he was being mean to Sammy. At 7:30 I got up and went to the kitchen, where I always empty the dishwasher first. Tammy was asking for milk in a cup; Sammy had finished the milk in the bottle we have in reach for them all night.
The speech therapist had suggested that Randy also eats at the table with us in the morning, and that the kids get to eat what he eats, as they always get some of his oatmeal when he eats it later. So I watched how he makes it so I can make it from now on, and got their bread and fruit ready in the meantime. He changed their diapers, and then we sat down to eat. As always Tammy and Emmy ate little, Sammy ate the most. But today there was no "oatmeal with Daddy" lateron. I cleaned them up and dressed them, and we went downstairs to read a Bible story and then play until Randy came downstairs to stay. We were having fun. Then I went upstairs to work.
At 11 am I started cooking, going back and forth between kitchen and computer a few times, and at noon they came upstairs to eat. We all sat down at the table and had a great time eating together. I love having Sammy to my left, even though I miss Emmy being in reach. Emmy only ate meat, while Tammy also ate sauerkraut and tried the dumpling today. They had some pudding, and then I cleaned them up and dressed. The boys went to bed, and Randy went downstairs with Tammy. It was already 1 pm, so a lot later than usual. It was 1:10 before Emmy was asleep, and at 1:15 Tammy lay down. After two nap time disasters in a row I stayed at her side today, and at 1:45 she finally fell asleep. I'd been struggling with staying awake the whole time.
But time was short, and there was a lot to do. First I went to the computer to finish some stuff, and then to the kitchen to make their food-to-go for tonight. At 2:05 Emmy walked into the room, and Randy went downstairs with him. At 2:35 Sammy woke up, and I picked him up and put him on the floor by the kitchen. Randy was already coming upstair with Emmy, and then Tammy already came running. We started dressing them and left the house just after 3 pm. Tammy and Emmy were wearing the new Paw Patrol caps.
We went to the train station and waited a few minutes. I was extremely tired and could barely keep my eyes open. On the train I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Tammy and Emmy stayed in the stroller and were watching the people around us. After we got off the train, we got some chestnuts and then took the subway for a few stops. After we got off the subway, we had to discover that the elevator was broken. That's quite a nuisance, when you're dependent on it. What to do? I ended up taking Tammy and Emmy out of the stroller and up the the escalator. Then Randy took Sammy up the escalator and handed him to me and then took the stairs back down to get the first stroller, and headed back down again to get the second stroller. In the meantime I had all three and we were looking inside a closed shop.
There was no putting them back into the strollers once we had them back, and so Tammy and Emmy walked into the shopping mall, and Randy was carrying Sammy at first. He was protesting, when Randy tried to put him into the stroller, and so I took him and let him ride on my stroller handle. We walked through the mall all the way to the church like that. We arrived just on time and sat down in the last row. Someone brought us a bunch of colorful fabric for the kids to use in worship, and they did. Tammy walked all the way to the front and then to the back on the other side several times. We all ended up on the other side of the sanctuary, and they were looking out the back window. I had Sammy and then asked Randy, where the other two were, and he pointed to the front. They were in the corner by the drum set, watching the drummer closely. I walked over there, and the five of us stayed in that corner, with Tammy and Emmy up on the stage watching the drummer. We took communion there, then walked to the back and off to the baby room.
We had moved two cars to the room for them to ride on as they enjoy them so much, but they didn't use them as much as they usually do. They got their lunch boxes out themselves and put it on the table to eat. And they never sat still for a minute. I got the toys out for them, and they were busy playing the whole time. The cars, the slide, the toys, and the baby bed. They love climbing into it and jumping. Sammy was pretty cranky, and I got up to try to keep him happy. I ended up putting him into the baby bed in a kneeling position, and that was the best thing I could have done. He was smiling and happy. I clipped an animal on the railing and he pushed it off so it fell to the ground which made him laugh. I kept putting it back, and he kept pushing it off and laughing.
There was another Mom with a little boy in the room for much of the time. The boy was quiet and not moving for the longest time, but later Tammy and Emmy were over there playing with a toy with them.
Just before 6 pm we started tidying up and packing up and made our way back to the sanctuary. Emmy was eager to go back for the singing and was disappointed, when the service was all over by the time we got to the sanctuary. People were leaving, and they were greeting the kids. Sammy was saying "hello" and "bye" with a loud voice, which was just so cute. We finally started moving to the elevator ourselves, and made the long walk through the mall back to the subway. I had Sammy in the single stroller and Tammy walking, while Emmy was walking with Daddy. Before we left the building we put their coats back on.
They were already asking to watch Peppa Pig, and on the subway I turned it on for them. When we got off, we still had nearly half an hour until our train was gonna leave at 7 pm. We stayed inside the building to keep warm, and I got their lunch boxes out so they'd eat a little more. Emmy and Tammy were running around like crazy, Tammy not listening when I'd say "stop", and I was running after them. They were doing a little bit of climbing, and Tammy accidentally bit her lip and was bleeding. Once there were only a few minutes left until the train's arrival, we went to the platform, where the wind was blowing. The kids continued watching Peppa Pig, and also did so on the train. At 7:20 we walked through the door of our apartment.
Emmy wanted to eat some more, and as it was not THAT late yet, I ended up putting some water into the bathtub and then the three of them. They were having fun and eating, except for Sammy. Tammy was not eating much either. We got them all out and ready for bed, and by 7:50 pm they were all in bed. I sat down by them, and Tammy lay down on my chest. By 8:15 they were all asleep in their beds. Ten minutes later the doorbell rang, and our food delivery arrived. We went downstairs to eat our food and watch the second half of last week's movie. Then we each went back to our regular evening routine. And now it's really late before I'm done with everything - once again.
