Day 943. Last night I went to bed at 1:20, taking a sleeping Emmy back to his bad, but I could not sleep and still looked at the clock half an hour later. The girl joined us at some point during the night. Emmy also came in the early morning hours, tossed and turned a little next to me, and then got up and went back to his own bed. It was 7:45 before Tammy woke up, which is unusually late. It was also very unusual that Sammy was not crying for us to come get him but awake and just talking. Tammy got up, and I asked her not to wake Emmy up, but she did it anyway. And so they were up and playing, and Sammy still not crying. It was 8:20 before I got up. I don't know when I last got up this late.
While I was making breakfast, Tammy already wanted milk, then salami, and then strawberries. It looks they all got their appetite back, which was confirmed, when we sat down at the table to eat. They all had seconds of their oatmeal. Then I cleaned them up and dressed them. Randy was already downstairs with Sammy, before I was done with the other two. I took them downstairs and went back upstairs with my computer. I don't think I've ever only started working at 10 am like today, so time was an hour shorter. I guess the longer night is worth it. At least I didn't have to cook as we were eating leftovers.
And so I went to the kitchen just before noon and put the food into the microwave. Then Randy and the kids came upstairs, and we sat down to eat. It turned out that there wasn't enough food for all of us, so Randy made himself some sunny-side-up eggs. All kids ate well, and Emmy also had some of Daddy's eggs. Then they all had pudding. I cleaned them up and dressed them, and by 12:45 the boys were in bed, and Randy went downstairs with Tammy. Emmy was tossing and turning again, and Sammy also stayed awake for a while. Then Emmy lay still, but his eyes were still open. I heard Randy and Tammy come upstairs and told them not to come yet. At 1:10 Emmy finally closed his eyes, and just at that time Randy came with Tammy who then went to bed. It took her a little while too to fall asleep. At 1:35 Randy left to go to the grocery store, while I was back at work, tired or not.
At 2 pm the doorbell rang. Oh no! I quickly went there, got the package, and went to the kids who were all up. Tammy knew a package for her was coming, but I still succeeded in putting her back to bed, and she fell back asleep. So did Sammy. I picked up Emmy and sat down with him, rocking him, and he continued sleeping until 2:40 pm, and I fell asleep myself for a few minutes. After Emmy was up, Sammy soon woke up. I dressed Emmy, and then Tammy woke up at 2:45, and I dressed her as well. When she found out that her package had arrived, she was eager to open it, and so very excited, when she saw her Peppa Pig helmet. She immediately put it on and would not let go of it again. Randy returned at 2:55 with the groceries, put them away, and we left the house a few minutes later than planned at 3:20 pm. With a screaming Tammy, because I had taken the helmet away and left it at home.
It was another sunny, warm spring day. We got on the subway and rode it for a few stops, then walked to and into the amusement park. The puppet theater we were heading to was right in the beginning of the back exit we were heading to. It was our first time there; a week of a lot of firsts for them. I got them out of the stroller and went inside to pick up the reserved tickets - 3, as Sammy would not get anything out of it. I was told it would last 30 minutes, and Randy and Sammy were just gonna walk around outside in the meantime.
As the previous group was still inside, I took Emmy and Tammy for a short walk to look at the nearby rides that were all for little children. Of course Emmy wanted to go on them right away, but I told him we'd do that after the puppets. We walked back and inside, where most people had already sat down. It was still 10 minutes until it would start at 4 pm. I put Emmy and Tammy into the first row and sat down right behind them. Then the waiting game started. They were eager to see the "Kasperl" I had been telling them about. They kept watching the other kids around them, and there were quite a few of them. Then they discovered that a little boy two rows back also had a Paw Patrol T-shirt and cap and were all excited about it.
Finally it was 4 pm. A lady talked a few minutes about Corona measures before the program started. Right in the beginning the crocodile peeked out of the curtains, scaring Emmy and Tammy, and especially Emmy. He was immediately on my lap and Tammy soon joined him there. Both of them were clinging to me pretty much the whole time the performance lasted. They had said that it was from 2 years old up. I was really surprised to see them so afraid of a little crocodile puppet, when they had been unafraid of a huge dinosaur twice the size of a man in the circus. I had thought the circus would scare them, and it didn't, and that they'd love the puppets, but that's where they were scared. Emmy repeatedly said that he wanted to go outside to Daddy. The crocodile stayed away for a while, while the hero character and the other good guy talked and had fun. In fact, they did smile and laugh quite a few times during the program as well. It wasn't as bad, when the crocodile returned, and then there was another bad human character, and in the end the hero character beat them all and won. I later told them repeatedly that we do not have to be afraid because Jesus is always with us and He always wins over evil. When we walked out of the theater, neither one of them wanted to return there. Later Tammy had already changed her mind about that, but not Emmy.
We walked around the building to get back to Randy and Sammy, then walked over to the rides. There was a little train ride, going in circles, and a carrousel. We paid for both - a fortune - and started with the train. The lady had told us where an adult could sit, and Randy sat down with Sammy. Tammy and Emmy went into the car right by him, and then the train started going in circles. They both had a steering wheel and were turning them constantly. They were enjoying themselves so much that they were crying, when the train stopped and I tried to get them out. They refused! I finally got them out anyway and pointed at the carrousel we were riding next. We had not seen it go around and so did not know which vehicles were moving and which ones weren't. Tammy ended up on a horse. Emmy first sat on the motorcycle, but then saw a train he wanted to steer. He had been talking all day that he was gonna steer a train. Randy sat down on a motorcycle with Sammy. I stood with Tammy, and the carrousel started going round and round. I was taking pictures and started feeling nauseous from all the turning. While I was glad, when it stopped, they were upset again. The lady in charge closed her booth, and so the kids walked around to get into another vehicle, Tammy into the helicopter. But then the guy taking the lady's place arrived and was not happy, so we left. They were very upset and could only be calmed down, when we told them we were heading to McDonald's. What a day!
As we were walking back to the subway, where there was also a McDonald's, Emmy kept saying with pride how he had steered a train today. And he kept saying it repeatedly, out of the blue, for the rest of the day.
We got to McDonald's just after 5 pm. The kids were hungry as they had not really had any snacks this afternoon. We found a table, and they stayed there while I went to order. Emmy kept asking for food, as soon as I returned, and I told him it was coming soon. I took him to the (payable) bathroom with me, then sat down, while Randy went to get the food. Tammy and Emmy still don't like anything but fries there; they don't even want to try a hamburger and don't like the chicken nuggets. Sammy eats all that. It was disappointing that they did not have any animal figurines left, and so they had two riddle papers they were two young for, and an informational book about bees they were also too young for (Happy Meal gifts). Of course they could not stay still, but we managed to keep them nearby. In the end they were walking up and down the bench looking at the people on the other side of the half-wall and having fun doing so.
They had seen the playground we passed right next to McDonald's and wanted to go there before going home, and so we went there for about 20 minutes. It was huge. They spent a little time near the entrance, but then we went to the age-appropriate slide with different ways to get up there. I took Sammy who was eager to climb up there on the narrow type ladder, and he was doing a great job. He went down the slide several times, having fun. I kept telling the kids to not throw sand on the slide, but they would not listen. A general problem right now. Then I told them it was time to go. It was getting late. I returned with Sammy to where we had left the strollers. The kids didn't want to leave, and so finally Randy just grabbed them and carried them to the stroller. Then we put them inside and went to the subway.
We got home around 6:35 pm. Normally their bed time is 7 pm. We undressed them, and I got some fruit they like cut up and put it into a bowl I took to the bathtub. They ate everything in the bowl, since it was their favorite fruit, watermelon, cantaloupe and strawberries. Then we got them out and ready for bed. Tammy reminded me of the cough syrop, as they get a little gummy bear as a reward for drinking it. Sammy was lying on our bed after I had just put his night braces on. Tammy was in her pj's right next to the bed, and I asked her to watch Sammy so he wouldn't fall off the bed, while I left to get the cough syrop, which didn't even take a minute. I was returning and approaching the bed, when I saw Sammy roll and turn. I was too far away and didn't make it in time to catch him. I did throw the cough syrop all over the place because I was so startled. Tammy had climbed up onto the bed sitting next to Sammy instead of standing by the bed, where she could have kept him from rolling off. I hated watching him fall and not being able to do anything, and to hear the hard sound of his head hitting the floor. He was screaming, and I immediately picked him up to comfort him and pray over him. Tammy came running to me cranky because she hadn't had her cough syrop yet! I explained to her that her brother was hurt and could even have to go to the hospital. Randy shone light into his eyes and said he was fine. I sat down with Sammy to hold him, pray and comfort him, not caring about cough syrop. Randy gave it to them. Then I put Sammy to bed and returned to our routine to put the other two to bed.
I don't remember what time it was, when I sat down by their beds, but it was after 7 pm. We talked about all we had done this afternoon, and Emmy once again proudly said how he had steered a train. After a while I sang their song, then Tammy agreed to go to bed. I was holding Emmy's hand, while he put his face on top of it. They started slowing down. At one point I was able to remove my hand, and then I tried to leave, but Emmy called me back. A few minutes later I left for good. It was somwhere around 8 pm. I took my computer downstairs and started working and haven't stopped since. We're turning our clocks forward tonight, so we're losing an hour. I have not finished the German version of our newsletter, but it's late and my eyes are falling shut while writing.
