31 months 11 days

Day 953. Last night I headed to bed just after 2 am. All the kids had been sleeping peacefully all night and were still in their bed, but I had a hard time falling asleep. An hour later I still looked at the clock. Tammy joined us in bed at some point, but we took her back after a few minutes. She returned later during the night and was sleeping tight between us, when Emmy came at 7 am. He never went back to sleep, but was up. Sammy soon started crying, and I was surprised that Tammy kept sleeping in the midst of all the noise, even when I went to get Sammy who joined us in bed. It was very tight, and Emmy wasn't happy about it. At 7:45 I got up; Emmy had already been asking for a while that I'd start making breakfast. A few minutes after I went to the kitchen Tammy also woke up.

We sat down at the table to eat after they had all received fresh diapers. Sammy barely wanted to eat anything, and he's been losing weight, which is worrisome. We cleaned them up and dressed them and went downstairs, where I read a Bible story with them. Then I took my computer and went upstairs to work. At 11 am I'd heard Sammy cry for a while and went downstairs to check on him. He was upset because Daddy was working on a project and not giving him any attention. I comforted him, then put him in the swing, which he loves. After a while it was Emmy who went into the swing. They were all happy, so I left to go cook lunch.

I was in the middle of cooking, when there was crying again downstairs, to the point that I had to go there to check on them and comfort them. Once they were alright, I tried to leave, but they were immediately at my side, wanting to come upstairs with me, and so I took them all with me. They wanted to watch videos, and I let them. Sammy was happily playing on the floor, and I continued cooking. Then I heard a strange sound coming from him. I checked on him and found that he had opened Randy's vitamin and put a vitamin C tablet into his mouth that Randy dissolves in a glass of water. I quickly grabbed him, went to the bathroom and washed him and his mouth fot it all to be gone. Randy has now moved his vitamins to where they cannot reach them.

It was after noon before the food was ready and we could sit down to eat. Everybody was eating at first, but they quit too soon. They ate a few more spoonfuls to get pudding as dessert. Then I cleaned them up and dressed them, and the boys went to bed at 1 pm, which was later than usual. Tammy went downstairs with Randy. It took Emmy until 1:20 to fall asleep. Sammy was still awake and only fell asleep once I walked away. At 1:25 Tammy went to bed, but she would not fall asleep. She started acting like she did the other day, when she never slept, and that just wasn't an option today. Just before 2 pm I took her and lay down in our bed with her. It still took her a while to fall asleep. I could barely stay awake, while her eyes were wide open. Then she finally fell asleep. Emmy woke up early, just after 2 pm, as usual, and rested on Daddy's chest for a while, before the two of them went downstairs.

At 2:45 I got up to get ready for our departure at 3:15. Emmy heard me and so they came upstairs. Tammy also woke up after maybe half an hour of sleep. At 3 pm we woke up Sammy to get him ready. I would have been ready by 3:15, but Randy wasn't, and so we left 10 minutes late. And I had discovered that what I had written before lying Tammy had been deleted and was lost.

We took two subways and then still had to walk. It was raininig a little and it was cold, though not as cold as it has been. We finally got to the dancing school just before 4 pm. I gave them our filled out forms, we parked the strollers, and went upstairs to go to their dance class. I was amazed that the class hadn't started yet, and in fact, we were the first ones in the room. It started 5 minutes late, and there were only 2 other children. Last week, our first time, there had been so many!

It was an intense class, nothing like the laid-back classes they've done so far in other places. We did one song after another, all with actions, and today we never used any props. Both Tammy and Emmy were really into it, giving their best to do the actions. And you could tell they were having a lot of un, doing a lot of smiling, laughing and giggling. I've noticed in all the classes that they are so much more lively than the other kids. Nothing holds them back! Sammy was also enjoying himself, and Randy and I alternated taking him.

The class already ended at 4:45 pm, after 40 minutes. We put their coats and shoes back on and picked up their membership cards. I also asked them a few more questions. I found out that they could also come to the Thursday afternoon class without paying extra. And once they turn 4 years old, there'll be 3 different classes to choose from, or they can do all three for the same price: dance choreographies, ballroom and ballet.

We left the school to walk back to the subway. It was still raining lightly. It was rush hour and the subways were full, so that they had to stay in the stroller. They asked to watch Peppa Pig, and I let them. At 5:35 we were back home.

It was time to make dinner. They were looking at a new book at first, but then Emmy was the first one to get a chair to stand on by the kitchen counter, Tammy then followed suit. They were eating what I made and put on their plates, then Randy also gave Sammy some, before we finally all sat down by the table to eat. They ate some more, then they went into the bathtub, and I brought two bowls with the rest of their food. They ate much of it, while having fun. Then we got them out one after another. By 7:15 they were all in bed.

I sat down by their beds, and Tammy lay down on my chest. We were talking for a while. Ever since Sunday Emmy has been asking me to buy a train set like the one at church, and I told him we would, but he is impatient, wanting everything now. After a while Tammy went to bed, and they were getting quiet, making me think they were about to go to sleep. But that was not the case. I was getting frustrated, when they got up again, and was ready to walk away. Randy was not done eating to come sit with them. I ended up taking my computer and sitting down with it by them, which satifised them. That way I was able to use the time sitting there and work. At 8:20 I left the sleeping kids to continue working. By 9:20 I was so hungry I had to stop to go get myself something to eat. After having eaten, I returned to work. Emmy woke up once but fell asleep quickly after giving him the pacifier he had lost. Hopefully I'll make it to bed earlier as the nights have been too short.