Day 1076. This morning it was again Sammy who was making it known that he wanted us to get up and get him, and we again got up later, around 8:30. My 11 am lesson was canceled, and so I had no time pressure on me. After breakfast I went downstairs with them and read a Bible story with them, for the first time in days. Then I went upstairs to work. Just after 10 am I interrupted what I was doing to go to the kitchen and make soup for lunch. As it has to boil on the stove for an hour, it was the perfect meal to make having an 11 am lesson. I returned to my computer to work and worked until just before noon. Then Randy and the kids came upstairs, and we sat down to eat. They all ate fairly well and then had some icecream. After cleaning them up and dressing them, I went downstairs with them.
Sammy was so upset that I pulled him away from standing in Emmy's bed that I asked him whether he wanted to swing, and his face lit up all excited, as he gave me a resounding "yes". Of course his brother was jealous right away, but they all go to swing, and I set a 5-minute timer each so it's fair, which works well with them. Sammy then went to the piano, while the other two wanted to do the Peppa Pig sticker book. Then Sammy wanted me to put him on the big ball and move him around, which he loves, but it was hard to do at the same time as swinging his siblings. At 1:20 we went upstairs so they could lie down for their nap.
I sat down by them, but they were having a hard time falling asleep at first. I did leave after a few minutes, before they were all fully asleep, but they let me go. I returned to my computer to work. Originally we had planned to go swimming this afternoon, as hot as it's been, but today there was a huge temperature drop and it was not hot at all. Swimming was out of the question. I looked online and found an event in a park downtown instead. Emmy walked into the room at 3 pm, all sleepy, and lay down by me, looking at my computer. He ended up staying for a while, even after his siblings were up. Randy then got them some snacks, and they went outside on the balcony. We were gonna take the 4:30 train, so there was still some time, and I was hoping to get a little more work in, but it wasn't much as the kids kept coming to me.
We left the house on time at 4:15 and walked to the train station. We had only one tricycle with us and Emmy was riding it. Our S-train is not running until early September, and so there are fewer trains now, and they are all old trains that have a few steps to get on. By now we've gotten pretty good at getting on it, and the kids are not afraid any more. I lift Emmy and Tammy in first, then I go in myself and help Randy get the stroller in. Tammy and Emmy step onto the train themselves and then walk up the steps with me holding their hands. Today Randy was pushing me to hurry up, even though the train does not leave until everyone is on obviously, and that distraction was enough for Emmy to fall. Suddenly he was on his back, his feet higher than his head, on the steps, and his head in the gap between the train and the platform. I was still holding him which is what kept him from falling on the rails. He was crying, and it seemed to take forever beforer I could get him out of there and into my arms, while I'm certain it was only seconds. We got on and Emmy continued crying and asking for a pacifier for quite a long time. I always aim to take 2 pacifiers with me for when they absolutely need them, but I had not today. Later I discovered that I did have one in my pocket which was annoying given that he so much wanted to have one after his fall. It was only when I finally turned a video on on my phone that he calmed down.
We had no problem getting off. It was the final stop, so it was sitting there for a few minutes to then go back the way it came, and we saw a guy with a really long stick starting to wash the train's windshield. It really got Emmy's attention. Then we started walking to the park that was not too far away, but it was still quite a walk. It was cloudy with menacing rain clouds and very windy. I actually enjoyed the cool breeze after the intense heat we've had.
We finally reached the playground just before 5 pm, and the kids were all excited. There was quite a lot for them to do. I had Sammy and helped him up the ladder to the slide. He was actually raising his feet to get higher and moving his arm up to the next bar to get up there, but he obviously needed a lot of help. Once he reached the top, he'd be all excited, and we did this probably about 20 times. Then he'd crawl over to the slide, and except for the first time, he'd then move foward until he'd slide down on his belly. I was so proud of him to have the courage to slide down all by himself! Of course I was there to catch him on the bottom, and then to go back to the ladder. While we were there, Randy and the other two were in a different area of the playground. I finally pulled Sammy away and took him to the swing, which he also enjoys very much. Then we left to see where his siblings were. Randy was with them by a huge ring that they were sitting on, and he was turning it with them on it, as well as another girl. I put Sammy on it as well and walked in circles with him while holding him on there so he would not fall off. They were all enjoying it.
But then they headed to the sandbox that we would have preferred they'd stay away from. In the end it was alright. They were having lots of fun playing there, and were really busy and concentrated. There were some molds and shovels that they were using. They must have had some rain there as the sand was wet, which made it a lot easier to put the sand into the molds and have a decent outcome. Emmy was all proud to show me what he was making. Randy took Sammy and sat down with him, and in the end he buried Sammy's feet in the sand.
It was nearly 6 pm, when we decided it was time to go. They had set up a little stage closeby, which was the actual reason we had come to this place at this time. The performance there was starting at 6:15. We walked over there and found a big crowd already sitting on the ground. They'd already had a performance, but it would not have been that much fun for our kids.
We were lucky to get a third of a bench, as there were few benches and they were all occupied. I sat down on it with all three kids. It was another ten minutes or so before the beginning of the program, which was a long time for them. Especially Sammy was already pretty cranky, and the program lasted for just over 45 minutes. By the end I had to constantly move him to keep him happy. But the other two really enjoyed the circus artists' performance for children, where they could participate in some way, shouting and clapping and answering questions. And they did really well being able to sit or at least stand by us for 45 minutes.
By 7 pm we knew it was close to being over, and Sammy was already so cranky, that we decided to get going. We got up and put Sammy into the stroller, and he was okay. Randy put Emmy on one shoulder which I have never seen him do before, and it wasn't for long. Emmy had a really good view up there of the artists juggling. We finally started moving away and still heard the final applause as the program ended. It was even colder than earlier, and really windy, as we started our long walk back to the train station. They were pretty hungry by now, even though they'd had snacks. Once we reached the train station, we entered right where the food court was. I was lucky to find a free table, where I left them all to go get some food. It took a little time before I returned to the table, and I could already hear Emmy shout "Mommy" before I returned.
We all shared the one plate of cordon bleu, fries and potato salad with coke. I was also watching the clock, as there was a train at 7:50 that I wanted us to catch. With less than 10 minutes to go, we packed up and left to walk to the correct platform. And we made it. The train was sitting there and waiting for departure time. We got on, and the kids found a place to sit, where they of course wanted to watch a video. They have now got a new favorite, which is for even smaller kids than Peppa Pig and for which they already seem a little too big, but it's simple and nicely done. Of course they cried, when I stopped the video as we had reached our destination. We got off and started the relatively long walk to our building. I let Tammy push the stroller with Sammy, which got her all excited and proud.
It was after 8:15 pm, when we got home. I turned the water on in the bathtub and let them play in there for a few minutes. Then we got them ready for bed and put them to bed. It was already going on 9 pm. I sat down by their beds and had to put up with all their antics. I was eager to leave and get to my computer and did not want to sit there forever. I finally got my computer and sat down on the chair with it, which allowed me to get started on what I was working on. After a while I walked away with it, and by then nobody protested, thank God. I continued working, and now it's already after 1 am. Recently 1:30 has been my new bedtime, which is really not early enough.
