Day 1067. It was really late, going on 2 am, before I was finally able to get some sleep, as I worked late and then Emmy needed my attention. He was of course up early, and they were coming to me to open squeezies for them. When my alarm went off at 7:45, I was so very tired that getting up was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had no choice, as I had a 9 am lesson to teach. And so I kept looking at the clock at breakfast, then cleaned them up and dressed them and did not go downstairs with them. Instead I was getting ready for my class and eventually Randy went downstairs with them.
Not only did I have a 9 am class, but also a 10 am one, and I really don't like it, when I have two in a row like that. The first one was a business woman in her fifties, while the second one was a fourth grader just starting to learn English. So very different, but both a lot of fun. Still, teaching for two hours, when I was already so exhausted, did me in. I was glad that I did not have to cook today, but that we were having yesterday's leftovers.
I really don't know what I was doing between 11 and 12; just wrapping up my lessons and doing different things that needed to be done. Noon came around way too quickly. All I really wanted to do was to sleep. The whole time I could barely keep my eyes open . We sat down to eat, but nobody really wanted to eat. They all had icecream, then I cleaned them up and dressed them. Given that we had to leave the house early, they were going straight to bed. It was 12:40, when I sat down by them. And I was surprised at how quickly they had actually fallen asleep. I left them and sat down by my computer with the attention to sleep but got caught up in some stuff, and so it was a while before I set my alarm and closed my eyes. I had so much going through my mind that it took me quite some time to fall asleep. And I had only just fallen asleep, when Emmy already walked into the room, after having slept less than an hour. That was unfortunate. There was no more sleeping for me. It didn't take long for the rest of them to wake up. Thankfully Randy was there, and so I at least stayed in bed and closed my eyes for a little longer.
At 2:15 we left the house to go to their exercise class - about 20 minutes earlier than when the subway is actually running. Sammy was in the stroller, Emmy on the tricycle, and Tammy walking or running. We walked to the train station, took the train, and then still had a bus to take. After we got off, we walked to the school. It was the first session of the continuation of the class from the past few weeks, so nothing changed except for new Moms and kids being there for the most part. Other than that the teacher went through the same routine as always.
After the greeting soon, the kids had a time of free play, enjoying everything that was set up in the room. Tammy and Emmy were having lots of fun, and were having fun with me, when my arm went inside the tent that they were in. Sammy crawled through the tunnel and into the tent too. Then I took him to his favorite thing - the trampolin. Emmy joined him, and Sammy took his hands, and together they were jumping while holding hands. It was precious to watch. Tammy came as well, and all three jumped together.
One time Sammy was sitting on the floor and playing with the cones, when another kid sat down by him. Then Emmy came with a really soft ball and hit the boy on the head with it - several times. I couldn't believe my eyes and stopped him!
Then the teacher put the equipment away and had us sit in a circle, so she could do action songs with us. Thank God the kids are participating with those songs again. Sammy still had a ball and actually took the cork out so that the air escaped! Emmy thought that was funny and did the same to two other balls later. It was hilarious, when Sammy was on the floor with the ball, showing it to the teacher that it had no air.
After 50 minutes the class was over. We went to the bathroom, and I overheard a Mom saying to her kids that they were going to the playground right outside the other doors, and so we decided to check it out. It was like a big courtyard, and there was not that much for kids. It was mainly hammocks to lie in, and then a few animals on springs for kids, and a sandbox. They were enjoying the animals and hammock for a while, and then we left.
Walking away we were approaching the playground they already know. Coming from a slightly different direction, we saw some horses that we wanted to check out. There were two wooden horses, and Tammy and Sammy enjoyed sitting on them, while Emmy was scared. He saw people bathing in the lake and decided to go check that out. We all ended up walking over there and watching for a few minutes. Then we walked to the playground they know. I told them in advance that the metal slide was gonna be too hot again to slide down, but to our great surprise, the slide was gone. I hope they're replacing it with a plastic slide. Without the slide there wasn't that much to do there, and so we did not stay very long.
Usually Emmy is on the tricycle, but Tammy hopped on before he could, therefore upsetting her brother. And so he ended up sitting on it as well but behind her. Unfortunately Tammy is not very good at steering, contrary to her brother. We were walking back to the bus stop, where there was a grocery store. Randy wanted to look whether they had the icecream the kids eat pretty much every day, as he had not been able to get it on his last two grocery shop trips. There was a stage set up right there, like the one where we had gone for the puppet theater, as the Vienna cultural summer festival is still going on. Music was coming from there, and so we walked over. Nobody was there but us. The band was only practicing for tonight. Randy left us there to go to the grocery store, and the kids were listening. I really didn't like it, but the kids said they did. The music was so loud that Tammy was asking me for their ear protectors that we give them at church. And then they stopped playing, and so I left with them - pushing the tricycle with two kids with my left hand, and the stroller with my right. It was not very far to the bus stop. And that's where we waited for Randy, watching one bus come and go during that time.
And Randy did not come back with their icecream. We got on the next bus, and the kids were watching Peppa Pig. We got off at the subway, where there was another grocery store, that we all went into. Once again no icecream. And I was shocked to see how empty many shelves were. That was simply non-existent before Corona and Ukraine. They had no kids-carts, but had baskets on wheels, and so the kids got those, pushing them through the store. We put the stuff we were buying in there, and had to stop them from grabbing stuff off the shelves. For the first time Tammy did not cry, when we had to put the items on the conveyor belt, but both kids helped doing so. After we had packed everything up, we left to walk to the subway and go home. Even though it was only 3 stops, the kids continued watching Peppa Pig. When I turned it off because we were getting off, Tammy threw a fit, and she often lies down on the floor, when she does. So I told her good-bye, and once the doors opened, she was up on her feet and out of the subway really quickly. It was about 5:30 pm, when we got home.
The kids wanted to go downstairs and watch Winnie the Puh. Randy was busy putting the groceries away, and so I took them downstairs. Then I returned upstairs and turned my computer on, but there were only a few minutes left until 6 pm, so no time for anything. At 6 pm I started making their dinner, and at 6:30 we sat down to eat. They love eating corn, and we had bought some, and so they all enjoyed their corn. Sammy was really eager to eat it, and they all ate it off the cobb, as well as what Randy had cut off. Then they went into the bathtub, where they continued eating, and by 7:45 they were in bed. I sat down by them. The boys fell asleep pretty fast, but Tammy needed more time, and so it was 8:15, before I walked away, which was pretty early anyway. I got myself something to eat, ate, and then went back to work. I hope I get to sleep earlier tonight, and at least we don't have to get up as early as today tomorrow, even though we have a morning appointment.
