5 years 8 months 19 days

Day 2088. Today was my birthday. And it was a very busy day. This morning, the kids came to me and sang "Happy Birthday" and gave me their drawings they had made. After they had left with Randy to go to kindergarten, I went back to bed. However, Sammy stayed home with me so there was no sleeping possible. He now has horse therapy every Wednesday instead of Monday. After a while, he wanted to play with the door, so I put him on the chair by my door and lay back down. Randy returned relatively early at 9:30 and got Sammy ready for horse therapy and then left with him. I was finally able to get some more sleep.

At 10:30 am my alarm woke me up as I had a 11:10 am student. I was still teaching when Randy and Sammy returned, and Randy left before I was done as he needed to catch the 12:27 pm bus. Sammy came to me and was right next to me the last few minutes I was teaching. Then I was all his. I went to the kitchen to make our lunch, and we sat down to eat. We were still eating when Grandma arrived at 1 pm, and she joined us at the table. She was bringing gifts. She had Tammy's schoolbag with her - her birthday gift - as she needs it in kindergarten in two weeks for "Schoolbag Day". Tammy had been looking forward to it as her siblings have already seen theirs. And she brought a birthday gift for me.

After we were done eating, we went downstairs where I got to talk to my Mom. It wasn't long before Randy and the kids also got home as he had picked them up half an hour earlier than usual. I did piano practice with Tammy and Emmy, then Tammy wanted to sing a song to me again while playing on the piano. She did a great job. Then she wanted to do a play for me for my birthday. She did a great job. Then she wanted to do another dance with the aerial silk. We also all had some of the cake that Grandma had brought.

Randy had recently bought two second-hand bikes for the kids to learn to ride a bike and I suggested they could try it out, knowing it was rather unlikely I'd have the time to do that with them any time soon. They were excited about the idea and put their knee and ellbow protectors and helmets on. Then Randy brought down one bike. It was really a little too big for them. Tammy went first. I was holding her up while telling her how to move the pedals. Then it was Emmy's turn. I could tell that he had more balance than his sister. He is more talented for sports, while she is the more artistic one. In any case, the bike was definitely too big for Emmy and I was not gonna let go of either one of them. I'd had enough exercise, and they needed to leave, so that was the end of their first bike try-out.

We went back inside, and I went upstairs with them so they could put their exercise clothes on. Grandma also came upstairs as she also had to leave at 3 pm. We were all busy getting ready, when the doorbell rang and our new friend arrived again, for the third day in a row. Moments later Randy had left with Tammy and Emmy to take them to their exercise class, and Grandma had left as well. Now it was just our new friend, Sammy and I. I didn't have a student until Randy and the kids were going to return, so I sat down with them and spent some time talking with our new friend. I also finally took a picture of her and Sammy. She's spent a lot of time with Sammy who has become really fond of her. After a while I excused myself and went to my office around the corner to get some work done. I could still hear her and Sammy interact. She put him in the swing and tried to teach him to use his legs to move himself.

It wasn't long before it was 5 pm, and I needed to go upstairs to make their dinner before starting to teach at 5:30 pm. Randy and the kids returned around 5:20 pm. They stayed upstairs and sat down at the table to eat. Our friend stayed downstairs and started tidying up. After Tammy had eaten, she went downstairs and helped her. When I finished teaching at 6:20 pm, she was still there but left a few minutes later. Tomorrow she's going back home to Upper Austria.

I sat down at the computer to prepare for my 8 pm student, then my brother called to wish me a Happy Birthday. We talked for 10 minutes, then it was time for the kids to go into the bathtub. After they had come out, I put Sammy to bed with a prayer, then I read Tammy and Emmy some stories and prayed for them. Then they brushed their teeth and went  to bed, while I sat down at my computer for my 8:10 pm student. I taught until 9 pm, then I went to the kitchen to get myself something to eat. After having eaten, I started working on the pictures and then the report. Now it's nearly 2 am and time to take care of the kitchen and go to bed.