Day 2101. The day the kids had been looking forward to had come - Schoolbag Day. We got their schoolbags down that they had already seen once, I made sure the straps fit them and put the bags on them. They are sure huge for them, but that's the way schoolbags are, at least in Austria. They were very excited about them. Emmy has a soccer bag, of course, and Tammy chose a star bag (A star is born) rather than the unicorn bag she was looking forward to. Since his siblings got to take their schoolbags, Sammy wanted to take his as well. His favorite theme is Mickey Mouse, but for some reason there are no Mickey Mouse schoolbags, so he has a Mickey backpack he's really happy about. It was the first time Tammy and Emmy had to carry their big schoolbags to kindergarten/school and back home, and they found out that it's impossible to sit down in the bus/tram/subway with them.
As for me, I went back to bed once they had left the house with Randy. I got up later and went to the kitchen to make lunch. Randy and Sammy got home at 12:40 pm, then Randy left again to get the other kids. Sammy and I had a good time together. He was watching videos on the projector and playing with the door, while I was scanning for my students and getting ready for my 2:30 pm student.
Randy and the kids got home later than usual, just after I had started teaching. I finished at 3:20 pm, then I made their sandwiches for dinner and got ready for us to leave the house. I left with Tammy and Emmy just before 4 pm. Randy and Sammy also left the house again a few minutes later as Randy was going to pick up another second-hand kids' bike, this one just for the parts. They took two subways to get to the other end of town, then had to walk a bit. They ran into a lady training her Yorkshire Terrier to be a therapy dog, and she let Sammy pet the dog and then handed him the leash, as she was walking the same direction. Sammy was enjoying the dog. They then picked up the bag and took the subway back home.
Tammy, Emmy and I also took two subways and then walked to where their programming class was taking place. There is a water feature on the square in front of it that Tammy was interested in, while Emmy walked up to a kid from his class that was right there. Then we walked inside. I told the kids I was going to a coffee shop and was going to be back later.
I walked to the bakery, got some hot chocolate and sat down. This time I didn't have a student but I had work to do on the computer. So I got my laptop out and started working and making good progress. Just over an hour later I had to pack up again and walk back to their school. As it was just a few minutes before the class ended at 6 pm, I walked into the classroom to see what they had done. They had started something new, using a different program on the computer to do something different. It looked like they had put different shapes together on the screen to create - in Tammy's case - a house. Something was wrong with Emmy's so I couldn't tell what he had made. They turned their computers off, and we left.
They ate their sandwiches as we were walking to the subway. We rode the two subways again, but got off two stops early for a bread pick-up. Once we had it, we got back on the subway and went home. By about 6:40 we were back home; Randy and Sammy arrived at about 7 pm. I was in the kitchen cutting up fruit for them, when they did. They all ate, then we did piano practice, then they went into the bathtub before getting ready for bed. My 8 pm student had canceled, so we had time for stories, so they went to bed later than usual, after 8:30 pm. I then got myself something to eat, then went back to work.
This morning I went back to bed after Randy had left with the kids to take them to their kindergartens. I got up later and went to work. At 11:30 a new friend arrived who had visited us for the first time two weeks ago. She had come once again to help us for a day. And she went straight to work cleaning up our house. She had also brought us some food she had made. Randy and I ate, then Randy left to pick up Sammy.
Sammy had been looking forward to seeing her again, but he's not so fond of people who are cleaning, especially when the vacuum cleaner is involved. Sammy stayed by me while I was working on the computer and while our friend was cleaning. There was more cleaning she wanted to accomplish. Once she was done, she sat down at the table to eat and Sammy joined her. When Randy and the other kids returned home around 2:15 pm, they all went downstairs to have fun together. At 2:50 pm Randy left with Tammy and Emmy to take them to their breakdance class, while our friend left with Sammy to take him for a walk.
As for me, I started teaching before they all left, at 2:30. I finished at 3:20, then I continued doing office work. My 4:30 pm student had canceled, so I had time for other work. Our friend returned with Sammy around 4:40 pm, and Randy and the other kids got home 15 minutes later. They all went downstairs, but Sammy really wanted his Daddy. Our friend then took Tammy and Emmy to the park with their styrofoam planes and Emmy's soccer ball, while Sammy enjoyed time with Daddy. I started teaching again at 5:30 and went until 7:20 pm. Our friend left before I was done. I had prepared their food before teaching, so they ate it while I was teaching, and Randy put them in the bathtub as well. They were all coming out by the time I was done teaching.
I then realized we hadn't done piano practice yet, so I took Tammy and Emmy downstairs for that. Back upstairs, I put Sammy to bed with a prayer, then we sat down for story time. After stories and a prayer, they brushed their teeth and went to bed. I then went to the kitchen to make myself something to eat. After having eaten, I went back to work. Now it's nearly 1:30, and I stil have to take care of the dishes.
