Day 2122. After the intense weekend and another short night, I was really glad that I had no commitments on Monday morning. Randy took the kids to kindergarten, while I went back to sleep and had the luxury of waking up by myself. I then went to the kitchen and started cooking lunch. At 12:40 pm Randy came home with Sammy, then he left again to go pick up the other two kids.
Sammy and I had a good time - he was playing with the door and watching videos on the projector. Randy and the kids were coming home later than usual, a few minutes after I had started teaching at 2:30 pm. I taught until 3:20 pm, then made sandwiches for them to take with them. Randy left with Tammy and Emmy at 3:50 pm to take them to their programming class, while Sammy stayed home with me. That allowed me to keep working on the computer as I had plenty to do. We're leaving for the US next week after all. I needed to take a trip to the drugstore and the post office, and Sammy was very excited to go on that trip with me.
Once I had everything ready, we left the house together and walked to the subway. We rode it for three stops, got off and walked into the store there. I had to print out three pictures and buy two other items. Then we walked to the post office that was also right there, and I was able to use the machine to put all the postage on the envelopes. We were done and took the subway back home.
It was a long time until 7 pm, when Randy returned home with the kids, and Sammy was becoming impatient to see Daddy. He had done everything - watch on the projector, on the tablet, play with the door, use the headset. And then they were back home. The food was ready for them, so they sat down to eat. Then we went downstairs for piano practice. Back upstairs, it was bathtub time. Once they were out, there was just enough time to pray for them, then I had to sit down at the computer to teach from 8:10 to 9 pm. After that, I got myself something to eat, then I went back to work.
This morning was a different story. I had to get up just after 8 am and left with Randy and the kids just before 8:30 am. I was terribly tired after yet another short night, and this early morning. The kids were happy I was going with them, and for once I could do Tammy's hair since I wasn't sleeping, so that it didn't look as wild as usual. After two subway stops, Randy and the kids got off and waved good-bye to me. I had to ride the subway all the way downtown, then I walked the rest of the way to the dentist.
I got there right on time for my 9 am appointment and was called inside right away. It then took about 45 minutes. I hadn't done a tooth cleaning in a while, and never at that dentist. She said they used more modern technology. She gave me protective glasses to put on and put a numbing gel on my gums. That was not a very encouraging start. The numbing gel was unpleasant as it had also numbed my throat rather far back, where it had run down, and even with that, the cleaning still hurt. There was lots of blood in my mouth when I rinsed it out. And in the end she told me she wanted to do another round. I told her I was going to be gone for two months, so it's going to take place after our return. I'm not looking forward to that.
I paid and left the dentist to go back home where I arrived around 10:15 am. I was so tired I should have gone to bed, after a 6-hour night, but of course I didn't. I started working and wanted to get things done, even though I was tired. At 11:30 Randy and I ate, having warmed up yesterday's leftover, and after noon Randy left to go pick up Sammy. By 12:40 pm they were back. Randy left again a few minutes later to go pick up the other two.
Sammy and I had a good time. He watched videos on the projector, and played with the door, while I was working on my computer. I soon got so very tired that I told Sammy I was going to lie down for a little bit to sleep. That's a hard ask for Sammy as he wants something from me every few minutes. I fell asleep, then he woke me up, then I fell asleep again, so I got some sleep, though I don't know how much.
Then Randy and the kids got home just before 2:30 pm. I got up and got ready for us to leave, which we did 20 minutes later. Randy and Sammy stayed home at that point. We walked to the subway, rode it and then the tram and got to the dance school less than 10 minutes before the class was to start at 3:30 pm. Their teacher was already there, and the "Vienna Break Kids" T-shirts had finally arrived. We paid and got our four - three for the kids and one for me. Tammy and Emmy put them on right away and wore them for their class. They were looking pretty good!
I was in the locker room, reading and on my phone, but went inside from time to time to see what they were doing and take pictures. Emmy has really improved, and Tammy is doing well as well. At 4 pm I got Tammy out of the class and left the studio with her. When we went out on the street, we could already see Randy and Sammy approaching. Tammy had done a lot of crying that she wanted me to be the one taking her to ballet, and in the end I had given in, but then Emmy started whining, when I said I was going with her. I really wanted to stay with the boys so I'd be home earlier to make their dinner, and in the end, that's what I told her. She started crying again. She then asked me for a lollipop and for a gift for her going with Daddy instead of me, and I agreed. Still, she was crying when she walked away with Randy to go to the subway. They rode the subway for a few stops and then walked to the dance school where ballet class started at 4:30 pm. She went there today as she can't go on Friday, and it costs too much to only go half the month. It was her last ballet class before summer.
Sammy stayed with me. I got him out of the wheelchair that I left on the bottom of the stairs and carried him up the steep stairs to the dance studio. It was his first time there. I had given him the option to go with Daddy and Tammy to ballet, but he preferred coming to breakdance.
Once inside the studio, I put his new breakdance shirt on him as well. When he was done, I could see that Emmy was just doing his headstand and handstand. Once Emmy was done and sat down to watch the others, Sammy joined him there, and Emmy was really sweet with him.
Then it was time for the kids to dance individually while the others were watching. Emmy went first, and he once again impressed me. He's nearly there when it comes to making a handstand and keeping his legs in the air for longer. After he was done, the teacher told Sammy it was his turn, and Sammy was all excited about it. He loves music, and this type of music. He went up and down on his knees and with his arms, and the teacher told him to turn and he did. The teacher then gave him a high-five and spoke words of encouragement to him. It was really sweet how he had treated him. The kids then did a second round of dancing in front of the others by themselves, including Sammy. Then the class was over.
We managed to go down the stairs, me carrying Sammy, while Emmy was carrying my purse. Sammy is sure getting heavy; I can't carry him that much any more. I put him into his wheelchair, and we started walking in the direction of the tram stop. We had just missed the tram, so we got on the bus, when it was just arriving. After getting off, we had another bus to take, and it took a while for it to arrive and then to leave. Sammy kept saying how much he enjoys riding the bus. Emmy was then playing a game with me the whole way home, where he says a color, and I have to guess what object of that color he had spotted.
By 5:15 pm we were back home, and I went straight to the kitchen to make scrambled eggs for the boys as they had requested it. I also boiled some ears of corn and started cutting up fruit. I was still cutting fruit, when Randy and Tammy returned home at 6 pm. She then also sat down to eat. After they had eaten for a while, we went downstairs for piano practice, then back upstairs to go into the bathtub, where they continued eating. Today I didn't have a student so we had all the time of the world. After they had their pj's on, we continued looking at photobooks from our time in the US two years ago. Then I prayed for them, and Sammy went to bed. The other two still wanted to read the two books we have started, and we read more of them both. By 8:30 pm they were also in bed, and I went to the kitchen to continue cutting up vegetables for my salad. Then I enjoyed eating the last salad before our trip. Once I was done, I started working on today's pictures. Now it's 2 am, and I still have to take care of the dishes.
