Day 2596. This was week 4 of school for the kids, and they are having fun. They have a dictation every Friday, and Emmy had no mistakes while Tammy had one. This week they learned how to write the letters e and l by hand.
Thursday
Sammy had a 9 am appointment at the therapy center, just a regular check-up by the doctor there, while I had a student that had asked for a 9 am lesson. It was hard having to get up that early. I was done just before 10 am and left the house right away to take the subway downtown and walk to my dentist's office. By 11 am I was done and leaving the office again to go home.
At 1:30 am I picked up Sammy at school. Randy and the other kids got home at 2:15 pm, and at 2:30 pm I left the house with Tammy and Emmy. We rode the subway downtown, doing reading practice, then walked to their music school.
At 3 pm their private lesson started. This time Tammy went first and did a great job. While it was her turn, Emmy was practicing handstands. After half an hour, they switched, and it was Emmy's turn. He also did a great job. At 4 pm they were done, and we walked back to the subway to ride it home.
Randy and Sammy left the house just before 4:30 to go to his wheelchair class that he greatly enjoys. This time we didn't run into them on the way home. We got back at 4:30 pm, and I had to start teaching right away. I was done at 5:20 pm, then I went to the kitchen to cut up their fruit and make my salad. At 6 pm I had my next student, and at 7 pm another one. Randy and Sammy returned home at 7 pm. After I was done teaching just before 8 pm, I ticked off all their chores off our list, prayed for them, and they went to bed, while I sat down to eat before going back to work.
Friday
I had made an appointment with a new student on Thursday night, and so I taught from 11 am to noon. Randy picked up Sammy at 12:30 and brought him home. I then left the house before 2 pm to go pick up Tammy and Emmy at 2:30 pm. They have choir at school (a Christian choir) every other week, and because of our weekend out of town, it was their first time at choir. While I was waiting for them outside the building, I could actually hear them sing in their classroom. A few minutes later they came out, and we walked to the tram that we took to the end, then we took a bus. We were not going home but straight to the competitive gymnastics class that started at 3:30 pm.
We got there with 15 minutes to spare so we went to the playground right there first. They had fun for a few minutes, then we went inside the school and to their locker room. I left them there for their 90 minute class and went home.
By 4 pm I was back home. I made their sandwiches, then cut up their fruit. At 4:30 pm Randy left to pick up Tammy and Emmy at 5 pm, while Sammy stayed home with me. By 5:30 pm they were back home, and at 6 pm I started teaching. I was done at 7 pm, then we did piano practice before it was bathtub time. They then got ready for bed, I prayed for them, and sat down to teach at 8 pm. They both lay down in my bed, but Tammy then went to her own bed. Once I was done teaching at 9 pm, I carried Emmy to his own bed and sat down to eat my salad before going back to work.
Saturday
Finally weekend! However, Emmy just wouldn't let me sleep and kept waking me up. At 9:15 am my alarm finally went off, and I got up to get ready to leave the house. At 9:45 am Tammy and I left. Randy and the boys left at 10 am as Emmy had soccer practice from 10:30 am to noon. Randy and Sammy went home after dropping Emmy off, then left again after half an hour to pick him up.
Tammy and I rode the subway downtown, then took a bus to Saint Peter's church where choir practice was in the basement. It was from 10:30 to 11:30 am. Today Tammy was only one of four girls, but they all had fun. They first warmed up physically, then warmed up their voices, then they sat down on the floor to practice reading notes. Then it was time to practice the two songs from La Bohème and Lohengrin. Tammy had practiced them, and so she did pretty well singing them with the others. After the two songs, it was time to dance, and Tammy had fun. Then they did one more game while singing one of the two songs, and practice was over.
Tammy and I walked to the subway and rode two subways home. By noon we were back home, and I went straight to the kitchen to cook. Randy and the boys got home just before 12:30 pm, and a few minutes later we all sat down to eat. At 1 pm Randy had to leave with Sammy to take him to his music class that started at 1:30 pm. As always, he had lots of fun there, and he's still the only student in this class for special needs kids.
Back home, I soon got so tired that I closed my eyes to take a nap. Tammy and Emmy occupied themselves in the meantime. Randy and Sammy got home at 3 pm. And just after 4 pm we all left the house together.
We rode the train and then the subway and got to church early, so the kids went into the kids' play area for a few minutes. Then we took the elevator up to church. The service started at 5 pm. Sammy was having particularly much fun in worship, dancing his way and praising Jesus, while the other two just sat in their chairs. Emmy then hugged his brother and played with him for some time. At 5:30 pm they were released to go to kids' church where they stayed until the end of the service at 7 pm. I stayed in the sanctuary to listen to the service, then left at 7 pm to go get the kids. They were playing musical chairs when I got there. We then all left together to go home.
Just before 8 pm we were back home. The kids still wanted some food, so I made it for them. They ate, then I prayed for them, and they went to bed. I was hungry and made myself something to eat. After having eaten, I went back to work.
Sunday
I was glad that they did better this morning when it comes to letting me sleep. Eventually it was Tammy who woke me up because there was some drama she needed me for. I then got up and went to the kitchen to make lunch. After we had all eaten, everyone was relaxing in their own way. I then had a student from 3 to 4 pm. Once I was done, it was time to leave the house together.
Sammy had been looking forward to this day for months. He loves Kasperl (an Austrian puppet), and had been wanting to go to a show at that particular location. We rode the subway and then the tram and got to the building 15 minutes early. Sammy was so very excited! Randy got him out of the wheelchair and carried him to his seat. Then he left again as we had only four tickets since Randy doesn't understand anything anyway.
At 4:45 pm the show started, and Sammy had fun from the beginning to the end. Tammy was in a bad mood, as you can see in the pictures. There was a short break, and we all left the room, and the kids had some snacks that Randy had brought with him. Then we went back inside for the rest of the show. It ended just before 6 pm. We then took the traim to another subway stop where there was a McDonald's and went inside to have dinner together. We had a good time there, the kids eating well, then we rode the subway home.
It was 7 pm. I cut up some fruit for them, and they went into the bathtub where they ate it. Then we got them ready for bed. I still read them a story before praying for them, then they went to bed. I then made myself a small salad to eat. After having eaten, I went back to work.
