Mon Horaire - Timetable

I've been dreading doing this particular blog post - on my first week here - as I've been worried it would be tedious to type and too long to read, but maybe it'll be fine, I'll do my best to keep it short! (Ha, said the Irish person!)


My days run as so:
- Up and dressed for 7:30, chat to the family - the girls are already eating and dressed by this stage - say goodbye to the mother, eat an apple, dress the baby and bring him to his minder who lives about 5 minutes away, for 8a.m.

- Return to the house, the father leaves. I make sure the girls brush their teeth, tie/pin hair, have a disagreement about something - usually turning off the cartoons - make sure Al's glasses are in her bag, and triple check that both girls have their 'doudou' -teddies- for school or all hell would break loose!

- We leave the house for 8.20a.m. walk to school which is about 10mins up the road, I have 3 bags hanging off me, after losing the will to argue with them that they carry their own, and I walk behind two hyper filles yelling 'Arretez!/Attendez!' (stop/wait), 'Doucement! (slow down), 'Attention!/Regardez!' (be careful/watch) or convincing them to hold my hand when I catch up - cue another argument.

- The two always find friends to run up the road with and I always have a mother standing beside me echoing one another's shouts! (so I'm not the only one) I drop them off in their classroom, hang up their bags and leave them off dancing and laughing with their classmates.

- I return to the house for some peace and breakfast. I'm back for 8:45a.m and free until I collect the girls at 4:30p.m, which is great. I have the day to do with it what I like, whether it's hop on the bus to see my aunt and cousins, go to the beach, wander around Toulon or just chill at the house, I choose.

- I have to be there to get the girls at 4:30, we come home and they have a snack and sit and watch tv/play. Around 5:30/6 p.m their mom arrives back with the baby and I have to go shower the girls (always another disagreement happens here) and they're in their pyjamas by 7p.m when their dad arrives home. Usually this is when I get off but I almost always get dragged into helping with dressing up/singing for their evening Disney Princess indulgence.

- The girls and M get dinner, sometimes we all eat together, other nights, the parents and I wait until the girls are in bed, it depends on the evening. And them I go chill in my bedroom, and watch something on my laptop.

*****

But then we have WEDNESDAYS. I've never hated Wednesdays before this week, and this isn't going to get better unfortunately. On Wednesday I have the girls all day. Yes, ALL DAY. 8a.m to 7p.m... ELEVEN HOURS. And yes there is a siesta mid-afternoon, but you'd need a 4-hour one to make this even slightly better and it's not even close to 4 hours.

Wednesday was testing, to say the least. I never in my life felt as tired as I did that evening, and nearly cried when the parents told me that the kids were off school Thursday this week, AND Friday... Thankfully all of France was off, meaning the parents weren't working and I was allowed a sleep in - so cried with happiness that is!
Vi has been coming down with a sore throat so it was difficult, especially since she's petty when she's well, and a crier, so her being off form just made it all worse and really added to the mania of the day. That, and Al does everything she can to piss off Vi (which she did- all day!) We dressed up, played games, did art, baked and watched cartoons - Thank god to whoever invented the television!!

Wednesday nearly turned me off wanting kids - who knew au pairing was another form of contraceptive?!


- Fridays are date night for the parents, so I babysit, and on Tuesdays the parents work late so I bring Vi to ballet after school and myself and Al go to collect baby M.
And that's it...


*****

Now don't get the wrong idea because for the most part, myself and the two girls get on well. Yes there's times they won't do what I say and it'd be easier to get things going if only I was fluent in French, but it's no different to minding any other girls of 3 and 4 years old. And the two are cute and adorable and die laughing when I read a story to them and say some words wrong.
Al, the 3 year old has already sat me down and made me pronounce the names of book characters and kept making me repeat the names until I said them perfectly and giggled each time I got it wrong - on purpose or otherwise. So it's good, I get on with the kids and the parents and yes I'm still settling in but it's going as well as I could have dreamed!


Sorry this was so long, but it's out of the way now and the rest will be shorter. I promise!

K x