reinforcing how much my job sucks.

Last night, I put the kids in bed. Benjamin awoke about an hour and a half after from a night terror, and Gabrielle assumed that gave her leeway to get out of bed as well. I sat Benjamin down and called Sandrine, and told Gabrielle to go back to bed. After Benjamin talked to his mom, he went back to bed and everything was ok. Gabrielle fought me, she too wanted to call her mom, and I told her no, go back to bed. So she goes behind my back, and sneaks a phone call to Sandrine, who told her she was allowed to read in bed for 20 minutes. This was at 10:45. All would have been fine with me, except I WAKE THE KIDS UP FOR SCHOOL AND IT IS ALREADY A FIGHT EVERY MORNING. And who lets a 9 year old stay up that late on a school night?! UGH! When I say no, the parents say yes, and when I say yes, the parents say no, NO-DUH I have no authority here.

I woke the kids up this morning, and with the time change it felt like they were getting up an hour early. It was a fight with Benjamin and Gabrielle, but Samuel was half asleep and let me dress him. At least that made it 33.3% easier for me. Gabrielle didn't want to wake up, and Benjamin was super whiny. They ate breakfast and went off to school. Then I woke Elsa up. It is easier to give her her bottle in her room and then get her dressed rather than bringing her to the kitchen to have her bottle, then bringing her back down stairs to get dressed. She is semi-sick and coughing up gunk, I know, the fun stuff. When she finished her bottle she began coughing ALOT, and in the process projectile vomited her entire bottle everywhere. Fun stuff to clean up in the morning.

After I got dressed myself and did the dishes, I too was off to school. I felt like a little kid on the way, excited to make friends, and learn some French. I got to my class, and met another au pair from Pittsburgh, she seemed cool, but turned out not to be in my class. In my class, I think I am the youngest or close to the youngest. There are 3 middle ages South Americans/Spaniards, a very stand offish Russian woman, a girl from Denmark, I believe another American (but I'm not sure), a woman from Iceland, and 2 other people from who knows where. They didn't seem to speak English, and everyone seemed to know  more French than me. They all are au pairs, but I have the most kids. Well, there is 1 other girl with 4 kids, but 2 of them are over 14. They all have studio's apart from the families dwellings, got their classes paid for, and work 15 hours, at least, less than me a week. I am so sick of being the sob story, but why do I have to have it so crappy?! Before I was telling myself, at least I live in Paris, but they live here too and don't have it as bad. Maybe I can use their stories, to get paid more, work less, or gain more privacy. As soon as I figure out how to communicate that with J-F and S, I will. It's hard when they already look at me like I am doing nothing, and I get scolded for sitting and reading instead of doing heavy housework like Josephine. Home has never looked better.

On another note, the people who creep on my when I go anywhere, follow me and try to talk to me when I am noticeably not interested are starting to ruin Paris for me as well. I need to invest in a fake engagement ring to keep from getting bothered so much. At first, I'll admit, it was flattering, and now it makes me want to scream, and pepper spray all the men in Paris. Seriously just let me be. I even quit smiling everywhere I went for goodness sake. I need my daddy to come to Paris and teach them all a lesson on how not to act towards a teenage girl.

I am pretty sure I have to get the boys from school today (help me God). I don't see why Josephine can't do it, they are in far better hand with her, they at least listen to her. I hope it doesn't take Samuel running into the street and being hit by a car for Sandrine to realize I can't control him, not all the spanking, or yelling or anything has been able to break the boy and change that.

XOXO,
Mandy