#08.09.16

Harry at an Adele concert in LA | August 9, 2016

Prada ‘Important Ones’ Camp-Collar Shirt (originally $820)

1. Had quite a chilled day which is good.

2. Visited my cousin and her son and the kids played together and she passed over a load of cute hand me downs.

[VÍDEO]

[VÍDEO] 

[TWITTER]

And here we are fast approaching a week since I arrived here, and honestly I can’t quite believe it.  It doesn’t feel like it’s been just a week. It’s been such an overwhelming load of information that I don’t think I can remember it all to put it into words. I’ll take a sit down sometime and write out a schedule to give you and idea of what my week actually looks like.

Yesterday was the day I was dreading the most and the one I was most looking forward to. On a Wednesday in France, there is no school. Instead it’s filled with various other activities; sports, music, dance lessons or English lessons. This week, most of these activities hadn’t started to it fell to me to entertain the girls for the majority of that day. Mia had her dance class from 11:45AM to 12:15PM and Emma takes responsibility of taking her there. Normally Lily has tennis and Laurent takes her so I don’t start working until noon. Lunch is served promptly at 12:30PM and then I was somewhat stumped. I don’t know the area well enough to know what to do and I’m not nearly confident enough to take two young girls on the metro to venture further afield. Thankfully, Emma is more than reasonable and sat with us during lunch to discuss a plan for the day and the girls excitedly requested La Villette.

It’s about a ten minute walk away so of course it took us twenty-thirty minutes. The place is something else let me tell you. I don’t think we have anything quite like it. There are several cafes and restaurants and a beautiful water feature to welcome you in; it seems to be a popular place for picnics. As we ventured in, the girls directed me to the playground. It’s made of steep hills which run vertically side by side. There are lots of different activities spread throughout and the kids can move between areas by climbing through tunnels. There are flat areas which are similar to a bouncy castle without sides and then a playground with water play areas and sand play areas.  Further on there is a merry-go-round, flying swings, carnival games and a sweet shop where you can get eight different kinds of slurpee, candyfloss, churros, candy and drinks. There’s also the option to take a boat trip down the river. It’s a really quite fantastic spot and we were able to kill the entire afternoon there.

When we arrived home, I suggested makeovers and a fashion show. A suggestion that was met with delighted cheers. Lesson One: When in doubt, little girls can always be won over with make-up and dressing up. I was able to prepare dinner early which gave them longer television time. Truthfully, I think I was trying to delay bedtime somewhat. It was my first night babysitting past seven and my first time putting the girls to bed. Poor little Mia broke her heart crying for her Mama and it took some time to get her settled. Lily wasn’t too difficult to settle, thank goodness.

Lily, the oldest girl, I may have mentioned has been rather difficult because I'm not her former au pair. There's definitely some adjustment and settling in to do. Yesterday, for the first time, she said she actually liked me being around. It was a short lasting victory but a victory regardless.

It was an exceptionally long day; from 12 noon to around 11PM when Emma returned home. I was glad to hear the front door because it meant I could sleep. Mia ended up crawling into my bed several times throughout the night; three AM, four AM and again at five AM and sleepily, I had to carry her back into her own bed each time. I was exhausted this morning. I don’t do well with having my sleep so interrupted.