Au pair's day, how I see it in these days.
Until yesterday morning I was not alone, the ex au pair helped a lot, yesterday was the first half day and today the first complete day that I am alone. I have to tell I am extremely thankful for helping me both with practical stuff and also mentally!
So the day more or less looks like this...
Well, every day is rather similar, and also different in many things. The structure of the days is pretty similar, the family for very nice, for the meals they always get together and eat together so that gives an order to the day.
I get up between 7.30 and 8.00 at some point, the boys come down to the living room to watch children programmes in the TV, all alone so I don't have to wake them. While they are watching the TV, I prepare breakfast stuff (bread, butter, yoghurt, juice) on the table, take the potty, nappy and their day-clothes from the first floor to downstairs. After the programs end I call them to eat, and hope they eat normally and nicely and don't start making any chaos. Then I hope to get them to brush teeth, then get on some outside clothes if they want to go outside. Then we go outside, or play inside and lunch is at 12.30. Sometimes I need to help with preparing it, then we have luch, and I put the dishes into the dishwasher. Then sometimes I am with the boys or like now, I have some free time. Then at 4 there is snack with some fruits and such stuff, at 6 supper and around 8-9 there is dinner, among those I am with the boys, take care of them and play with them. Sometimes stuff has to be prepared for supper, so I do that while they watch some childrens programme between 5 and 6. Sometimes it is exhausting because I may be the over-worrying type, and want to take too much care, and am afraid and worried of how they can hurt themselves and extra energies go away for that worrying... But what can I do.
Then some other times, when I don't have to be the boys, I load in/load out the washing machine, and put the clothes to dry. The stuff is easy, wash dishes a bit and put to dishwasher, it usually gets full before dinner, so I put it, around 10 I load it out and have my dinner. Usually some awesome Finnish bread with super nice cheese and some juice, and then I just have computer time, those are the happy nights!
I should find more time to go to the forest to walk, to take pictures, at some point I should wash my clothes, and clean the room but I guess in some days the stuff gets settled better already.
Sometimes the kids are very nice, especially the older one, he eats then brushes teeth and then dresses up without me saying a word. But when he doesn't want something, he just starts a huge hysteria with his 5 year old willing self. The three year old starts crying if anything is even a bit bad and he is not clean yet, sometimes does his stuff into the diaper, that's pretty nasty to clean but one can get used to everything I guess.
Inside we usually play with tractors, read books, draw with pencils and so stuff like that. Outside it's a lot of fun (for them, for me it's constant fear), there are tractors, hay, and all that farm stuff that can be played with, bicycles which can be ridden, grass that can be cut and sand where one can play with tractors. I am just happy I can be in the sun and get tanned... :P
Soon I should ask for my first free days, hm. :D
