Bonne Journee!!

It was a good day! Despite having to wake up a little early today, I had a really great morning...after dropping the kids off at school, I walked to a building just near their school in St. Germain where I took my test to be placed into the French course. It felt soo great just to walk around the cute little town...I found the place easily too. The exam was 30 multiple choice questions and 4 short answers to write...I did quite well, not great...BUT the woman that graded my test (as I sat next to her) decided I was in between Levels 2 and 3...3 being the highest level. So we both decided I'd start at LEVEL 3!!! haha... incredible...I don't speak French as well as I write it...but I am going to be in the top level, and if it's too difficult I'll go down to 2. But she told me that she thinks Level 2 will be too easy for me....so 3 will either be just right, or a small challenge, but I want a challenge and I want to push myself to improve my speaking and grammar. So, I'm happy about that. I also signed up to take "stretching" and "aerobics"...so I have one class each day, 4 days a week (and au pairs get a GREAT discount so thats cool)....French will be Thursday and Fridays. After taking the test I walked around St. Germain...there is a chateau, and lots of great shops and cafes...The buildings where I take my classes are all within walking distance of the children's school, so I will be able to park in one central place in the morning and leave the car for the entire morning...while the kids and I have class...and with the hour to spare each morning I will just hang out in St. Germain...so I feel relieved knowing that I won't have to drive as much during the day, and anxious to start my classes.
Lunchtime today with the kids was not so smooth...in fact it was hectic and quite dreadful....BUT I didn't let myself get upset or stressed...except by the end of lunch Matthieu was crying a LOT and was very sick...he was crying about his ears hurting and a tummy ache...so it worried me a lot and after talking to Virginie I decided we'd drop the girls back off at school and Matt would come back home with me...thankfully he fell asleep on the ride back home. Virginie had the afternoon off work, so she kept him and I was off for the day.....she and I also had a really great conversation about my classes, and other issues pertaining to the job...it was all very positive and I felt some relief from my latest stress.
I spent my afternoon at La Defense just for about 2 hours...then came home and made a really great dinner, at 6:00 pm!! Which is exciting for me, because I don't have time to make a real balanced dinner at a decent hour...during the week. So I made steak, a salad and couscous. At 7:00 sharp I went for a drive with Jerome, and it was FLAWLESS, stress free...thank God! Tomorrow I have to drive a different car because mine is getting a new part...they have an old tiny little car that I will drive tomorrow, so he wanted to show me a few things about it, and I realized the clutch is much more sensitive...we drove to the Poney Club just to review how to get there (because tomorrow I take the girls there, and it's really my first time making this drive by myself). Anyways, the drive was quick and went well....which is always nice...I ended my night doing my Pilates DVD in the studio, and it's not quite 10pm and I'm off to bed now! Tomorrow I have a long day, driving the kids around and teaching English to Tiph's class...some cleaning in the house, poney club...
And tomorrow night Kirstie and I are going OUT in PARIS! I'm VERY READY for a night out on the town...which I haven't really truly had yet...we're going to start at my studio, make a couple drinks (to save money and not buy drinks out in Paris), then go out to a bar or club...I'm finding a couple cool places to go out in my guide books, so we'll make a plan ahead of time...get dressed up, wear some heels, MAYBE buy a drink at the bar but maybe meet some guys to do that for us? Haha. Anyways, I'm excited for a night out...so I'm hoping for a good night sleep tonight! A bientot!