UH OH! I did it!

UH OH! I did it!

We are well into week three of the au pair's vacation and I made up my mind. When she comes back from vacation I am giving her notice.

Elizabeth is all signed up for before and after care at school this year and her slot for next fall is secure. I've got an email into the director of her pre-school. It's a wonderful Christian program that I highly recommend and they offer full-day day camp in the summer for their graduates. So, I'm going to get her signed up for that. The only thing I have yet to cover is Tuesday evenings. I have a regular appointment on Tuesday evenings. During the au pair vacation my next door neighbor has watched Elizabeth -- but I don't feel that I can ask them to do that forever. So, if you know someone who would like a regular 1.5 - 2 hour babysitting gig every Tuesday night, have them give me a call.

But other than that... I'm mostly pleased with this decision. I'm a little nervous. I feel like I've just unhooked my safety net. But the truth is -- the au pair wasn't doing all that much for me. Life has been a lot calmer with her gone. I didn't realize just how stressful it was to have someone living in my house. Elizabeth's teacher even sent home a note saying that she has been much calmer and happier in class lately. Gee, I didn't realize she was un-calm and unhappy, but I guess she was...

It's also so nice to know that my things won't be thrown away. If I put something someplace... it will still be there tomorrow.

I like both Gaby and Andrea, and all... but I really felt like they always had their hand out for money and they expected that money to flow out of my pockets in an endless supply. I know that most of their au pair friends work for families that are much richer than I am. Don't get me wrong, I realize I'm very fortunate to be in a position that I could even consider an au pair in the first place... but let's remember something... I'm a single mom and I don't get any child support or alimony AND I'm paying off huge debts that I got custody of during the divorce (for those of you that don't know... uncontrolled, outrageous, and seriously damaging spending is a well known and well documented symptom of bi-polar disorder -- a disorder from which the ex suffers.) So, while I am blessed that I have a job that allows me to meet all my financial obligations... I'm not rolling in money and I don't have any extra. And when I do have extra; it goes to my brothers who have trouble putting food on the table for their own families.

So, when these girls treat me like I've got an endless supply of funds, it just pisses me off... one of the girls wanted me to buy her a computer and then let her "work off the debt" by cleaning the house. Ummm... picking up the toys and keeping Elizabeth's messes to a manageable level is part of the au pair job... so why should I buy you a computer to do your job? Another time, one of the girls wanted me to pay her extra money because Elizabeth's school was on vacation for a week. Ummm... the au pair compensation assumes that the au pair will work 45 hours per week and there hasn't been a single week (except maybe school vacations) when one of my au pairs has come any where close to the 45 hours... and I'm not allowed to dock their pay for working less hours. I'm not saying I WOULD dock their pay if I could, it's not like they make a ton of money. And I don't begrudge anyone fair pay for doing a fair day's work... But geez louise... you want me to pay you extra for DOING YOUR STUPID CUSSHY JOB?????

And let's face it, being Elizabeth's au pair has to be one of the easiest au pair jobs in the world... heck it might be among the easiest jobs ever! And I'm NOT saying that because I'm her mother... but let's look at this rationally... When you work for us, you only have to care for ONE child. That child is six-years-old and somewhat self sufficient... that means no bottles and no diapers. She can get her own drink of water. She can entertain herself most of the time. She can play outside with her friends and you don't have to hover over her every single second. You can go to your room and close the door and read your book and act like you're not even working. That seems to be what both of my au pairs have done with most of their working days...

So.... taking a three-week vacation was the stupidest thing Andrea could have done. I begged her not to go for that long. I didn't think I could make it without her and I was desperate to change her mind about taking three consecutive weeks.... but she just had to do it.

Guess what... not only can I make it without her... I feel like we're thriving without her... so Andrea... bye-bye!

PS: I'm still more than a little scared about this... what if things at work change and I need more hours than SACC can give me? What if this is still an "au pair-free honeymoon period." What if? What if? What if? Please pray that I'm making the right decision and that things will work out. Thanks!