Vendredi, 19 Octobre 2012: Joyeux Anniversaire Didier!!!

Céline and Didier told me I could sleep in this morning since the triplets weren't here. Even so, I woke up at 9h00. I worked on my blog and caught up on my messages until about 10h30 when Didier called up to me. He had made me a diagram of Camille's school so that I would know how and where to pick her up.

After Didier left for work I climbed back into bed and passed out until 11h30. When my alarm went off, I went downstairs with a determination to figure out the coffee machine. All I had to do was push the power button, et voila, I had coffee. This is good technology! ;-) I don't normally drink coffee because it makes me so jittery, but it was the boost I needed today. From about noon to 17h00 I cleaned the entire kitchen. I removed cob webs from corners, wiped down all of the cabinets, scrubbed the stove top, re-arranged the glassware, cleaned stains off the walls, scrubbbed the microwave, washed the windows, swept, and mopped the floor. I can't believe it took me 5 hours to do all of this, but wow, it looks awesome. Céline gave me extra kisses when she came home :-)

I left the house at 17h10 to pick up the kids. I started with Camille, grabbed Léa and Baptiste next, and Gregoire last. Gregoire peed himself today, lol. I had to take those clothes home to wash, of course. On the way home I must've stalled out twice. I'm not sure if it was because I was tired and didn't pay attention to what gear I was in, or if I just let off the clutch too soon. It was a bit embarrassing in front of the kids, especially because they had just asked me if I was used to the car yet.

We made it home safe and sound. I had the kids put away their clothes that I had folded earlier. I then followed them into the other wing of the house where they watched some really bad TV. The show they were watching was like Oxygen's Bad Girls Club mixed with MTV's The Real World. It was awful but they were completely sucked in. I asked them if their mother allowed them to watch trash like this, and they all immediately replied positively, so I let them be. While they were all gawking at the drama on TV, I was ironing. I never realized it before, but I really love ironing. It's soothing to me--kind of like cooking or cleaning.

Céline arrived home with two humongous platters of fresh seafood and sushi for Didier's birthday party. Léa and I set the table for 12. As soon as we finished, the guests started arriving. First, I met Didier's parents. Then I met two of his sons from his second marriage--Antoine and Nicholas, who are SUPER cute teenagers. They're heartbreakers for sure. They're both in a bilingual school so they got to practice some english with me. The last guest to arrive was one of Didier's good friends, a doctor named Janine. She sounded like she's been smoking all of her life--very cartoonish if you know what I mean.

Didier arrived soon after and we started with appetizers and apertifs. For apps, we had a dried french sausage called "saucisson", crispy fried vegetable chips, sardines, bread, caviar, a type of tapenade, and champagne for the toast.

For dinner, we had raw oysters, steamed shrimp, steamed crab, escargot, raw sea urchin, salmon nigiri, and california rolls. For dessert we had flan (the best I've ever tasted), a cake with fresh strawberries, and some Arab pastries. We must've opened at least 8 bottles of wine on top of that. And yes, I was extremely drunk. 

Didier got some really nice, practical things as gifts. Scarves--a stylish one, and another to keep warm, a dress shirt, a casual shirt, and a really good cologne. I believe Céline bought all of these and just gave one to each child to hand out. 

As soon as I was done eating I started cleaning up. The kids were very helpful, bringing dishes in for me, or helping me load the dishwasher. They are so great!!! They were all so loving the entire evening, asking for kisses and also planting them on me every chance they got. Léa made me a picture that says "I LOVE YOU MELINDA." That completely melted my heart!!! I'm gonna start a scrapbook of things that they make me because I'm sure there's more to come :-) The kids and I played a good game of soccer tonight. Baptiste and I both share a love for 'football'. I had to show him my skills ;-) even in my ballet flats. 

Around 00h30 Céline and Didier went to bed. I saw a full bottle of wine that was open so I had to get up to cork that and put it in the fridge, then I got the urge to do more so I put all of the dishes away and re-arranged some. I also folded some clothes and tucked Google in for the night. I wrapped a blanket around her like I would Lily at home. 

I miss my babies...I know that Dexter is doing alright with the JMU Biology department--hopefully they're not doing any experiments on him...Matt's been carrying Dexter in his pouch around his neck, ha haha. That's a good way to bond. Matt's also got my snake. He says Yuri's got healthy movement though she hasn't eaten yet. It'll come though. She just needs to get comfortable with her surroundings. She's gone 6 months without eating before. I haven't heard from Michelle about how Simba's doing on the farm yet. Hopefully he's well. He was looking pretty happy when I checked on him the day before my flight. Though I haven't had him as long as Yuri, I miss him the most. Rabbits have a lot more personality than snakes though, so it's easier to bond with them. I dream about them all the time so I don't feel like I've really left them. I kind of just feel like there's something missing in my life, and I know it's my babies. 

It's time for bed though. Danielle and I are planning on hiking St. Victoire tomorrow. I also get my first visitor from the states! Jacob's coming to see me. I'm so excited! I haven't seen him since his last job in Virginia so it's been awhile. I can't wait to show him around and have him experience Aix with me :-)