Can this relationship be saved?

Advice Wanted: Untruthful and ungrateful — what to do?

by cv harquail January 24, 2009

little-white-lies-fingers crossed behing back

One of our moms has an au pair challenge that combines two of the most frustrating au pair-related problems: (1) Her au pair doesn’t always tell the truth, and (2) her au pair doesn’t seem to appreciate what the host mom & family have to offer her. To top that off, our host mom hasn’t […]

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It’s Still AuPairMom…

by cv harquail January 22, 2009

Hi Moms (& Dads) – I have been putting off the inevitable upgrade of the AuPairMom theme… I really love the old theme by Randa Clay, with the sweet bluebird, but… those of you who Twitter have probably noticed that Twitter uses the same stock image. Even though Randa used this particular bluebird first, it’s […]

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A Death in Her Family: How can you help?

by cv harquail January 12, 2009

Parents- here’s a request for some immediate advice: From Maya People, I could use some sugestions here. I just found out today, Sunday, that my au pair’s grandmother passed away on Tuesday. She never told me. Just told me today when I asked if she has talked to her family recently. I asked if she […]

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Check out this interview of an (au pair) Mom!

by cv harquail January 6, 2009

All — One of the moms who contributes regularly to our conversations, and who has a blog and a business, is interviewed this week on Bizzie Mommie as the "Mompreneur of the month" ! In addition to her ‘mom’ blog WorkMoreDoMoreBeMore, Ann Levine also runs and writes Law School Expert . There’s a reason we […]

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15 Tips from 15 Host Moms

by cv harquail January 5, 2009

Cruising through the comments and wincing at the many that I haven’t answered adequately, I was reminded how many little tidbits you all have been sharing on the blog. It can be overwhelming to provide advice for a knotty problem, or for a first timer, because there really is so much to share. Funny thing […]

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Au Pair Moms: Be my päkapikud?

by cv harquail December 15, 2008

I have a little Christmas wish, prompted by a few comments from you readers over the last 2 weeks or so. I’m wondering, would you be my holiday päkapikud? What’s a päkapikud? A päkapikud is a little Estonian elf. Our very first Au Pair, Margit, used päkapikud as a nickname for my daughter. How can […]

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More Thanksgiving Day ideas…for you and your Au Pair

by cv harquail November 24, 2008

wampanoag aupairs low cost childcare au apir advice

What do you know about Thanksgiving? The AuPairCare website for Au Pairs has a fun little activity for Au Pairs celebrating Thanksgiving with their host families. If you haven’t seen this yet, you might want to suggest it to your au pair, or just play it with the family yourself. First, visit this website for […]

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Can This Relationship Be Saved? Should It Be? Your Host Mom advice wanted….

by cv harquail November 18, 2008

disgruntled au pair, resentful, au pair advice, low cost childcare

Hi Moms- Just got this request for advice from another mom– It’s one of those questions that I find especially vexing: Can this relationship be saved? And, even before that, Should it be? What do you think? Here’s the story: I’m having a personality conflict with my au pair and am really unsure as to […]

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How Can You Get Your Au Pair to be (more of) a Self-Starter?

by cv harquail October 6, 2008

Moms- We’ve got another request for advice! Not so surprisingly, this request shares a theme with last week’s question, about how to get your au pair ‘out and about’ so that you can have some alone-ish time. I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting some of the passages to call your attention to them… What are […]

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Host Mom Advice Wanted: How to get more privacy and family time?

by cv harquail September 25, 2008

Hi Host Moms (and Dads) — We just got this request from a host mom who’d like some suggestions. Here is her challenge: We are looking to have some space away from our au pair on her time off. I have heard of au pairs that go out with their friends, go out to eat […]

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