Random Advice

Food and Your Au Pair

by cv harquail July 7, 2009

Boy, that post on Groceries triggered a lot of issues! Rather than try to keep track of them in the comments to that one post, let’s pull them out into posts of their own. So, coming up over the next several days, we’ll have posts about: Our AP’s appetite is so big, I can’t afford […]

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Extending– without the Agency. Yes or no?

by cv harquail June 17, 2009

We are in month 8 with our first au pair (she’s frmo Thailand), who has been great. We would like to extend, and she would like to stay for at least six months more, but she would like to do so outside of the agency. Apparently a friend of hers, at the end of her […]

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What a little bird said about Au Pairs

by cv harquail June 7, 2009

Now that I see a bunch of au pair mom advisors on Twitter, guess I must double up with accounts. my alterego? @cvharquail # Check out this interesting interview about The Daddy Identity Crisis http://bit.ly/102trV # Just found this comparison of au pair programs. Great if you read German (or understand “ja”) http://bit.ly/BlCxe # A […]

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A Little Something for/about Host Dads…

by cv harquail June 3, 2009

Okay Host Dads, it being June and all, here’s a little info treat about– you guessed it– being a dad. Maybe the rest of us moms need to read it too so that we can be more sympathetic. ;-) The Daddy Brain Moms aren’t the only ones whose bodies change after having a baby. Jeremy […]

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All real, all the time

by cv harquail May 26, 2009

A regular reader and commenter sent me an email this morning asking whether the story posted with the poll is real, or whether I made it up. Dear readers, may I just say, you can’t make this s%*# up. I am as surprised as you are at what people are willing to put up with, […]

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Rematch? You vote yes or no….

by cv harquail May 25, 2009

When I saw this comment pop up earlier tonight, it reminded me of the story that we just discussed… so many similar issues. So I have an idea– let’s take a vote on whether or not this mom should insist on a rematch. Then, let’s give this mom some ideas about what to tell her […]

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Au Pair Advice: Can we get her to speak the right language with the kids?

by cv harquail May 21, 2009

Sing me Spanish techno? This just in from Madrid!! A host mom with a different kind of language challenge! Just about every host family- au pair relationship I know of feels some kind of communication challenge… and these are always exacerbated when the host family and au pair grew up speaking different languages. But this […]

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Choosing an Au Pair: Using email to reach out to a candidate

by cv harquail May 14, 2009

Once you’ve found a candidate that interests you and you have her contact information, you need to establish contact reach out to her. I’ve found that an email is a great way to start the conversation. (If she does not haves an email address, go to the phone pronto.) An email can "warm up" a […]

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Au Pair Appreciation: Try this today!

by cv harquail May 5, 2009

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International Au Pair Appreciation Week Moms and Dads, it’s still International Au Pair Appreciation Week, and there is STILL TIME for you to send in a note, a sentence and/or a photo to share with the world something that you appreciate about your au pair. I’d love to have a few more submissions! Still, I […]

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Advice wanted: My AuPair prefers the infant, won’t interact with the 6 yr old

by cv harquail April 30, 2009

I need some advice. Our Aupair pretty much ignores my 6 year old daughter. She takes care of my 7 month old son but hardly interacts with my daughter. Her interaction is limited to telling her what to do [like brush her teeth] and what she should not be doing [no talking since the baby […]

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