How did I become a doormat?

by cv harquail September 16, 2009
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Hello. I have been reading Au Pair mom website since we got our first Au Pair from Brazil in Feb 2009. She is 19 years old. We have 22 month old twins. My husband works out of the home for the most part and I work some from home and some away from home. My […]

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How do we know when it’s time to give up?

by cv harquail September 9, 2009
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Our first 2 Au Pairs were fantastic … but we are having a hard time bonding with #3. She initially had difficulty keeping our 2 boys (age 5), and focused on activities rather than wrestling but seems to be improving in that area (very slowly)… However, getting her to talk to us or the kids […]

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Who pays for what?

by cv harquail September 7, 2009
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Sometimes the concept of treating an au pair like a ‘member of the family’ doesn’t give you enough guidance. This seems especially true when it comes to figuring out ‘who pays for what, when’. We got a request (using the Skribit feature) for a post that would heolp to establish some guidelines for this. I’ve […]

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You and the Flu

by cv harquail September 7, 2009

Get vaccinated ?Time to get over your “But I hate shots!” whining and ranting. Educate yourself on available vaccinations, talk with your doctor, and view the CDC website. They have vaccination information here. Wash your hands and use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. ?Giving high-fives should be a safe and friendly sport. I used to think […]

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The Boyfriend-Back-Home: Always bad news?

by cv harquail September 1, 2009
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We got an interesting request for advice from a host mom who just found out that her incoming au pair has gotten a BBH — a Boyfriend-Back-Home. This mom is concerned because her first au pair – host mom experience was marred by her au pair’s devotion to the BBH over her commitment to the […]

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Conflicting Foodstyles: Advice for an Au Pair

by cv harquail August 31, 2009
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Can someone advise me? I have been an au pair for 2 weeks and the family are really nice. The problem is the food. They have 6 kids and so they only buy cheap food like pasta and bread. Sometimes all we have for dinner is vegetables. I am desperate for some protien, but they […]

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Our Au Pair Wants to Extend and We’d Rather Not

by cv harquail August 27, 2009
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Uh Oh. A clash of expectations on the horizon. And, once you discuss it, you might get some pushback from your au pair…. Our au pair has been with us about 5 months. She is ok. Not great by any means. We are not planning to extend with her. Our biggest issue with her is […]

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Checkout Task List: Back by popular demand

by cv harquail August 26, 2009
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(Several readers have asked to see this list again… turns out it’s been hard to find, probably I need to use more & better tags. Until the rainy day when I get to play with the folksonomy, here’s the Checkout Task List! originally posted Aug 25, 2008) When your aupair is getting ready to leave […]

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Scheduling your kid(s) week: Can the AP be in charge?

by cv harquail August 25, 2009
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I have a question for those seasoned HP’s… School has started for us. I was really prepared with the summer calendar so that the kids (very different ages and needs) were stimulated and the AP wasn’t overwhelmed. But now, one child is in school and the other child is bored. The younger one goes to […]

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“No Room at the Inn” because AP changed her plans. Now what? (Poll)

by cv harquail August 22, 2009
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My au pair’s vacation is coming up. To cover for her, we’re having both sets of grandparents come stay over. They’ll be here for a month, but will overlap for a little over a week. The overlap will occur while the AP is on vacation. We have a smallish house – 3 bedrooms. Our “guest […]

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