It’s YOUR vacation, not hers. Okay?

by cv harquail February 2, 2009
vacation

I had a long listen at a neighborhood party last week…one of my host mom friends had just come back from a family vacation to Disneyworld. Three kids, three adults, two bedrooms, 5 days. And for my friend, not a vacation at all. What went wrong? I’ll tell you what went wrong. My friend forgot […]

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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
AuPairMom bird

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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Tip: Save those Ice Skates!

by cv harquail January 18, 2009
edgemont pond

At the park across the street, the pond has frozen. (This is actually what it looks like!) Every time the pond freezes, I congratulate myself for saving my old ice skates. About five years ago, when my little ones were taking skating lessons , I bought myself skates that actually fit me so that I […]

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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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Help: My Au Pair is Blogging about My Family!

by cv harquail January 11, 2009
pandorasbox.jpg (JPEG Image, 350x263 pixels)_1231704977628

It’s s Web 2.0 nightmare no Au Pair Host Parent is ready for — your au pair is blogging about your kids, your family, your discipline strategies, and who knows what all else. And the picture is not altogether flattering. What do you do? Here’s how md describes her challenge and her request for advice: […]

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Poll: Do you ask your Au Pair to walk your dog?

by cv harquail January 8, 2009
And the little sweetie pie

Let’s take a walk into another grey area of potential au pair responsibilities- your family dog. “Officially”, here in the USofA, your (See Dawn’s comment, below) with my agency, APIA, the Au Pair is not supposed to do any dog (or pet) care at all. Still, since the dog is part of the family, and […]

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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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How much cleaning do you ask your Au Pair to do?

by cv harquail January 6, 2009
victoria chan Housework hero on Flickr

Housework. The contested terrain. Just what housework tasks are appropriate to ask your au pair to do? "The rules" say that your au pair is in charge of things related to the kids. BUT since the kids shared the house with at least one adult, there is always some overlap as well as jointly-created mess. […]

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Can you guess what prompted this Host Parent tip?

by cv harquail January 5, 2009
bleach cleaner au pairs system

My husband laughs at me — in a kind way, he insists — every time he sees me do something like this. I try to explain that there is indeed a method to my madness, and that behind every quirky tactic in our household is an accident that’s now easier to avoid. But he still […]

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