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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15 Tips from 15 Host Moms

by cv harquail January 5, 2009
brungrrl s chistmas mosaic

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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More Au Pairs than Ever, according to the Wall St. Journal

by cv harquail January 4, 2009
Louis

An interesting, short article on the Wall Street Journal’s online site appeared over the holidays, when I was so crazy I barely had time to turn on my computer, much less post. But, even 2 weeks later, the article Foreign Exchange: Au Pair Care On the Rise is worth a quick read. Apparently, the number […]

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9 Host Mom Questions for 2009: Reflect before you resolve

by cv harquail December 31, 2008
lepapierdesigns on etsy calendar

How did we get here already? I was just testing the polling feature to see how many au pairs were on duty on Christmas, and — bam– it’s already December 31st. Maybe the holidays have been like this for you too? Just more family, more fun, (more work!), and overall less blogging time than I’d […]

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