The 2nd Best Goodbye Gift You Can Give Your Au Pair

by cv harquail May 15, 2010
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Last year one of our most active and committed community members “Taking a Computer Lunch“, casually mentioned something that she does for all of her au pairs shortly before they depart. She gives them the gift of “The Box“. What is “The Box”? We give our APs the biggest box their home countries permit, either […]

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Working Mom Realities at TheMamaBee

by cv harquail May 14, 2010
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For the small segment of the world who uses Twitter, Fridays are special days, full of treats. #FollowFriday (or #ff, for short) is a day when folks will tweet to recommend someone to follow… and it’s a great way to discover new resources and find new voices. Since most AuPairMom readers, like most Americans, aren’t […]

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Realizing you aren’t ready to be Au Pair host parents? And you have an Au Pair?

by cv harquail May 12, 2010
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If we only knew then what we know now… being an Au Pair Host Parent would be really easy. Okay, easier. As our au pair parenting experiences unfold, we learn a lot about what works and what doesn’t, what we can change and what we can’t, how we can accommodate to an au pair and […]

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Are you really ready to be a Host Parent? The Host Parent Readiness Test

by cv harquail May 11, 2010
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We spend a lot of time on this blog sharing ideas about how to figure out whether an au pair candidate is actually ready to do the job, live in another family, and explore an new culture and country. But, we haven’t spent much time sharing ideas about preparing *ourselves” for becoming host parents. We […]

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Since she’s temporarily returned to the nest– can I still give my (former) Au Pair advice?

by cv harquail May 10, 2010
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Funny how, once an au pair has become part of your life, he or she stays part of your life. Many au pairs go home or on to their next adventure, and we don’t really hear from them again. Others keep in touch with birthday cards and Facebook, and with some we are lucky to […]

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Getting an Au Pair: What really motivated you?

by cv harquail May 10, 2010
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Let’s cut through the b.s. of the lovely agency brochures, the glowing endorsements on agency blogs, and the romanticized picture of a delightful young person shepherding our kids across the park to the playground. Why do we really have au pairs as child caregivers? Why are we opening up our homes, and sometimes even our […]

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Au Pair Mom’s Mothers’ Day Challenge

by cv harquail May 8, 2010
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The annual celebration of Mothers’ Day offers us moms a chance to have breakfast in bed, or experience some other kind of treat from our family. It’s one particular day that we get a bit of positive feedback for the work that we do as moms, and it’s one day that we get to be […]

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Posting Frequency: How often would like like a new post? (Poll)

by cv harquail May 7, 2010
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Hi Readers, In anticipation of this blog’s second birthday (I know, they grow up So Fast!), I’m starting a little bit of spring blog-keeping… just general blog admin, much of it behind the scenes. I want to update the blog in ways that matter to you, so there are a few elements of blog-keeping where […]

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Au Pair Asks: Tips for Getting Money Back Home

by cv harquail May 6, 2010
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I was impressed to discover that some au pairs actually save money, either for themselves or to send back home to their parents. Many of the au pairs I’ve known have spent their money here in the USA, either on shoes or on traveling (and occasionally on both. What do mannies spend their money on?) […]

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Choosing an Au Pair: Sexual Orientation as a consideration

by cv harquail May 5, 2010
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When we are looking for au pair candidates who might be a good fit with our family, we have criteria (e.g., must drive, can’t smoke, likes dogs) that are non-negotiable. We have preferences that direct us to candidates with characteristics we think we’d like in an au pair (e.g., is musically talented, family-oriented, German). And […]

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