Our au pair

With me going back to school we had some tough decisions to make in regards to childcare. Unfortunately, my schedule is so strange. I am gone different hours 4 days a week. That made trying to find different daycare/sitters for different times and in different places. Some in school some out of school, some at home, some at the day care center..........................BLAHHHH!!! It was an unrealistic picture and practically impossible. We did not know what to do.

Very long story short, a friend mentioned to me the idea of an au pair. I had heard of au pairs but did not really know what / how they worked. So I did some research. For a comparison, think nannies. Au pairs are young people between the ages of 18-26 from a foreign country. They want to come and experience the US and American culture and in return for that opportunity they provide daycare. There are rules and stipulations all set up through the State department regarding how long they can work per day/ per week and how much they are to be paid. They live in your house (in this case, our house obviously) and they must have their own room. Au pairs are or can be responsible for all duties that involve the children. It depends on what you want or need done. So for example, laundry (hello 5 kids that is a huge deal) meals, bedrooms clean, toys picked up, etc. They must also have a decent grasp of the English language.

When choosing an au pair, you get this huge application and photos. There are phone interviews. It is really in depth and personal to what you are looking for. We wanted someone with a great sense of humor, willing to work with 5 kids, live in rural VT, drive a car, have lots of experience with kids, and be able to drive. We really got everything we wanted and more.

Our au pair is from Poland, she is 22. She's been driving for 4 years, has over 3000 hours of documented childcare experience, and loves to laugh. The kids absolutely love her and so do I. She has been here for 1 week today and I am not sure how we lived without her. I cannot express how happy I am at this point. There may be bumps in the road later but as for now I am in hog heaven. The biggest thing is the relief. I do not have to worry about the kids not their safety, their happiness, or health. If they are bored (they are in their own home....aka video games and computers as wanted). We make sure they go outside. It has been great. I have very high hopes for the year.

The photos above are the kids playing outside today. She planned and played a game of treasure hunting treats for them today. Apparently, an evil ogre came during the night and left treasure treats in the woods. Who knew???