parents_discuss

Hi all
Thanks for the advice regarding my nanny.  I gave her specific recipes, but maybe she's  just not a great cook.  I'll live.  :)

I've always been a bit nervous about having an Au Pair, mainly because of the fact I don't know much about the program.  Can you please give me some info?

Thanks
Ness

Hi, my name is Anna, I live in VA suburbs of Washington DC. I am married, a mom to a girl who is turning 5 in Feb, and a boy who is 2.5. I am a hostmom to an au pair, have been with the au pair program since April 2007. Before that our daughter attended a home-based daycare for more than a year, and when our son was born we had nannies. Multiple nannies. Our first excellent one had to leave us after half a year due to a family emergency, and then we had a string of horror stories, we've changed 5 nannies in 4 months, and there were a few weeks of a large daycare center thrown in. That is how I finally got up the courage to go through with the au pair program (I decided - I can't get any worse!). We actually first applied almost a year before that when I was expecting my son, but I chickened out - I had doubts about how I myself will be able to handle two little kids, and more so how a young woman who is not a mother herself could? 
Anyway, now I am a big fan of the au pair option, and plan to stay with the program until my kids no longer need care during the day.

Looking forward to chatting with other moms here.

Hi, I'm Vanessa.  I'm a Safety Manager for a steel tube manufacturing business in South Australia.  I work full time, and am away from home for up to 12 hours a day.  My husband works on our small farm in the Adelaide Hills. 

We have 2 kids, Rowan who is nearly 4 and Lily who is nearly 2.  We currently have a live in nanny whom I completely adore except for one thing:  She's a vegetarian who cooks really, really crap food for us poor meatatarians.  Its the only thing that drives me nuts about her.  Its like she just doesn't care about our food.  I've spoken to her about it in the past, and made some suggestions, but nothing ever changes.  I get home from work less than an hour before my kids have to go to bed and my husband burns water, so we put up with what we are served.  Suggestions?

I feel like a bit of a weirdo when people ask me what daycare centre my kids go to and I tell them that they are at home with my nanny.  People look at me as though I'm some sort of Paris Hilton poser which I'm not.  I just prefer having the kids at home.

Anyway, I'm hoping to meet other parents who have nannies/au pairs and so on, and wanted to stop by and say 'Hi'.