Family 1

Hello there!  We are a family living in a town in Connecticut, which is about 40 miles outside of New York City.  We have three children – our daughter is 9 years old and in third grade, our son is 7 and in the first grade and our baby boy is 4 and a half and he is in pre-school.  We also have three Labrador retrievers.  We just had a wonderful au pair from Au Pair in America.  During her year here she really became like part of our family.  Her responsibilities were to help me get the children off to school in the mornings, then make their beds and tidy their rooms.  Then she would have some time to herself in the morning until our youngest son returned home from school at 1:00pm.  She and our son would then play either inside or outside.  He loves to do art projects, puzzles or play games and they all love to run outside.  When the others arrived home from school she would help get them snacks and play a little bit and then would sometimes help them with homework.  She would help get dinner ready for the kids and would typically be off on her own around 7 – 7:30pm

I am a stay at home Mom so she and I really worked together as a team.  She was my pair of helping hands.  It gave me a chance to have time for myself or to spend individual time with each child.  Some evenings my husband and I could even go out together.  My husband works for an investment banking company in New York.  He either drives into work or takes the train from town.  He leaves around 6am and gets home between 6 and 7pm.  Our local area is a suburb with a very nice town center.  It’s known as “the next station to heaven” – it’s a very pretty place to live.

The children go to a private school, which is in Connecticut.  It’s about 20 minutes away from our home.  I spend a lot of time driving the kids back and forth and it is nice to not always have to take everyone with me.  We are a very casual family.  We usually vacation either somewhere warm or go skiing.  During the summer we have a home outside of Massachusetts.  We are there from June through to August.  While there we bike, roller blade, play tennis and mostly go to the beach.  It is one of the most beautiful places and we always have a wonderful summer. 

We are looking for an au pair who genuinely loves children - who will play games with them and who will be their friend.  We are looking for a responsible but fun girl.  We want you to enjoy your experience and we will do all we can to help you do that.  We want to have a mutual respectful and honest relationship.  Mostly we want to know that our children are safe and in good hands.  We look forward to talking with you!

Family 2

Our family is best described as a loving, busy, talkative, fun, wild energetic family.  We are all talkers and are very active.

My husband and I are both lawyers.  I enjoy running and have taken part in four marathons.  I also love to go to my children’s events.  My husband is away with work 1 in every 6 weeks in average.  He is a bike rider but is now training for an October marathon.  He loves sports, music and his children’s activities.  Our eldest child is 15 years old.  He is a typical teenager who is very active.  His passion is lacrosse and he also enjoys being with friends.  Our eldest daughter is 12 years old.  She is very loving and she is into acting and music.  Our youngest son is 7 years old.  He is a bundle of energy , always busy, busy, busy.

The au pair we are looking for will spend most of her time with the oldest three, driving them to events, sporting activities, playing with them, homework help etc.  She will also watch the baby on occasions but we will have our normal day care person take care of him during the day.  We are looking for an au pair that is full of energy, hard working, loving, into sports and must be outgoing and friendly.  The weekly schedule will be that the au pair would be expected to help when the children are let out of school (3pm) until bed - time (9pm).  When they are not in school the au pair will take care of them from 8am until we come home from work.  The summer will generally be busier than when they return to school in the Fall. 

The reason we’d like an au pair is to help us with all the children’s activities, to be a big sister and good role model for our children and to help me, especially when my husband is out of town.  We’ve had au pairs in the past and they still continue to be part of the family.  We look forward to having an open, wonderful working and friendly relationship with our au pair.

Family 3

We’ve been married for more than 10 years and are now enjoying our first child, a boy, who was born in September 2001.  We also have a dog, who’s well and truly part of the family.  We call our dog our cartoon dog because she is very entertaining.  If you like dogs, you would love her!

We have lived in a town in New Jersey, a suburb outside of New York for 2 years.  The area is like a resort.  It’s a very comfortable place that’s laid back, carefree and minutes away from what a large city, like New York, has to offer.  We have a large home on a mountain top that on a clear day allows you to see the New York skyline and it has a beautiful private backyard with a spa lined by large, mature trees.  In the summer, we enjoy the spa and golf.  During the winter and spring, we get together with friends for dinner and movies.

You’ll seldom get bored in our family.  If you like the outdoors, especially water sports, you will be very happy.  We normally take several trips a year and you will be invited to take part in most of them.  We tend to visit Florida 2 – 4 times a year and have a ski vacation every winter to California’s Lake Tahoe.  Our reasons for contacting Au Pair in America are very simple – each of us work.  While I will work inside the home, I won’t be available frequently during the business day.  As an au pair, we will look to you to assist us in monitoring and caring for our son during typical daytime business hours.

All we ask of you is that you observe some basic house rules, take care of our home as you would your own and focus on keeping our son safe and happy.  We want you to be like a member of our family.  We’ll provide you with a large, comfortable room with a beautiful view and it’s own bathroom and well as cable TV and phone.  You will also have your own car to use.

We want you to enjoy your time in America, and will ensure that you’re able to go to school and have time for other interests.  We appreciate your decision to be an au pair and will make sure your time in America is well spent. Wishing you the very best!

Family 4

We are a family from Illinois, Chicago, located about 40 miles out of the city.  Our family includes my husband, our four sons, our current au pair and myself.  Our family would probably be described as a big sports family.  All of our boys are very involved in hockey and baseball.  We go to many games each week.

My husband is a contractor who owns his own business with his brother.  They build homes.  He leaves home early in the morning on weekdays.  I am an attorney working for an insurance trade association.  This summer I will have beeen at my Company for 18 years.  My company has allowed me to work out a schedule, which is very good for raising a family.  I currently work Mondays and Fridays from home, and go into my office only on Tuesday and Thursdays.  I do not work at all on Wednesdays, which allows me time to take the kids to school and participate in some of their activities like a regular stay at home Mom.

Our 12 year old has just completed 6^th grade. This was his first year of Middle school and really enjoyed this new experience and did very well.  He is generally well behaved and can be very helpful with his younger brothers. Our 10 year old has just completed 4^th grade.  He can best be described as a character.  Not a day goes by when he does not have us laughing about something.  Our 6 year old has just had is birthday.  He is generally very easy going, but sometimes needs a little attention.  He likes to take his time about everything and do things at his own pace.  This year he was in Kindergarten and went only half days in the afternoon.  He routinely sleeps until about 8 or 9am so it will be an adjustment for him to get up for school in the fall.  He will go to the same school as his big brothers.  Our 4-year old is very flexible since he is used to being in the car a lot going to all of our family activities.  He loves having all of his brothers around him and already loves playing sports.

We live in a great neighborhood with lots of friends for the kids.  We just built a pool last year so we need an au pair who likes to swim and spend a lot of time out at the pool.  Our desire is that our au pair will spend her time with the boys.  When they’re not in school I want them to have fun, so someone who likes fun and hopefully sports is what we are looking for.  We want an au pair who is active and interacts with the boys inside and outside.  The only chores I ask of our au pairs is that they help keep the toys tidy, make sure the boys keep their rooms tidy and do the boys’ laundry once a week.  Reminders should be always be given for the boys to pick up their stuff in the house and outside.  In the area there are many au pairs who like to meet up in the evenings at local restaurants or coffee shops.  It’s a very nice area with restaurants, bike paths, shopping areas and a good Community College.  When a new girl arrives, the other au pairs have generally been kind in showing her around and introducing her to the other girls.  Chicago is a very accessible city by either car or train.

Although we will miss our current au pair tremendously, we look forward to the opportunity to welcome another au pair to our home.

See you soon! 

Family 5

Our family consist of four children, aged 15, 12, 9 and 4.  The children are quite busy and we have to keep up with them!  Despite having four active children the pace of our lives is not too hectic, and we consider ourselves fun-loving and easy going.

I am a physician and my offices are in Baltimore.  I work approximately 4.5 days a week.  My wife was an attorney for a law firm in Washington D.C.  When working, she generally works 2 days a week (Monday and Wednesday) from 7:30am until 6:30pm but her hours may be flexible.  We spend most of our free time with the children.  She’s chosen to work part time so that she can spend more time with the children.  When we’re not with the children we enjoy exercising, running, golfing, boating and skiing.

We take most of our vacations as a family.  We generally travel to Florida, or to Utah for skiing in the winter.  In the summer we often go to the beach where we have a house.  The children have a lot of friends there and they love the beach and the ocean.  We also spend a week at a girl’s camp in the mountains in Maryland where I am the ‘camp doctor’ and the children participate in camp activities.

We have had live in au pairs in our home for about 10 years.  The children enjoy having people from other countries in our home.  We have had au pairs from France, Poland, Sweden, Hungary, Germany and England.  My wife and I have traveled extensively and always enjoy meeting people from other countries with different cultures.  We think the children could learn many things from an au pair about her culture.  The au pair would be responsible for all household chores relating to the children, including driving them to and from school, doing the children’s laundry, preparing meals for the children during the day and cleaning up after their meals. 

Our home is in Columbia, Maryland.  Our neighborhood is very residential with parks, shopping, pools and places to exercise very close by.  A community college is located 10 minutes from our house and two major Universities are about 25 minutes away.  Everything you need is really close by!

Your living space is on a separate floor and is a spacious room, with a private bathroom / shower.  It is fully furnished with lots of closet space, dressers and cable TV / VCR.  You’ll also be given a car to use.  We are looking for an au pair that is loving, responsible, energetic, helpful and generally happy person.  We have a very loving family that can offer a great experience for a young woman.  We will provide many opportunities for our au pair to experience life in the United States.  Because we live between two major cities there are many places to visit and cultural events to take part in.  There are also many au pairs in the area so you’ll get to be involved in a big circle of friends.