An extra set of hands, a friend, a sister and helper

I just wanted to talk about the great benefits of hosting an aupair. So many people do not know about this great experience as an option for child care. It has enriched our family in so many ways.

Our first aupair G from Denmark was wonderful, she was our first so needless to say we were a little green and did not know the first thing about hosting a young person. But she taught us and stuck with us and turned out to be great. She put a lot of miles on our car and made us all eat junk food because that is what she liked and we wanted to please her but it was worth it because she was so sweet and good with our daughter. Then came number 2, O from Norway which unfortunately was not a good fit, she was very nice but she was better suited for older kids so after taking her on vacation with us to Costa Rica she decided to rematch, and she went on to a successful year in America. We then scrambled as everyone does when they are in rematch but we were lucky to find an in country aupair from Estonia and she was great and we had a good rest of the year with her. Then we started our Brazilian streak, we had four girls in a row from Brazil. The first one L was a wonderful teacher to my then three year old. They did art projects, worked on the alphabet, took trips to the park and she was a great person to be around. Then came I, she was from the same area as the first one and also wonderful. She continued teaching my then four year old as if she was in pre school and she also kept my house clean which freaked me out at first, I told my husband she is moving my dirt around...I don't like it. But then I got used to it and my house has never been as clean and tidy again. When she left I realized how much she did around here. Then we had another daughter and our third Brazilian came. Her main job was to take care of the new baby while the older one was now in Kindergarten. We had a great year with her. Then came M and she stayed with us for two years. She was loving and sweet and loved her job taking care of a one year old. They both took 2-3 hour naps together! Nice day on the job. The girls loved her and her easy going nature. So now we have had Brazilians for five years we decided let's learn about another place for a change and we went with a German Aupair. I thought Germans were good drivers and now we needed more of a driver to take the kids places, well it took this aupair three tries on the driving test to pass! But in the end she was a great driver, fun person to talk with, great with the girls and we had a wonderful year together. Now we are at our last aupair or so we think, with both girls in school in the Fall it is more of a luxury than a necessity but one we will very much miss. We decided to end our aupair experience with a Brazilian and again they did not disappoint. She is just amazing and handles everything we throw at her with grace and kindness. She is now teaching my five year old so she is prepared for Kindergarten in the Fall and she is doing a great job. So as you can see we have had ten great years of aupairs and now have extended family all over the world, these girls may no longer live with us but they will forever live in our hearts and be a part of our family. I hope more people get to experience what we have had. It is wonderful.