January 2011 Newsletter

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and an enjoyable New Year's celebration. Did you make some resolutions for the new year? Were you able to keep some of your resolutions from last year? And how about that snow?? Who would've thought we would have a White Christmas in Huntsville?! While I'm not a particular fan of cold weather, I must admit that a blanket of white snow is really beautiful.

Remember to stay safe and warm during winter weather. Use extra caution on the roads and don't forget hats and gloves for you and your children if you go outside.

Important Information

The Area Director in Birmingham has left AuPairCare as of December 31st and I've been asked to cover the region until a new Area Director can be found. If you know anyone in the Birmingham/Tuscaloosa area who you feel would be a good fit for the Area Director position, please let me know! We'd like to have the position filled by the start of February. Host Families: beyond recommending likely candidates, this development should not affect you in any way. Au Pairs: what this means for you is that we will be doing a joint monthly meeting with the Birmingham Au Pairs! See below for more information.

January Au Pair Activity

I hope everyone's looking forward to ice skating on Sunday, Jan. 16th! We will be skating at the Pelham Civic Complex Ice Arena just south of Birmingham. Public skating is from 1:00 - 3:00. We will meet in the lobby area (near the ticket counter if it is inside). If you are unable to arrive at 1:00, please come find us inside the skating area. Admission is $7 and skate rental is $2. You will want to wear warm clothes and may even want to wear gloves or mittens. Large purses and other items should probably be left in your car or at home. The address for the Civic Complex is 500 Amphitheater Road, Pelham, AL 35124-4338. Phone: (205) 620-6448. The website is http://www.pelhamciviccomplex.com/

Double Referral Bonus

AuPairCare is pleased to announce that a double referral bonus of $400 is now available to host families and au pairs who share the AuPairCare program with their friends and family! Please contact me if you know someone who may be interested in hosting an au pair.

Save These Dates

February 13th; March 13th

Note: dates are subject to change if there's something fun we'd like to do that doesn't correspond with the dates I've chosen. Just let me know what you want to do!

Au Pair Birthdays

We have no Au Pair Birthdays this month.

Au Pair Arrivals/Departures

We have no Au Pair arrivals or departures this month.

Nutcracker on Ice

For the second year in a row the Huntsville Au Pairs enjoyed a wonderful performance of Nutcracker on Ice performed by The Huntsville Skating School & Training Academy. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the story of The Nutcracker come to life on the ice.

December 2010 Newsletter

Welcome to December!

Does it feel like 2010 went by quickly or slowly for you? For au pairs celebrating their first American holiday, be sure to share with your host family how your celebrations at home are different. Your family at home might also be interested to hear about your host family's traditions.

If you will be traveling with your host family or au pair or using some of your vacation this holiday season, please review the "Traveling with your Host Family" and "Vacation Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines" information you received at the arrival orientation and let me know if you have any questions.

December Au Pair Activity

A Christmas Carol at Fantasy Playhouse Children's Theater. In this musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel, you will travel with Scrooge as he visits his past, present, & future on Christmas Eve. Sunday, Dec. 12 at 2pm. Tickets are $18. - SOLD OUT

Nutcracker on Ice at Benton H. Wilcox Municipal Ice Complex, Sunday, Dec. 12th at 2pm.

Save these dates

Jan. 16th; Feb. 13th; March 13th

Note: dates are subject to change if there's something fun we'd like to do that doesn't correspond with the dates I've chosen. Just let me know what you want to do!

Au Pair Birthdays

We have no Au Pair birthdays this month.

Au Pair Arrivals/Departures

We have no Au Pair arrivals or departures this month.

Ferdinand the Bull

At the last minute, we changed our minds and went to see a play instead of painting pottery. Isa wasn't going to be able to paint pottery with us and invited everyone to see the play that one of the girls she watches was performing in.

The play was based on the children's book The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. Ferdinand, although a bull, would rather sit and smell the flowers than participate in a bull fight. The play added to the original story by including a parallel story about the prospective bull fighter, who would rather be a dancer but wishes to please his father.

We thoroughly enjoyed the performance. It was pleasantly amateurish, the music was fun, the flowers (of course) were darling, and it was a fantastic way to spend an hour on a Sunday afternoon.

After the play we headed to Starbucks and spent the next hour sipping coffee and chatting about various things. Overall, we had a fantastic meeting, and I'm so glad Isa changed our minds at the last moment!

November Newsletter

Welcome to November! I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! Were you one of the estimated 36 million+ trick-or-treaters? This year my boys dressed up as a Prince (Zachary, 3yrs) and Winnie the Pooh (Daniel, 11mos). What costumes did your kids wear?

Some important dates this month:

Nov. 11th is Veterans Day: a national holiday in honor of military veterans. It is

also called Armistice Day to commemorate the end of WWI. The 4th Thursday

in Nov. is Thanksgiving Day: an annual celebration feast originating from the

pilgrims. The day after Thanksgiving is called "Black Friday" - be sure to plan

ahead to take advantage of the best shopping deals of the year!

November Au Pair Activity

Pottery Painting at Pottery By You, 181 Hughes Rd, Madison. The studio will provide paints, brushes, expert assistance and anything else you need to let your inner artist out! Costs: studio fee ($6) plus cost of your pottery (prices start at $6). Please see newsletter for date and time.

Save these dates: Dec. 12th; Jan. 16th.

Note: dates are subject to change if there's something fun we'd like to do that doesn't correspond with the dates I've chosen. Just let me know what you want to do!

Au Pair Birthdays

We have three Au Pairs celebrating birthdays this month:

Pamela on the 5th, Isa on the12th, and Vero on the 25th.

Please remember to wish them a Happy Birthday!!

Au Pair Arrivals/Departures

We're excited that Gaby has chosen to stay in Huntsville for another year and will be starting her extension year on the 16th.

We have no au pair departures this month.

Huntsville Ghost Walk

For over two hours last Saturday evening, the Huntsville/Madison au pairs and I walked around downtown Huntsville, listening to ghost stories. The night was a little chilly, but not uncomfortable, and we were one small part of a larger group, held captive by our tour guide, Kevin, as he brought Huntsville's past to life for us. We heard stories about corruption, death, and greed. Kevin had many stops on his tour, and each time, as Kevin introduced the building in front of us and began his ghost story, all eyes turned towards the edifice, eagerly searching for some indication that something otherworldly had joined our tour. Unfortunately, we did not experience any spirit activity, but we certainly enjoyed learning some of the history of our town. Although the ghost tour season is over for this year, some of us are all the more eager for the tours to begin again next June so we can experience the other tours!

Au Pairs in attendance: Gaby, Vero, Laetitia, and Pam.

Newsletter: Oct. 2010

Welcome to October! We have now definitely left summer behind and moved into fall (also called autumn). Have you noticed some leaves starting to turn colors throughout the city? If you're from a more temperate climate, the changing colors are quite a treat! If you're from a colder climate, you may be disappointed that it's not as spectacular a show as you would see farther north, but we do the best we can for being a southern city. When helping kids get dressed each day, pay attention to the forecast and dress them appropriately - remember that layers are great for cool mornings with warm afternoons!

I also wanted to let everyone know that our booth at the Madison Street Festival was very successful! I was kept busy most of the day and talked to over 60 people about AuPairCare. Of those, 15 families were interested in more information! I have a lot of work cut out for me, making lots of phone calls, but I'm really excited that so many families in our area are discovering AuPairCare as an option for their childcare needs! Many of them expressed interest in talking to current families and au pairs. Please let me know if you would prefer NOT to be contacted by prospective families. Thanks for your help! Hopefully we'll have a few new families joining us soon!!

Did you know that this month marks one year since I started working with AuPairCare? I've really enjoyed being your Area Director this past year! Thank you all for being such a great group. I'm looking forward to what this next year will bring us!

October Au Pair Activity: Huntsville Ghostwalk

Our Au Pair meeting for this month is Saturday evening, 10/16. We're going on a ghostwalk! Tours begin promptly at 6pm, so please plan to arrive at 5:40pm. Admission is $8.00. Tickets sold in advance at Harrison Brothers or on the night of the walk. The walk will be approximately 2 hours long, so please choose your outfit and footwear accordingly! It's been a while since we've had a meeting, so I was really hoping everyone could come, but I understand there are some scheduling conflicts this month. To avoid this issue in the future, I'd like to start reserving spots on your calendar a couple months ahead. So, please save Nov. 14th and Dec. 12th for the next two meetings. Note that we can change these dates if there's a particular activity you'd like us to do that doesn't fall on these days. However, this way we can hopefully avoid scheduling conflicts in the future! This should also allow plenty of time for everyone to arrange transportation. Questions? Suggestions for activities?

Save These Dates: Nov, 14th; Dec. 12th.
Note: dates are subject to change if there's something fun we'd like to do that doesn't correspond with the dates I've chosen. Just let me know what you want to do!

Au Pair Arrivals and Departures

We are sad to say goodbye to Kirsten who finished her year on Oct. 4th. Before returning to South Africa, Kirsten is taking advantage of her 30-day grace period to do some traveling.

We are excited to welcome Pamela from Brazil! Be sure to help her feel welcome!