This is a day dedicated to good cheer and good works: “Do an act of kindness – help one person smile”. Use your imagination to think of little ways to bring a smile to someone’s face – kind words, good deeds, thoughtful gestures, there is no limit to the things you can do.
Contest: Open to au pairs currently in my cluster, send me an email or message on Facebook telling me something you did to make your host kid(s) smile today. First person to reply will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card at the coffee meeting on Sunday. Contest is closed. Sandy is the winner!!!
Two important reasons to make your car a phone-free zone:
Safety – There is no text message that is worth risking lives.
It’s the Law – Please read the details below about changes (effective October 1 to the Maryland law to increase enforcement and the penalty (fine & points against your license) for breaking the law.
FromWashingtonpost.com:
Sending and reading text messages behind the wheel has been illegal in Maryland for more than a year, but under the existing law, it was a secondary offense. That meant police had to find another reason to pull a driver over in order to issue a texting citation.
The state legislature changed texting to a primary offense this year. Drivers who are using the Global Positioning System function in their mobile devices or who are sending a text message to the emergency 911 system are exempted from prosecution.
Under the new law, those caught texting can be fined $70 and receive one point toward suspension of a driver’s license. But if the action is judged to have caused an accident, the fine increases to $110 and the number of points to three.
Sending and reading text messages while driving is a primary offense in the District and a secondary office in Virginia. It is a primary offense in 30 other states and a secondary offense in Iowa and Nebraska.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 20 percent of crashes that resulted in injury in 2009 involved distracted driving. NHTSA said 995 fatal crashes that year involved cellphone distraction. Sixteen percent of all drivers younger than 20 who were involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted.
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In this 90 second video people share stories about how a simple decision to read or send a text message while driving had deadly consequences.
I urge all au pairs and host families to watch this video and discuss. This is one simple decision and commitment that can make us all safer on the roads.
The International Day of Peace (“Peace Day”) provides and opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by the United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly.
Come to the 11th Annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival is free and open to the public.
Saturday, Sept. 24: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25: 1 to 5:30 p.m.
On Saturday, September 17 we had an au pair soccer match on the National Mall in DC. Our team represented Maryland and we played against a team of au pairs from Virginia. We cheered for our team and they played hard. I think we represented Maryland au pairs very well, even though we did not win. Lots of people stopped, watched and took pictures. After the soccer match, we toured the U.S. Capitol.
Click on the images to view them larger. Click here to see even more pictures from this event in our Cluster Photobucket Album.
Grandparents Day is celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day. This year that will be September 11. This is not a widely celebrated holiday, but most grandparents would still appreciate being remembered and would particularly enjoy a homemade gift or card. Work with your children to create a simple but special surprise. Use a photo of the child or the child and the grandparent to make it even more special.
With the start of school it’s easy to rush out the door and forget to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast. Remember that children need a balanced diet including milk, meat, vegetables, fruit and grain. Breakfast should include at least three of those groups.
A “Schultüte” (or School Cone, even though the word “Tüte” translates more as “bag” from German), often also called Zuckertüte (“sugar bag”, especially in Eastern Germany) is a paper (and later plastic) bag in particular.
When children in Germany and Austria set off for their first day in school upon entering first grade, their parents and/or grandparents present them with a big cardboard cone, prettily decorated and filled with toys, chocolate, candies, school supplies, and various other goodies. It is given to children to make this anxiously awaited first day of school a little bit sweeter.
Want to make one for that special child starting school? I found tutorials on several websites:
A few brave au pairs showed up for the baseball game last night. We had rain off and on all day. So, we were really lucky that we had no rain at all last night for the game. It was not the most action packed baseball game, but they can all say they have been to an American baseball game. I have the pictures to prove it. The fireworks were a nice way to end the evening. Click on any of the photos to view them full size in our Cluster Photobucket album.
Two important reasons to make your car a phone-free zone:
