It was a sunny and crisp morning in May when 65 Au Pairs from all over Montgomery County gathered to tour the US Capitol with Senior Community Counselors Imelda Farrell and Victoria Paton. Au Pairs learned a lot and an Au Pair from Brazil even taught the tour guide something…that Tom Hanks and George Clooney both claim to be distantly related to Abraham Lincoln…who knew?
What could be more American than chocolate chip cookies? 
Certainly my absolute favorite over apple pie!
My fellow Community Counselor, Pat Van Haste in Virginia, offered this website of Best Chocolate Chip Cookies…http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-chocolate-chip-cookies/
It is a gray and chilly day here in the MidAtlantic, I think I’ll whip up a batch to surprise the kids!
Au Pairs, if you haven’t tried to make the American favorite, today might just be the day! Oh, and don’t forget the ice cold milk to go with and ask your kids to show you how to dunk!
On Mother’s Day Victoria Paton’s cluster (Potomac, Bethesda, Glen Echo, Cabin John) dressed-up and gathered for a party in honor of the Au Pairs who were the guests of honor. The theme was “We Love Our Au Pairs” and the decor of mylar heart balloons, a special heart cake and even a cardboard Elvis for photo opps made for a festive
After socializing, the Au Pairs were treated to a video montage made from Au Pair photo submissions and set to po
p music. A DVD of the “yearbook” was in a goody bag at each place setting. The highlight of the evening was the Award Ceremony in which Victoria presented each Au Pair with a certificate congratulating her for an exceptional skill indicated by her Host Parents. This was a surprise to all the Au Pairs who were touched and amused by the nominations: Most Conscientious Au Pair, Best Crepe Maker, The Best Teacher, The Best Lego Builder, The Best Mind Reader of Her Host Mom’s Needs, The Most Responsible and Organized Au Pair etc. 
The final award was given to Jasmin from Austria who had earned the title of top three Au Pairs nationwide for 2013 by Au Pair in America Headquarters and went on to compete in the International Au Pair Association’s Au Pair of the Year competition. The nomination was unusual in that it was for both Jasmin and her sister Verena (who had been the Host Family’s Au Pair last year). The unusual combined nomination submission was about these two amazing young women who over 2+ years supported, loved and assisted the Host Family during the illness and subsequent passing of
their wonderful Host Dad.
Over 70 Au Pairs filled a room at the Potomac Community Center on Thursday night to better their winter driving skills with a presentation by AAA MidAtlantic’s Joe Beddick. Joe showed the girls a film with lots of vehicles slipping and sliding and also instructed the Au Pairs what to keep in their car: cat litter or ice melting salt, blanket, first aid kit. He alerted us all that there are some key things to pay attention to especially in winter: properly inflated tires, filling washer fluid, and more. Photos of what it means to clean off a car with snow i.e., no snow left on top and all windshields, lights and mirrors completely cleared off.
Each Au Pair departed with a AAA booklet on Winter Driving Safety and a custom-made Au Pair in America Ice Scraper to keep in her purse should she need to clear off a car.
I think we all learned a lot…and possibly just in time! 🙂
The announcers welcomed back the Au Pair in America group for the 12th year! A group of au pairs marched in the parade on Saturday 10/22/11 and gave prizes and coloring books to children along the route. While waiting for the parade to begin, the girls delighted in meeting the Chick-Fil-A cow. It was a wonderful day and and we were all proud to represent the au pairs of the Potomac Shoreline Cluster.
It was a dark and stormy night….actually it was a dark and beautiful night out in Dickerson at Markoff’s Haunted Forest. Au Pairs huddled together as they entered the forest which was described as the “scariest ever”. An experience none of the au pairs will forget!
Happy Halloween!
Potomac Shoreline Cluster Au Pairs (Bethesda, Cabin John, Glen Echo and Potomac) on September 20th visited the Cabin John Firehouse #10 on River Road for a lesson in fire safety including: when to phone 911, importance of a family having a meeting point outside the house in the event of a fire, locating 2 exits from the home, what to do in a power outage, what to do in the event of flooding roads etc.
After the girls asked questions and learned a lot of new and useful safety tips, several au pairs were selected to put on the fire gear in 1 minute or less. That gear is HEAVY!!
Then au pairs were invited to explore the fire trucks and to take photos. That was a lot of fun!
Victoria trained from May to October to do her first-ever 100 mile bike ride in Moab Desert, Utah – the “Moab Century” on 9/17/11.
She was raising money for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society via Team in Training Cycling in memory of her dad and aunt who both died young form Leukemia. Victoria exceeded her Fundrai
ning minimum of $3400 with donations from friends and family of $5600!!
I was so surprised and happy when a few au pairs came to me saying they wanted to organize a 5k walk for my Leukemia & Lymphoma ride in Moab Desert on 9/17/11. With a registration fee of only $5, a group of dedicated South African au pairs arrived at Starbucks in Potomac Village, set up a table and mapped out the route with Au Pair in America signs. We had about 20 walkers who came out on a Sunday noon – Au Pairs and Host families and a dog! Each walker received a water bottle, a kit kat for energy and a purple Leukemia & Lymphoma bracelet. With the registration fees and passers-by giving donations they raised an amazing $175!!
Thank you so much!
About 30 Host Families and Au Pairs attended the picnic at Great Seneca Park’s Doe Shelter. It was a hot and sunny day but the shelter provided some shade and we had lots of cool drinks. New Au Pairs made friends, old friends met again and host families and their children shared lunch, delicious desserts and the fun with each other.
Au Pairs from Latvia had put together a great table with great posters about their wonderful country and a computerized slide show. Ieva and Kerry both cooked for hours on the morning of the event to prepare Latvian food that everyone could try: soup, cake, etc. DELICIOUS! Thank you! We now have 2 Latvian au pairs with Alisa to arrive in July and Zane in August.
Children played on the playground, enjoyed face painting done by Imelda’s daughter and friend, participated in a raffle of Au Pair items, and lined up for balloon sculptures made for each child of an item of request (crown, heart, sword, bunny etc.) by our own Brazilian Au Pair, Bartira Frank. Thank you!!!
Then we all heard the thunder, but a park ranger came by and told us that we had about 15 minutes to pack up the fun as a big storm was on the way. We all hustled and packed up JUST in time! A big storm did follow, but we had had almost 2 hours of our wonderful picnic.
