Yearly Archives: 2016

Happy St. Patricks’s Day!

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In honor of St. Patrick’s Day wear green today!

Facts about St. Patrick’s Day Holiday

  • St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history. St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
  • In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.
  • Many cities have a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, has a huge St. Patrick’s Day festival from March 15-19, that features a parade, family carnivals, treasure hunt, dance, theatre and more. In North American, parades are often held on the Sunday before March 17. Some paint the yellow street lines green for the day! In Chicago, the Chicago River is dyed green with a special dye that only lasts a few hours. There has been a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston, Massachusetts since 1737. Montreal is home to Canada’s longest running St. Patrick’s Day parade, which began in 1824.

Facts about Saint Patrick

  • St. Patrick was born in 385 AD somewhere along the west coast of Britain, possibly in the Welsh town of Banwen. At age 16, he was captured and sold into slavery to a sheep farmer. He escaped when he was 22 and spent the next 12 years in a monastery. In his 30s he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. He died at Saul in 461 AD and is buried at Downpatrick.

Facts about the Irish

  • 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry, according to the 2003 US Census. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people.
  • Some American towns have “Irish” names. You could visit: Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia; Shamrock Lakes, Indiana; Shamrock, Oklahoma; Shamrock, Texas; Dublin, California and Dublin, Ohio.
  • The harp is the symbol of Ireland. The color green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as “the Emerald Isle.”
  • The Irish flag is green, white and orange. The green symbolizes the people of the south, and orange, the people of the north. White represents the peace that brings them together as a nation.
  • The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which means “shoemaker.”Facts about Clovers
  • According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14!
  • One estimate suggests that there are about 10 000 regular three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.
  • Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

It’s Pi Day!

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Pi, Greek letter (π), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…

With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. Pi is an irrational and transcendental number meaning it will continue infinitely without repeating. The symbol for pi was first used in 1706 by William Jones, but was popular after it was adopted by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1737.

What’s best about being an au pair?

Former au pairs were asked, “What is your BEST memory from your Au Pair in America year?”

Some responses are:

My best memory is when I realized that they have 5 dogs at home also!!

My trip to the West Coast!!! I lived in Maryland, so visiting San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon was AWESOME!!! Another thing: all the craziness with my best friends met in the US.

Meeting people from Sweden and South Africa! (I’m from Canada)

The best memory I have from my Au Pair in America year is when my Host mom and I went skydiving whilst the kids were cheering us up! Amazing moments!

Definitely the amazing friendships made!!

Meeting someone who is as crazy as you are and loves to travel with you

My baby’s first steps – caught on film for his parents.

My best memory is when I took my host kid around Manhattan, (his first time riding the subway) and we spent the day in Central Park

My best memory is when my two little boys started calling me big sis

I met awesome people and especially my host family

My friends no doubt… all of them were a very important of my year and we still in touch

Meeting such a great loving family with brilliant children, I loved been there best friend and helping them with each daily task it would recommend being an Au pair to everyone it was an honor to be such an important help in a family:).

All the places I visited.

It’s Johnny Appleseed day!

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Johnny Appleseed Day

Today is Johnny Appleseed Day.  Johnny Appleseed Day honors one of America’s great legends. Johnny Appleseed was a real person. John Chapman was among the American settlers who were captivated by the movement west across the continent. As Johnny Appleseed travelled west, he planted apple trees along the way, and sold trees to settlers. With every apple tree that was planted, the legend grew.

A Little About the Legend:

  • John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) was born on September 26, 1774.
  • He was a nurseryman who started out planting trees in western New York and Pennsylvania.
  • During the life of John Chapman, the “West” was places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois.
  • John Chapman was a deeply religious person He was known to preach during his travels.
  • According to legend, Johny Appleseed led a simple life and wanted little. He rarely accepted money and often donated any money he received.
  • It is believed that he died on March 11, 1845, from what was referred to as the “winter plague”. The actual date of his death has been disputed.

There is a lot of “legend” in stories written about Johny Appleseed. By it’s definition, over the years, legends grow bigger than life. It also appears that there is some link between Johny Appleseed and very early Arbor Day celebrations.

Celebrate today by making homemade applesauce.   Here is simple recipe to follow with the kids:

Smooth or chunky applesauce is a great way to eat your daily fruits.

Ingredients
  • 6 tart apples
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Instructions

  1. Peel and core the apples, then cut them into chunks. Place the apples in a large nonreactive saucepan, and add the lemon juice and water. Stir in the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes or until the apples are soft.
  2. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the cinnamon and raisins, if desired. Stir lightly for a chunky sauce and rigorously for a smooth sauce. For a pink applesauce, use red apples and leave the skins on. Once the apples are soft, you can strain out the skins or lift them from the sauce with a fork. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Ways to keep busy in the winter

There is still  plenty to keep you upbeat and busy until the spring weather appears.

Here are a few suggestions:

  • Let the child in you escape and try tubing at the local ski resorts.

  • Go outside everyday, go for a walk, try jogging…exercise improves mental health.

  • Join  a health club. You not only get in shape for Spring, but you will also meet new people!

  • Use the library in your town. Sign up the kids and yourself, for the free programs.  Area libraries also have ESL programs !

  • Prepare a Global Awareness presentation for one of your host kids’ classes.

  • Volunteer at a local hospital, school , animal shelter, food bank or wherever your interests bring you. Helping others stimulates the brain activity. You help other to feel good and you feel good about yourself!

  • Set a goal for yourself, to learn somthing new each day. Record it in a journal and you will be surprised, at what you have accomplished, by the end of your year in the U.S.A

  • Arrange a play date with another Au Pair and her host kids.

  • Call a friend, and meet for coffee.

  • Get plenty of sleep each night, and as your mom told you when you where young, eat your vegetables!

  • Spring will be here soon!

NYC travel on a budget

NYC is famous for a lot of things and expensive hotel rooms is one of them. Hostels have long been a popular lodging option for au pairs. This article reviews several of the hostels in NYC. Check it out here.

If you are planning a trip to NYC or anywhere else, you may want to sign up for Groupon and Living Social. You can receive daily deals for the cities of your choice. They also have Groupon & Living Social apps for your mobile phone and iPod.

In addition, Click Here for a GREAT map of NYC  that shows popular tourist destinations as well as Starbucks and SHOPPING.

Have a great trip!