We know there are great photographers out there!  Do you have a favorite shot of the year?  Please enter the APIA photo contest.  The deadline is November 5th.  Winners of each category will receive a $200 gift card and $25 for the runners up ~ the categories are:

• Family portrait
• Sharing Cultures
• Helping Hands
• Young Ones
• Community service
• The spirit of America
• Best in Show

Be creative, show us what you’ve got.  Get details and everything you need to enter here:

http://www.aupairinamerica.com/pdf/photo_contest_entry_form.pdf

The winner could end up on the cover our 2015 brochure!

Coffee Nights at the Atlanta Bread Café bring au pairs together. It’s a great way to meet other au pairs, a good time to chat with your counselor and ask questions…and you never know what delicious desserts will appear for everyone to enjoy!

Here are some fun facts for President’s Week!

Click on the blue underlined words for more info on the fun fact!

• At his inauguration, George Washington only had one tooth. Contrary to popular belief, he never wore false wooden teeth. However, at various times he did wear dentures made of human teeth, animal teeth, ivory and lead.
• Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were the only two presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence. They also both died on the same day—July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the signing.
• At 5 feet 4 inches, James Madison was the shortest president.
• Before he was president, Andrew Jackson was wounded in a duel at the age of 39. The bullet remained lodged in his heart until the day he died.
• Zachary Taylor let his old Army horse, Whitey, graze on the White House lawn. Visitors took horse hairs as souvenirs.
• James Buchanan is the only president to remain a bachelor his entire life.
• While he was president, Ulysses S. Grant was arrested for riding his horse too fast and fined $20.
• James K. Polk’s wife did not allow card playing, dancing, or drinking in the White House.
• James A. Garfield could write with both hands. To entertain people he would write in Greek with one hand and Latin with the other.
• Benjamin Harrison was terrified of electric lights. He would ask White House staff to turn them on and off for him.
• Rutherford B. Hayes was the first U.S. president to use a phone at the White House. Alexander Graham Bell personally showed him how to use it and his phone number was 1.
• Calvin Coolidge liked having his head massaged with Vaseline during breakfast in bed. He also rode his own mechanical bull and played “ding-dong ditch’em”—he would ring the White House doorbell and then run and hide.
• Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln, was present at the assassinations of three presidents: his father’s, President Garfield’s and President McKinley’s.
• All presidents receive code names from the Secret Service.  Ronald Reagan was “Rawhide,” George H. W. Bush was “Timberwolf,” Bill Clinton was “Eagle,” George W. Bush was “Trailblazer” and Barack Obama is “Renegade.”
• Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender. He was co-owner of Berry and Lincoln, a saloon in Springfield, IL.

On January 12th the au pairs in Maralyn’s Cluster got together at their counselor’s home for a brunch to welcome 2014. Prior to socializing and dining on bagels, lox, salad and dessert, everyone gathered for this group photo…

In response to many requests, here’s the recipe for the Cream Cheese Squares dessert:

Cream Cheese Squares

2 packages refrigerator crescent rolls
2 – 8 oz packages cream cheese at room temperature
½ plus ¼ cup sugar
1 egg, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease an 8″ x 12″ or 9″ by 13″ pan. (I use 8″x12″ foil pans for no clean up!)
Line the pan with one package of the rolls, patting the perforations together.
Mix the cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, the egg yolk and vanilla together. Beat until creamy and spread over the rolls.
Top with the second package of rolls, patting the perforations together.

Topping: Beat the egg white until foamy and fluffy. Spread over the top and sprinkle with a mixture of the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and the nuts.

Bake 25-30 minutes.

This may be put together, refrigerated overnight and baked in the morning or it can be baked when prepared.