Brandy Doorman

We have hundreds of carefully screened, available au pairs ready to join your family this fall. New families who register from September 30, 2011 through October 4, 2011, using promo codePCOCTS2011, will receive a $350 program fee discount when welcoming an au pair by January 31, 2012.  Please give me a call at 941.586.5217 so I can help you find the perfect au pair for your family!

Don’t miss out on the savings!  There are just a few days left for Host Families to lock in 2010 prices for the next program year.  The lock-in-the-price campaign ends this Monday November 22nd.  To be eligible for these prices you must submit your repeat application for next year or a lock-in-the-price form.  Program fees have not increased in several years but are anticipated to increase in 2011, so take advantage of this program as it can save your family hundreds of dollars.

Families who have received fewer than 30 weeks of childcare, you should have been sent an email directing you to a quick and easy lock-in-the price form . In order to successfully submit this form Host Families must pay a $300 non-refundable lock-in-the-price deposit which will be applied to their families program fee when the welcome their au pair into their home next year (no later than October 21, 2011).

Families who have received more than 30 weeks of childcare and are due to repeat, may submit the lock-in-the-price form.  To take advantage of this campaign, simply submit your repeat application.  By submitting a repeat application will not only lock in the price, but will also give you a head start on the matching process.

So locking in the 2010 rates, whether you plan to continue with your current au pair or will be matching with a new one.  Your $300 non-refundable fee can be applied to either situation.  If you have further questions please contact me.

Buy 1 Holiday Drink, Get 1 Free!!

November 18-21, 2-5pm at Starbucks.

What will you drink?  I’m looking forward to a Peppermint Hot Chocolate. Mmmm….

One of my favorite holiday traditions is Christmas cards.  I love getting the mail every day in December, receiving those beautiful colored envelopes and greetings from my friends and families.  But what I love most are the photos!  I love the family portraits, baby pictures, and even pet pictures!  It is so great to see how everyone changes throughout the year and what fun things they’ve been up to!

Au pairs, wouldn’t it be fun to send a photo card to your friends and family back home?  A fun picture with your host family or maybe a picture from your recent sky-diving trip (YES! My awesome au pairs went sky-diving!)?  Shutterfly offers photo cards for as little as $.32/card!  I ordered my birth announcements from Shutterfly and loved the quality of their stationary cards!

Even though it is proving challenging to get a photo of my son looking at the camera, I can’t wait to send out Christmas cards with his cute little face this year!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up:http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Secure you childcare for 2011 before the busy holiday begins and save hundreds of dollars at the same time. Apply for free using promotion code PCWNTR2011 to receive a $500 program fee discount and lock in our 2010 prices — more than $575 in savings! To qualify for this promotion, you must apply between November 8, 2010 and December 6, 2010 and welcome an au pair into your home by March 31, 2011.

With just nine days until Thanksgiving and thirty-nine days until Christmas (but who’s counting), the holidays will be here before you know it!

Holidays bring a new set of dynamics between host families and au pairs.  It can renew the sense of family and traditions between an au pair and her host family but also create unnecessary conflict and tension.  How can all of this be avoided?  COMMUNICATION!  Talk to your au pair or host family BEFORE the holiday!

American holidays are not au pair holidays.  Meaning, au pairs can work on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Day and another other day of the year.  Is your au pair expecting the day off to sleep in, go to the parade and then join you for an evening dinner?  Do you need an extra set of hands to help  in the morning while you dress the Thanksgiving turkey?  Are you going out of town and your au pair is staying home?    Will your au pair work the entire day or will she have Black Friday off to go shopping with her friends?  Whatever the situation may be, talk about your expectations with your host family or au pair before the holiday.  There’s nothing worse than expecting your au pair to help out on Thanksgiving and she’s running out the door because you didn’t talk about it before hand!

Above all else, take the time this Thanksgiving to share your culture with your au pair!  Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday.  Involve her in the menu planning, speak about your traditions beforehand, share with her some fun holiday crafts to make with the kids.  Ask her to join you to watch the football game.  Au pairs, really take the time to be part of your host family this holiday season!

For our November Au Pair Meeting, we met at Dakin Dairy Farm in Myakka, FL!  It was a lot of fun to see how the dairy farm operates, go through the corn maze, and eat some yummy dairy treats.  I hear the ice cream was amazing!

We raced through the maze as groups and sadly, all of the au pairs made it out before me!  I had a great time and hope all the au pairs did too!

This meeting was a great way to partake in some fun American fall activities!

Time has been flying by this summer!  We’ve had a couple GREAT au pair meetings and have welcomed some wonderful au pairs!

May Au Pair Meeting: Noon’s Last Meeting!

(left to right: Rina, visiting au pair!, Carolina, Wenjing, Natalia, Noon, Brandy, Avia)

We had an international potluck at Siesta Key Beach to wish Noon luck on her next adventure and welcome Wenjing to our group!  We had many good dishes including an apple cake, flan, corn, fresh fruit, and Noon’s famous spring rolls!

June Meeting: Pool Party!

(left to right: Wenjing, Carolina, Brandy, Clara, Jelena, Rina and Avia)

(Avia and Rina)

What a way to welcome in the summer!  We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon by the pool, celebrated Rina’s birthday, welcome Jelena to our group, and learned about sun safety!

July Meeting: Ice Cream Party

This year has FLOWN by!  I’m so sorry for the lack of updates!

Our au pairs have had a GREAT year for meetings!

We’ve had a pool party, said fare well to a lovely au pair at Coldstone Creamery, gone to the movies, had a pizza and movie night, and went to the Pumpkin Festival!  We’ve said good-bye to some great friends (Noon and Rina, we miss you!) and welcomed lots of new ones! (Hello, Alena, Jelena, Irena, Lisa!)

Our host families continue to be awesome and I can’t wait to see everyone at the next Host Family Day!

Sawyer Douglas Doorman was born at home on August 11, 2010 at 7:15pm.  He weighed 8lb 3oz and was 21.5 inches long!  He’s such a blessing and LOVES the au pairs!

I’ll be posting more frequently in the future, so be on the look out for information about our meetings, local events, and au pair and parenting issues!

Great news! Our Multiples Discount is BACK!!

We are offering families new to Cultural Care Au Pair with multiples (twin, triplets, quads and more!) a savings of $650!  This includes a $275 selection fee waiver and a $375 program fee discount!  When you apply, use promo code PCMUL2010!  Families must be new to Cultural Care Au Pair and take an au pair by 12/31/10.