Fall Hike & Chinese Food (Yummy!)

Taking a break at Elliot Tower after our hike.

Last August, when we were driving home from our camping trip, one of the au pairs mentioned that she would like to go on a hike for one of our monthly au pair activities this fall. There happens to be a great place for hiking just a few short miles from my house, so I told the girls that  we could meet up at my house and then head over to Blue Hills for an afternoon hike.   Everyone seemed to like that idea.

There were 3 Chinese au pairs riding in my car. As we were talking about things that the au pairs enjoy doing with their host families, one of them mentioned that she loves to cook.  Well, I love Chinese food.  Stephanie told me she would be happy to show me how to cook some traditional Chinese dishes.  That’s when I got the bright idea to combine these two things.  We could meet up at my house, drive to Blue Hills  for an invigorating hike, and then come back to my house to prepare some tasty Chinese dishes for everyone to enjoy.

This all sounded great, so I immediately sent out my Evite to the au pairs in my cluster.  As always, I told them to feel free to invite a friend or two.  I figured we would have about 10 or 15 people show up for the hike.  As it turns out, we had about 25 guests RSVP for the hike and Chinese food get together.  Yikes! That’s a lot of dumplings to prepare.  I decided I should prepare some food ahead of time so that the hungry hikers would have something to fill their stomachs while we were busy cooking all of that Chinese food.

We would be making Chinese dumplings together and Stephanie, our Chinese chef for the evening, would also be preparing several main course meat and noodle dishes for us.  I wanted to make something that would compliment what she was making.  I went through my recipe books, and couldn’t find anything that sounded good.  Then I remembered that Au Pair Sis has many interesting recipes on her Pinterest account, so I went there to find something that was easy to make, would feed the masses, could be prepared ahead of time, and had an Asian-inspired theme.  I found a recipe for Coconut Chicken Soup that sounded like it just might do the trick.  So, I prepared my soup and awaited the arrival of my au pair friends.

Girls hiking up Great Blue Hill.

After everyone who was planning to hike arrived, we headed over to Blue Hills.  Blue Hills Reservation is composed of 22 hills that stretch over 7,000 acres from Quincy to Dedham and Milton to Randolph.  The tallest of the hills, Great Blue Hill is easily accessed from the Trailside Museum, which is about 4 miles from my house.  We started our adventure at the Trailside Museum, up the Red Dot trail to Elliot Tower which is at the top of Great Blue Hill.  The elevation is 635 feet which provides for a great view of the Boston city skyline.  It also provides a great place to take pictures.

Anna, Monica and Ligia enjoying the scenery.

The hike up to Elliot Tower took about 30 minutes.  So, you would expect the hike down to take maybe 20-25 minutes?  Well, that sounds about right except we took the wrong trail.  So, instead of the quick straight downhill hike, we took a long meandering hike that took us about an hour to complete.  But that was okay because we were all having fun chatting and getting to know each other better.

“Chef Stephanie” preparing our food.

When we finally arrived back at my house, the real fun began.  Stephanie prepared the filling for our Chinese dumplings.  Her “assistants” Lilly, JinJin, and Shirley demonstrated the finesse needed to properly stuff the filling between the dumpling wrappers.  Ksenia, an au pair from Russia, made one small change to their recipe.  In Russia, when families and friends are gathered for celebrations, Russian dumplings are a traditional dish.  They are very similar to the Chinese dumplings, but the stuffing is a little different.  One of their customs is to secretly hide a special treat inside one (or more) of the dumplings.  The person who received the dumpling with the special surprise is said to have good luck!  So, for fun, we hid some pieces of banana in a few of the dumplings.  (The special ingredient can be just about anything–the point is to make the dumpling different than the rest.) 

Our Chinese cooks preparing the stuffing for the dumplings.

We had a lot of fun tasting all of the yummy dishes that Stephanie and her crew prepared for us.  And it was interesting to see the various ways the au pairs from different countries liked to wrap their dumplings.

Learning the tricky art of stuffing dumplings!

Our good friend, Lilly, was getting ready to return home to China later that week.  So, we all enjoyed a special farewell cake.  Lilly was especially excited about returning home because she was expecting a proposal from her boyfriend at the airport.

Dani, an au pair from Brazil had just arrived a few days before and was able to join us for her first cultural activity.  “I really enjoyed this experience!” Dani said. “My favorite part was to know so many girls at once, chat with them and know a little bit more about their cultures and their experiences as au pairs. ” “And, of course, the food,” she added.

Stephanie heard from Lilly shortly after she returned, and confirmed that Lilly had, in fact, gotten engaged.  Congratulations Lilly!  Best wishes for a bright future.

The Gathering Was Bittersweet As We Said Farewell & Best Wishes to Lilly.

Red Sox Baseball Game A Big Hit for Boston Area Au Pairs

For our  June monthly activity, our Boston area au pairs had the exciting experience of attending a  Red Sox baseball game.  What could be more American than that?

Well, apparently, there is some controversy as to whether baseball was invented in the United States.  Legend has it that the first baseball game was played in Cooperstown, NY in 1839.  The game was supposedly organized by a Civil War soldier named Abner Doubleday. In 1903, a reporter named Henry Chadwick, a native of Great Britain, disputed the claim that baseball was invented in the US, citing evidence of the similarities between baseball and a game called rounders that he had played as a child in Great Britain.  But whether you believe the sport was invented in the United States or not, there is no denying that baseball is the great American past-time.  And Boston has a long history of being one of America’s favorite teams.

The Boston Red Sox organization that we know today was formed around 1901.  And our beloved Fenway Park, the current home of the Red Sox, was built in 1912. There have been many legendary players who have played on this sacred field, but, by far, the most famous of them all was George Herman “Babe” Ruth.  Babe Ruth joined the Red Sox in 1914. The Boston Red Sox won 3 World Series championships with the Babe on board, their 4th in 7 years.  But some people thought Babe Ruth was trouble. In 1920, the Red Sox traded the Babe to the New York Yankees, one of the worst teams in the league.  Babe Ruth was not very happy with this decision and vowed that the Red Sox would never win another championship game.  And for decades, the “Curse of the Bambino” appeared to be in full force as the Red Sox just couldn’t claim a championship while the Yankees became baseball’s golden team.  After many close wins resulting in no championship, in 2004, Boston was finally able to “Reverse the Curse” and win their first World Series in 86 years.   And to solidify that the curse was gone, they won again in 2007. They are currently ranked number 1.  Could this be the year that they win it all again?

Baseball’s Most Beloved Stadium…Fenway Park. The red pennants represent 7 World Series Championships.

Our au pairs could say they had the opportunity to witness a championship team in action…and at a bargain price!  I was able to get us all group tickets for $28/each.  (It’s good to have connections!)  We had great seats at center field.  We were originally supposed to attend the Friday night game, but due to some major rain, the game was rescheduled to Saturday afternoon.  This required a little scrambling to rearrange everyone’s schedules, but we all managed to make the rescheduled game.

We were happy the game had been rescheduled because Saturday afternoon was a beautiful,  sunny day…a perfect  day for some baseball!  It was a well-fought game, but the Los Angeles Angels beat the Sox 9-5 in the first game of the series.  We still had fun watching the game, singing “Sweet Caroline”, and eating our Fenway franks.  (Fret not, because the Sox came back in the second game of the double-header and defeated the Angels 7-2.  And they finished off the series with a win on Sunday.)

Boston area au pairs from Go Au Pair (and me) enjoying the great American past time!

Free Fun Fridays In Greater Boston This Summer!

Thanks to Nemo, Sandy and an assortment of winter storms, it seemed like school here in the Boston area would never end!  But the good news is that school is finally out, and summer has officially begun!  As the kids rejoice, au pairs and host parents everywhere are now wondering, “What can I do to keep these kids entertained this summer without breaking the bank?”

Well, here’s some good news for our au pairs and host families.  Thanks to Highland Street Foundation, an organization committed to addressing the needs and concerns of families with children in MA (and CA), “Free Fun Fridays” is back for the 5th year.

Visit one of The Boston Harbor Islands for free!

What is “Free Fun Fridays?”  Well, starting tomorrow, Friday, June 28th, families can visit one or more of 60 participating venues on Fridays for free! For the next 10 weeks, you’ll be able to choose between 6 venues each week. That’s right…absolutely free admission to museums and other venues.  You will need to refer to the website for specific instructions on how to obtain free admission.  In most cases, tickets or coupons are not required, but you’ll want to check for the specific requirements from each venue before trekking out.

The kids will love the interactive exhibits at the Boston Children’s Museum.

Enjoy popular area attractions like Tanglewood, The Boston Children’s Museum, The Stone Zoo, Boston Harbor Islands, Garden in the Woods, The JFK Library,The USS Constitution, and Plimouth Plantation.  The participating venues are different each week, so check the schedule and start planning now! Free Fun Fridays Schedule. 

Or perhaps a trip to the Stone Zoo?

Boston Area Au Pairs and Families Go Wild at the Roger Williams Park & Zoo

This past Sunday, our Boston area cluster of au pairs and many of their host families got together for a family outing  at the Roger Williams Park & Zoo in Providence, RI.  We were also joined by the Providence area group.   This was a fun-filled day that everyone seemed to enjoy.

We met up around 10:00 am outside the zoo entrance.  We all had to enter as a group so that we could utilize a group discount.  As you can imagine, this required a lot of logistical planning (which is always fun because au pairs are NEVER late!).

We all managed to enter the zoo around 10:20.  “If you run to the other side of the zoo,” the zoo employee told us, “you will make it in time for the ‘bathing of the elephants'”  I’ve been to the Roger Williams Zoo many times, and had never seen that, so this was pretty exciting to me.

Watching the elephants get a bath was very exciting!

Alma and her host family enjoying the zoo.

The Ford family…looking good.

Penguins love to show off.

My son, Jake, on the right with my host family’s son, Daniel.

Pink flamingos…and not the kind in your front yard.

These pink flamingos are sleeping on the job!

There’s a bear…Where? Over there!

Alma and her “little brother”, Moses.

Did you know that a camel’s hump is not filled with water? It’s filled with fat!

Wait for us, kids!

A red panda captured our hearts!

The snow leopard blends in with his surroundings!

The Burton family and their au pair enjoying their picnic.

LAR Joan and her children flying a kite.

Lovely Angeles brought some friends along.

The Zolotars enjoying some quality family time.

Marcela and Ksenia are basking in the sun.

A ride on the carousel is a nice treat after a long day.

This is me relaxing with my son after a long day of fun!

Fun at the Hasbro Playground.

We rushed past the zebras and giraffes and made it just in time for the big event.  I do have to say that it was very interesting seeing these giant creatures enjoying their morning baths.  They very patiently lifted their legs when instructed to do so by the elephant trainer…and obediently laid down for their tummy cleansing.  The children were mesmerized, and I guess I was, too.

We then made our way through the park.  We saw everything from farm animals and tropical birds to a snow leopard, a moon bear and bison.  It was interesting to learn about where the animals came from in various parts of the world.  I think we were particularly more observant of these facts since we had people from so many different parts of the world with us!  Our friend, Kuschke from South Africa, pointed out several animals that roam free in her country.  That was neat!

It takes about 2 hours to walk through the Roger Williams Zoo.  Around 12:45, many of us packed into our cars and drove to the other side of the park where we had a picnic lunch in front of the Temple to Music.  The Temple to Music is a beautiful outdoor structure made of marble, reminiscent of Grecian style architecture.  The Temple overlooks a lake and there is a large grassy field in front of it.  This is a great place to take photos have a picnic!  Everyone brought their own picnic lunch and blanket.  Joan, the Go Au Pair LAR from Providence brought several kites and some bubbles.  The kids were certainly entertained.

After we enjoyed our picnic and conversation, some of us ventured across the street to the Hasbro Boundless Playground, with the grand finale being a ride on the carousel.

Boston College Basketball Game Was A Slam Dunk for Area Au Pairs!

Baseball may be America’s favorite past time, but you wouldn’t have known that the past few months.  The months of  February and March are all about  basketball.  And I’m not talking about professional basketball.  I’m talking about college basketball.  You may have heard about “March Madness” and wondered what it is?   Well, “March Madness” is the NCAA’s (National Collegiate Athletic Association)  single elimination basketball tournament that starts out with 64 of the top college teams, culminating with one championship game in April.

In the interest of cultural exchange, I thought I’d share a little history of the game.  Basketball was invented in Canada in 1891 by a teacher named James Naismeth.  There were 18 players in the game, 2 teams of 9. The game was played with a soccer ball and 2 fruit baskets.  The baskets were attached to the balcony on both ends of the gym.  Points were scored by shooting the ball into your team’s basket.  Every time a player made a basket, someone would have to climb up a ladder to retrieve the ball! It wasn’t until later that they decided to cut holes in the bottoms of the baskets to avoid this step.  (Great idea!)

The first public basketball game was played in Springfield, MA in 1892. Basketball quickly spread throughout the United States and Canada.  And when the United States Army joined the First World War in 1917, basketball gained popularity in Europe.

In 1906, metal hoops with nets and backboards replaced the fruit baskets.  And the soccer ball was replaced with a leather ball similar to what is used in today’s game.  But, other than that, the game has not changed much.    The rules are pretty much the same as Naismeth’s game.

But enough with the history lesson.  Being from Kentucky, college basketball is, in my opinion, much more exciting than professional basketball.  (But that’s probably because we never had a professional basketball team to cheer on in Kentucky).  It’s definitely much more affordable.  Some of the au pairs in my cluster expressed an interest in seeing a Boston Celtics game.  But, with ticket prices averaging $100/each, I knew that price was a little out of their budget (and mine, too!).

Since a road trip to Louisville was out of the question, I contacted Boston College and arranged for a group of 22 au pairs to see the Boston College Eagles take on Georgia Tech.  For the bargain price of $10/each, we were able to get center court seats.

Even though Boston College didn’t make it into the “March Madness” tournament this year, the au pairs and I still managed to have some fun cheering them on.   We saw some great cheer and dance routines performed by the BC Eagles cheerleaders and Pom Squad.  Some of us even got to get up close and personal with Baldwin the Eagle, BC’s mascot.  (Check out our own cheerleaders on their Youtube debut.)  Here are some still shots from the game:

That’s me posing with Baldwin the Eagle.

The game gets exciting as the competition heats up!

The lovely ladies from China.

“Peace!”

Some more of our crazy friends.

Amity was having fun with Baldwin the Eagle.

“Come, come on…I don’t bite.”

“But I do peck!”

More game excitement.

Our friend Sam joined us. (She is an adopted member of our cluster!)

The cheerleaders take the floor.

That’s a nice looking group!

The game was exciting until the very end.  We sat on the edges of our seats as BC narrowly beat Georgia Tech with a final score of 72-74.

And in regards to the NCAA championship game next week– I’ll be rooting for my own home town team.  Go Louisville Cardinals!

Beware of Pranksters…Don’t Be An April Fool!

Tomorrow is April Fools’ Day here in the USA.  Although this is not an official holiday, this is a fun day that is celebrated in many parts of the world.  It is a day when humor reigns supreme.  This is the one day you can play a practical joke (a funny, harmless trick) on your family and friends without retaliation. (At least until next year!)

There seems to be some debate regarding the origin of April Fools’ Day, or All Fools’ Day.  Many historians believe the holiday began in France in the 16th century after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar.  Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, New Years was celebrated near the end of March to coincide with the vernal equinox.  However, many of the French people continued to celebrate New Years on April 1st, either because they did not agree with the change or they had not received word about the change.  Their fellow countrymen began playing pranks on their neighbors to “make fun” of them for their foolishness.  The tradition soon spread throughout Europe.     Other historians believe the tradition started much earlier than that.  The Romans, for example, celebrated “Hilaria”, which was a festival of good cheer that also coincided with the vernal equinox.

However it came to be, April Fools’ Day is always fun at my house!  Living with three boys, there is definitely never a dull moment.   Give them a free pass to play a prank?  Well, that’s just trouble waiting to happen.  They are always tricking me on April Fools’ Day.

This year, I decided that it was my turn to get them back.  So, I did a little research.  And I’m going to share the ideas that I found with my host parents and au pairs.  (I found these on Parenting Magazine’s website, so they have to be okay?  Right? Disclaimer: I am not responsible for your child’s wrath if you decide to try these tricks at home.)

Here are 10 Kid-safe April Fools’ Pranks:

1. Put a few drops of food coloring in a pitcher of milk (choose your kid’s fave shade). Make sure she’s watching when you nonchalantly fix her morning bowl of cereal!

2. Take out cereal bags and put them in mismatching boxes. See how long it takes for everyone to find their favorite cereal.

3.  Wait until your kids are asleep, and then switch them in their beds.

4. Put water in a cereal bowl, and freeze overnight. The next morning, offer to fix your kids a bowl of cereal. Pour the cereal on top of the ice, completely covering it, and watch them try to dig in.

5. Put part of a post-it note over the tracking ball on a computer mouse — it won’t work! (Make sure to write “April Fools!” on the note).

6. Serve up a topsy-turvy dinner to throw your kids for a loop: bake meatloaf in a 12-cup muffin tin and frost with mashed potatoes for a “cupcakes” dinner — bonus if you add food coloring to the spuds. Then toast strips of pound cake for a dessert of “French fries”. Don’t forget red-tinted frosting for ketchup!

7. Bunch up TP and stuff it in the toe of the victim’s shoes. They’ll wonder why their shoes suddenly don’t fit.

8. Add a squirt of lemon juice to a glass of water when your kid’s not looking, then wait for his sour face.

9. Use a pin to make a few small holes in a plastic disposable cup, and make sure to put it back on the top of the stack. Watch as your victim gets a drink and it ends up all over his shirt.  P.S.: Make sure it’s a drink that doesn’t stain, or the joke’s really on whoever has to do the laundry!

10. Take a screenshot of the desktop of Dad’s computer, and leave the image open. Sit back and let him freak out for a few minutes, believing the computer is frozen.

These are just a few ideas.  Try to think of some creative ideas of your own to “fool” you host kids.

Is April Fools’ Day celebrated in your home country?  Feel free to share how you celebrate April Fools’ Day in your country!

Boston Au Pairs Have a Weekend of “Snow Much” Fun in New Hampshire

For our January activity, my Boston area  Go Au Pair cluster, had a special treat.  On Saturday morning, we packed into three cars and headed North to check out the snowy mountains in New Hampshire.

We drove two hours to my family’s cabin in Laconia, NH. Our cabin is located about 6 miles from Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford.  We arrived in the area at lunch time and stopped at a local restaurant, Shooter’s Tavern, for a nice lunch.

Enjoying a break after the long ride up to New Hampshire.

The girls were very excited because they had passed the frozen lake on the way and were very curious about the small houses and people walking on the lake.  I explained to them that those small houses are called “bob houses” and people use them as shelter from the frigid weather while ice fishing.  Some of the girls stopped on the way home from the restaurant to walk on the frozen lake.  It was very exciting and frightening at the same time!

Ksenia, Alma & Marche “walking on water”.

When we arrived at the house, everyone unpacked and settled in.  We got our snow clothes on and headed over to Gunstock for an afternoon of snowtubing.  Personally for me, this was the highlight of the weekend.

Snowtubing is a thrilling winter activity that requires no skill!  And doing this at a mountain resort takes all of the hard work out of it.  Just hook your tube onto the pulley, sit back,  and enjoy the ride up the hill.  Once we reached the top of the hill, we rode back down in groups, enjoying a little competitive racing.

The girls are getting ready to race down the mountain in their snowtubes!

After our snowtubing adventure, we headed back to the house to enjoy a nice cozy fire, a hot dinner, and some warm conversation.  After dinner, the au pairs entertained each other with an exciting game of Wii Just Dance 4!  Some of us went to bed early because we had to get up really early to make it to our ski lesson in the morning.  (Some of us did not go to bed early…but I won’t mention any names here.)

The “Just Dance” competition was getting serious!

There were 13 au pairs who went on the trip.  Out of the 13, two knew how to ski/snowboard.  (They were both from Russia.)  The rest of us, myself included, were lucky enough to participate in Ski New Hampshire’s “Learn to Ski or Snowboard for Free Week”.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get reservations at Gunstock for this special free promotion, but I was lucky to  secure everyone a spot at Ragged Mountain Resort, which is about 45 minutes further away.    (This meant we had to get up even earlier, but that was okay because everyone saved a lot of money by doing this.)

Let’s just say it’s not very much fun sharing 2 bathrooms with 13 other women.  But other than that, our morning went pretty smoothly.  We all got dressed in our snow duds, ate breakfast, cleaned up, packed up, and were ready to leave by 8:30 am.  Our lesson was at 10:00 am and were supposed to arrive by 9:00 am.  (Oh well, we tried.)  We arrived at the mountain, got checked in and fitted for our equipment.  We made it just in time for the start of our lesson.

Excited girls getting ready for a new experience!

There were two au pairs who decided to take snowboarding lessons, while the rest of us gave skiing a shot.   It was very challenging, but I think everyone had a good time.  After the initial lesson, they split us up into two groups.  We learned the very basics–how to put on and take off our skis, how to turn, how to slow down, and most importantly, how to stop! Most of us even ventured to take a ride on the chair lift and ski down the “bunny slope”.  That was a lot of fun!

Ligia, an au pair from El Salvadore who is currently in her second year, had tried snowboarding shortly after she first arrived in the US last January.  “With this lesson I feel more confident, and I know the next time I go, I’ll be rocking the diamonds!” she told me. “So, you’re planning on doing this again?” I probed.  “I would love to try it a million times again,” she added.  “No matter how many times I fell, I would LOVE to do it again!”

JinJin getting ready to hit the slopes!

One au pair had a close encounter with ski patrol.  Ski patrol are the on-site medics who drive around on snowmobiles rescuing injured skiers.  Fortunately, it was a minor accident that involved our au pair crashing into a handsome snowboarder…but that’s a story for another time.  Seriously, other than a bruise and a minor headache, she was fine.  “I tried it.  I did it.  Now I’m done with skiing,” she told me after her incident.  Oh come on, Alma, give it another chance!  Maybe you should try snowboarding next time?

New Hampshire is sooo much fun!

Boston Area Au Pairs Celebrate the Holidays With “Cultural Pot Luck” and Yankee Swap

On Sunday, I hosted my annual Christmas party for the au pairs in my Boston area Go Au Pair cluster.  Good food, good laughs, and good cheer was enjoyed by all!

I had asked each of the au pairs to bring a traditional holiday dish from her home country.  Personally, I served my husband’s famous New England Clam Chowder.  (It was a big hit!) We also enjoyed a delicious Ukranian salad, some guacamole with tortilla chips as well as Molletes with refried beans and cheese from our Mexican friends,  Chinese pancakes and sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, and many yummy desserts.

After we were sufficiently stuffed, we went to the family room for a fun Yankee Swap gift exchange.  This was a new experience for most of the au pairs, who had never participated in a Yankee Swap before.

Everyone was asked to bring a wrapped gift with an approximate value of $20.  There were 9 people who participated in the Yankee swap, so I cut up pieces of paper with the numbers 1-9 and placed them in a bowl.  Each participant chose a number to determine the order of the unwrapping.  Number 1 chooses first and unwraps her gift.  Then, number 2 can choose to swap gifts with number 1 or choose an unwrapped gift from the pile.  This can be quite fun and quite a bit of swapping can occur if a coveted gift is unwrapped.  After the last person opens her gift, number 1 can choose to swap with anyone else.  Most of the au pairs played nice and kept her own gift, but a Starbucks gift basked was swapped quite a few times.  Ironically, the basket was opened first by number 1, and then swapped several times before number 1 reclaimed it at the end!

But it was all in good fun, and everyone left with a nice gift.  After the gift swapping, we finished our evening off with desserts and laughter in the dining room!

Au Pairs gather in the kitchen to sample our international buffet

Marche and Ksenia smiling for the camera!

Yulia, Angeles and Erika are happy to be here!

Rickus is such a lucky young man to be surrounded by all of the lovely ladies!

We gather in the family room for a group picture.

Sam was lucky Number 1!

Ksenia was not very happy when Sam took her gift basket back!

But everyone became friends again in the end as we gathered for dessert!

Give Me A Break During School Break!

As the school bus pulled in front of my house last Friday, I knew I was in trouble!

The bus stopped in front of my house at precisely 3:20 p.m. last Friday and my two elementary-school-aged sons scurried off the bus with a little more pep than usual.  

“Where are we going?”  “What are we doing?”  “Can Matthew spend the night?”  “I want to see the ‘Lightning Thief’!”   “I want to learn to snowboard.” “I want to go to Disney World,” my four-year-old chimed in.  

They had obviously recovered from the disappointment they had felt the morning before when they woke up to a mere 2 inches of snow rather than the 12-18″ that was predicted.  Yes, it was time to get excited about the prospect of 9 days without school! 

Sure, they were excited. But what about me?  My husband had just started a new job, so there was no trip to Disney World in our immediate future.  I was on my own.  It was them against me.  And they outnumbered me 3:1.  If only I still had an au pair.  That would have made my life easier.   But the absence of my full-time salary pretty much squashed that for our family.  Now, instead of hosting an au pair, I advise them and area host families in my role as the Local Area Representative for goAUPAIR.  

So, there I was…trying to figure out how I was going to entertain a nine-year-old, an eleven-year-old, and a four-year-old for a week without breaking the bank.  

Well, for those of you who are au pairs, who have au pairs, or just wish they did, the good news is that it is possible to keep a variety of age groups happy without spending a fortune.  

Now taking in a movie may not seem like a huge extravagance, but it can really add up–especially if you want to see an evening show.  But if you or a friend has a membership to AAA Travel, you can get access to discount movie passes.  For example, a movie pass to Showcase Cinemas is $7.75, compared to the adult ticket at the box office at $11.00.  (I have a AAA membership, by the way and would be happy to pick up discounted passes to any host family or au pair in my cluster.) Check out www.aaa.com if you want to look into getting your own membership.    

As far as skiing goes, Blue Hills (www.ski-bluehills.com) may not be Sundae River in Maine, but the quick drive to Canton (about 15 minutes south of Boston) sure beats 3 1/2 hours in the car with three screaming kids.  And the rates are much cheaper.  A half day lift ticket at Blue Hills is $18 for a child under 13 years-old compared to $45-$65 the resorts up north get.  And a lesson is only $25.  There are other local ski areas that offer similar rates.  

Another thing you can do to entertain the kids during school vacation is take in a museum.  There are many great museums in the Boston area.  The Museum of Science is my older kids’ favorite (www.mos.org), and the Children’s Museum (www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org) is my little guy’s choice.  The New England Aquarium (www.neaq.org) is fun for children of all ages.  But again, this can by pricey.  

Ask around.  Many of the larger companies in Boston offer free passes to their employees as a perk. (I am actually bringing my kids and au pair group to the Museum of Science on Sunday utilizing free passes that I got from a friend!) 

If you don’t have a friend with connections, make a visit to your local library.  Many libraries have museum memberships which residents can “check out” for the day just like you would a book.  Museum memberships provide free or reduced admissions.  Keeping in mind that entrance to the Museum of Science costs $20 per person, this could add up to signficant savings! 

As far as hosting sleepovers go, obviously that is cheap entertainment that your kids will love.  However, this presents other problems.  You have to feed and entertain other people’s children.  The best case scenario is to have your kids sleepover at the other kid’s house.  However, if it’s your turn and you can’t get out of it, my next best advice is to feed them pizza.  Pizza is cheap, easy to serve, relatively nutritious, and most kids love it.  If you want to save money on your pizza order or any take-out order, check online for coupons.  A great site to visit is www.retailmenot.com.  You just go to the site and type in the web address of the restaurant you are going to order from.  You will see a list of coupon codes that you can try using at checkout.  These are coupon codes that have been submitted by community members; so beware, they may be bogus or expired.   But I usually have really good luck with finding valid coupon codes on this site.  My most recent deal gave me 20% off at www.papaginos.com.  I highly recommend that you visit this site before finalizing any online order for anything, not just food. 

As far as cheap entertainment for sleepovers goes,  if you don’t have a subscription to Netflix or you haven’t had a chance to mail back the three movies that you watched two weeks ago, I recommend visiting the Redbox.  For those of you who don’t know, Redbox is basically a vending machine that dispenses DVD’s for $1 per night.  They can be found locally inside most Shaws/Star Market stores, Wal Mart, and Hannaford Brothers to name a few.  The great thing about Redbox is, not only is it cheap, but it is convenient.  Unlike Netflix, there is no pre-planning involved.  PLUS, here’s the great part that you may not know–you can return the DVD to ANY Redbox.  This is especially handy if you are taking a road trip.  

You can pick-up “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs” at Shaw’s in Norwood.  The kids can watch it on the portable DVD player on your two hour road trip to New Hampshire.  You can return the movie at Wal Mart (or “the Wal Mart” as it’s known here) in Plymouth, NH, and pick up “Ice Age 3” for the drive home.  It’s the best invention since the portable DVD player.  (I recommend that you visit www.redbox.com prior to your road trip so that you can map out the Redbox locations along your route. I’m wondering if there’s an iPhone app for that?)  

Well, our vacation is just about over.  It is Saturday, and we are now back to the hustle and bustle of getting two kids to two different basketball games at two different locations at the same time.  I did survive.  And I hope I have provided you with some useful tips because April vacation will be here before you know it!