Relocating

As much as I love blogger, I'm having to relocate this site to a new site. Please look for us here to continue learning what is happening with the motley crew of Eastside Au Pairs!

2009 Au Pair of the Year!

For the second year in a row, Cultural Care Au Pair had one of their au pairs selected as the 2009 IAPA (International Au Pair Association) Au Pair of the Year! This is a huge deal, considering that au pairs are all over the world, not just in the US. Pretty cool! This just speaks to the great job that CCAP does in selecting and training their AP's - who are the best around!

What's Happening

There are some amazing things to start to do this weekend, depending on what you are looking for!

The Seattle International Film Festival is officially kicking off, and it's one of the largest and best organized film festivals in North America. If you want to see a move in your native language, you will probably find more than one. In addition, there are many other film festivals going on that occur during the SIFF. Be sure to check out their website for the best of new films from all over the world, as well as some great oldies.

Speaking of great oldies, this weekend you can catch a classic. At the Egyptian Theatre on Capitol Hill you can catch "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" at midnight tonight. It's located at 805 E. Pine, and their number is 206-781-5755. If you haven't seen the movie, it's well worth your time (and lack of sleep) to go...

The Crest is another Seattle theatre to keep in mind. Admission is only $3 for any movie, so it's worth the drive. The Admiral in West Seattle sports $5 movies as well. More on cheap movies later!

Today is also the Eastside Arts Education Fair, at Crossroads Mall from 11a - 4p. There is going to be information, workshops and performances by lot sof music, dance, visual arts, cultural groups and more. FYI - it's free, which is great.

What's Happening

There are lots of great things going on this weekend! Check some of these ideas out!

There are dozens upon dozens of Easter Egg hunts this weekend, and even if you don't celebrate easter it can be fun sugar fest for the kids...

• Redmond has a traditional egg hunt at 10a, at the Redmond Senior Center. More info at www.redmond.gov/recreationarts/eggstravaganza/ . Saturday.
• Sammamish hunt includes the egg hunt, bounce house, mini gold and more. At the Sammamish Family YMCA in Issaquah from 10a until 1p. Saturday.
• Gilman Village in Issaquah is hosting a "not just for kids" hunt from 10a until noon on Saturday.
• Check the Seattle Times for more details and lots more egg hunts!

Also coming up to do:

• Saturday, cats who are rescused and rehabilitated by the Seattle Animal Control foster families are ready for adoption. 12p - 3p at the Rainier Community Center.
• Go bowling at Tech City Bowl in Kirkland on Saturday, and not only have a grea ttime - but you can raise money for NW foster kids!
• Saturday and Sunday is WHIRLIGIG - an annual festival at the Seattle Center filled with bounce-house toys and play things for kids 12 and younger. Admission is free, but the rides cost... This is a TON of fun to do with your host family!
• Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival, April 17-19, at Seattle Center

What to plan for coming up:

• Walking with Dinosaurs, at Key Arena April 29 - May 3rd. This is pretty amazing. Tickets can be purchase at Key Arena. Imagine seeing life-sized dinosaurs walking around the Key Arena at Seattle Center... pretty cool!

Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next week for the Tulip Festival!

Oh where, oh where has my little car gone?

Have you ever parked your car in a garage or parking lot and by the time you are ready to leave, you can’t remember where you parked? Many parking lots and garages have letters and numbers and different signs to help you remember, but it can be so easy to forget, especially if you are running with your kids, your friends, are in a hurry, worried about getting rained on - or more!

Instead of worrrying about where you park, just grab your cell phone and took a picture of the reminder of where you are parked (you know most of those posts are marked with floors and sometime even space numbers) - and then you can forget about where you left the car, without worrying about forgetting!

Since so many cell phones now have cameras built in, this is a great way to help you remember where you parked. There are few things more frustrating than walking around a parking lot and not being able to find your car. This little step could save you from a ton of frustration as you wander around Bellevue Square parking lots, thinking, “oh where oh where has my little car gone?”

NW CCAP is on facebook

Northwest AP's are on Facebook! We have a group page for us "Northwesterners" to join up! We don't have that many of us on there, so spread the word about the page! I'd love to see how quickly we can get past 100 members in the Pacific Northwest...

Dental Update

If you need dental care, be sure to check out the blog from 2008 regarding the sliding-scale dentist in South Seattle... however, here is another option...

If you are an AP under the age of 20, you may qualify to participate in KC Kids - King County Kids Oral Health Program. This offerings low income folks with free oral health, dentist offerings, and more.

You can learn more at their website by visiting: http://www.kckidsdental.org/

What's Happening?

I've had a lot of requests for things to do around here... so my goal (note: goal) is that each week I'll let you know what stuff is going on in the area that you can do! So here we go:

• GPS Adventures, at the Pacific Science Center - totally hands-on exhibit on using your GPS and doing cool stuff like geo-caching
• Monsters vs. Aliens (the movie)... seriously, any animated movie about both monsters and aliens cannot be all that bad...
• Britney Spears (who thunk... guess she has bills to pay too) - will be at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday night next week with the Pussycat Dolls. Get your tickets through Ticketmaster
• Comedy Underground. I know many of you used to go (you know, before you found other places to go) - but they miss you!
• Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - one of my favorite bands will be playing Saturday night at the Kirkland Performance Center. Two shows (2p and 8p) and you can order online or by phone at 425-893-9900.

Last is my choice for your "long-range" planning: Mark Morris Dance Group will be at the paramount Theatre May 1-3rd. Purchase tickets through the groups website and save money on Ticketmaster...

2009 Monthly Meeting Calendar

We continue to make adjustments to our calendar, based on everyones feedback...

• Trip to the Tulip Fields - all day event + CEP Spring Program (bring about $30 for the day for your lunch, money for gas, etc)
• May TBD - Baseball Game (Host Family Event)
• June 20 - Annual CCAP White Water Rafting Trip - $60 (Money due by May 15th to Lara)
• July 25 - Seafair Torchlight Parade - Meeting at Mercer Island Park n Ride at 5:00p
• August 1 - Blue Angels Seafair performance + CEP Summer Program - meet at Mercer Island Park n Ride at 11:30a (bring a picnic lunch)
• September 19 - Annaul Host Family Picnic - at Marymoor Park
• October 24 - UW Football Game v. Oregon (cost approx. $20 due August 1st)
• November 15 - Thanksgiving Dinner at Lara's - 2p
• December 6 - Trip to Warm Beach for Christmas Lights and Christmas Cookie Exchange - 4p - 10p

Underground

Andrea, Angie, Elver, Viviana, Anika, Kate, Helena, Magda, Sine, Nathalie, Kristin, Anna

We had a great March meeting at the Seattle Underground this past weekend! With almost everyone in attendance, and some extra's joining in our fun, we had a great time touring the hidden city beneath Seattle's Pioneer Square area. Who knew that the city is the way it is today because of plumbing?

Tell us what you really think!

Each year we send out two surveys to our host families, once in the spring and once in the fall. This survey has become an incredibly important part of our quality metrics as well as an opportunity to take action on the valuable pieces of feedback provided by our families.

Today Cultural Care Au Pair has sent out our spring survey! Families will have 3 weeks to complete the survey (it will close on April 7th). Please take the time to respond to the survey, as it is one of the most important feedback tools that we use to improve our service, and services!

The survey will be the same format and questions will be the same. However, we have removed the transition questions that are usually in the survey, as those have become a part of a follow-up communication that goes directly to host families following an actual transition.

Thanks so much for your participation in the survey!

Haircuts

Well, last night I went ahead and got my hair cut. Turns out I had enough that I wanted to get rid of that I could make a big donation to Locks of Love - and since my hair is so thick, it wound up being three ponytails instead of one.

So - for all of you looking for a GREAT haircut, contact my stylist, William Hines. He is at Vyve in Bellevue. Let him know I sent you, and you'll get a great deal. I've had him cut my hair for about 10 years, and I just keep following him from Salon to Salon. PHone number is 425-452-1121... just in case you want to call him for a WAY better cut than what you'd get at the big local chain...

January Ice Skating Event

We had a great time at our January au pair meeting. We went skating at the outdoor skating rink in Bellevue, and had just about everyone there: Anika, Anna-Maria, Juliana, Helena, Sine, Ivona, Kate, Majo, Angie - and guests Magda, Kristin and Anika's cousin!

It was cold, but not enough to keep the ice from melting - but we had a great time and beginning skaters Majo, Juliana and Sine did great considering they grew up with no snow or ice!

2009 Calendar of AP Meetings

We already have some changes to the AP calendar. Please review and make sure that you mark these down on your calendar!

2009:

• February ?? - Lion King
• March 15 - Underground Tour, 1p Seattle. Meet at 12:30p in Pioneer Square to purchase tix.
• April 19 - Mariners Baseball Game - 12p - 4p
• May 17 - Trip to the Ocean (Westport) + CEP Spring Program -- all day event! Meet at 9:30am
• June 20 - Annual CCAP White Water Rafting Trip - Must sign up ahead of time to attend!
• July 25 - Seafair Torchlight Parade - Meeting at Mercer Island Park n Ride at 5:00p
• August 1 - Blue Angels Seafair performance + CEP Summer Program - meet at Mercer Island Park n Ride at 11:30a
• August 23 - Optional - Trip to Mt. Rainier - all day event
• September 19 - Annaul Host Family Picnic - at Marymoor Park (date estimated)
• October 24 - UW Football Game v. Oregon

We'll discuss the schedule past September at one of the upcoming meetings.