au pair would rather go into the blizzard...

[Anonymous]

LOL, out AP was laughing at her friends who were walking in the blizzard. She thought they were fools.

[Anonymous]

I'm not by any means suggesting that this is the case with the OP, but one thing to think about, if your AP isn't around as much as you would like, is whether you have a guest policy that makes it possible for her to be around AND to socialize. In our area, we are pretty much the only HF without strict limitations on number of guests and gender of guests, which means that our basement is where the APs congregate. When I meet HMs who say that their APs are never home and then i ask who their APs are, it's common that I know their APs, as they are often at my house.

So if you wish your AP spent more time at home, make sure that you have a guest policy that makes it comfortable for her to be in the house AND to have friend around. While it is true that it means that we often feed 2,3, or 4 extra guests, in the end, it means that we know the APs really well and have the joy of a very broad cultural experience with the presence (and sometimes food!) of APs from many different countries.

[Anonymous]

Agreed - and I can definitely see why an AP would want to be with their friends through a big snowstorm, it's more fun ! We had 2 of our's friends staying with us through the whole storm Fri night to Sunday - they ate with us both nights, made Sangria, watched movies, played board games, went out and played in the snow with gear we lent them all, etc. In the middle of the storm when one had to go home for work the next day, we drove them home ourselves (def we weren't letting them drive - or walk!). It's been really nice getting to know so many of them and my kids love all the extra attention.