Hello! We are Clair and Eric , and we have five children. Yikes! But don't worry, our kids are pretty fun. You will be responsible for caring for the three youngest children, ages 4, 2, and 2, as of October 2021.
We are an experienced host family. We absolutely adored our last au pair, Jenny, and she stayed for 2 and half years! You are welcome to speak to her about our family. Jenny is a part of our family now. We treat her with the respect she deserves- we give her privacy and we do not open her mail. Jenny makes a grocery list every couple of days, and we get her whatever she wants. We do not have a curfew requirement. We do order carryout a lot more than we should, and you will always be included. We ask that your grocery list be reasonable- lobster every night will just not be possible!
We live in Rensselaer, Indiana, which is a very rural area. Please make sure you google our city so you know what you are getting into. We are a 90 minute drive to Chicago. You can also take the train in, but the train station in Rensselaer has a limited schedule, but you can drive to a train station too with a full schedule. We are 90 minutes from Indianapolis too. We will have a car available for your use. It gets VERY cold here in the winter- below zero.
We have a fenced in big backyard, with a play house, slides, swings, a climbing dome, and lots of outdoor activities.
Eric and I are both lawyers, and we work within a five minute drive from the house. We probably should walk, but we don't- LOL.
We have a housekeeper that we also adore, and she can also clean your room if you choose.
There is nothing more important to us than our children. They are our world. Our oldest is Katie, age 19, and she goes to college in Wisconsin. She is a college athlete and only comes home briefly. Our 16 year old is Jake, and he is self-sufficient. You will not provide any care for him. Jake has his own car. Jake also is only home on some weekends and school holidays.
Bella is our four year old. Bella goes to pre-school in the mornings from 8-11:15 a.m., Monday through Thursday. She is in gymnastics and dance.
Maddie is 2, and she is a handful. She loves to eat and carries a lovey everywhere. Mitch is 2, and he is fascinated with how things work. Mitch and Maddie will do gymnastics and other activities too as soon as they are old enough.
Kids are not special needs, but they are in speech therapy which may or may not be still going on. Mitch also wears braces in his shoes to help his ankle keep from rolling.
We hope you can cook or warm up meals for the kiddos. Eric can cook. You may die from food poisoning if you eat what I cook. I don't cook, and even if I did, no one would eat it.
We have a little cottage on a little lake available for your use that is 15 minutes away.
We have a gym membership for you for a 24/7 gym.
We are an LGBTQ+ friendly family. We are not religious. If you are religious, we will be supportive, but hate does not have a place in our home.

You will be expected to provide care for the three youngest children, ages 4, 2, and 2 (as of October 2021) Mondays through Fridays. Bella goes to pre-school from 8:15 am to 11:15 a.m., Monday through Thursday. In September 2022, the twins will join her. Their pre-school is a short ten minute walk from the house.
Three kids that are this age are hard. This will not be an easy job. I promise that we will treat you well, like how we would want our daughter to be treated. We will respect you and your time, and we look forward to embracing your culture. However, if you want an easy job in an urban city, this is not the job for you. We are not desperate for an au pair, and we will wait for the right person to join us.
We do not lie or cause drama, and we ask that our au pair do the same.
Clair works 8-4:30, Monday through Fridays. Eric works from 8 am until anywhere from 5-7 pm.
We would like help in the mornings getting the kids fed and out the door. Maybe 7:00 a.m.? Then you will work again starting at 11:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Kids take a nap at the same time from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Clair will be home by 5 at the latest, but we just need help wrangling the kids and helping with dinner. We do not need any help on the weekends. If we do for some reason, we will discuss it with you and arrange it in advance. We also have several babysitters that we use.
When the kids are not in pre-school, you will care for them from 8 am to 4:30 or 5. The pre-school is closed in the summer, so June, July, and August. The pre-school is closed for two weeks at Christmas, and one week in March for spring break.
We do not need laundry help.
You will have your own car that we will not need. We do not require a driver for our children, so if you don't have a driver's license, we are open to teaching you, if you want.
We do not have curfews. If you are 21 or older, you are welcome to drink alcohol as long as you are not on duty. You may need it after taking care of my kiddos! Ha ha.
We travel for fun, and we would like you to go with us. Eric's parents live in a lovely home in Naples, Florida, and that is on our list too. You would have your own bedroom during travel.
You eat, shower, and do your laundry when you want.
If you like arts and crafts, great! We have a ton. If it is not your thing, that's fine too.
If you can cook, great! We would love for you to cook for the kiddos. If you don't, we can help you with meal prep, so you can pop food into the oven or re-heat it.
We want you to travel and share your culture with us. We want you to have a great au pair experience, and in return we want you to love and care for our kids.
COVID requirements are as follows:
Eric, Clair, Katie, and Jake are vaccinated. We ask that if you are not vaccinated, that you get vaccinated within a few days of your arrival. We ask that you are responsible and follow all state and local guidelines and CDC recommendations. This means that when you are outside of the home, you may need to wear a mask, be socially distant, and do outdoor activities, if possible.
All other benefits, such as weekly stipend and gas/travel allowance will be discussed with the right candidate.