Ireland: My Experience as an Au Pair

My Experience as an Au Pair in Ireland

My experience as an au pair in Ireland was absolutely the best year of my young life. The program allowed me to leave my familiar surroundings and routine for a time and embrace a new culture and lifestyle. I learned a host of new skills, such as how to make the perfect mashed potatoes (I must admit I have not mastered this yet) and how to manage an Irish traffic jam (cows or sheep crossing the road). I also met dozens of incredibly interesting people who helped me to understand the foreign culture that has greatly enriched not only my life, but also my personality. I was able to fulfill my dream of exploring a new country and culture by travelling around Ireland and visiting the amazing sites. I visited Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, was blown away by the Cliffs of Moher, and even kissed the Blarney Stone! Ireland is such a beautiful country and fortunately I was able to experience much of what it has to offer. By working together with my host family, I learned how to become more responsible and independent not only for myself, but for the children for whom I was responsible – Jack, 10; Charlie, 4; Gracie, 14 months. The Fallons, my host family, are some of the nicest and most gracious people I have ever met. From day one, they made me feel like a member of their family and accepted me whole-heartedly. If I ever had anything I needed to talk about or a concern, I always felt comfortable going to them. I had a tremendous bond with everyone in the house and connected very early on with the kids. All three of them were able to make me smile and make any worries or sadness go away. Every member of the Fallon family is an unbelievable person – they love each other and are a true representation of what “family” means. They truly made my experience amazing and unforgettable. My experience as an au pair has given me a new level of independence, maturity, and self-confidence. I have made new friends from all over the world and have discovered a new me.

Back in Texas!

So I'm finally back in Texas after taking a 5:45am train, taxi to the airport, standing in line for my bags and security AND customs and security AGAIN. My 8.5 hour flight to Chicago, 2 hr layover and 2.5 hr flight to Dallas… I finally made it back home!

When I got to the airport my whole family was waiting for me in by the bags!

Home sweet home! Dallas, Texas!

Thank you to everyone in Ireland who made my year the most amazing in my life! Words cannot express how much I have grown and changed because of this experience!

Night before…. :(

My last day was spent hanging around the house with the family. It was a lazy day where we could all just spend time with each other.

The night time was the worst though…. I put all the kids to bed. I could not stop crying when I was putting Gracie to sleep…. I knew that would be the last time I got to see her and hold her. I had to leave really early in the morning and she wouldn't be up!

I was heart-wrenching to put her down….. :(

Everyone just hang in' :)

Then it was time to put the boys to sleep! Holy crap, was that hard!

Charlie hadn't really understood that I was leaving leaving, not just going away for a little while and coming back. I also don't think he realized how far away Texas is from Ireland. So when I was putting the boys to sleep, it finally hit him and he started crying, which made me cry and it went on for a while. It was the hardest thing to do to leave that room with those boys in it. They are forever in my heart!

Christmas Time!

yeah Christmas is almost here!!!!

We had the kids made canvas paintings for Judi and James - it was a surprise!

Yeah Gracie didn't really like it! :)

OMG! The kids got up at 3:30AM!!! Fortunately Judi and James sent them back to their rooms until 4:40AM!!!!! Then it was time to open presents from Santa! Oh man were the boys excited! Gracie was just excited because of the excitement…. it was really cute!

After opening the presents from Santa, we took a break and 2 hrs. later opened the presents from each other! Then we had dinner and headed over to Grandma's house!

Needless to say it was a great (and exhausting) day!

Update on new au pair overlapping!

Yeah, fortunately everything with the new au pair, Hannah, has turned out great! We are actually VERY VERY similar, kind of creepy actually.

But everything is good. I like having someone my age and from the US to talk to. It is nice to be around someone who is from where I am and has the same interests and knows about the American things I talk about :)

Hannah is really great and fits in well with the family. I can't believe I was so nervous about it, but my nerves have been calmed. We actually went out in Castlebar together, so everything is good!

New au pair…..

So the new au pair is going to overlap with me for 3.5 weeks. Her name is Hannah and she is from Chicago. I am really nervous about her coming and not sure how about I feel about the length of the overlap.

I can't believe it is already time for someone else to come in "my place". When you get a host family that you feel like another member of their family, you don't think about leaving and what that means. I didn't even think about someone else coming when I changed my return flight or was shipping home boxes. It never even occurred to me that they needed someone else…… which was stupid of me because of course they would.

Hopefully everything will be okay and we won't have any conflicts with each other. I am just really nervous and don't know what to expect.

Update soon :)

Final days

So I am in my finals days here in Ireland and I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday Judi and Jack were picking me up at the train station and I was thinking to myself "what have I gotten myself into!"
I have met the most amazing family and people during my year in Ireland and I can't thank everyone enough for the best memories and one of the best years of my life.

I have seen these 3 amazing kids grow up before my eyes and it breaks my heart to leave them…. for now :) I know that I will be back to Ireland many more times in my life and I can't wait to see how everyone has changed!

So I have been trying to spend as much time with the family as possible so I had a day with each of the boys, where we went and did everything that they love to do.

Charlie Day:

We went to the movies, then we went McDonalds (they love it!), then bowling and to Nokeys, then to the arcade and the movies again!, and finally we ended with getting Chinese food! I had a great time spending the day with this wonderful 4 yr. old!

we made cake balls - I think he liked them :)

Our day together:

I loved spending time with him! I can't believe how big he has gotten and how much he has changed! I love this kid!

Jack's Day:

Jack and I went to the movies, then we did laser tag, the McDonalds and bowling then we went to the arcade and played laser tag again and another movie, and we ended up getting Chinese as well! I loved spending time one-on-one with Jack. He is a great kid and is so mature and kind for his age! I can't believe how fast time has gone by!

we made hand turkeys for Thanksgiving :)

school play costumes!

yeah he kicked my butt in laser tag!

This 10 yr. old is one of the most empathetic and amazingly sweet kids I have ever met! He knows what people are feeling and what to say. Thanks for being so kind Jack!

Now Gracie! Ah what can I say about this precious girl! I have fallen in love this baby and I can't believe the changes and development I have witnessed in this past year with her!!