11th May 2011

Letter to an au pair,

Hi my name is Emma and along with my husband Chris we are looking for a caring, fun loving and easy going au pair who loves kids to become part of our family for a 3 -6 month period.
The person I am looking for will help out evenly with child minding duties and household duties.
Let me start by telling you a little about ourselves. I am a 36 year old stay at home mother of 2. Annie is 4 months old and just beautiful - she doesn't stop smiling but still gives me a few restless nights. Samuel is nearly 3 and the light of my life. He is your typical boy who loves everything about cars, trucks and trains and playing outside, especially the beach. He also loves helping me in the kitchen and is the first to lend a hand when cup cakes are being made. Samuel goes to kindy one day a week.
My husband Chris is English and is a finance consultant and is out of the house between 8am and 6pm and sometimes travels interstate. I also have 3 step children (2 live with us) the youngest is 13 and you will not be required to care for them in any way. Rory is 19 and is a full time uni student. He is currently in his last year of science before entering into medicine next year. Sian is 16 and has just got her learners drivers licence!!! She is just beautiful and is in year 11 at school. Darcy is 13 and visits on weekends and holidays, she just adores Annie and Samuel and they her. So as you can imagine we are a rather busy household but on the upside there is always lots of fun to be had especially around the dinner table at night. As you might imagine we need a big house, and yes we do. We live in Taringa which is about 6km from Brisbane's CBD. The house has 6 bedrooms an office, TV/media room and gym along with a 17m pool. You will have your own bedroom but will be sharing a bathroom. We would be happy to provide you with a phone, we also have wireless internet and you will have the exclusive use of a car. If you don't drive there is a bus stop at our front gate that goes direct to the city and a large Westfield shopping centre is only a 10 minute walk away.

Our weekends are spent out and about visiting local parks, beaches and any attractions that grab Samuel's interest. My parents live on the Sunshine coast just north of Brisbane and are close to beach so we often visit there. We would encourage you to join us when wanted in all family activities but also understand the importance to having some time to yourself. Being so far away from your home and family can be a very daunting experience and that is why we will do eveying in our power to make you feel a part of our family.

We look forward to talking to you and ultimately meeting our family soon.

Kind regards
Emma and the Townend family.

PS . I forget to mention Penny and Freckles - our two chickens!

Townend Family work schedule (can be flexible to fit in with Aupair)


8.30-9am play with kids
9-10 load dishwasher, make beds put laundry on or vacume
10-11.30am art work with kids
11.30 - 4pmpm Your time
4-6pm Play with kids help with kids meals and bath