Michelle Merten

Next Coffee Connection night - Tues. 4/27

Posted by: mmerten on April 13, 2010

The next Coffee Connection night will be Tuesday, April 27th, from 8:00 - 9:30. I have sent everyone an e-mail asking for your feedback regarding the location. Let me know your favorite spot and we’ll go there this month. This summer I hope we’ll hit some of the great ice cream stands around our towns! I’ll e-mail you all and post the location on the calendar of this website once I get some feedback. Hope to see the newest au pairs in attendance.

Next Coffee Night - Wed. 3/24

Posted by: mmerten on March 16, 2010

Our next “Coffee Night” will be Wednesday, March 24th from 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. at the Gurnee Mills McDonalds. Just to be clear, this is the McDonalds outside of the mall near Chase Bank and Taco Bell NOT the one inside the mall’s food court. The meeting is now ending at 9:30 instead of 10:00 since the au pairs were kind of dragging by 10 pm last month. Watching little kids all day is hard work!!!!!!!!!

I’ve been so pleased with the attendance at our first two Coffee Night sessions. Thanks for joining me, and each other, and sharing your stories and experiences.

If you need a ride home please let me know.

New Monthly “Coffee Night”

Posted by: mmerten on January 19, 2010

I have a few new ideas for this year. One of them is a “Coffee Night” each month. I would like to make myself available to you for information and support. We don’t always have the chance to talk one-on-one when we have our monthly meetings. I really enjoyed our December meeting when we all had the chance to really visit with one another.

Each month I will plan a “Coffee Night” (or in my case, hot tea) when you can come and visit with me and your fellow au pairs. I will change the day of the week (and location) each month so that everyone, no matter your class schedule, will have the opportunity to attend. I plan to be available from 8:00 until 10:00. Hopefully you can come by even if you have a class that night.

TO BE CLEAR: THIS MEETING DOES NOT COUNT AS YOUR MONTHLY LCC MEETING WHICH IS STILL MANDATORY. It is a chance for all of us to get to know each other better. It should be great for our new au pairs as well. I think this is crucial as our group continues to grow.

If you need a ride please let me know. If you do not currently drive, maybe your host parents will drop you off and I can take you home. Maybe au pairs can help each other out as well. Let me know and we’ll work something out.

You do not have to stay for the full two hours. Please join me as your schedule allows. Obviously if no one ever shows up I’ll rethink this idea, but I’m hoping it will become a great social time for all of us to stay in touch.

The January and February meetings are already on the calendar. Check it out!

CPR/AED Training (October LCC Mtg.)

Posted by: mmerten on September 4, 2009

Our October LCC meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, October 25th from 2:00-4:30. We will participate in a CPR/AED class presented by the Lake Villa Fire & Rescue Department. The class will cover CPR and AED for adults, children, and infants. This class will be crucial in helping you to deal with many medical emergencies including heart and breathing incidents, as well as choking. In case you don’t know the acronyms, CPR = Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation and AED = Automated External Defibrillator. The AED machines are now commonly found in many public spaces: stores, airplanes, museums, schools, malls, office buildings, sporting venues, etc, and have saved many lives. You will learn how to use one during this class.

Of course I will be expecting all of the au pairs to attend this class as it is our monthly meeting for October. I am also inviting any host parents that would like to participate to join us. This is important training for any family member. Please let me know if you plan to attend. I will need to give a projected attendance count to the fire department coordinator approximately two weeks before the session.

When: Sunday, October 25, 2009 from 2:00-4:30 p.m.

Where: Lake Villa Public Safety Building located at Grand Avenue and Deep Lake Road

Cost: The cost of the training will be $25 per person. Please bring cash or check with you to the meeting. THE COST OF THE BOOK IS INCLUDED!

Dress: Please dress comfortably (jeans, sneakers, track or sport pants) as we will be bending, crouching, etc. with the CPR victim dummies/mannequins.

Get excited about the scavenger hunt!

Posted by: mmerten on August 24, 2009

Here’s a link to a video documenting some of the fun at last year’s scavenger hunt. I’m hoping you’re getting excited about this year’s event on September 26, 2009. (Raindate: Sept. 27th)

This will be the first au pair scavenger hunt for all of us so we’ll experience the fun (and challenges) together!

Take a look!2008 Au Pair Scavenger Hunt