Featured Au Pair: Neza from Slovenia

Wow, where to begin, to start with finding an au pair who at the time would want to on a family with 2-year-old triplets, 3 dogs, two parents who work and travel for work. Also, all while living in a small house in Southern California was like finding a needle in a haystack. I will never forget when I came across Neza's profile, she is from Slovenia. I thought where is Slovenia? That is interesting, I have never seen an au pair from Slovenia. I clicked on her profile and saw she just graduated from college and was working as a teacher. Wow, if she can handle 20 kids in her classroom maybe she will give us a chance. We requested an interview and by some sort of miracle, she accepted.

The first time we spoke I knew we have to have Neza join our family. We spoke for close to a month and with persuasion and persistency, we finally convinced Neza to join our family. She was very careful in choosing a host family so we felt super fortunate. From the day Neza arrived and we picked her up at the airport we knew that we had the "unicorn" au pair. She jumped right in to care for Ireland, Sedona, and Hendrix like they were her own. She became close with my husband and I. Eating dinner or attending family parties all while establishing her own life in Southern California.

For a young woman to have such a strong work ethic and high family morals was just the breath of fresh air we needed. As Neza's year-end approached, my husband and I said to ourselves there is no way Neza will want to renew she has worked so hard this year. She deserves an easy second year and more time to herself. Our schedule requires a split shift, occasional weekends, and downright hard work to care for triplets. Then one day Neza brought it up that she would like to extend for another year with us. Without hesitation, we said yes!

The second year is when life really got interesting. Two of the triplets Ireland and Sedona were casted to play Lulu Ryan in a new ABC sitcom. This required driving to and from Los Angeles to film with long days for the kids and for Neza. She did it with a smile and supported the girls thru filming and photoshoots without a complaint. As if life was not hard enough for Neza during the filming my husband got a job out of state. Leaving us short an extra adult in the house to help care for the triplets. Neza immediately volunteered to help with responsibilities at home while managing the triplets, driving the dogs around during showings, and handling my meltdowns from the stress. Neza become a strong support for me during this high-stress period, she would stay up after a long day to eat dinner with me or watch a show. I know she had plenty of fun things to do but she knew I needed her support.

After seven months of my husband living out of state, Neza traveled with the triplets and I on a red-eye flight to South Florida. Packing the old house then flying with the kids was exhausting for everyone and she did it making jokes and not once getting frustrated with the kids. We gave her the first day off we got to Florida. Instead of relaxing Neza helped us unpack the entire house like a member of the family. Ultimate au pair is an understatement of Neza, she is a family member, the third parent to our triplets, a fur mommy to the doggies that make her crazy. And above and beyond that a dear friend to our family, and our friends. Neza is a great example to other au pairs and what makes the program successful.

The Carvajal Family, Cooper City, FL

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