Work abroad as an Au Pair in Magnolia, New Jersey USA for >1 year in Kristie's family

Hello! This is our first time as a host family so I hope I'm doing this right....here it goes....

We are a family household of 6 people, 7 including you :) My name is Kristie and my husband's name is Ferdie, short for Ferdinand. We are 38 & 43 years old. He is an Engineer and I work in Social Work. We have 4 children. The two oldest are 18 & 20 from my previous marriage. Our 20 year old, Bailey, lives on his own, he stops in every now and again when he's not working. Our 18 year old, Morgan, is graduating high school this year and will be attending college in September. She's usually a big help with the little ones but I want her to be able to concentrate on her college studies. She's a good student but college is much more difficult than high school and we want to give her every chance to succeed. My elderly father also lives with us, but he is self sufficient. He is home all day but watches tv and takes naps in his room on and off throughout the day. He also goes to an adult day program 3 days a week to get out of the house. A bus picks him up and drops him off at our front door.

Now for the littles....Our two youngest are 4 & 3 years old. Miya Bella, she's 4 years old she'll be 5 in September. Maddox, he's 3 years old on April 4th of this year. Miya loves to play with dolls, makeup, and all things Disney Princesses, especially Elsa & Ariel. She is super sweet but can be a bit of a drama queen haha. Maddox is our strong willed rough and tumble type of boy but he can still be a huge cuddle bug. He is currently into Paw Patrol, Blippi, construction vehicles and dinosaurs. They get along like most siblings, one minute they love each other, the next minute not so much lol. They are both picky eaters and will eat cookies and chips for every meal if they were allowed. Getting them to eat at least ONE good meal per day is usually my goal. But Mac and cheese and hot dogs are always a sure thing when all else fails! The struggle is real lol. Miya will be in Kindergarten full time in September so you will only have Maddox for most of the day once school is back. Our normal day starts with getting Miya and Maddox awake and dressed for the day, also eat breakfast. Miya is walked to school (9minute walk) by 8:30am and is picked up by 3pm on a normal school day. Depending on what time my work schedule starts each day, I may be able to drive her to school. My work schedule varies day to day week to week but is generally a 8a-5p or 9a-6p Monday - Friday job. Ferdie has to be at work by 7am but he is home by 5:30pm everyday. He does not really know how to cook (ok not at all lol) so it would be super helpful if you could get dinner started a few days per week, I could finish up and clean up after when I get home. We order pizza every Friday. Sometimes we order out on other days as well (Chinese/Filipino/Fried Chicken etc.), depends on what kind of day we've had. I am not the greatest cook but I make do and I would love to learn more Filipino cooking if you'd show me. The only Filipino dinners I really know how to make is Sinigang & Adobo lolMiya and Maddox love to go outside and play when the
weather is right. That's the best way to wear them out for a nap, fresh air... haha. We have a small play ground in our backyard they enjoy playing on. We also live next door to a church and they enjoy riding their bikes in the church's parking lot. Oh and bubbles!! Oh boy do they love when you blow bubbles outside! You'll be their best friend haha. On rainy days or cold days in the winter they enjoy doing small crafts, coloring pictures, playing with play doh...we always have so much for them to do inside and outside. We do not work on weekends so you are free to relax at home with us or go out and explore this beautiful area. We really are in a perfect location. We live in a quiet small town but only minutes away from everything. If you have your drivers license we have an extra car you can use to take the kids on outings and their activities. Now that the kids are getting a little older I'd like to get them into activities...we've talked about gymnastics or horseback riding as possibilities. Miya tried dance class and hated it. She is very shy in front of other people she doesn't see on a daily basis.

A little bit about our family...I was born here, in Philadelphia. My family lives about 30 minutes South of where we live. I have my parents, a brother, a sister and my niece. My husband is originally from Antipolo. He, his parents and two brothers emigrated here when he was 11 years old. His first language is Tagalog but we mainly speak English at home. Ferdie does speak to them in Filipinos phrases to try to teach them the language. We would LOVE if you could help us with that as well. We would love for them to be bilingual. I only understand some Tagalog. I can not hold a conversation, I only understand some when other people are speaking. I know lots of words and phrases though lol. His parents, two brothers and their families, and his Aunt all live within walking distance in the same town. We are a very close family. He is the youngest of the three brothers. He and his middle brother, Ron, are very into working on cars so you'd see that happening a lot haha. His middle brother and his wife Becki have 4 children. They are a blended family as well. Their two oldest children are 12 & 13yo and adopted from China & Vietnam, their 9 year old is his brothers from a previous relationship, and their youngest is theirs together. Ron's wife Becki and I have been best friends for over 25 years. She's how I met Ferdie. Now we're married #brothersandbesties :) His oldest brother, Ray, has a new wife Ana and he has 3 children from a previous marriage - Andrea, Alleana, and Aiden.

When I'm not at my full time job I do eyelash extensions on some nights and weekends. I have a small studio in our basement with a separate entrance. I also enjoy going to the gym with my daughter and her girlfriend. If that's something you enjoy, we'd be happy to get you a membership as well. I'd love another gym partner! My favorite class at the gym is Zumba. Our gym is great. It is called Royal Fitness in Barrington, NJ. It has so many classes available for everyone's taste. Our daughter Morgan used to enjoy the yoga classes but she goes to the Zumba classes to me as well. She spends a lot of time with her girlfriend when she's not doing school work. She also enjoys baking, painting and other crafty things. She currently works at Walmart part time as a cashier. She's a good kid.

And last but not least, our pets. As if we didn't have enough people in our home, we had to fill it with a bunch of pets lol. We have an 11 year old small Yorkie/Shi Tzu mix named Sassy, she's super sweet and LOVES her little ones. She will usually sleep next to them while they are napping to protect them. Its the cutest thing. Our cat Gypsy is 2 years old. She is very affectionate. She and Sassy are always chasing each other around the house haha. Last but not least are our 5 ferrets. They are always in a caged area except when we let them roam free for an hour or so every once in a while (only on the first floor). Their names are Willow, Whiskey, Samari, Savannah, and our only boy and youngest, Shiloh. They are super amusing and make us all laugh.

Our home is full, it can be crazy and chaotic but one thing it is full of is love. We drive each other bananas sometimes but we're family. I wouldn't have it any other way..... Isn't that what family is supposed to do !?