Austin

A Message From Kathy
Welcome to our winter newsletter! We're getting into the thick of the holiday season and it appears, as usual, that the real craziness is set to begin. It's never supposed to be this way. You vow at the beginning of each new year that you're going to do things differently-you'll finish your Christmas shopping by June, have holiday cards stamped and sealed in their envelopes by August, make this year's Thanksgiving dinner a 30-minute meal. You may have done everything right coming into the season. So why are you still feeling its stress?

I know first hand that no matter how proactive one tries to be about the holidays, it's very hard to make sure everything is taken care of in advance. Still, our client employers expect us to be as proactive as possible, especially when they find themselves dealing with all of the season's demands. What to do, then? Well, it helps to make a task list of all the things that need to be done for the holidays (or any time of year, really) and to plan for them well in advance. Making timelines and keeping a close eye on holiday calenders can also help take some of the stress off our client employers by ensuring that we know exactly what to do to support them through this all-too-stressful time of the year.

No matter the pressures you feel in your home or the home of your employers, though, we are here to offer you support and helpful suggestions during the holiday season. In addition, be sure to join us as we celebrate the season on December 6 at our annual holiday party!

And, as always, never hesitate to let us know how we can support you.

Happy Holidays!
Kathy Dupuy, Owner and Founder

Buddy Bonus
All of you are by far our best referral sources for the highest quality nannies! From now until the end of 2007, when you get a friend to register with Mom's Best Friend, both of you will receive a bonus! Please let us know when you refer someone so that we can be sure to compensate you both.

Fall Festival was a Great Time for All
The Annual Nanny Recognition Week event was a wonderful success!! Thank you to all the Mom’s Best Friend Nannies who were in attendance.  The festivity was held on October25th at the Waterloo Ice House in West Austin.  We greatly appreciate all the hardwork, dedication and care that our high caliber nannies loyally give to the families of MBF. We are thankful for each one of you at Mom’s Best Friend and look forward to another amazing year together! Click here to view a collection of some of the Nannies with their charges.

2007 Austin Supernanny Announced
The 2007 Supernanny contest was inspiring! We had so many amazing nannies to choose from, and it was so difficult to narrow it down to the finalist and choose a winner. Mom's Best Friend owner and founder, Kathy Dupuy, announced and congratulated finalists Stephanie Daniel, Ashly Fontenot, and Karen Roddy, as well as our winner, Kathleen Atwell, at our Annual Nanny Recognition Week Event in late October. All the applicants were a great representation of the wonderful nanny professionals we have in the Austin area. Thank you to everyone that participated!

Mom's Best Friend Annual Nanny Holiday Party
Each year, our nanny party gets larger and more fun! Join us for a lovely evening with great food and the always-entertaining white elephant ornament exchange. The party will be held Thursday, December 6th from 7:00 - 9:00pm at Kathy Dupuy's House at 4713 Mirador Dr.

November Playgroup Schedule

• 6 Tuesday 10 am Inflatable Wonderland (Tuesdays are half price)
• 7 Wednesday 10 am Northwest Park (7000 Ardath, Shoal Creek area)
• 13 Tuesday 10 am Central Market 38th and Lamar
• 14 Wednesday 10 am Field trip to the Fire station (details still being finalized; email austinareananny@yahoo.com for details)
• 20 Tuesday 10 am Nature Center
• 21 Wednesday 10 am Radijazz
• 27 Tuesday 10 am Austin Children's Museum (201 Colorado St)
• 28 Wednesday 10 am Suntree park
  (Take 2222 west to River place Boulevard -- a few miles east of 620. Turn left into River place and follow the boulevard until you come to Suntree Cove. The sign for the park is on River place Boulevard, and there is parking if you take a right onto Suntree Cove. Look for a big white water tower.)

December 6: Mom's Best Friend Annual Nanny Holiday Party at 4713 Mirador Drive, home of MBF President Kathy Dupuy; RSVP to austinareananny@yahoo.com.

Please see the Calendar section above for November Playgroup dates. Playgroup will be held wherever it is scheduled unless it is raining, has rained and everything is muddy, or winds are excessive. If you feel the weather is a problem for a given playdate and would like to make a suggestion for a relocation, please communicate via the nanny network yahoo group no later than 24 hours prior to the event so all the nannies will still be able to attend!

• Playgroup will meet at around 10 AM and last till around 1 PM(Feel free to leave whenever you need to go).
• Please bring a lunch for yourself as well as your charge. We will make a note if we plan on eating at a restaurant.
• Remember that Austin stays pretty sunny during the days throughout most of the fall so be prepared.

Alternate indoor meeting places will be specified in case of bad weather. Please check yahoo group for posted changes.

1. Radijazz ( Lincoln Village Shopping Center;
   6406 North IH 35 Suite 2200)
2. Austin Children's Museum (201 Colorado St)
3. Inflatable Wonderland (Lakeline Mall)
4. Toys r Us Playscape (South Capitol of Texas Highway and Lamar)

If you know of anyone who would like to receive this schedule and is not currently receiving it, please let us know. Also, if you haven't signed up for the Austin nanny network, PLEASE do so! It is the easiest way for all of us to keep in touch and hear about any upcoming events. It only takes a minute to register!!! Email austinareananny@yahoo.com to join.

A: This time of year is always a busy time for families and nannies alike. A great way to keep from becoming overwhelmed is to have a good line of communication with your employers. Now is the time to talk about expectations for the next couple of months!

If you plan on traveling for the holidays and using your well earned vacation days, make sure your employer knows this and has the dates that you will be gone written down somewhere. Also, be sure to mention to your employers that they can call Mom's Best Friend's temporary sitter service to line up a sitter to cover for you while you are gone.

Schools aren’t open throughout the holidays so you might have children to watch that are normally in school. Talk to your employer about how best to work the older kids into the/her schedule. Don’t let the thought of more children scare you. This is a good time to reconnect with older kids who have been busy with school most of the fall, and having an extra set of hands around can come in handy when you’re trying to keep toddlers away from seasonal things like Christmas ornaments!

Most nannies I know have more work available to them this time of year than they actually have time for. Be sure to remind your clients to book babysitting early! Having babysitting dates set early for things like Office holiday parties or the Nutcracker will ensure that your employers won’t be left without a sitter because you are booked somewhere else.

Finally, flexibility is the most important thing that will help you get through the holidays in one piece. Families have a lot going on the next couple of months and sometimes things don’t go as planned. It always seems like this time of year traffic is worst, there are more errands to be run, something is always forgotten or needing to be taken down from storage, and of course, children are a little wilder. This is a great time to show your boss what a wonderful asset you are to the family by helping out where needed even if the task is not part of your usual duties and by being patient with everyone. Your family will appreciate you and surely be thankful for all you do.

Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Cecelia Zapalac, Nanny Professional Development Instructor

Q

A: As an employee of the families you work for, you are required by law to provide each family with a social security number.  You can either provide it to the families directly or provide it to MBF and let them disseminate it to the appropriate families upon their request. Here's how it works.

Press Release: Mom's Best Friend Adopts BabbleSoft Software
October 15, 2007

Austin SuperNanny Contest Finalists: Karen, Kathleen (winner), Stephanie and Ashly

Supernanny Winner: Kathleen Atwell Kathleen has been a childcare professional for 16 years. Inspired by “The Sound of Music”, Kathleen always had a strong desire to work with children. In 1997, Kathleen was placed in a nanny position by Mom’s Best Friend and she is still employed by the Smalling family to this day. As her charges have grown, her schedule has been reduced, leaving room for Kathleen to begin working with two additional families part-time, and she even does temporary sitting for us as well! The Smalling family, whom she has worked for for the past ten years, raved, “We consider ourselves extremely lucky to have had her for these last ten years...Kathleen is a shining example of her profession.” Supernanny Finalist: Stephanie Daniel Stephanie’s first placement with Mom’s Best Friend was ten years ago, when she served as the Director of the Westwood Country Club’s onsite childcare center. She subsequently moved to California where she worked in a unique nanny-share situation involving four different families. She returned to Austin several years ago and took a position with twin toddler boys. When they began preschool in late 2005, Stephanie returned to Mom’s Best Friend where she was placed with the DiNovo family, her current employer. Supernanny Finalist: Ashly Fontenot Ashly feels that being a nanny is her calling. Eight years ago, she was placed through Mom’s Best Friend with the Brown family. As the kids have grown older, Ashly’s role has evolved into a nanny/home manager, taking care of household errands and duties while the children are in school. She also recently began taking child development courses in order to pursue her degree in Early Childhood Education. Supernanny Finalist: Karen Roddy Karen has been working with children since high school, starting as an entertainer for children’s parties, working in daycare centers while she earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology, and as a career nanny since 2000. Karen doesn’t settle for watching one infant, she has had three separate positions with multiple newborns, one of whom she was with for four years. Karen’s has an infinite amount of patience and a passion for her career

• A plain white paper plate
• Construction paper (orange, red, yellow, brown, and other earth tones)
• Crayons or markers
• Scissors
• Glue or a glue stick

Instructions:

1. Cut a half circle out of the center of a plain paper plate. This will hold the leaves.
2. Cut out a lot of leaves from construction paper. Draw the leaf veins if you wish.
3. Glue the leaves all around the rim of the paper plate.
4. In the lower center of the wreath, write, "I am thankful for," and then let the child write or draw what they are thankful for.
5. Put the child's name on the wreath (or let them sign it).

Settlement Home Holiday Needs
We love the holidays at MBF as we enjoy giving back to our community. This holiday season we will be volunteering with the girls at The Settlement Home, decorating gingerbread houses and spreading holiday joy! We will also be adopting a cottage of girls to buy gifts that Santa will be bringing to them!

Please view the Wish List if you would like to donate to The Settlement Home. The Settlement Home is always looking for clothing donations (for girls age 7 to 17) or any donations for their garage sale--the largest fundraiser of the year! This is a great way to get your charge involved in something focusing on others! If you want to drop of any gifts or donations at our office, we will be glad to deliver them.