Austin

A Message From Kathy

Welcome to our Summer Newsletter!

Summer is just around the corner, and as always, this time of year presents ample opportunities either for persistent stress or vital restoration. Think about it: you can spend the summer chasing the kids around the house, shuttling them to summer camp, and herding them around the Schlitterbahns of the region—leaving you constantly stressed and exhausted until the next school bell rings—or you can strike just the right balance between family and personal time to ensure a pleasant summer and a rested fall. Here at MBF, we’re committed to helping you find the peace of mind you deserve this season.

Our nanny managers can offer you indispensible support over the summer months, from handling those tricky half-day day camp pick-ups to planning meals and sticking a couple loads of laundry in the washer, freeing you up to spend quality time with the kids or simply savor an afternoon of peace and quiet. MBF nannies can also bring a virtual summer camp directly to your home—with stimulating games and activities as well as consistent attention for your children—or they can ensure this year’s vacation actually feels like a vacation by providing you and your spouse with the flexibility to play around with the kids and enjoy some much-needed alone time when you want it. And, if bringing your nanny on vacation is not a feasible option for your family, we can still support you on those anticipated getaways. Since your MBF membership is good for all of our locations in the state, as an MBF member you are guaranteed quality childcare during that weekend at Fiesta Texas or that overnight trip to see an Astros game.

No matter your childcare needs, we’re committed to helping you find the space and peace of mind to make this a relaxing and memorable summer for your entire family. Contact one of our representatives to find out how we can serve you over the next few months.

Best,
Kathy Dupuy, Owner and Founder

Summer is Coming!
As you start planning your summer, remember that Mom's Best Friend nannies can be a great option to provide full time care, including taking your children to a variety of activities such as parks, museums, water parks, art exhibits, and more! You can also use our temporary nannies (sitter service) to supplement care and provide transportation to camps and activities.

Summer nanny showcase: Amy C. is a graduate of St. Edward's University and has recently completed her teaching certification. Before she begins work as an elementary school teacher in the fall, she's very interested in working as a nanny over the summer! Amy has a great deal of experience as both a preschool teacher and a nanny. She's worked with infants through elementary-aged children. Amy sees her work as more than just playing with children. She notes that "Any activities that allow the children to explore, create, imagine, express themselves, and thus learn, are very important to me in my work."

Continuing Education Opportunity for your Nanny!
Nannying Terrific Toddlers and Twos: Your nanny has an opportunity to attend a wonderful educational guest speaker on Thursday, July 17th from 6-8pm! Claire Flynn with For Kids Sake will speak about nannying terrific toddlers and two-year-olds. Claire Flynn, M.Ed., trained and taught as a parent educator at Stanford University’s Children’s Health Council. She has two grown children, and has taught infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children in school programs. She has also trained early childhood and elementary teachers at the college and graduate level for the past 35 years. She is the founder of For Kids’ Sake, and is a nationally recognized author of three books for parents. We are excited to offer this opportunity free of charge. We hope your nanny can attend. Please RSVP to Candace Durden. Pizza will be provided. The location will be owner Kathy Dupuy's home at 4713 Mirador Dr.

July 17: Educational Opportunity: Nannying Terrific Toddlers and Twos
Encourage your nanny to RSVP (see Announcements section for more details).

Summer 2008 School Holidays
Don't forget to book your backup childcare!

• Friday, May 23rd- Lake Travis ISD, Pflugerville ISD
• Monday, May 26th – Austin ISD, Eanes ISD, Del Valle ISD, Manor ISD, Lago Vista ISD, Pflugerville ISD, Round Rock ISD, Dripping Springs ISD
  
• Friday, May 30th – early release/last day of classes for Eanes ISD, Round Rock ISD
• Tuesday, June 3rd- Last day of classes for Manor ISD
• Wednesday, June 4th – last day of classes for Austin ISD, Del Valle ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Pflugerville ISD,  Dripping Springs ISD
• Thursday, June 5th- Last day of classes for Lago Vista ISD

By Stephanie Breedlove, founder of Austin-based Breedlove &Associates, the nation’s leader in tax & payroll services for household employers

Q: Is my nanny entitled to the income tax rebate the IRS is sending out soon?

A: Yes!  This is good news for nannies – and another one of the many benefits of being paid legally.  The U.S. Treasury Department will be issuing tax rebate payments (as part of the economic stimulus package) to all taxpayers who 1) have a valid Social Security Number, 2) earned income between $3,000 and $75,000 in 2007 (up to $150,000 for married filing jointly), and 3) cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.  The timing of the payments will be made based on the last two digits of the filer’s Social Security Number (see schedule below).  Your nanny should get her payment no later than mid-July.

Last 2 Digits of SSN            Payment Mailed by:
00 – 09                                  May 16
10 – 18                                  May 23
19 – 25                                  May 30
26 – 38                                  June 6
39 – 51                                  June 13
52 – 63                                  June 20
64 – 75                                  June 27
76 – 87                                  July 4
88 – 99                                  July 11

To receive this tax rebate your nanny must file her income tax return.

If both of you have fulfilled your tax obligations, your nanny will automatically receive the rebate of up to $600 (individuals) or $1,200 (married couples).

If you or your employee have any questions about the tax rebate process – or the other benefits of legal pay – please don’t hesitate to call.  We’re here to help.
 
Founded in 1992 — by household employers for household employers — Breedlove & Associates is a full-service, full-support tax & payroll service.  They have served more than 11,000 clients and processed more than $1 billion in household payroll. For more information or a free phone consultation compliments of MBF, call    1-888-273-3356 or visit www.breedlove-online.com.

A: What is true about any job candidate search is true about the search for your perfect nanny: The more your search criteria, the more you limit your chances of finding the right person for your position. So, my advice is, since so many highly-qualified, professional nannies in our candidate pool are looking for full-time work, it might behoove you to consider opening up your search to that field as well.

Of course, since you’re looking for a part-time nanny right now, I assume your childcare needs are strictly on a part-time basis, begging the question: “Why do I need a full-time nanny?” Well, there are several reasons, and they depend primarily on household and other needs. Say, for instance, you are a small business owner; in that case, you might want to hire a full-time professional with the qualifications to take on two part-time positions—as a nanny and as a personal assistant. This will save you the trouble of having to pay two salaries while, at the same time, benefiting you with support in two key areas of your life.

Or, if your family’s needs are solely limited to the household, consider all the demands that might be met by a full-time nanny manager when she is free from her childcare duties: planning meals; organizing your home; running errands; coordinating home repairs and maintenance; and generally acting as the be-all and do-all for your household while your children are at school. If this solution seems financially untenable, just think of all the losses you incur in terms of opportunity cost every time you have to wait at home for the cable guy or run around town to pull together a last-minute meal for your family—losses that can translate into lost earnings and lost quality time with your family.

And, opening up your search to full-time can do more than provide you with expanded possibilities, it can also make your position much more attractive to top-tier candidates looking for extra challenges and responsibilities. This truly is a win-win situation.

Hope that helps! Best of luck on your search, and please contact one of our representatives to help you work out a solution that’s right for your family.

Kathy Dupuy, Owner and Founder

Top Ten Tips for Organizing and Decluttering for Nannies (we encourage you to pass this along to your nannies):

1. Communicate first about organizing anything for your employer. Some people are very particular about how they want things done, and even if you think an area is messy, they may know exactly where things are and like it that way. After you’ve discussed this issue and understood how they like things, you can feel more free to pursue these kinds of projects independently.
2. If your role gets you involved in organizing any paperwork for your family, be very careful about throwing anything away. There can be legal and financial reasons to keep certain papers, even if they are very old or don’t look important. If you are not sure, create a box or pile of “probable trash” to have them review it before throwing it out. You also need to shred anything you are throwing away that could be damaging to your employer’s identity, finances, or reputation.
3. Organize from a “kids’ eye view.” What are their favorite toys? You want to put those at a level that is easy for them to reach so they won’t have to climb for them or get frustrated.
4. Consider safety always, especially if you have multiple charges of varying ages. You will want to organize spaces considering the choking and poison hazards of the younger children, yet make it easy for older children to reach things they need as well.
5. If you help your family with their laundry, ask your employer if you can use the “dot system” to help you identify clothing. It’s often difficult to sort and put away laundry for siblings of the same gender. Use a permanent laundry marker to make a single dot on the tags of the oldest child’s clothing, then the next oldest child gets two dots on their tags. The younger child from there gets three dots, and so on. When clothes get handed down, you just add another dot to know which clothes belong to whom.
6. Discuss with your employer a system of managing hand-me-downs and out of season clothing. Kids grow fast, and you need to know where to put the clothes that are outgrown or out of season when you identify them. Does your employer want to save them for other children? Give them away for donation? Or possibly give them to a friend? We recommend storing hand-me-downs in clear containers by gender and a range of sizes (like 0-6 months, or sizes 4-6).
7. Consider clear containers vs. baskets or opaque containers. Sometimes storing things inside clear containers is perfect so you can see items inside the boxes before opening them. Other times, it’s advantageous to hide the items you are storing. If you’re not sure, ask your employer his or her opinion, since some people like everything to match and to camouflage their storage. Other people are “out of sight, out of mind!”
8. Use a label maker to establish homes for items you have organized. Particularly when many people are sharing a space, this makes the organizing work official and keeps the space organized longer.
9. Label with pictures and words together to help with reading skills. You can label toys containers with both a picture of the toy and a written label, so this associates the words with the toys and helps with learning to read. If your employer’s household is bilingual or just trying to learn another language, you can also label items in both languages to help everyone learn more.
10. Many children are overwhelmed by too many choices. More messes get made because kids dump out everything to find what they want. Many of your charges may be blessed with an abundance of toys and belongings, but this blessing may actually be a curse and may cause confusion. Ask your employer if it’s okay to start rotating some toys in and out on a regular basis and store1/2 to 2/3 of them away to simplify choices and cleanup.

EXTRA BONUS TIP: Ask your employer to buy you an annual subscription to the Clutter Diet® so you can help manage the household with easy weekly project plans. The organizing plans are designed to cover the entire home over time and keep you current on what you should focus on seasonally for holidays, schools and vacations. This is one more thing you can do to make their lives easier, and it gives you and the family access to a team of Professional Organizers to directly answer your questions that may arise.

Lorie Marrero, 512.301.2426, www.livingorder.com

Austin Permanent Nanny Veronique		Austin Temporary Nanny Laura
Veronique is an extremely experienced nanny manager who has been placed through MBF in her last two long-term positions. Her nanny career began in 1991 as an Au Pair for a family in Germany. Veronique has held several nannying positions since that time, working for all families for at least three years or more. Veronique has experience with children of all ages, and comes highly recommended. One of her previous employers said "Veronique is an outstanding nanny. She is warm and nurturing and loads of fun." Veronique speaks French and German. She enjoys playing sports, making arts and crafts for all holidays, playing games, reading books, painting, dancing, singing songs or going to the park with her charges.		Laura is in her early twenties and holds an associates degree. She is attending Texas State majoring in Fashion Merchandising and minoring in business. Laura babysat for a number of families before joining Mom's Best Friend last year. Our families love her and request her back all the time. She understands the patience and energy required to be a great temporary nanny, and she is engaging, nurturing, and so sweet! In her free time she loves to paint and draw, play soccer, loves to babysit, and shop!

Mom's Best Friend is an excellent,
efficient, professional and wonderful
agency to work through. The families I
have nannied for have been great as
well and my full-time family is so lovely and wonderful! Thank you for everything!
--Rebekah, Nanny

I selected MBF because of their well-documented, thorough process, attention to detail and speed. MBF should be commended for it's excellent communication and guidance throughout the process.
--Dana Brown, Executive Housekeeper Client

I appreciate the people you have been able to send to help out over the last two years.  Your agency has been an amazing resource and my contact with you has always been professional.  It is one resource that I have in my pocket, that I can always depend on.
--Beth S, Client

Strawberry Mice
These mischievous mice will have your kids happily nibbling on a healthy snack in no time!

• Fresh strawberries
• Mini chocolate chips
• Black decorators' icing
• Almond slivers
• Toothpick
• Red lace licorice
• Wedge of Cheese (Your choice)

For each mouse, slice a small section from the side of a strawberry so it sits flat.

Press a mini chocolate chip into the tip for a nose, using a small dab of icing to secure it in place, if needed.

Add icing eyes and stick 2 almond slivers into the top of the berry for ears.

For a tail, use a toothpick to carve a small hole in the back of the berry and push the end of a piece of licorice lace into the hole. Serve these berry cute treats with small triangles of cheese.

Tropical Piñacoladas
Keep your kids cool this summer with a refreshing, easy to make smoothie!
 
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup milk/soy milk
• 1 to 2 tsp. shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup chopped or crushed pineapple (fresh is best, but canned works too)
  

In a blender combine ingredients.Blend. Pour into a fun glass and garnish with a fresh pineapple wedge.