Claire Flynn on August 22, 2007. She will be speaking on Able Problem Solving. The seminar is offered to all MBF nannies!
Austin Temporary
Nanny
Kristin
 Summer 2007 | |||||||||
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Now that July 4th is over and we find ourselves heading into the thick of the summer, I know many of you are getting out and getting active—taking vacations, getting serious about fitness regimens and otherwise soaking up a few glorious months of uninterrupted time outdoors. This is certainly also a great time of year for your nanny to get out of the house and have some fun as well! We recently hosted a Nanny Playdate at my house in which MBF’s finest had the opportunity to work in some much-deserved R&R time—socializing and spending quality time with like-minded adults. Besides being a lot of fun, these Playdates, which we host throughout the year, also serve an important purpose—they help nannies break feelings of isolation on the job, feelings which too often force good nannies into other lines of work. Since we understand how difficult it can be to find a great nanny, we also realize how important it is not lose her to any of the inherent challenges of her career, including a common feeling of not having enough time around adults. In response, we offer events like Nanny Playdates, Nanny Nights Out and educational opportunities to help make sure that the person your family loves as its caregiver will be around for a long time to come. Speaking of which, MBF will be hosting another evening with local psychologist Claire Flynn in August on the subject of helping children become able problem-solvers. When she spoke at MBF back in April, she received unanimous raves from nannies who attended. Now that she’s coming back, please encourage your nanny to attend; it’s a great way to spark discussion and to help your nanny feel that she has your continued support. If she can’t make this one, we’ll keep you and your nanny posted about future events in the newsletter. Have a great summer!
[ TOP ] Uh Oh! There's Salsa on the Ceiling! Helping Children Become Able Problem-Solvers The location will be at The Waiting List Practice Immersion Training Center at 360 & Las Cimas. The address is 807 Las Cimas Parkway, Suite 325, Building II. Take a left into the second driveway and your first right into the parking garage. Updated Travel Fees San Antonio Office is Live! The new contact information is:
Get Organized [ TOP ] - July 19-20, 2007: All MBF Offices will be closed for an all staff retreat. We apologize for the inconvenience, but our emergency pagers will still be available for our temporary nanny service: Austin 512-775-5437 Houston 281-782-1880 Dallas 972 971 9022. - August 22, 2007: MBF will feature popular Austin counselor and speaker, A great time was had by all at the June 20, 2007 Nanny Picnic where the nannies and their charges braved the rain to come together for tie-dying, food and fun! [ TOP ] We have an excellent full-time internal opportunity for a talented Household Staffing Specialist to start immediately at our corporate headquarters in Austin, TX. The ideal candidate will enjoy a rewarding, high visibility, high growth position in a fast-paced, supportive work environment. The core responsibilities involve making high-level household staffing placements on a local and national level (including estate managers and couples, household managers, personal chefs, personal assistants, and executive-level housekeepers), as well as handling all permanent placements for our new San Antonio market. The placement specialist is dedicated to recruiting, screening, processing, and matching qualified candidates with our valued client families as well as serving as an ongoing resource/support. The staffing professional will also work directly with our high-end clientele, monitoring each match carefully through the placement process, and providing troubleshooting and post placement support. Customer Service, Client Care, and Quality assurance are core focuses.
As you know, Mom's Best Friend / MBF Agency is an exceptional household staffing firm serving families and caregivers for 13 years. We are offering a competitive salary, realistic bonus earning potential, and comprehensive benefits package. Excellent and upbeat team environment. Qualified and interested candidates, apply TODAY for immediate consideration by submitting a brief cover letter and resume to emmelyn.wang@mbfagency.com. [ TOP ]
[ TOP ] By Kathy Dupuy, MBF President Q: My family can’t afford to bring our nanny on vacation with us this summer, and we won’t be needing full-time childcare services where we’re going anyway. However, my husband and I might like to hire someone for short-term childcare while we’re away. What can we do? A:In my last Ask the Expert column, I discussed things to keep in mind if you’re planning on taking your nanny on vacation with your family this summer. What I didn’t mention—and what this excellent question brings to mind—is what you can do if all you need is short-term care while your family is vacationing. The first thing to remember is that, as an MBF member, we can accommodate you with a temporary nanny in any of Texas’s five largest cities. This means if your family is heading to Fiesta Texas or the Fort Worth Stockyards or an Astros game—or to any other attractions in Austin, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth or San Antonio—MBF can send one of our high-caliber professionals straight to your hotel room. The best part is, since your membership fee is good all year in all of MBF’s cities and we are equipped to share client information between offices, all you have to do is call a local office and request a nanny—you won’t have to pay any extra fees and you won’t have any registration paperwork to fill out. It really couldn’t be easier, so there’s no need to cancel that romantic dinner if you can’t bring your own nanny on vacation while you’re traveling in Texas. If you are traveling outside of any of our core cities in Texas, I suggest you utilize the services of an International Nanny Association (INA) or Association of Premier Nanny Agencies (APNA) member agency. MBF is a member of both organizations, which ensure their member agencies adhere to consistently high ethical standards and background checks so you don’t have to do any guesswork on finding a reputable agency while you’re traveling. The website for INA is www.nanny.org; for APNA it’s www.theapna.org. And, of course, if you should decide that you will need a full-time nanny wherever you travel this summer, MBF also places traveling nannies to provide your family with even greater flexibility with childcare. If you’re interested in this service, you can speak at any time with an MBF representative for further information. No matter what, here’s hoping you and your family create indelible memories while traveling together this summer. We’ll be here to help you along the way. Kathy Dupuy, MBF President [ TOP ] We will be asking a survey question in each of our Newsletters. Please click on the link below to answer this month's anonymous survey: [ TOP ]
[ TOP ] MBF caregiver support does not stop after placement. The Austin Nanny Network is your nanny’s best resource. Have your nanny contact Tiffany Keeton to receive email updates about upcoming events including Nanny Nights Out, volunteering, leadership, mentoring opportunities, and Austin-area playgroups. Encourage her to get involved in our growing community in order to have fun with and learn from other nannies, involve your children in meaningful play and learning experiences, and positively promote the nanny profession. Tiffany Keeton, Austin Nanny Network Organizer [ TOP ] Tax Tips from Breedlove & Associates: Ask the Tax Expert By Stephanie Breedlove, founder of Austin-based Breedlove & Associates, Q: If my employee files for unemployment benefits, do I have to pay for it? A: Unemployment benefits are funded through an employer-paid tax. Therefore, if you pay your employee legally, you are already contributing to the state-managed unemployment fund. If your employee is let go due to no fault of her own, she will be eligible for unemployment benefits to help her make ends meet between jobs (the exact amount and duration of benefits is specific to the employee). Two important notes about unemployment benefits: Having heard from many of our clients about traveling with their nanny, we’d like to share a common suggestion:
Founded in 1992 — by household employers for household employers — Breedlove & Associates has served more than 10,000 clients and processed more than $1 billion in household payroll. By focusing on the unique needs of household employers, Breedlove & Associates’ expertise and efficiency has been recognized in The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s, Business Week and SmartMoney.com. For more information or a free phone consultation compliments of MBF, call 1-888-273-3356 or [ TOP ] Organizing Tips from Living Order: By Lorie Marrero, Chief Executive Organizer of LivingOrder®, Central Texas' leading team of Professional Organizers since 2000, serving both Austin and San Antonio. Travel with less hassle and less stress with some of our best travel organizing tips: • Take return address labels with you to stick on quickly to make luggage tags and fill out forms. You also want to make sure you have this information on the inside of your luggage just in case. Remember to remove all previous trips’ baggage handling tags—they may route your bag to the wrong location! • When packing toiletries, smaller is better, particularly now with the stricter security regulations. You definitely want to check www.tsa.gov before you finish packing, since their policies change frequently. Travel size versions of your favorite products may be available, and you can also buy travel bottles to refill. Most importantly, make sure whatever container you use will not leak. • A telescoping valet bar is nice in your closet if you are able to put one in. This helps tremendously when packing & unpacking. If the closet is large enough, a packing island is the best solution of all. • On family vacations, taking along a few small walkie-talkies is a great way to stay in touch at a beach house, on a cruise, or at a ski resort. People can go their own way and still know when to gather around for dinner. • It’s often handy to carry a Sharpie permanent marker when traveling with children, for identifying whose bottle of water belongs to whom, whose identical Disney souvenir belongs to whom, etc. You definitely won’t be sorry if you have one in your purse! • Traveling is all about good preparation. We have some great checklist pads for packing, trip planning, and house-sitting available in our online store. Bon voyage! LivingOrder provides hands-on services in Austin and San Antonio to organize your home and set up systems that you and your household staff can maintain. Give us a [ TOP] To Unsubscribe from the Client Newsletter or for questions regarding
any of the content, please email jessica.sjolseth@mbfagency.com.
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