Message from Kathy
By now, many of you have probably started to adjust to the shift in routine from summer spontaneity to school schedules! As a mother of 4 (Grace-9, Kaitlyn-5, & twins James and Jordan - 16 mos), I had 3 back to school nights, 2 curriculum nights, 4 extracurricular activities to coordinate, napmats to monogram, lunch boxes and school supplies to purchase, and uniforms to fit. My nanny was and is a critical component to not only making this happen, but appear to happen seamlessly! We have encouraged your employers to let you know how much you are appreciated during this month of September which traditionally includes National Nanny Recognition Week.
MBF has a new Nanny Network Organizer - welcome Tiffany Keeton! In this newsletter, you will find many ways to connect with other nannies and get involved with our nanny support group/network, everything from playgroups to nanny night outs to educational speakers and workshops to agency sponsored events with and without your charges.
In our next newsletter (December), we will provide you with information about our MBF Nanny Holiday Party and other seasonal items of interest. We really appreciate you and all you do to add value to the nanny profession and to make a difference in the lives of the children you care for and the parents who employ you!
Please let us know how we can continue to assist you with your professional growth and development, your job satisfaction, and your accessibility to resources which help you succeed in your job.
Best regards,

Kathy Dupuy, President
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Announcements
Mom’s Best Friend Acquires We Care Nannies
MBF Dallas has purchased “We Care Nannies & Beyond” (WCN), a Euless, Texas based nanny agency. Kim Winblood, President of MBF Dallas, said “We are excited about this purchase and look forward to serving the clients and nannies of ‘We Care Nannies’. With the acquisition of ‘We Care Nannies’, the Dallas office will have the ability to better serve our growing client base in the mid-cities area.” Mom’s Best Friend of Dallas/Fort Worth can be reached at (972) 446-0500 or (817) 226-2669. Please tell all your friends in the Fort Worth area that we are now equipped to accommodate their needs.
More Children, Higher Pay
You speak, we listen! You have provided feedback on our temporary nanny/sitting rates and have asked that we consider increasing our rates for assignments with more than two children. We are happy to announce that we have notified all MBF families that, effective October 1st, our rates are increasing by $1 per hour for each child after two children. (example: a family with 4 children will pay $12 per hour for a nanny and $13 per hour for a nanny manager). MBF Agency takes pride in responding to the needs and requests of our temporary caregivers.
Website/Email Updates
We have created a more useful “nanny view” email template we will now be sending our temporary nannies, as confirmation for a temporary job, which now contains a section with driving directions to the client’s home. We are working on creating website functionality to allow temp nannies to post their hours worked as well as their availability simultaneously on one simple web form (keep checking: should be fully functional in this new capacity very soon). We are excited about these new features that we hope will make our process easier for you!
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Calendar & Special Events
10/09/06: Columbus Day (school holiday): Let us know if you can work!
It’s that time of year again….football season! If you don’t plan to go to the game, MBF has work for you! Contact Kala Davis, Placement Counselor, at kala.davis@mbfagency.com.

Thank you to all the nannies who came to our Quarterly Playdate at
Chuck E.Cheese's on September 15th! All nannies and children had a great time. Please watch for our upcoming nanny and charges event this fall!
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Job Openings at MBF
We are looking for a college student in a sorority to help us network and recruit on campus! If you are interested in working part-time for MBF, please email leslie.chambliss@mbfagency.com. We are also looking for a sales professional in the Houston area or willing to relocate to the Houston area to assist temporarily during November and December while one of our Houston sales staff is on maternity leave. If interested, please email your resume to laura.patterson@mbfagency.com. Don’t forget to check our job board at http://www.mbfagency.com/local/candidate/jobs.asp to view our open permanent positions. As always, with football season and the holidays approaching, we need lots of temp nannies. Please look at your calendars and email kala.davis@mbfagency.com with your availability.
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Referral Program
Please remember to refer your qualified caregiver friends to MBF! To thank you for your referral, MBF will send you a $50 check for all temp nannies you refer after their first 2 jobs worked. You will receive a $100 check for all PT nannies and a $200 check for all FT nannies referred to MBF after they have been placed with a family. In addition, your name will be entered into a quarterly drawing for a spa gift certificate. We value our relationship with you and greatly appreciate your recommendation.
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Ask the Expert
By Tiffany Keeton, Nanny Manager and Nanny Network Organizer
Q: “How do I communicate with my employers about their children’s ever-changing needs?”
A: I get this question a lot! So many families fit the two-working-parents mold and finding time to communicate with them about their children is difficult. I have several suggestions to help every adult in your charges’ lives provide a consistent and united approach to their upbringing (and to make YOU look great in the process)!
First, document EVERYTHING! Are you using your Daily Communication Log? Take a few minutes to jot down what you and your charges did that day. Make it easy. If you have a regular schedule, make a template and just fill it in with a few specifics. For example, weather-permitting, you are always outside from 9 – 9:30 am. Just put in what you did outside that day (dug in the sandbox for buried treasure, rolled balls down the slide to see which went fastest, stared at the clouds looking for familiar shapes). Even if they don’t look at it every day, they DO look at it and like being informed!
Next, use your Log to make observations about the children, like when they reach milestones (walking, jumping, a new word) or exhibit certain behaviors (biting, hitting, hugging). Research strategies for meeting these new challenges and enhancing their new abilities. Put these in a different section and begin introducing them in your daily routines.
Schedule a quarterly one-on-one meeting with one or both parents to discuss specifics. My boss and I do this, and it is amazing! Even though I spend at least 2 hours a day with her and her children, it never ceases to amaze me all the things we both bring to the table at these meetings. “Hey, Tiff, [boy 1] has been cursing since we got back from our summer trip. Have you noticed this? This is what Dad and I do. What do you think?” Sometimes it’s me, ”Hey, [Mom], what do you think about the bottle? Are you ready to let it go? Do you think he is?” [Sometimes we are frustrated with something related to the children, and this is an appropriate time to discuss it.] Bring your Communication notebook to the meeting, go over trends, and point out some of those observations you’ve been collecting. This is a great tool!
Finally, when it comes time to approach your employers about new strategies for dealing with discipline issues or current and future milestones, you can present them with your findings and together you can map out the childrens’ next steps. Through documentation, observation, research and communication, you can really be a positive force in their lives and take your career to the next level!
Keep up the good work!
Tiffany
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MBF Superstars
Houston Permanent Nanny Manager
Janie |
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Janie is a Nanny Manager and has an Associates degree in Childcare and Development. She has worked with children for seven years and is a patient and creative caregiver. Caring for children is her passion in life and she loves planning activities with children and helping with their developmental activities. For more information on permanent placements, please contact Wendy Lane at 713.776.2669 x 202.
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Houston Temporary
Nanny
Jenna |
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Jenna is 31- years- old and has been a nanny for 8 years. She is very experienced in helping to organize and run a busy house with lots of activities and children. Jenna is very nurturing and loves being around children. She can handle transporting children, light meal prep, and planning family activities. Jenna is currently available on a temporary basis, and you can call to request her now! Please contact Kala Davis at 713.776.2669 x 2041 to request Jenna or any of our many fantastic caregivers!
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Craft Activity
By Lisa Vines, MBF Recruiter/Trainer and Special Projects Manager
Halloween is right around the corner and creating crafty Halloween snacks is so much fun for children. While the kids are making paper and pipe cleaner spiders, why not eat one?
You will need:
Round crackers
Peanut Butter or spreadable cheese
Pretzel sticks
Raisins
To prepare:
1. Make a peanut butter or cheese sandwich with the two crackers and filling
2. Use 8 pretzel sticks to insert into the sandwich to make 8 spider legs
3. Take the filling and use it to adhere two eyes (raisins)
Now you have a tasty, crafty, Halloween treat. ENJOY!
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Serving the Community 

MBF volunteered at the Young Life Greater Houston golf tournament on September 11th at Lakeside Country Club. Our staff helped register participants for this 5th Annual Fore Kids Golf Classic. When you play in a Young Life tournament, you are playing with a purpose…that every child will have a chance for a better life. For more information on Young Life, visit www.younglife.org.
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MBF in the News

If you were on an airplane in April, you may have seen an article featuring our company. If you missed the issue, click here to read the article and hear the answer to the question “Can one overscheduled, overburdened, toast-burning woman find true happiness in the warm embrace of a can-do personal assistant?”
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Nanny Updates

Please keep us informed of the significant events in your lives! If you have something special you want to share with other nannies such as graduations, engagements, weddings, and births, please email leslie.chambliss@mbfagency.com. We want to help you celebrate!
Congratulations to Nanny Manager and former MBF NTI instructor Cecelia Zapalac and her husband, Brad!
They welcomed son Zachary Reid on July 27, 2006. Zachary was 8 pounds 3 ounces, and 20 inches!
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Family Events
Looking for an exciting outing for children? Here are just a few of the activities in Houston:
Pippi Longstocking
Main Street Theatre- Chelsea Market
4617 Montrose Blvd.
September 12-October 27
For ticket information call: (713)524-6706
Opera for Young Audiences: Babes in Toyland
Houston Grand Opera
October 2-6, 11:00 a.m.
For more information, visit: http://www.milleroutdoortheatre.com/default.asp?id=143
Buffalo Bayou Regatta
October 21 at Sesquicentennial Park- Begins at 7:30 am.
The event begins with the largest canoe and kayak race in Texas. The day also includes a water parade, a picnic on the river, and educational games and activities.
For more information visit: http://www.buffalobayou.org/regattabayou.html, or call Trudi Smith at
(713)752-0314
ArBOOretum 2006
Saturday October 28, 4-8:30 pm at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center
This Lunar themed Halloween festival include trick or treating along a forest trail, a petting zoo, puppet show, and face painting.
For more information, visit: http://www.houstonarboretum.org/events.asp
The Gingerbread Man Performance
Express Children’s Theatre
Touring - November 13 - December 23, 2006 around Houston
For more information, visit: http://www.expresstheatre.com/schedule.htm or call (713) 682-5044
The Mayor’s Official Downtown Holiday Celebration
900 Bagby Hermann Square Plaza
December 1st
Festive celebration at city hall with music, and the largest Christmas tree in Houston.
For more information, call: (713) 437-6482
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email leslie.chambliss@mbfagency.com.
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