As I was looking through our NannyFusion members for a guest post, I came across this post by Mom’s Best Friend and it struck a cord with me.

There are many changes happening now in my life, that ultimately affect my job, and I am blessed with an employer who respects and appreciates all that I do, which enables me to be able to move forward with those changes, knowing I have her support and trust that I will continue to do my job to the best of my abilities.

Dealing With Changes in Your Nanny’s Life

Congratulations to all of those who have received their pin in the last 3 years.
If this image looks a little skewed on your monitor, click on the image and it should expand to the correct size.

courtesy of Nannies from the Heartland

NannyFusion member Nannies from the Heartland shares some great safety tips for Springtime.   The Regarding Nannies Team loved seeing Mary O’Connor and Becky Kavanagh at the International Nanny Association Conference the other week in Las Vegas.

Make sure that everyone understands the rules of riding. Rules can change depending on location. Riding or roller blading in the neighborhood can be different than at the park or on a trail. Review the expectations before you start out.

to read more safety tips please visit:
Spring Time Safety Tips

Most nannies who have been online for a while know the red flags that go up when a job sounds too good to be true. The people are over at Nannybackgroundcheck sent us this article and we thought it was worth sharing.

10 Common Internet Scams Pulled on Nannies

When you think about Internet scams you may think that the scammers only target old people.  Those people that aren’t very tech savvy.  Unfortunately you would be wrong because scammers will target a specific audience when they can.  Stay alert while on the Internet, there are a lot of great opportunities out there, but there are also a lot of people trying to make money any way they can.  Check out ten common Internet scams pulled on nannies.

read the rest of the article here: 10 Common Internet Scams Pulled on Nannies

The Regarding Nannies Development Team just returned from the International Nanny Association Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

We had a wonderful time, made lots of new connections and will be bringing you lots of new information and contributors  as we move forward this year.

Did you miss the Week End Round Up last week? I am so very sorry, it completely slipped my mind. Once you gear up for conference mode, it’s like your entire world is wrapped up in the people you are networking and learning with.

Here is this week’s round up just in case you missed something.
Glenda Propst, Regarding Nannies Development Team

Monday Moxie: An Article from Nanny Fusion Member : Nanny Classifieds. 10 Challenges for Nannies Who Work for Stay At Home Moms

Tuesday Tips: Another great article from our Nanny Fusion member Marta Perrone about International Food Etiquette

Creative Nanny Wednesday: A Mothers Day Craft from Nanny Gael Ann and a little Mother’s Day Humor.

Thursday Table Talk: Get to Know our Nanny Fusion Member: Judi Merlin (I just want to add here that Judi has made some wonderful contributions to the Nanny Industry and was one of the people who came up with the idea for the first NNRW. She also emails us here at Regarding Nannies on a regular basis with ideas and encouragement. Thanks Judi!)

Financial Friday:
Coupons are the rage now. Check out this article from De Shaun Silas on Couponing 101

Join us next week for Wordless Wednesday, great advice from Breedlove and Associates and much more!

courtesy of http://couponclippingsista.blogspot.com/

by DeShaun Silas

Over the past year I have picked up a new hobby but it has turned into more of daily routine.  I love to coupon, it saves a ton of money and doesn’t have to be as time consuming as some people may think. I am not an extremist couponer, but I can tell you  I can get pretty vicious with my couponing, my husbands knows not to ever touch my binder.

On average a month I can save about $200-400 a month on groceries and household items. My lowest total to date on a months worth of groceries is $36.92. With a busy work schedule and husband I can tell you it takes a little time and planning. A couple of weeks ago some of you may have read my article about meal planning, this is a huge part of how I coupon. Some people say coupon is a form of organizing hoarding, but I tend to agree and disagree. I coupon for items we use on a regular and if I see something that is a good deal for something we use I will stock up but not to the extent I am buy pallets of items. Max for buying products that are good deal is 10-15 of the same item.

For beginners I would start small before going big. By starting small you can decide on what type of couponer you are going to be. I would suggest getting a small pocket coupon divider, you can find these at most stores and online. Divide your coupons up into categories i.e meats, canned goods, toiletries etc… Most of the pocket dividers come with the categories for you already in them.  The next few steps are where you have to do a little work.

1. Set up a separate email address. You want to a separate email address, because you want to subscribe to your favorite products newsletters because they send out coupons and freebies. The email address also helps you keep better track of couponing blogs and websites you may want to become members of.
2. Get your Sunday paper, if you happen to live in a city that puts out an early addition on Saturdays, grab your paper on Saturdays. Rule #1 check your paper and make sure all your inserts are in the paper. Smart Source and Red Plum are the two major coupon inserts. Some cities mail out the Red Plum so it will be in the mail rather then the paper. Now at the beginning of the month P&G and General Mills will also add an insert. Sometimes General Mills does inserts more than once a month. If your not sure how many inserts to look for you can check this www.coupondivas.com and their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/CouponDivas?ref=ts she always post between Wednesdays-Fridays how many inserts to be on a lookout for she also just launched  new Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/GroceryCouponDivas
3. Clip your coupons by Monday and insert trust me you don’t want to put this off because they can really stack up on you and then you feel overwhelmed when you have 3 weeks of inserts, been there done that and it wasn’t pretty!!
4. Know when your local grocery store changes their store ads.  Here in Georgia Krogers ads change on Sunday and Publix ads on Thursday. This helps you plan when you need to get to the store and if you have time to order coupons.  I will get into the ordering coupons next article, when you get to this level of couponing you need to upgrade to what I call the “Big Girl Binder” its serious when you upgrade to this level.
5. Look over the sales ads and your current coupon inventory and see what you can match up and who has the better deal. Remember just because something says BOGO make sure you know what the price is for the free one and divide it by 2 and see if you are really getting a sale or not. Example Publix does this all the time they say BOGO Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice the list price is $4.29 so for two of them they are $2.14 and $2.15 plus tax, Krogers also has the same juice on sale for $1.99 each plus tax and you have a 2/.50 coupons that will double at both stores lowering the price even more.  *These two stores will double coupons up to a dollar. Rule #2 Know your stores coupon policy!! In this example it best to get the juice from Krogers and buy 2 of them because its cheaper. I will talk about how to look at sale ads and prices and lingo in the next article but if you want to read up ahead of time you can check out my blog http://couponclippingsista.blogspot.com/
6. Save your receipts  you can decide if you are going to total up your savings totals every month or 3 months so you can see how you are doing.

There you have it Coupon 101 part 1, to help get you started in part 2 I will discuss about coupon lingo, creating a store price list, recognizing when your favorite products go on sale, coupon etiquettie and how to properly read coupons.

Tell us a little bit about how you got into this business? When my youngest child was entering first grade, I realized I was going to be out of a full time job. I could not imagine doing anything that was not related to families and children.  I started A Friend of the Family with only a vision-to bring professionalism to the in home care industry. We have all come a long way, bu I am still working on the professionalism part today.
What is one of your favorite memories since you have been in business? My favorite memories involve being with a phenomenal group of fellow agency owners who have a generosity  of spirit and who are willing to help each other grow. We all mentor each other with great respect and admiration.

What advice would you give to someone considering opening a nanny placement service? Come to a convention and talk to a lot of nannies and agencies, ask a lot of questions. Know your own strengths and weaknesses.  Make sure you have a passion for the business that you want to create.

What changes would you like to see in the nanny industry? The change I would like to see is a change in our culture where we actually value children and families. A culture where children’s needs are put first and teachers and nannies are respected as an important part of society. Where we put our money where our mouth is. We could learn a lot from some European cultures on how society create ways to value the family and how to make life better for families

What is the most important piece of advice you can share with our readers? Please don’t be so busy taking care of everyone else that you neglect to take care of yourself. Put yourself at the top of your to do list. If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to care for anyone.

What was your first job? At 11 years old, I was a counselor in training. My job was to help  special needs children to fit into the group. Needless to say, I did not know what I was doing so it was a learning experience.

When you aren’t working, what do you enjoy? Being with my children and grandchildren. My grandchildren are 2, 3, 4 and 6 and they are the most fun people I know.

After you retire, what would you like to be doing? Still learning and growing, reading and writing and being a part of my children and grandchildren’s life.

My friend Katie sent me this list. Katie and I grew up in the 50′s and 60′s when parents actually said these things to their children (and we all grew up in spite of it)
In honor of Mother’s Day I wanted to share a little “Mom Humor”

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE
“If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.”

My mother taught me RELIGION.
“You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”

My mother taught me LOGIC.
“Because I said so, that’s why.”

. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC
“If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with
me.”

My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
“Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”

My mother taught me about CONTORTION-ISM.
“Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck?”

My mother taught me about STAMINA..
“You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”

My mother taught me about WEATHER.
“This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
“If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!”

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
“Stop acting like your father!”

My mother taught me about ENVY.
“There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful
parents like you do.”

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
“Just wait until we get home.”

My mother taught me about RECEIVING..
“You are going to get it when you get home!”

My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
“If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way.”

My mother taught me ESP.
“Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you are cold?”

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
“If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
“You’re just like your father.”

My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
“Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?”

My mother taught me WISDOM.
“When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”

And my favorite:
My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
“One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!”

But, there is one missing from this list~~My personal all time favorite!!

My mother taught me about CHOICE.
“Do you want me to stop this car?”

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!

International Food Etiquette

You have good manners, right? After all, you (usually) keep your elbows off the table and say “Please pass the salt,” right? But when you head abroad, things get a little more complicated. Case in point: Rest your chopsticks the wrong way, and you might remind a Japanese friend of their grandmother’s funeral (Rule 2). But knowing what the etiquette rules are won’t just save you from some awkward situations, says Dean Allen, author of the “Global Etiquette Guide” series. It can also help you make friends. “It’s really a statement of your openness and awareness of the fact that the people you’re with… may in fact see the world differently,” he says. “It’s simply going to get you out of the tourist bubble.” Sound good? Then here are 15 rules to keep in mind.

Read the res of the article on Marta Perrone’s blog

Read the entire article here.

Article courtesy of NannyClassifieds.com, a member of NannyFusion.  Reprinted with permission.