How To: Baked Brie

Dinner party this weekend? Don't worry about asking yourself, "What the heck am I going to bring?" Bring Baked Brie!! Appropriate to bring to every dinner party, every holiday, and every other get-together you go to that involves food because it is amazing!

What you need...

>A Wedge of Brie Cheese
>Pastry Puff
>Honey
>An Egg

We serve our Baked Brie with green apples, but you can use crackers or bread. If you prefer, you don't have to serve it with anything at all because it is amazing all by itself!

All of our ingredients are from Trader Joe's, but if you do not live in San Diego or another town with a Trader Joe's, you can get all of these ingredients at any grocery store.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Lay the pastry puff flat on a cookie sheet.  Thaw the pastry puff for 5 to 10 minutes, then place the brie wedge on the center of the dough. Pour honey all over the brie. You can use as much, or as little, as you want, it just depends on how much you like honey! We like to use a lot!  If you are unsure, you can always add honey after it is cooked.

Next, fold up the pastry puff around the brie and honey. 

In a bowl, beat an egg and using a pasty brush, brush it on the pastry puff. This gives the Baked Brie a crispy crust. 

Finally, put the brie in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. We like to squeeze a little honey on the final product, but that is up to you.

Baked Brie is as easy and delicious as that! This is even something you can have your kids help you cook to keep them entertained! 

Continue to visit our blog for more helpful hints, tips, and ideas to keep your family running smooth. 

Visit our website www.FindUsANanny.com to hire a nanny or to find a job as a nanny in San Diego.

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Child Safety: Balloons

Every child loves balloons and it is easy to see why they love them. Balloons are bright colored, round, soft, and above all, they float! Balloons are a symbol of celebration, fun, and happiness. They are given out at restaurants, parties, and even, the grocery store. Balloons are often used to calm a crying child or distract a bored child. I think we can all agree that to a child a balloon equals fun. What many adults do not know is that balloons are actually very dangerous.

According to the California Public Interest Research Group, balloons were the most dangerous toy in America last year, "accounting for more choking deaths than any other children's product." Nearly half of the choking fatalities reported to the Consumer Products Safety Commission between 1990 and 2009 involved balloons.

Fully inflated balloons are generally safe, but it's after they are popped or deflated that they become most dangerous. A child may pick up the deflated or broken piece of the balloon and put it in their mouth. It is also dangerous for a child to attempt blowing up a balloon because he could inhale the balloon and cause choking. What many do not know is that if a piece of latex balloon gets stuck in the airway of a child, it is almost impossible to remove the piece of balloon. The latex is so thin and a child's mouth is so small it is likely only a doctor can remove the piece of balloon and by the time the child is taken to the hospital  it may be too late.

Also, consider this scenario, an infant that puts everything in their mouth attempts to put a fully inflated balloon in their mouth, snags it on their new little teeth causing it to pop, and it scares them. What do we all do when we get scared? We gasp. That quick gasp at the exact time the balloon pops can be deadly. If they breath in part of the balloon that just popped they can choke, and again, it will be almost impossible to remove the small piece of latex balloon blocking your child's airway.

The Child Safety Protection Act states that children under the age of 8 should not be left unsupervised with a balloon. As an extra precaution, we recommend not ever letting your infant or toddler play with a balloon. Please pass this information on to your nanny, babysitter, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even teachers. This is important information for anyone that is, at anytime, responsible for children.

But let's not forget, even with all of the safety warnings, balloons are pretty awesome!

Continue to visit our blog for more helpful hints, tips, and ideas to keep your family running smooth. 

Visit our website www.FindUsANanny.com to hire a nanny or to find a job as a nanny in San Diego.

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Date Night: Taco Tuesday

Who says date night is only allowed to happen on the weekends? We say, have date night any night you feel like going out with your love! We also feel like "Taco Tuesday" is a great excuse to leave the kids with the babysitter and have fun!

You babysitter will likely enjoy the change in your date night schedule because that may give him or her a weekend night off.

If you live in a town, like San Diego, that offers "Taco Tuesday" specials at many of the restaurants, you can even enjoy a cheap night out.

If your local Mexican restaurants do not have "Taco Tuesday" specials, go out anyway and enjoy a break from the normal school night routine of homework, bath time, and an early bedtime.

Always remember, time bonding as a loving couple isn't only important for you, but it is very important for a happy, healthy, and stress free family.

Continue to visit our blog for more helpful hints, tips, and ideas to keep your family running smooth. 

Visit our website www.FindUsANanny.com to hire a nanny or to find a job as a nanny in San Diego.

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Activity Idea: Swim Lesson

There are many reasons why swim lessons are a great idea. First, safety, safety, safety! Even if you attend a swim lesson class that is more fun and games than learning to swim, it helps your child become comfortable in the water and more open to learning proper swimming techniques. Second, swim lessons are a fun activity that you or your nanny can enjoy along with your child. Third, it is often hard to find a fun activity to do with a baby or toddler, but swim lessons are available to almost any age. For babies, swim lessons are a fun way to interact with you or your nanny and other babies in the class, even if they cannot, yet, crawl or walk.

It is very easy to find swim classes through a Google search. It is also a good idea to check your your local YMCA or Boys and Girls Club to see if they offer classes. At the Boys and Girls club in San Diego, there is a drop-in play group for babies and toddlers starting at 3 months. Check your local Boys and Girls club to see if they offer a similar class or you can even suggest that they start one. 

Swim lessons are a fun and easy way to get active with your baby or young child. Swim lessons are also a great activity to plan for your nanny to do with your child.

Most importantly, swim lessons do not have to be a "summer only" activity. Check out your local indoor pool to see if they offer year round classes!

Continue to visit our blog for more helpful hints, tips, and ideas to keep your family running smooth. 

Visit our website www.FindUsANanny.com to hire a nanny or to find a job as a nanny in San Diego.

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Date Night: Bowling

An important part of a happy home is a happy mommy and daddy. After a long week of juggling kids, money, work, meals, school work, and anything else you might have on your schedule, parents deserve a night out. So, call up the babysitter or schedule your nanny to stay late and go have some fun together!

It is often hard to think of new creative date night ideas. Dinner and a movie can get repetitive and boring. It's time to change things up... Go bowling! 

When you think of bowling, you might think of kids, bumpers, and family time, but that does not have to be the situation. An "adults only" night out at the bowling alley can be fun, and even romantic. If you go with a group of friends or even just the two of you, bowling gives you a chance to cheer for each other, laugh together (at the gutter balls that are sure to happen), and most importantly, de-stress together. Never underestimate the power of the bowling ball. 

Many bowling alleys even offer very good food, so you can knock out dinner and fun at the same place! 

Now, go call your babysitter, find your local bowling alley, and start looking forward to a wonderful night out with your love! 

Continue to visit our blog for more helpful hints, tips, and ideas to keep your family running smooth. 

Visit our website www.FindUsANanny.com to hire a nanny or to find a job as a nanny in San Diego.

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Do It Yourself: Fabric Flower

I have a beautiful, but bald, baby girl and to combat the baldness, I have become quite skilled at making headbands. In this post, I will walk you through the steps of making a no-sew fabric flower.

For this project you will need 6 things...

     >Fabric (a stiffer fabric makes a fuller flower)

     >Paper to make a flower pattern

     > Scissors

     >Straight Pins

     >Hot Glue
     >Measuring tape or Ruler (optional)

     >Felt for the base of the flower

Cut a flower out of paper to use as a pattern. I make mine about 4 inches but you can do any size.

Pin the flower pattern to your fabric. I suggest folding the fabric so you can cut two at a time. 

Cut out 9 flowers and one circle out of felt. I usually make the felt circle about two inches wide

                     

Fold 8 of the 9 flowers in half and then half again. Put a dime sized amount of glue in the center of the felt circle and then attach four of the folded flowers. Put the folded edges against each other and the open edges against each other.  

Put a dime sized amount of glue in the center of the felt circle and then attach four more of the folded flowers. Put the folded edges against each other and the open edges against each other.  

Lift up the folded petals and put a bit of glue inside and then refold. Do this to each petal.  Just a little bit, right near the center of flower.

Next step is to glue the next four petals to the flower. Add another dime sized amount of glue to the center of the flower. Offset this layer of petals, so that the edges of this set are not aligned with the edges of the bottom set.     

Again, add glue to the inside fold of the petals.

    

Take the 9^th flower and fold it in half, then roll it up and cut off about a half inch from the bottom point. 

Glue the rolled petal to the center of the flower.

This part can get a little confusing, but it is important to make the flower look full. Add glue around the base of the rolled petal and attach the top single layer of peddles to the rolled petal.

After you make the flower, you can attach it to a clip or attach it to elastic to make a headband. I usually just glue the elastic right to the felt under the flower.

If you are looking to skip all of the DIY work but still want cute bows for your baby girl visit the etsy shop CarterMaxine!

Continue to visit our blog for more helpful hints, tips, and ideas to keep your family running smooth. 

Visit our website www.FindUsANanny.com to hire a nanny or to find a job as a nanny in San Diego.

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Child Safety: Stranger Danger

Almost everyone has seen a child in tears, lost, walking around a store. It is a scary thought that it could easily be our own child, but the truth is that it happens. Children are easily distracted and next thing you know a brand new shiny toy grabs the attention of your child and she is gone. Because this scenario is not easily avoided, it is important to instruct your children ahead of time on what to do if he or she ever gets lost.

We came across an article that gives great advice on how to teach your child about strangers. It is typical to teach our children not to talk to strangers, but the article discusses the idea that our children may need to talk to a stranger, so there is a better way to teach our children to avoid the dangers of strangers. Instead of teaching your children to avoid talking to strangers, teach them to spot a mom with kids and tell her you are lost.

There are more tips and words of wisdom in this fantastic article. It is also a great idea to pass it along to anyone that may be responsible for your kids, such as your nanny, grandparents, aunts and uncles, or friends with children of their own. 

Click here to read the article, "'Tricky People' Are The New Strangers."

Continue to visit our blog for more helpful hints, tips, and ideas to keep your family running smooth. 

Visit our website www.FindUsANanny.com to hire a nanny or to find a job as a nanny in San Diego.

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How To: Pay Your Nanny

Often, after hiring a nanny, the next question is how to pay your nanny. It is easy to pay your nanny cash, but if you have a nanny working full time at $12/hr, to pay your nanny "under the table" would not be legal. Also, as a tax payer, you do not want to miss out on the tax break you receive for paying for child care. Here are a few tips for making payday a stress-free process for both, you and your nanny.

Tip #1 - Enroll your nanny in a payroll service. 

A payroll service will make it easy for your nanny to pay the correct amount of taxes. It is also an easy way to set up direct deposit for your nanny, so that your nanny will be paid regularly and on time every week. 

GTM Payroll Services is a payroll service that we can recommend, but it is not the only payroll service.

Find the one that works best for you! 

Tip #2 - Reimburse your nanny for the gas that he or she uses while driving your children around. 

It is important to remember that gas is not cheap and your nanny does not want to use all of his or her hard earned money driving your children to soccer practice or piano lessons. 

Internal Revenue Service has the most up to date information on standard mileage rates. 

Tip #3 - Set up an easy system for your nanny to record his or her hours and mileage. Having a binder with time cards and mileage forms is very helpful. You can use Excel or Microsoft Word to make time cards and mileage forms.

Here are some examples of forms, but make one that works for what you need. It is also helpful to leave a calculator around for your nanny to use when he or she is totaling up their mileage. 

We hope you find these tips useful. It is important for the children to keep the relationship between your family and your nanny as smooth as possible and organization is one part of a smooth working relationship. 

Continue to visit our blog for more helpful hints, tips, and ideas to keep your family running smooth. 

Visit our website www.FindUsANanny.com to hire a nanny or to find a job as a nanny in San Diego.

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