Category: Blog

Video Baby Monitor Location: Quick and Affordable Solution

Posted on by Admin Team
 
Long Term Update

We have been using the Vusee Universal Flat Baby Monitor Mount every day for nearly two months now and we still love it! With the special mount up high on the wall, we can keep a close eye on our babies and watch them in their cribs. Since they are able to roll over now, being able to see them clearly on the monitor gives us extra peace of mind.  I also tested the camera mount and everything is still mounted to the wall securely.

Nanny Parent Connection members can purchase this product at a 20% discount with the code that I posted to our Facebook community at www.vusee.co/shop. Get a better view inside your baby’s crib today!

Does the view from your baby monitor look like this? Read on for a product review that will solve your video baby monitor location woes!

I requested this product and it was sent to me free of charge. Opinions expressed here are my own.

Here is the problem we have been dealing with ever since our first child was born:

video baby monitor location

We can barely see our sleeping babies!

Obviously, I want to be able to see my babies with a video monitor when they are sleeping (that’s the point, right?).  The problem I always seem to have is that the edge of the crib is a terrible place to put the camera, but that is where I would get the best picture.  The next best place to put it – usually on a dresser or a shelf that’s across the room – gives me a terrible view of the inside of the crib. 

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Free and Fun: Halloween “Show” on Greenwood Avenue

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The Mr. found something cool for little ones last night while out walking the dog and the two year old boy.

If you are around Greenwood Avenue and 70th Street in Seattle at night, look over at the west side of Greenwood Ave. for a pretty amazing (and a bit frightening) special effects show.

As you can tell, our son knows the Metro buses around our neighborhood 🙂

The exact address is 7107 Greenwood Avenue N. and it is the home of AtmosFX, a company that designs and sells digital decorations.

The hubby, little boy, and dog watched the above show for about 15 minutes with several other people that happened upon it (apparently the boy didn’t want to leave as he was so enthralled with the “monsters”).

Might be cool to check out if you are grabbing something at Ken’s Market or a bite to eat at El Chupacabra. I believe they have this up throughout the month of October.

A Fall Stroll and Mommy Mental Overload

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mommy mental overload

This morning, I walked around Greenlake with my dear friend B.  We do this every couple of weeks to catch up and talk about life in general.  She just started a business several months ago and frequently talks about how busy her work is keeping her. 

On top of running a retail store, she stays very busy doing (amazing) interior design work.  Then after she closes up shop each day there is kids’ activities, dinner, helping with homework, putting kids to bed, and tidying up her house before working more and then collapsing into bed so she can do it all again the next day. 

Sound familiar? I know I can relate to crazy schedules!

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8 Tips to Effectively Utilize our Facebook Community

Posted on by Admin Team

 

family seeking care

Updated: March 2, 2023

People often ask me what is the best way to connect with a family seeking care or a provider offering care in our Facebook community. 

The first step is to check out our Facebook group feed to get a feel for what has worked for others.  You can find that here. Check out the posts that have the most reactions and/or comments. Those posts are usually well-written, detailed, humorous, and include pictures/videos and specific information.

Next, decide if you want to put up a post with details about what you are looking for or if you want to browse posts from other members. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND doing both! Parents – keep in mind that many care providers don’t put up posts – they simply browse posts made by parents and then comment/message if they are interested.

Below are seven more tips to help with your search:

1) Check your Facebook notification settings

One of the advantages of our Facebook community is that you can quickly connect with other members. To ensure you receive instant notifications when a member responds to your post, double check your settings:

Step #1: Open Seattle Nanny Parent Connection in your Facebook app.

Step #2: Click on “Seattle Nanny Parent Connection” – find this right under the profile picture – you will see a drop down arrow on the right.

Step #3: Click “Edit Notification Settings”.

family seeking care

Step #4: Click “All Posts”.

family seeking care

That’s it! You’re done. Now, you will be instantly notified on your mobile when a member replies to your post. 

2) Have a profile picture

It’s true that you need to have a Facebook account to access the benefits of the Nanny Parent Connection online community.  Sometimes people create Facebook profiles just to access the group and don’t put a profile picture up because they don’t intend to use Facebook for other reasons. 

Many of our members are very skeptical of posts without a profile picture and sometimes won’t respond to a post seeking or offering childcare as a result.  If you are concerned about privacy, you don’t necessarily need to have a photo of yourself or something that shows your face.  Use a picture of your dog. Have a logo of a cause you support.

Really anything other than the standard Facebook “I don’t have a profile picture” picture.

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Eight Things to Consider When Hiring A Nanny

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There are so many things to consider when hiring a nanny!  The obvious things include job duties, work hours, and pay rate. While it’s impossible to imagine every aspect of the relationship with your nanny, here are eight things not to forget about when hiring a nanny.

Guaranteed Hours

hiring a nanny - nanny parent connection

This is a big one for nannies and is considered a standard practice in the industry. 

Guaranteed hours means that you and your nanny agree upon a set number of hours (normally around the typical hours worked in a week) that she is paid for in the event you end up not needing her for all of those hours.  This is important so your nanny can rely on a guaranteed income. 

It’s not fair to the nanny to not get paid if a parent chooses to not have them come in during regularly scheduled hours when the nanny is willing and able.  Keep in mind it’s not legal to bank these hours! 

By offering your nanny guaranteed hours, your nanny will feel appreciated and you will be doing the right thing. Click here for a great article from the Nanny Counsel on guaranteed hours.

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My Morning Sanity Savers for the School Year

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morning sanity savers

I am admittedly not the most organized person in the world. This has likely been made worse with the addition of the twins over the summer. But I couldn’t say for sure 😉 

Last night I had every intention of making my oldest son’s lunch for school the next day. This wasn’t the case – instead an impromptu three hour long nap happened after reading my toddler a bedtime story.  (I’m sure some of you can relate!)  

So this morning I got to make breakfast and pack a school lunch with an alert infant in my arms, wistfully watching the coffee still brewing.

Yaaaay.

Now that school has started again, the only way I’m going to survive busy mornings is to force myself to plan ahead more. To save time on school mornings, I hereby resolve to live by these timesaving guidelines:

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Welcome to the Nanny Parent Connection (and to my blog)!

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nanny parent connectionTwo and a half years ago I found myself facing the childcare conundrum. 

I was headed back to work after maternity leave and I was having a hard time finding a part-time nanny.  I wasn’t having luck on Care or Sittercity and I didn’t want to go through the expense of working with an agency in Seattle. 

When my genius idea of joining a local nanny group on Facebook was shot down (alas, I couldn’t join because I wasn’t a nanny), I decided to create my own group for nannies and parents to connect.  (I wish this option was available years ago when I was putting myself through college as a nanny!) 

The Nanny Parent Connection was born

I never could have imagined the group would grow to the nearly 19,000 members we have today!  It has been truly amazing to watch this dynamic community evolve. 

As with any group that grows tremendously it’s been an interesting experience to figure out how to handle the challenging situations that have arisen.  People started turning to me as a source of information since I ran the group, so I had to educate myself quickly! 

I actually had a group member recognize me in the Costco food court, while I was pregnant-hangry and inhaling a slice of pizza…probably not my finest moment ever! 

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