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Celebrating an Adoption Story

Last week I got an email from a girlfriend who, through friends, knew of a little girl that was set up for a private adoption.  However, when the young mother delivered Emma the adoptive parents stepped down when it was discovered baby Emma had Downs Syndrome.  Emma needed a new family within the week before she became a ward of the state.  I sent the info on to friends that I thought might take interest in baby Emma.  

One of our BabysitEase moms, herself an adoptive parent & and marketing dynamo, Sara Specter, shared baby Emma's story with people who were well connected in the adoption community & had plenty of resources to come alongside anyone in the adoption process.  Long story short, Emma is moving to Wisconsin for a family that's excited to have her.  And Sara continues on, bringing happy endings- not just to her story or baby Emma's, but to many families in our community.

Sarah leads the marketing function for Celebrate Adoption and if you would like to find out more about the organization then consider the following upcoming event.  Celebrate Adoption’s 2012 Transracial / Transcultural workshop will be held on February 4, 2012. Celebrate Adoption is bringing Rhonda Roorda in to speak at the event. Rhonda is THE go-to expert on Transracial / Transcultural adoption, having written the three seminal works on the subject. The “In Their Own Voices” seriesfeatures first-person interviews with adoptees (mostly African-American), their Caucasian parents, and their Caucasian siblings (non-adopted). Anyone considering adopting a child outside of their own race/culture (whether domestic or international) is practically always referred to this set of books by theiradoption social worker.

 

A Free Week at the YMCA

New Year's resolutions are right around the corner and what better way to get a jump start on that than to get a free week pass to your local YMCA.

We at BabysitEase love the YMCA.  They are a huge asset for our sitters if we need to get your children out of the house to burn off some energy or as a part of our desire to be healthy and maintain a level of sanity in the daily grind.

The Greater Cincinnati YMCA is offering BabysitEase families and babysitters the chance to try the Y out and see if it is a good fit for your family.  Click the link below for the PDF image and print the pass out and take it to your local Y.

Download Employee Health Card_BabysitEase

Babysitters Are Family

I recently spent a weekend with the Bumpus family in Columbus, Ohio.  The Bumpus’s are good friends of ours and it is not that uncommon for us to stay with friends when we go out of town.  What makes this somewhat unusual is that the Bumpus family was one of my first babysitting jobs from my days in college at The Ohio State University.  It has been over 10 years since I last watched Wesley and Ethan but we have always remained a part of each others lives since then.

At some point during my stay with the Bumpuses I found myself chasing my three year old son around their kitchen island and was drawn back to a time ten years earlier when I did the same with Wesley when he was just mastering the skill of running.  

Now Wes is taller than me, has a brilliant mind, and is winning karate tournaments......a far cry from the little boy that ate lunchables and laughed to tears over peekaboo.

This summer I attended BabysitEase babysitter, Jessica Carter's wedding.  While I was at the wedding I met a BabysitEase family- Piyush & Jodie Zaveri- for the first time.  We've had a relationship over the phone for years now & the bride had even taken the kids for a week while the Zaveris celebrated an anniversary in Napa.  We swapped stories over dinner and I quickly realized that Jessica had become a part of their family like I had become a part of the Bumpus family.  It wasn't hard to imagine Jessica visiting the Zaveris with her own little ones running the same footpaths as she had chased their little ones.  I realized I'm creating the same opportunities for decade long friendships that far outlast a babysitting relationship.

At some point during the evening I realized that this is what makes BabysitEase great.  Sure everyone needs a night away from the kids to reconnect with their spouse or to attend that Halloween costume party but it is the role that our sitters play in the lives of our families that make our service great.  They become family.  Skipping them on the Christmas card list would be like forgetting your mom's birthday.  They help raise and grow your children into contributors to your family, your community, our world. 

Maybe that's why BabysitEase can seem magical at times.  I steer away from texting, self involved teenagers that keep the house from burning down, and I seek out the qualified women that love your kids like they were their own.  Because who doesn't need a little more love in their life?

 

Peggy Murriner

Need a New Year's Babysitter

The waiting list for New Year's Eve babysitters is starting to grow.  As we work hard to try and fill each and every sit request we wanted to remind you of the rates for New Year's Eve:

$13/hr for 1-2 kids
$14/hr for 3-4 kids
$15/hr for 5+
Any group sits (children from more than 1 family) start at $15/hr

Sitter of the Year Suzanne Blunk

What makes an amazing babysitter?  This is the question posed often and some the criteria we used in the recent Sitter of the Year Contest includes:

• Level of professionalism
• Great attitudes they have while taking on any of their responsibilities
• Willingness to help others
• Deep and authentic connections with the families and children they work with  

Suzanne exhibits all of these qualities and received the most votes for her video posted on the BabysitEase Facebook page.  You can see her video and the videos of the other contestants at our Facebook page.  As a result Suzanne gets $500 to apply towards her continuing education.

Please join us in wishing Suzanne a big congratulations for all she does!

Special Offer for BabysitEase Customers

Jonathan Willis is an amazing photographer who has shot not only local celebrities such as Chris Collinsworth, Mayor Mallory, and Dhani Jones for magazines but also national stars such as Mike Wolfe from History Channel's American Pickers TV show (pictured below).

Not only is Jon a great photographer but he is also a good friend.  We love him not just because he makes beautiful things but also because he make opportunities for people we care about like BabysitEase babysitter Suzanne Blunk.  You can read about Suzanne in our other article this month - she won the Sitter of the Year contest (the picture provided in that article is from Suzanne's shoot with Jon that landed her a national advertising campaign).

Now we are offering Jon's photography to you for your Holiday pictures with your family.  He is running a Simple Portrait Project that gives each BabysitEase family the opportunity for 30 minutes in studio where you can walk away with a printed package or digital files to use however you like.  It is a true bargain and you can click the link above to find out more.

BabysitEase Announces Babysitter of the Year Contest

As a leading family service focused on growing healthy women and families BabysitEase would like to honor the amazing women who care for the tri-state's children.  Each year BabysitEase babysitters care for hundreds of children across the tri-state area through a network of amazing women that live and work around Greater Cincinnati.  

To even be a BabysitEase babysitter requires meeting a standard of excellence that includes presenting well during an individual interview, being over 18 years of age with your own car, passing a background check and having gushing, wildly complimentary referrals from personal, professional, and childcare relationships.  In general, we hire overqualified, enthusiastic, bright women- and we are so thankful for how many of them we have gotten to work with!

To honor these women BabysitEase is sponsoring a contest to recognize our hardest working sitters that have the most positive impacts in our BabysitEase homes.  The finalists for the contest include:

• Siobhan Slone
• Jessica Bird
• Jessica Cadwell
• Darci Guriel
• Maggie Wilhelm
• Suzanne Blunk

Together these six women have completed over 682 babysitter jobs with over XX families in the past year.  But it isn't just the sheer volume of babysitting that they do that qualifies them to be Sitter of the Year.  It is also their level of professionalism, the great attitudes they have while taking on any of their responsibilities, their willingness to help others, and how deeply and authentically they connect with the families and children they work with throughout the year. 

You can vote for one or more of these impressive ladies today by visiting the BabysitEase Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/BabysitEase/6701914299 and liking the video(s) you are most impressed with.  The babysitter's video with the most likes by September 21st wins a $500 educational scholarship.

We've Got T-shirts

You should begin to notice that our babysitters will be coming to your door with a recognizable look - in a pink short sleeve or gray long sleeve t-shirt. 

In addition to providing a familiar look to provide some recognition of who is at your doorstep we are also making these t-shirts available to you as well.

 

T-shirt Style

Pink - short-sleeve $15.00 Gray - long-sleeve $20.00

T-shirt size requested

 

Childcare Resources @ Your Fingertips

 We found a full-time nanny for the Johnsons because of a post they saw on facebook. And the Smiths snagged a babysitter on the fly after reading a BabysitEase Twitter update. BabysitEase is more than just a website. We're a twittering, facebooking, blogging babysitter-finding service.

BabysitEase is extending their traditional service through the use of social media websites Twitter and Facebook by bringing you up to the minute sitter availability, articles about parenting, or just general observations about our city, parenthood, or any other thought that comes to mind.

In addition to the these traditional uses for social media, BabysitEase also has a Yelp profile and allows reviews on the Facebook page.  We would love it if you can share with the whole world what you already tell us about your experiences.  A few examples of the feedback we have received from families in just the past couple weeks include:

"Carlie loves being with Melissa F. She is fun, energetic, and just a real blast to have as a babysitter.....she is our #1" 
- Boxt Family

"Chris F was great! Such a nice demeanor with my son, a positive attitude and seemed enthusiastic about being here! Thank you very much!"- McGee Family

Here are just a few of the many things that you missed by not following BabysitEase on Twitter or Facebook:

•  Awesome article on Working Mother magazine about daycare vs nanny
• Peggy shared a website about a friend's story of international adoption
• BabysitEase babysitter, Kristen Braddock, is blogging her experiences from a 3 month mission trip in India
• BabysitEase client, Kristen Getsy, is featured in local media for her company's success

Date Night Ideas

A New Brew for a New Year

Celebrate new new year with a new beer. Christian Moerlein's new brewery in Over-the-Rhine will debut its first brew at Arnold's Bar and Grill on 8th Street. Get there while it lasts, as they'll only be brewing a quarter of a barrel every 12 days.

Or check out the local cheap theater and see if they're playing any of 2010's Top 10 films. Either way, though, be sure to schedule your BabysitEase sitter now.