This Summer as a Family - A Free Printable Beachtime to do list - (and some must do's in the South East!)

H Here! It’s been a while since you heard from me guys, so… hey there!! I can’t tell you all how happy I am Summer is here. I’m not usually summer’s biggest fan (hint: it’s the heaaaat) but this year I’ve been all backwards with the seasons and I’m just itchin’ for all the usual summer essentials - beach time and slip ’n’ slides, come at me!! We started the season right and headed to the beach just the other day (cue photo overload). 

Something I love about having young kids is how aware you become of the simple little traditions that mean so much to you - I find myself being so intentional about recreating them for my littlies, and I get to enjoy it all that much more through them. With that sentiment in mind, I’ve created this little “Beachtime Checklist” with the simplest but always memorable beach time essentials. Whether you print it off and complete it with your kiddos - treasure hunt style - (and if you care to, share it and hashtag us when you do!) or just let it inspire you to have your own beach day, I wish you some very happy beach-ing, and a fantastic summer! 

H x  (ps: check our C's summer ideas further down!)

C’s weigh in… with some great ideas on places to see and things to do…

There are some things you just MUST DO before your little ones head off again or possibly even for the first time. We always have grand plans to get to the beach 5 times and see a show for Christmas but never do ... so this year make it your goal to do the things your family wants. Or even just something you want! Have a look at OUR list of must do's ... maybe it will help you kick summer into gear!

A beach day! There is nothing quite like a quick day trip to the beach and it is always high on my list. Some of you may already have a beach holiday planned... doesn't mean another spot of beaching isn't much needed before the summer ends! Find a rock pool, dig up some crabs and hit the waves!

Trip to a waterfall... Aren't they just lovely... a little hike, the cool breeze, a quick dip! Something for everyone and a lovely day trip together. Cedar Creek (near Samford) is my favourite place to escape if I am home in Brisbane.

Lunch with a view. This is my favourite thing to do. And there are plenty of child friendly places with a view or a different experience. A farm shop, a surf club, a look out...? The options are endless.

One on one time. Before they are off again and while they are sick of their siblings after weeks of holidays take some time out with them alone. Do something they want to do with you! We make so many of the decisions but I think this one is for them to make for you.

See a show! There are plenty of great shows on at local theatres and the larger ones. Not just christmas themed but many other wonderful pieces around this time of year. Check you local hot spots for free shows like a local play house.

The outdoor cinema. Not that we can complain about being locked inside all that much due to weather but in any case, make sure you take full advantage while the weather is in tip top shape! The Ben and Jerry's outdoor cinema is in all major cities through the summer with children's, family and adult shows... serving snacks, alcohol and bean bags galore!

Top places on my list to visit and explore in the south east this summer are…

• Cabaritta beach. If you can, stay the night! This is my favourite country beach town with plenty to do surrounding it! Between rivers, inlets, beaches, inland walks, headlands, dolphins, whale watching.
• Moreton Island. You can make it a day trip or stay a few nights (camping or in the Tangalooma resort). A magical sunset not to be missed on the western side of the island.
• Brunswick heads. A great spot for a swim, a spot of local shopping and a great pub lunch at the Brunswick hotel!
• Bungalow, the country town just inland off the motorway near Byron Bay. A nice little market town surrounded by countryside, rolling hills, farm shops and a fantastic antique shed full of all the things of the past.
• The Farm. A wonderful venue just off the motorway to Byron Bay. Restaurant, animals, playground, flower market and more! This is a gorgeous spot to stop on your way into byron for a swim or a look at the views from it's iconic lighthouse!
• The Cudgen creek, Mulumbimby area between Tweed and Brunswick Heads boasts all sorts of fun! There is an old antique maritime shop beside a great fish and chip shop in Cudgerah, dolphins swimming down the inlets for the Cudgen creek both at Kingscliffe and Hastings point, and the gorgeous crystal castle with amazing views over the hinterland.

Stop contacting those books and tidying up those decorations before the summer is over and everyone is back into 'real' life. Head to the beach and leave that for future you....

Oh, and a few wonderful summer destinations close to home (if you are a South East Queenslander)... You may even be able to manage a few stops if you are game enough!  The ultimate road trip - A day trip I cannot recommend highly enough for our South East Queensland followers is a trip down to Byron passing by some wonderful sites. Leave as early as you can manage in the morning and make your way towards the very North of the NSW coast. Stop at Currumbin wildlife sanctuary on your way before continuing down to "The Farm" just off the motorway for Byron. If you want a stop at the beach head into Cabartitta ... my favourite coastal country town. Or if you want the hilly country vibe head into Bangalow for amazing food and a nice stroll. )

Cx

10 things that mean you have been a nanny for TOO LONG

Most of us nannies do this because we love what we do, we love children and we love helping to grow them into the people we want to see in this world. We love it all so much that we do it for far too long, much longer than anyone intended us to;





1 - When people ask if you have children... you always answer yes (at first anyway).
No of course we don't really, well some of us actually do. However for the most part we are talking about our nanny children, who to us may as well be our own.

2 - Police cars, ambulances and fire engines are no longer called their real names.. Instead they are now called Nee Naw cars.
Day in and day out we hear "I hear a Nee Naw" so it kind of gets stuck in your head. How many Nee Naw's we do we need to hear before the novelty wears off?! Once I was on a date and I heard one... I then proceed to let the date know this... Not a great date! Pretty extreme I know, but after a full week day and night with 2 little boys it just sort of came out.

3 - Your bag is equipped with wipes at all times, maybe even a nappy or snack.
Out with your friends and carrying your trusty daily bag...? Well lucky you are because they just spilled their food on their shirt and baby wipes work miracles. And bonus points for the snack, someone always gets hungry on the way home!

4 - Mother's come to you for advice.
Forget asking a fellow mother, nannies have seen it all! Most of us having worked with every age, culture, amount of children and gender their is. We have tips and tricks just ready to be heard!

5 - Friday night is chill night.
Forget the TGIF feeling... I call it the TFAN feeling! TIME FOR A NAP. Any nanny will agree that Friday afternoons are like christmas and one of a colder climate where you crawl into bed and don't get up except for the chocolate. Unless you are feeling very brave and you venture to the great outdoors, but not without a nap first!



6 - You have to stop your 'Kid' talk.
If it's a work day and you are off to dinner, on your way you ensure to talk yourself down from children and turn back onto normal you. You remind yourself no one, apart from your nanny friends cares about your children who are not in fact your children.

7 - When an adult asks you why? you say "Because I said so"!
This is not a joke! This is real! That simple 1 worded question is the bane of any mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, nannies existence. A few times I can handle, I love them learning but honestly I already told you why apples are born on trees! "Because I said so".

8 - No one is capable of looking after 'your kids', not like you do...
One night you are not free for babysitting so Mum and Dad ask someone else to step in... That is not ok. You may as well not go out you think about it too much! What is she/he doing? Are they asleep? Did they eat well? She/he wouldn't know what they like. Damn it why didn't I write them a list!

9 - Breakups no longer just involve a partner.
Leaving a family whether you loved the job or not is super hard. The tears stream, the decision is hard, you regret it and then you don't... I'm telling you it's like leaving your high school sweet heart all over again but this time there are multiple people to miss.

10 - You don't babysit for family (often).
Honestly, we would love to but as much as we love and adore the children that are actually much closer in the gene pool to being our children... we just did that all week. Just like I will leave me washing for a month because I have done it all week... Don't take it personally. It's not you, it's me.

Yep, I've been a nanny too long. I just wrote this post in under 10 minutes, that means I am all 10! AHHH

Every time I start with a new family I say, this will be the last time. And.... then I do it all again!

Love C.
xx

OUR FULL HOUSE (How it will all work)

Hi there everyone! It's us again, this time ready to share with you some information on the functions of the website. We will soon share with you videos of tips for using the website and more resources to help you along so stay tuned in the coming weeks and months.

Each type of user (see more on your user type below…) on the site will have a slightly different set of functions to meet their needs. We have aimed to create something easy flowing and informative, the below functions will tell you how!

As an OFH member you are either a:

• Helping Hand (candidate in the domestic industry)
• Full House (a house in need of help, families)
• Agency (an employment agency)

And we are here to connect you all!

We check and approve all members of the site so that they are relevant and using OFH for its true purposes. After you have the green light from the admin team you can use your profile as follows:

Full House - Members of the Public looking to hire in-home help

• Search for a helping hand: search for anyone under the list of positions we currently cater for, search for someone who has multiple skills, find multiple people to cater for what you need. If you find someone you wish to speak to further you can contact them direct to their email address and wait for a reply through your own email platform.
• Post an Ad. You can post an ad which will be seen by all candidates that it may suit. As they search for positions they may come across your ad, view your full profile and choose to apply/email you for further information. Along with this you can find a candidate yourself through the above mentioned feature and share with them your ad.
• View and Edit your ads as much as you like. As your needs change, children grow or a job is filled you can delete or edit until your heart's content.

Candidate Members

• Search for your next position. You may be looking for multiple positions, a job that you can really use all your skills in or maybe a temporary one, whichever it is you can search for it all very easily. You can view ads and the profiles of families/agencies before contacting them easily and safely.
• Edit your profile whenever something changes at the touch of a button. You may have changed what you are wanting to do, finished a course, updated your first aid or had more work experience, either way you can edit your profile and find the right fit!

Agency Members

• Search for a candidate to suit any of your current listed positions and reach out to them via email. You can view their full profile and determine whether or not they will suit your clients before you contact them. Search for exactly what you need and fill the positions on your books!
• Post an ad for any positions you have available to attract the right candidates. Because we are free to use you can further your reach without putting a dent in the budget.
• Agency members have a few more features yet to be created that will help them connect with more families, candidates and become featured members of our site. Our hope is to be beneficial for all parties, connecting our members and not cutting out an industry but adding to it!

All users will also have access to lots of extra helpful bits and pieces, like a whole list of Handy Resources and tips and freebies relevant to the job and candidate search journey; the choice to receive Email updates of listings customised to your needs; and the ability to promote your ads or profile to the top of the list. Some of these will be available right away, others are under construction, so stay tuned for future updates!)

It is our goal to be here for our users. We want to provide advice where needed to succeed on your own, however if you are having no luck we can put you in touch with any of our listed agencies that may be able to help the process. We are easily contactable and will continue to provide resources to help you gain employment or an employee. We strive to provide new and more user friendly functions on a daily basis and hope our site can help you to find the help you need.

We would like to note that your private information should stay private, we have designed the website so that you can protect yourself and/or family. Always be aware of what you share and ensure you take the necessary steps for safety including criminal, qualification and reference checks. This responsibility is in your hands, not of the Our Full House team (although we provide you with a handy resources with all you need to know... Safety first!). 

We will stay in touch over the coming weeks as we come up to launch to help make you better equipped to use Our Full House and find the right fit! We so hope you will join us in the brand new community.

Love, the Our Full House Team;

For households full to the brim.

Interviewing a 3 year old Part Two (for a job)

What could be funnier than getting the very true and honest answers out of a 3 year old... imagine what it would be like to place them in a situation we face.
Well here you go... Be prepared for a laugh

What job would you like to do?
F: OK then so, I would be a skier.
R: Umm, Umm Save the rhinos... Yes please.

How would you describe yourself?
F: Huh? Umm actually I'm really tall.
R: Eat ice cream.

Where do you see yourself in 2 years?
F: Well in London ... Looks at me with judging eyes (sorry F what was I thinking... Of course you will be)
R: Umm... the playground, play games.

What skills do you think you have for this job?
F: Because I love it and it's really cool.
R: Running races and jumping in muddy puddles. Growing flowers and eating chocolate and chocolate ice cream.

What do you like doing with your time?
F: Working on a builders site....
R: Playing games and washing my hands when I'm finished doing wee's and poo's hahaha.

Why do you think you should do this job ?
F: Because actually I am literally perfect at it and I can like ski the whole way, all around. And I like it. ME: But F you haven't skied before... F: Actually I have, in my sleep.
R: umm because its fun. And I also like riding my rocking horse.

K: OK well that concludes our interview today, thank you. It was really nice to meet you.
R: It was very nice to meet you too.
K: Should we shake hands?
K: Ok have a lovely day.
R: You have a lovely day too.
K: Thank you.
R: Ok love you. 



We hope you had a chuckle, we certainly did!

OUR FULL HOUSE (Why we are on this startup venture for a Domestic Industry Job board)

A lot has been going on at Our Full House. Behind the scenes we have been developing our soon to be released website. You may have heard peeps about what we are doing however we have never let you in completely. We thought we would finally share with you all what will happen at OUR FULL HOUSE come January 2017.

I, Chantelle, am a Nanny, PA, blogger, instagrammer, creator, sales women and an avid organiser. I have worked in and for homes for the last 7 years and I love what I do.  It is from my experience that this website was created. In my position as Nanny and PA, I was, just like my peers, busy daily organising the many, many needs of the family in my care. I was frustrated that there wasn’t anything available to make my job easier and I found myself using a handful of different platforms to get the things I needed done. I felt like there could be a better way - a way that made sense and was free to use. And the more I looked into it the more I felt that this was something the domestic industry truly needed. Knowing that I don't know everything I formally invited my sister Hayley to join this wonderful journey. As a mum herself and a designer she had so much knowledge to help turn my concept into a fully functional website.

As a team we have created something for the domestic industry that we feel will benefit families, couples, cleaners, tutors, nannies, agencies, in home swimming teachers, music teachers and more! Providing a place for you find the people that you didn’t know were there to help. An easy and free to use website that gives you total control and resources to help you along the way.

Most employees of a domestic sense have skills in many areas and are often doing the work of sourcing jobs themselves. There are also so many households around the country looking for help, often in multiple fields at once. We believe this network of people need a place to gather, somewhere that offers them control, is fully compressive and provides a bit of help through the process. What we are dreaming of is to provide a platform for:  People who work in the home to source opportunities for work; “Full Houses” of Australia to source the help they need; and Employment Agencies to advertise and search for candidates and new clients. All in one nice easy, good looking, free to use place.

Well, that about sums it up! If you have made it this far, thanks for reading! And we really hope that helps create a picture of what you can expect from Our Full House - and how we ended up here.  Soon we will share more information on how the website will function, so check in again soon!

C (and H!) x

Interview with a 3 year old (Part One)

Every wondered about the thoughts and comments of a three year old... I have! All day every day I am asked question after question. By the end of the week I am all out of answers so I thought I would turn the table around and sit behind the desk for a change!



I asked two cheeky 3 years olds the following questions and these where there answers;

- What do you think it would be like to be a mummy and daddy?
F: Ah actually boring.
R: Um maybe... um maybe... I think it's amazing.

- What do you think mummy and daddy do when you aren't home?
F: Nothing.
R: They work and they also save the rhinos and make eggy's and smoothies.

- What makes you happy?
F: The trees do, a lot.
R: Ummm ice creams.

- How old do you think I am?
F: 2.
R: Ummm maybe she is 6.

- What do I smell like ?
F: Carrots.
R: Sniffs* Chicken Casserole.

- What makes you smile?
F: Grass.
R: Maybe magazines.

- What do you think people do at work?
F: Eat food and get ice cream.
R: They ring children and write in their books, they also save the rhinos

- How tall do you think I am?
F: 30 m
R: Your head is big, your legs are big and your feet are big and your hair is big.

-What are the best 3 things about you?
F: I can be fast and I'm funny and smell good. Actually I smell really good.
R: I paint, I love eating MnMs with dad, mummy and daddy like talking to me too.

- What's the hardest thing about being you?
F: Nothing, actually I have to eat my supper.
R: She likes eating things.

- What is the best thing someone has told you? Or funniest thing you have seen?
F: Laughs ... no answer
R: Smiles... no answer

- What is the first thing you remember?
F: I had eggs for breakfast.
R: Walking.

- Do you think being 3 is hard?
F: Ah actually no it's not.
R: Yes because I like my snuggly bean bags.

- How old would you like to be ?
F: 10
R: 3

- Do you think grown ups are clever?
F: No not clever.
R: Yes.

- What is your favourite thing about today?
F: Pasta.
R: Umm... you are!

- Did you like answering these questions?
F: No answer.
R: Yes.

...You're welcome!

Stay tuned for our "Job Interview with a 3 year old"...

Job Descriptions and Expectations (A Handy Guide for In-home Work)

This and much more advice and tidbits is what you can expect to see on the website very soon! ourfullhouse.com.au will be a place to search and find, but also with plenty of helpful advice to help you through the various stages. If you haven't signed up to hear about when we launch it's easy - just send me an email from HERE - No obligation, just a friendly reminder from us when we are ready to go!

When you're accepting a position or hiring the right person for your home it is important to know who should take responsibility for what. In any 'normal workplace' there is a job description for each position, it should be no different for someone who works within someones house. If you are a babysitter, cleaner, nanny, household assistant, housekeepers, mothers help, you need to know what is expected of you and what you are able to say "no" to.

As an employer you need to be aware of when you are asking too much. Working within a home makes the over all working relationship slightly different to that of someone working within a company, office, school or other workplaces. Be aware of this as you negotiate duties, pay, hours and expectations. When working within a home the boundaries are slightly different however this does not mean professionalism and general standards of working relationships and duties go out the window.









Before accepting a position as a babysitter, cleaner, nanny, household assistant, housekeepers, mothers help or employing the right person for your home make sure you cover and agree on the following:

- Min to Max amount of hours in a week
- Rate per hour/week
- Extra rates such as overnight fees, multiple children fees and weekend rates
- Holidays and sick pay or time off outlined
- Expectations
- Duties and job description
- Extra duties you require above and beyond the job description
- Family rules and important notes
- Special requirements
- Confidentiality

I have plenty more information ready to go on the website so keep up to date with us and read more soon!

Happy hiring and working!