September 20, 2007

Daycare, Au Pair, Nanny, Oh My!

This may seem like we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves seeing as our dossier isn't even in Ethiopia yet and we're researching childcare options, but to be honest this is one of those topics that deserves quite a bit of thought so we're ok with it. The fact is that we both work full time, and although we work in flexible industries that support remote employment the reality is that we are going to need childcare in some form or another. Here are the options that have surfaced so far:

- Au Pair: Wow, so as long as we have space to provide room and board to a European 18-20'something and $150/week we're guaranteed 45 hours a week of dedicated childcare. European influence, supporting international living/experiences...seems to flow off the tongue nicely!

- Sister: I have a younger sister (3 years younger) who may or may not benefit from a move out east. She would fit in fantastically in New York or New Paltz, but would be giving up quite a bit by leaving her hometown in MN. It feels like if everything fell into place in just the right way that this could be the best situation ever, but at the same time things would need to fall into place perfectly for this to happen.

- Babysitter: We live in one of the top 50 hottest college towns according to Newsweek Magazine. Doesn't that scream a pool of potential babysitters?

We just don't know. I think the right solution will surface over the next several months, but weighing the benefits between a full time Au Pair vs those of a local babysitter vs those of a sister is just a huge amount to consider. Each really does deserve it's own post come to think of it.

That said, we're still waiting for our social worker to receive our FBI clearances so that we can send in our immigration application to USCIS and finally send everything off to Ethiopia. This is the first time we've had to wait for an extended period of time for someone else to complete their responsibilities in this process and I must say it's not fun. Hopefully the next week will bring more solid updates!

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