Solution... maybe?

So, while I wrote the last blog post, I was unintentionally doing some brainstorming.

Here's the dilemma:

1) I want to homeschool. Stinka made up about 6 months worth of school during the 2 1/2 months of Summer vacation. I know she is smart, and I know she can catch up to her age group of peers.

2) I can't quit my job to home school, and I don't mean that I don't want to quit... literally I am not allowed to quit.

3) I do not live near any family members that can help me.

My solution? We are getting an Au Pair. I added up the cost of private school, native language tutoring, and the occasional babysitter, then I compared all the expenses associated with an Au Pair. I always thought an Au Pair would be way beyond our means, but that's because you look at the final yearly sum up front. When it's divided out monthly, it's only like $250 more per month. We would be able to see her more too. My scheduled is very erratic, because I work 12 1/2 hour shifts. I also work every other weekend. There are so many times that I do not get to see Stinka, because when I leave for work, she is still in bed. When I get home from work, she is going back to bed. I hate it! On my off days, she is in school, so I only see her for about 5 hours in the evenings. I didn't go all the way to her country to have other people raise my child! So, I think an extra $250 per month is worth it to see my child more, and to try to attempt getting her placed with her same age peers. We figure if this fails completely, we can just put her back in second grade next year (where she would be anyway without intervention), and we'd get to see her more. I made sure that the Au Pair we selected speaks Stinka's native language. It has always been important to us that she maintains it. I also think she'll finally have time to start those piano lessons she has been asking for. We are very excited about what this year will bring. I can't wait to blog about her progress.