When You Finish 2nd Grade

I know it's been awhile since I last blogged, but there is a good reason. My brain is non-existent these days. On December 29 we received some news that will be turning our world upside down for awhile. Noe has had a bunch of different job offers in the past year. Unfortunately, the best ones seem to be overseas. Cirque de Soliel REALLY wants him over there because he has so much experience in Asia from Disney on Ice. After being offered China, I told him NO WAY! Then he was offered Tokyo, my response remained NO WAY!

It's not that I don't want to go overseas again, I enjoyed my time with Disney on Ice. However, the situation has changed. I am not single anymore, I now have 4 kids, and 3 of those kids have had medical issues. I am not ready to pack up my kids and move to a foreign country, away from my family.

Noe is not getting any younger. His body is starting to rebel against him and his current job at the "O" show. The scuba diving is killing his ears and even when he is on stage he is getting hurt too much. He needs to get back into management. It seems the only people who Cirque hire for management are the people who have been on the road or overseas.

Cirque offered him a job to go to Tokyo for 18 months. Noe would help install the show and then train someone to take over as Technical Director. After a few weeks it sounded like it wasn't going to happen. Then I got the call from Noe. They came back with a counter offer. It was just high enough to pay for the childcare I would need to take his place while I work. That night I was in a state of shock. I never really thought this would happen.

After a few days of the information sinking in, I started posting ads for a nanny. How hard could that be? Wow, was I wrong! This has been the most horrifying and frustrating mission I have been on. Every time I think I have found the perfect nanny, something backfires! Noe got his passport in the mail the other day. That means he's getting closer to leaving. They set his tentative date for January 25th, but he will start working for the position a week earlier.

Reality check hit again last night. Noe's immediate boss came up to him last night and mentioned that she heard that today would be his last day at the show. He looked dumbfounded and then told her he had another week. WRONG! Corporate sent out an email stating that Noe was switching payrolls (he is on Bellagio's payroll instead of Cirque right now)on Monday. WOW! So he went in to work for his last time today.

All of the stress from finding, or not finding, a nanny hit head on this week since I went back to work. Not only did I return to work last Monday, but I started parent conferences that night. Whoever scheduled that wasn't thinking at all! I had a hard time scheduling parents who worked daily so that they would be able to make it. I decided to stay until 6 p.m. too accomodate them. Let me tell you that I was not thinking good thoughts of two of them as they blew off our conference, the ones I volunteered to stay until 6 p.m.

I finally was able to have a phone coversation with one of the prospective nannies tonight. She is 21 and seems really nice. She has been watching her sisters three children, but now her sister stays at home with them. I scheduled a meeting with my husband and her in the morning. If all goes well, I am going to meet up with her one afternoon this week. I REALLY hope this works out. I can't take the stress much longer. I have so much to do, and I can't do any of it when I am placing ads and sending emails back and forth.

Wouldn't you want to come and play with them everyday?


About a week ago we decided it was time to tell Leigha about Noe's job. She LOVES her father. We told her that he would be leaving for Japan for 18 months. Leigha is learning about time, but definitely does not understand the true length of 18 months. The only way I could think to get the idea across was to tell her that her dad would be home when she finishes the 2nd grade. Ahh, that she understood, the best a six-year old could understand. I told her that she was going to have to help me out while he was gone. She said she would try to help out as much as possible (and I will hold her to that)!

Noe will be able to come home two times per year. Normally he would get a ticket every three months, but his job won't allow for four visits. It's in the contrat that way also. He also gets four tickets a year for his family. We are going to try to request the other two, the ones he can't use, to add to our four tickets. I will try to fly the kids out, as well as someone else to help me, some time this summer. This is in addition to the summer driving trip we are making to North Carolina again.

For everyone who wonders why we don't go along with him, there are some very good reasons. First, I am a teacher and I can't afford to quit working. When my principal found out I was having triplets, he assumed that I would not be returning to work. I told him I WAS having triplets so I HAD to return to work. I needed the double health care coverage. Second, I have three boys who were born at 27 weeks. Two of them have had medical issues come up in the past. Two of them just had surgery! I am not ready to pack them up and take off for a foreign country. Next, this is a temporary placement. We can't afford to sell our house right now. We wouldn't get enough for it the way that the market is right now. I also know we wouldn't be able to rent it out for enough to cover our mortgage. Yes, I could work in Japan, but then I would be stuck finding daycare for the kids in a foregin country. I am also not willing to be that far away from my family. I think across the country is far enough.

The next thing that worries people is how I will manage to do this by myself. That's a pretty simple answer, the same one that I have when people ask me how I deal with triplets. You do what you have to do, that's it! Noe and I are basically single parents in many ways. We work opposite of each other. The difference will be that I can't run to the store during nap time on the weekends or late Monday or Tuesday nights. I already take the kids to the grocery stores, Costco, and Sam's Club.

The biggest difference is that I have temporarily lost my emergency back-up. My aunt has always been here when we run into problems. She has been so kind and generous with her time. If Noe gets called into a meeting early, she has come over to watch the kids. When we both had to be there for Noah and Matthew's surgery, she came over to take care of the other two kids. When Noe's show goes dark and he gets switched to day shifts, she has saved us by coming over and taking some of the full days on. My aunt has just completed her first week as a full-time grandmother/nanny for her first granchild. My cousin Ashley had to return to work last week. My aunt is taking care of Sydney until she is six months old. She is loving her job so far (except for the early mornings- she is not used to those yet). She will definitely be missed, not just for her babysitting, but just her visits in general. It is quite apparent to me when I go in to rescue them from their cribs and they immediately call her name out and strain their necks to look out the door, as if she would suddenly appear.

So as we start this new adventure in our lives, I am sure you will experience the roller coaster of emotions with me! I will try to keep the complaining down to a minimal level, but I can't promise anything. I WILL make it through the 18 months, it just might not be too pretty!