One of the kids’ favorite places to go is the Boonshoft Museum which is a museum geared toward children.  Most if it is like a big indoor play area with quite a few role playing areas.  We have an annual pass that makes it easy to go whenever we’d like and not worry about the cost.  That is extremely important to me because Boonshoft is only open until 5PM through the week.

While I’m not a big fan of preschool in general, it seemed cruel to pull her out after we’d put her in and made friends.  She really enjoys going to see her friends and she balances out the class which has two boys and two girls.  I still have the option to keep her home if there is something happening that she wants to do or I want her to do but since we’ve made a commitment to go to school, I try to keep it.

One of the things I like about her going to school is that it gives me one-on-one time with A.  Before A was born I would take J with me where ever I wanted to go.  It became more difficult with two kids to do that.  Now that I have some afternoon time with A I remember how much fun I used to have with J and I’m happy to do that with A.  I know that they won’t have nearly the same experience growing up, but I would at least like to be consistent with them, even if they have completely different interests.

So while keeping her in preschool three days a week will allow her a bit of freedom from me and the family, and give her time to make friends and develop a sense of identity away from us, having her home with us four days a week (weekends included) will help her develop a strong sense of family.

I won’t try to argue that my job is harder than anyone else’s but certainly it is very important.  After all, I am trying to raise two girls into confident, intelligent, caring, productive adults.  That’s hard work but when treated properly is actually quite fun.

The real thing about being home, though, is that every one who needs help automatically jumps to me because I am flexible with my responsibilities.  I can take my girls with me to get things accomplished.

What I’ve found recently, though is that people want me to keep their kids when something comes up.  An extra day of work when one normally isn’t scheduled, a regular babysitter’s kids are sick, a doctor’s appointment, etc.  I don’t mind watching other people’s kids but I want to make sure that people understand that my schedule is only partially flexible.

Having J in preschool means that she is committed to going every day.  She doesn’t start until 11:30AM, but she still needs to get there on time so that she can integrate with her peers and not feel embarrassed or shy for showing up late.

One day last week, my wife got a call from her sister at 6:30AM asking for me to watch her two kids that day.  I had planned that day to take J to school and A to the license bureau because I needed a new license and tags for the car.  Obviously, she was in a bind so I don’t mind helping and I would go to the license bureau another day.  Then came the kicker, though.  She wanted me to go to her house because coming here was out of her way.

My wife agreed for me and told her I ‘d be there by 9:00AM.

My wife told me immediately about the arrangement and I went back to sleep.  I don’t set an alarm because the kids get me up when they are ready.  When I woke up at 9:02AM I knew immediately that my sister-in-law would be pissed.  I called her and told her I’d be there as soon as I could but it took nearly an hour.  I had to wake up the kids, get them dressed and get the house ready for someone to see it.  (We’re in the process of selling our house.)

I had to pack food for my kids because they have special dietary needs and most people’s houses don’t have food that’s acceptable for them.  (We ate a lot of grapes that day.)  I also had to take my computer in case I got an email with a work assignment, which I have been getting regularly.  I also had to rearrange my schedule and cancel J’s schedule.  She couldn’t go to preschool that day because I can’t travel with four kids, all four-years-old or younger.  If we had been at my house we could have walked J to school.

I don’t expect people not to ask for my help, I don’t even want that.  I only want people to understand that although I am home everyday, I still have responsibilities, I keep a loose schedule and there are things that I need like to do everyday.  At the same time I have to keep looking for a job and/or find freelance work so that I can keep the bills paid.  And when I get freelance work, I have to get it done quickly and do a good job so that I can get more work.