delusions of grandeur

Tomorrow, I'm due to return back to work. Because I've been on maternity leave for the past 10-months, all of the passwords on my work laptop need to be reset and several software and hardware updates need to be installed. Since I have a home office and work from a "remote location", I'll be driving three hours north to Los Angeles to one of our Information Technology centers to have all of this work completed.

Did I mention that I'm not planning to wean Henry?

Or that I'm not planning to pump?

Because I'm a glutton for punishment it is so important to me that I continue nursing Henry until either he or I decides that we've had enough, Charlie and all four children are going with me to Los Angeles, on my first day back to work. Charlie will also be bringing the baby to me on Tuesday of next week, so that I can nurse him during lunch time, when I'll be meeting with my boss and one of my co-workers and several of my consultants during a project transfer.

My husband is also planning to accompany me to my quarterly meetings so the baby is never too far from the boob. Or, more appropriately, the boob is never too far from the baby. We're slated to go to Seattle in July and Palm Springs in October.

Yesterday, I registered the kids for Montessori which is scheduled to begin in September.

Today, I woke up thinking that I'd made a foolish mistake. Not because the expense of sending three children to Montessori is great ... but because they are too young to be going off to school five days a week for three hours a day. And moreover, do I really want to go back to work when I could be home playing with the kids everyday? I mean, the primary reason I am returning to work is so that I can afford the cost of Montessori.

Before I called the bank to cancel the check, I talked to Charlie.

He reminded me of all the reasons we had for sending our kids to Montessori in the first place. I'll write about all that later, but suffice to say ... the reasons are good great. He also reminded me that when I am working part-time, two days a week - from our house - he will be home to look after Henry while the kids are in school. And then, he'll look after the kids when they come home from school, so I can continue working.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Charlie will drop the kids off to school on his way to work while I stay home with Henry. I'll have a three hour break in the morning before I need to go and pick them up from school. This will be my opportunity to go grocery shopping, fold laundry, check in on work-related items, or lay on the floor and watch the ceiling fan.

We'll have the entire afternoon to do fun things together - and because the children were separated from each other for the bulk of the day - they will be happy, loving, peaceful little creatures with wings sprouting from their back.

On Tuesday and Thursday, Charlie will drop the kids off to school and have a three hour break, with just Henry, before he needs to pick the kids up from school. I will either be at home working, or in one of my consultant's offices working, and have a full day to myself.

Let me say that again.

I'll have a full day TO MYSELF.

Charlie gets to spend more time at home with the children and with me.

I get two full days to myself.

Our children meanwhile, by attending school, will have the opportunity to spend a little time away from each other and a little time to research, explore, discover and interact with other children and a teacher - and understand how things work in a classroom.

By the time they start Montessori in September, they will be almost four years old and I plan to keep them in Montessori through Kindergarten. Even though we could start them in Kindergarten as early as next year, I can already see that it would be too soon and I see NO rush to start the kids in school early. I would much prefer that they be a little bit older, a little bit more physically and emotionally mature.

Although research shows that children who are born prematurely typically catch up by the time they are two, if our children had been born when they were due to arrive (12/21/04), they wouldn't be eligible to begin Kindergarten until 2010. So. That's when I'm planning to start them. And beyond that, I am planning to home school them. At least for a little while. I'm also planning to start them in Suzuki when they turn five.

I'm planning to spend all of next week finishing my posts on organization tips. Including kitchen space, closet space, clothing, shoes, paperwork, garage, car and linens. I'm also planning to write about some of the best toys and activities that I've discovered to do with children.

Then, I'm going to help Charlie start posting on this blog because when he is home with the kids, he'll have nothing better to do during nap time then share with the world his recipes and stories about fatherhood and how AWESOME it is to be married to me. He'll tell you why it is so important that you warm your plates before you place hot food on them. He might also tell you how women are a lot like crock pots and men are a lot like microwaves.

This coming Saturday, at 7:00 AM, I'm planning to begin training for a 10K with my fellow triplet mom, Jessica. Considering I abhor running almost as much as I abhor the thought of getting out of bed before 7:00 AM on a weekend ... this is a big huge step for me. But since I just registered and paid for the training, which will culminate with a race on the Fourth of July (Henry's first birthday ... *sob!*), I'm bound.

What a gift that will be to my self if I am capable of running a 10K on my baby’s first birthday without throwing up a lung. I figure if Charlie can complete a play structure that the manual suggests will take 32 hours, in just under 26 hours, then surely I can run 6.2 miles.


Even if it takes me three days.