Hi ladies,

I would love to get your advice. My doctor has recommended that I have surgery. He actually recommended it a while a go but I was chicken so I put it off. Anyway, I don't think I can put it off for much longer.

I'll be closed for 2 weeks over Christmas since my family and I are travelling. I'd like to schedule the surgery to be done sometime in the new year.

I have 2 kids of my own in addition to 3 dcks. My husband and I are thinking about getting someone to come and help since I'll be out of commission for at least 2 weeks and possible longer depending on how my recovery is going. I was thinking about offering for my clients to keep bringing their kids here since I will have someone here who would be watching my own kids anyways. I love my group and I would hate to lose them. I think (I hope) the parents would be ok with that arrangement.

My question is, for the person who I would hire to take over while I recover, what would be a fair rate for a 6:30am to a 4:45pm day? Should I pay a daycare rate for all 5 kids? In my area, the average is $40/day per kid. I could also just give them the money I would be getting from my clients for that period of time. Anyway, what do you guys think?