Crippled without a maid

My maid (AS) is leaving soon. Due to an incident happen at her hometown, her mother required either her sister (who is also working as maid here) or her to go back Myanmar for good to help out. The sister had asked my maid to be the one going back and my maid obliged! :(

So now, I am in a big headache to re-select a new maid and go through all the training again. Not sure if the new one will be as good as AS. Not sure if she will be able to cook as nice as AS. Not sure if she is able to speak and understand English as well as AS. Not sure if she will love my 2 darlings as much as AS. Not sure if she will be as automatic as AS when comes to do housework. Not sure if she will be as smart as AS. Not sure..not sure..not sure...many worries!

Initially we had plans to keep AS for a minium of 2 years. After which if she decided to go back Myanmar, we would not employ a maid anymore and put the kids at Childcare coz by then the girls would be 2years+. But if she decided to stay, then we would renew her contract again.

Now the plan is disrupted! We are still negotiating with her if she can stay until the new maid comes as she seems quite in a rush to return back home. According to the agency, new maid will need 3-6 weeks for processing before they can reach Singapore and currently the agency do not have transferred maid from Myanmar. I am reluntant to take Filipinos because of their overly protected law by their government which make these maids yaya papaya! I am not comfortable with Indonesia maid because of their language ability as mostly can only speak malay, which I don't! And worse is they cannot eat pork which make it a hassle to prepare separate meals for them, especially when we are outside dining!

We had also think of other possible solutions. What if we do not engage a maid??:
1.Can we find a nanny instead?
2.Can the girls go to infant care? *many concerns on this*
3.Can MIL take care of 2 girls herself?
4. Snce I can work from home, I could help out together with MIL? But what if I need to go back office, then who help MIL?
5. Can we stop all the cooking and order catering so MIL can look after them herself?

Can we do this? Can we do that?.....End up the answer is quite obvious. We still need a maid!

I guess when the new maid comes, I can no longer proceed into the study room for my conference call at night with Hui bathing and leaving the maid alone with the kids for that 10mins anymore. One of us had to keep a watch out until the other is totally available. It will take a few more months before I can confirm I am comfortable to place the girls playing alone with the new maid while we run other errands in the house.

Maid searching will start this evening at the agency. Wish me luck!