Not on Dateline

We've known about our upcoming vacation for a year, we finalized the details in April and asked the state for permission to bring our Born of the Heart babies with us. Well as one would expect, no one at the state asked the judge. Not in April, or May, or June, or the first week of July. Hello, people, we're leaving in mid-July. So, there we were less than a week before vacation, tickets in hand, and they aren't so much cheap anymore, and no court order granting us permission to take the kiddos out of state.

We were scheduled to leave for the airport at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. By about Thursday I was debating whether to take anymore calls from the department. Well, not being paranoid by nature and not feeling the need to screen my calls, I accidentally answered the phone on Thursday. Of course it was the department asking all sorts of details. He was going back and forth with the judge and mama's attorney. He could get permission if the following conditions were met.

1. Hubby couldn't take baby girl to the men's room.
2. Worker had to lay eyes on children before they left.

1. Fine, girls don't need to be in the men's room, they were going to Grandma's, and while in the airport she could go on the plane. Annoying but doable.

2. Fine, come up Thursday night and see them. No, has to be Friday. Keep in mind that it's a 2.5 hour drive between the worker's office and our house. I told him that he had to be there by eight, we were leaving at nine. Got of the phone with him, called my agency's worker and got permission from him. They ok'd it.

The worker did show up, a little after eight. I had to go get my shoulder worked on so hubby was there to present the kids so they could be seen. We have not had much face time, he was our worker for months before I actually even knew his name. He's a fresh out of college, going to save the world type. Or at least he was before he got assigned this case.

Whatever it is that usually takes a year or better to suck the life out of the newbies has happened. He no longer wants to save the world, only his behind, and he's sick of getting it chewed on by everyone. The rest of the department is in the same boat. They are unclear on the law, everytime they quote it to me they get it wrong. While I am not an attorney, I have the ability to understand it. I would not make a good attorney, at least in the court room. There's no crying in the courtroom, by the attorney anyway.

So, three new projects for when we return. Pile up the rest of the hiring a pitbull money, and hire a pitbull. My impression is that the department there will gladly give up jurisdiction to here, and that would be good. The pitbull we've found seems to be personally offended that the laws she defends are being so blatantly broken. The final project, making the department look competent.