Whirlwind... Part Two

Crazy, crazy day...  Part One is here...  I had to break it up because I have very excited friends.  :-)  Makes me very happy that you ladies are just as happy for me as I am!  Have I mentioned how much I love you guys lately???  :-)

Anyway...  Carrying on with the whirlwind of a day...  (Seriously, this entire day has my head spinning!)


1:20pm - Just before I hung up with The Invisible One, she mentions the GAL's name, and my heart leaped out of my chest.  "OMG.  I think I know her."  I didn't elaborate though.  I just told her I'd call back.

1:21pm - I call the GAL.  She answers the phone, and I immediately recognize her voice.  Yep.  She was Booger Bear's daddy's attorney when he was with me!  She was tough!  That woman scared the poo out of me!  She also didn't like me much.  I was pretty vocal when it came to my thoughts on everything that was going on in Booger's case.  Fortunately, she didn't seem to recognize my name, and I wasn't about to tell her who I was if she didn't remember!  :-)  She seemed much softer and nicer after I told her why I was calling.  I learned:

• She said she was probably overstepping her bounds by approaching me, but she has a soft spot for this baby girl and wants to make sure she's in a great permanent home.

• She really thinks highly of The Invisible One and respects her opinion.  If The Invisible One says I'm fantastic, she believes her.  (Thank you, Invisible One!!!)

• 11-month-old baby girl in care since September (most of her life) and currently in a foster home with her almost 3-year-old half sister.

• The foster home that the girls are currently in is a good one, but the foster parents are more of the "grandparent" type, and not in a position to adopt.

• TPR scheduled on October 1st for the 11-month-old...  The plan is for the half sister to go to a friend of her father's grandmother, but they don't want the 11-month-old because she's not his.  :(  (So sad that they are splitting the girls up...)

• She springs on me that the caseworker wants to move the girls together, although she is going to try to push to keep the 2-year-old in her current home so she doesn't have to move in with me, only to be moved again in a few months.  I told her that I am licensed and have the space, so if they need to move them together, I am willing to foster Big Sister too.  I certainly wasn't planning on it, but I'll make it work!

• Baby Girl's bio dad is apparently in prison.  No mention of the girls' mother at any point.

• There might be a hiccup if bio dad is Native American (common where they are originally from), but so far he hasn't bothered to do much of anything regarding his daughter, so they don't expect it to be a problem.

• Baby Girl is trying to walk, babbles a lot, and says things like "poo," which the GAL was all giggly about.  You can tell she really cares about this baby.

• GAL said that she would adopt the baby herself if she wasn't 61-years-old, and she stressed again that she just wants to make sure she's in a great home.

We end the phone call with making sure we have each other's numbers, and she gets my agency information.  She tells me she is going to contact the girls' caseworker again and push to get things moving.  She stressed that it's not a "done deal" (a fact that I am completely aware of when it comes to foster care), but said that she is going to push hard.  I believe her too!  She has a reputation for getting things her way, and from what I've experienced first hand, she does!  She said we'll touch base next week.

(And now I'll do a Part Three, so you guys can read this much anyway.  ;-)