Ok, so here is what has transpired over the past few days. I've had D w/ me so I haven't been able to get in here to write, so this is from Monday.
I picked up D from W and we went to our appointment w/ the parenting evaluator. I think it went well again b/c the evaluator said he didn't see any major flags that would require him to dig deeper. I can't help but think that says he is unable to find a reason to keep her from me, but I'm still uncertain.
I told him we had W deposed and had ordered up a copy for him to see and he said he was very interested to look at it. So, knowing that, his decision won't come for another two weeks or so as we wait for the deposition to be written up and sent out.
As D and I were heading home, I got a call from a friend of mine who said she was going to be w/ her son at Gameworks and wanted to know if I wanted to bring D down there to play a bit. It sounded like fun, and I ran it by D who loved the idea, so we went. We got there and played a ton of games and ate dinner. When it got to be time for D to call W, she did and the first thing she said was we were w/ one of daddy's friends and her son and she is beautiful. I'm not sure if that was what I would have chosen to tell W, but D sure did. I really didn't care, to tell the truth. D was having fun and that was the bottom line.
After we ate, we thought of taking the kids to watch the greyhounds race at the local track as we have two miniature greyhounds (Italian greyhounds) and D was excited to see them "chase the rabbit." However, it got too late to go, so we just stopped for ice cream instead.
On the ride to ice cream, D called W again to tell her about seeing the greyhounds race. It was 8:45 and after her bedtime and I knew W would throw a fit, but I didn't care. Again, it wasn't a school night and D was having a blast.
Anyway, we came home and I let D sleep until 10 am, so she got plenty of her rest in. Yesterday I took D to my VO2 max cardio level testing and then we went out to lunch. While we were driving, D asked to call W and I gave her the phone. To my surprise, D asked if she could stay until Friday b/c she wanted to go see "Kung Fu Panda" w/ me and it opens on Friday. W of course said no and I didn't think too much about it.
When we got home, D was tired, so she napped and I checked to see that W sent an e-mail. Yes, I should have expected it, so I'm surprised I was so shocked by it. In any event, it ripped on me for keeping her up past her bedtime on Monday and then accused me of "encouraging" D to call her to beg for more time. I was very ticked off at her hypocracy and her insuiations, but didn't respond at that time. Oh, man, did I want to fight and throw it back at her. I REALLY resisted that urge, even though it was so, so strong. I waited until 5:30 this morning and e-mailed her back and simply said "thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns." That was the best thing I could come up w/ that wouldn't be dropping myself to her level. It was the only way I could think of acknowledging her statements while still dropping the rope.
D got up late from her nap and we went to the grocery store. While there, I had D call W to say goodnight. D mentioned to W that she was going to get her hair cut while she was w/ me sometime and I said we'd have to check w/ mommy 1st. I guess W clearly heard me say this b/c when D handed me the phone to talk w/ her she instantly said "I'm surprised you told her we both have to agree on getting her hair cut seeing how you've had it cut twice before w/out asking me." I responded w/ "No, I did not." and she hung up. Nice. Oh, well. Again, it is the power play in full force.
So, I took D and the dogs to the dog park after the store, then we got ice cream and headed home. The little bugger for some reason was WIDE awake at 4:30, so I've been a bit busy trying to get her to crash. She's currently asleep and I'm hoping she'll stay that way for a while.
So, now I'll return D to W today at 4 and then sit and wait to know when I'll see her again. I'm going to take the initiative and send W an e-mail to try and get some sort of a schedule established so I can have the ability to plan forward for the next few weeks. I'm sure I'll get turned down, but I'm going to be the one who asks and have W consistently on the record as the one saying no.
I'll let you know how friendly she is when we meet today. Weather prediction = Quite frosty w/ a touch of sleet and ice.
