SSA Revisited

Bright and early this morning, off to the SSA we went.  As a family.  A lovely little family outing.  Fuzzy kitties and brown paper packages, warm woolen mittens (or . . . um . . . light breezy t-shirts?) and all that jazz. La-di-da.  Hi-di-ho.

We pull onto the street where the building is located and Soren shoots out of his seat frantically yelling about needing to throw up.  Dan pulls over to some bushes and Soren hurtles himself out of the car just in time to lose his stomach over some lovely, unassuming So Cal shrubs.

Two+ hours, two dead iPhone batteries, one schooled SSA official (thanks Lawyer Dan), one stir-crazy toddler, and one super fussy baby later ... Oskar is legit.  He now rests comfortably on our defunct government's radar.  But hey, at least we'll get another thousand or so back for it.  Thanks little dude, rest assured it will go toward diapers, books, clothes, education, and your future mission.  :)

Note to self for next time:

Birth certificate and blessing certificate are most definitely enough documentation (along with current parental I.D.).  Ignore objections from clueless SSA officials to the contrary.  Make them check their own website.  Apply smug gloating face when they realize they are wrong and you are right.  Chalk it up to aforementioned defunct government.  Swear to yourself for the three millionth time that you will raise children that can help rescue our poor citizenry from inane government run-around and lines and lines and waiting, waiting, waiting.

You know how Babies 'R' Us has front row parking for pregnant mothers?  Well, government agencies should offer preferred services to mothers with children in tow.  I'm just sayin'.  I think everyone would be happier, not just mom.  :)

Until next baby, SSA!  Hasta la vista.

Lines, Lines, and More Lines

Crazy, crazy day today.

CR-AAA-ZY.

Oskar still doesn't have a social security number or card, so I piled up the boys to get that taken care of this morning.  Taxes, ya know?  It kind of helps if all our dependents can be recognized as such.  I called the social security number beforehand and took the time to make sure I had all the right documents.  As I was leaving my house, though, I decided to check my wallet to make sure I had my driver's license with me.  Sort of a pointless gesture since it's always, ALWAYS in my wallet.  But while checking this time, I noticed that my driver's license has been expired for ALMOST A YEAR!!

Yeah.  I'm on top of things.  Pffffth.

So, I drove on anyway, hoping I could throw my expired passport, expired driver's license, and social security card at them as proof of my maternal claim to Oskar.

No such luck.  I didn't even get far enough to take aim.  Apparently the peeps on the phone didn't give me accurate details and I was short one vital document.  Blah.  So, off to the doctor's office it was.  I had to have more proof of his identity since he was born at home.  Boo.

After the doctor we took a lunch break and then I tackled the matter of my uber-expired driver's license.  I set up an appointment for next week online, but then noticed their non-appointment wait time was pretty short.  I waited for Oskar to wake from his nap and took off for the DMV.

Ah, the DMV.

Let's just say their website was inaccurate.  BUT, it still wasn't too bad.  With my trusty iPhone to keep Karsten's rear glued to the stroller seat, we did okay.  Anders has an inability to keep his fingers off, oh, everything, but even he settled down shortly after we arrived.  It was a pleasant surprise.  But my hero-of-the-day was definitely Soren.  Soren was amazing.  He really wanted to be able to play on my phone when we got home, so he was on his best behavior the ENTIRE time.  I was so impressed.  He wasn't just obedient, he was also helpful and kind and happy.  It was awesome.  He even held Oskar for me when I had my picture taken for my new driver's license.  What a little stud.  I love him.  And I so appreciated his help today.

Social security office
Doctor's office
DMV

I know some of you awesome moms out there do more than this in one day.  Go more places.  Dropping off, picking up.  But it's not me. I'm a homebody. If I plan an outing, I plan ONE outing that usually only lasts for ONE morning or ONE afternoon.  This bouncing all over town was nuts for me.  Too much government run-around.  Too much traffic.  Too much climbing in and out of our car, buckling and unbuckling seat belts.

And tomorrow we get to head back to the social security office, again.  This time armed with that darned doctor's transcript and Dan's current driver's license as proof of parental claim on Oskar.

Wish us luck!

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One of my *favorite* moments from today?  Finding this in Oskar's diaper:

Dude's facial expression says it all.  Poor guy met his doom today since neither Soren nor I were willing to rescue him.  Bye bye, little Lego guy guy.  So grateful you didn't choke my kid.

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Oh, and somewhere amidst all this craziness I also managed to drop my phone, cracking its face.  Today was just a fuzzy little kitty of a day, I tell you what.