My Frustrations With Guam

I decided to make this a post only because I know that I will be telling more than one of you this story and, it just makes it easier to fill you all in at once. And, so poor Amy doesn't have to be the only one to hear my wrath!
So, when you have a baby in the states, everything is so easy... you fill out the papers at the hospital for the birth certificate and social security card... the hospital sends in your birth certificate paperwork and.. wallah.. the birth certificate is mailed to your house! You take home the social security paperwork, mail it in and... wallah.. the social security card is sent to your house... Well, not here on Guam!
I had Tristan and didn't find out until 2 months later that we were supposed to go PICK UP his birth certificate out in town, we get there, and they only accept check or cash, neither of which I had on me. So, back another day, another 20 minute drive on a day Rodney had to get off early to do this. It took so long to get the birth certificate, (let me mind you that I was the ONLY one there to pick on up!), that the social security office had closed. (It was before 4pm!) Ok, fine, I get home, print out the social security paperwork and look online at the social security website to find out how to apply... Easy enough, just send in the paperwork, with the original birth certificate and a funny paper from the hospital that has Tristans footprints and two stamps on the back from the hospital. I get everything together, put in an envelope, put a stamp on it and on it's way it goes...
Three weeks later, still no Social Security card! This would not have been an issue if I did not find an AWESOME price on plane tickets for all 5 of us to come home for the month of June. It ran across my mind that... OOOPS! We all need passports! Where is Tristans S.S. card?! I need it to apply for his passport!? So, I call the SS office here on Guam just to inquire on if they can give me a status on it. "Oh" says the lady on the other end of the phone, "Do you live in Japan?" Noooooo.... I live here on Guam... "Oh" she says... "Then you have to come in and apply for the S.S. card." You have GOT to be kidding me!? "So, where is my stuff, my sons birth certificate, my application, the funny little paper with his footprints!?" Again... "Oh, we sent that back to you certified mail." DOPE! That certified letter came on last Thursday! I was at my moms group... Rodney wasn't here to go pick it up and I just forgot about it because I thought it was about late payment on hospital bills! So, the lady tells me, "Go get your things and come into the office early in the morning to apply for the card." Well, how long does it take to get the card in? "3-4 weeks." GREAT!!! 4 weeks for the card plus 6 weeks for the passport... NO WAY are we going to make it home in June! (Sorry Jonathan... there goes your graduation!)
So, determined to find a way to make this work, (because there is NO WAY I'm giving up the prices on these tickets...) I call the passport office here on Guam. "No worries" says the lady on the other end of the phone... "In the space for his SSN.. just write 'applied for'." We don't consider the ssn to be a form of identification." FANTASTIC! Finally, some reassuring news! "Trade in your no-fee passports to reduce the fee of the regular passports." (Yes Amy, you need military orders to travel with the no-fees.) Ok, I feel better.... Now, only one problem... how am I going to get there!!??? It is like pulling teeth to get Rodney off of work to run errands, only, he HAS to be there for the passports, but... when will he be able to go?! Cross your fingers that it will be this week! Hopefully if I get someone to take me to moms group on Thursday, I can pick up the certified letter then, since it is at the post office on that base, and that will be one task down... only two more to go....
Oh, I guess I have to tell Rodney all of this and ask him if he wants to go home in June!! :c) I'm making all of these plans without him! But, I can't call him because he doesn't have his phone today of all days!
So, I hope to see all of you who are in the states in June. If this doesn't work out, I may think about venturing all the way home on a mac flight with the three kiddos. But, guess what... if I do that... I'm traveling with only one small bag so you all will have to buy us clothes while we're there! haha.