*Shaking head disappointingly*

We've been feeling pretty positive about the adoption lately. We're moving forward, having some new experiences, meeting interesting people. This baby is starting to feel so close, I can almost smell that dirty diaper (for those of you with children, it may sound odd to look forward to a dirty diaper, but when you've been waiting as long as we have, odd things start to sound wonderful). While we continue to have some forward momentum, we have hit a snag. I went to the mailbox this morning and was surprised to find a letter from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The approval from Immigration is the last thing we need for our dossier and a dossier means that our baby wait is maybe 6-9 months. However, alas, the letter was notifying me that they were "unable to complete the processing of your Advanced Processing of Orphan Petition, Form I-600A" because the home study worker did not include our financial information in the format required of all home studies. I looked at my records. I gave her this information twice, once in November and again in April. She even sent me an email on March 30, 2011, which lists specifically what information they needed, but she neglected to put that required info into the home study. Then two additional people (other than the home study worker) reviewed the home study and agreed that it was done correctly. Apparently, this information is expected in both domestic and international home studies, so one of those three people should have known it was wrong. Sigh.....
Did I become irate? No. Did I cry? No. Did I call Craig in a panic? No. I stood in the kitchen, reviewing the letter, shaking my head disappointingly. This is the same head shake I do when Fred slips and falls into the pond. The same head shake I did when I dropped turkey grease all over the freezer and kitchen floor. I am officially naming this head shake my "Oh how annoying and foolish, but not at all unexpected" head shake. For Fred often falls into the koi pond (all those fish to look at and those stubby, uncoordinated legs) and I am frequently clumsy (and have the bruises to prove it). So, it is a shame that I had to do the  "Oh how annoying and foolish, but not at all unexpected" head shake. I apparently have come to expect mistakes and incompetence from this home study agency. Our home study took eight months to complete and was riddled with errors. It had to be corrected twice.
So, I hopped on my computer, continued to do my  "Oh how annoying and foolish, but not at all unexpected" head shake, and sent an email to my two contacts with the home study agency and our IFS coordinator. I copied the email I had sent to the home study worker in April, along with the financial documents I sent at the time. USCIS wants a home study with original signature in 45 days or they will abandon our application (and we will lose $900 and 2 months of work). This deadline frightens me. The woman who wrote the home study no longer works for the agency and she's not exactly the most punctual individual in the world.  To add to that fear, I've had the darnedest time getting in contact with the home study agency. Contact #1: The Administrative Assistant- Her email was returned because her "mailbox was full," which in this day and age usually means "she doesn't work there anymore" or "doesn't care enough to check her email." Contact #2: The Executive Director: She didn't respond to the email, so I called her with the phone number I had. The person who answered was not a woman and I couldn't understand anything this man said. I hung up, checked my records again to ensure I dialed correctly. I did. As I searched, this man proceeded to call me three more times, leaving a couple of drunken messages (Hello! It's 2 pm!). I did some more searching to find the Executive Director's number and found another one. I called it, spoke with her for a little. She took a long pause and said, "Give me a second. I don't know what to do." Wonder-ful! She started speaking and the call dropped. My subsequent phone calls are going straight to voicemail. She finally called while I was checking my voicemail and deleting another drunken message. The Executive Director is travelling. She looked at the email, but can't do anything until Tuesday. She will then have a third person look at it and decide from there. That's exactly what this situation needs.....More complexity!
Sigh......  "Oh how annoying and foolish, but not at all unexpected" head shake................