Oct 08, 11 04:45 pm — I got full custody.
Quick stats for those paying attention.
Total time: 14 months
Total litigious time: 51 weeks
Total court dates: 5
Total attorneys that dropped my ex: 3
Dollars spent (petitioner): $30,000
Dollars spent (respondent): ~$8,000
Child support paid (petitioner): $7,000
Number of miles petitioner flew in 5 months: 22,000
Number of miles child traveled total: 20,000
Number of jobs ex has had since relocating a year ago: 3
Number of times "an important person in the case" told me my ex was 'fucking crazy': too many to count
I'm sure there are more stats but I'm really really fucking busy. I got tea parties n shit to attend to, Mickey Mouse is requesting our presence later on today, the kitchen is a mess (Playskool and the real one) I have a doll house to put together, laundry to do, and later on today we're going clothes shopping.
I'm sure I'll stop in now and then.
Me and my daughter lift a dainty plastic cup of pretend tea to you and your daughter(s).
Congrats JMZ! Don't look at the dollars, focus on the prize that was won. You are a good man and a great father. Enjoy your little beauty my friend.
Congrats from me as well JMZ. I was sure you were gonna win all along. A little girl is such a precious treasure for a Dad, and now you have full legal and moral right.
Take my advice and watch that silly commercial on TV where the Dad is giving his car keys to his daughter to drive on her own for the first time. He sees her as a little tyke sitting behind the wheel until the end, when he finally sees her as the grown up teen that she actually is.
That moment is in your future, JMZ, it seems a long way off right now, but you will recognize it when it happens, you can trust me on that. It seems like yesterday that my little girl was putting the dog's fur into different colored scrunchies most of the day. Now she is all grown up but that image is still in my head.
You are in for quite a ride my friend, enjoy it!
I LOVE that commercial. And the new image you gave me of a little girl's colorful scrunchied up dog. Kids are great. Except when they're not.
The hardest part was missing literally over 15 months of my daughters life. Save for about 20 days I got to see her in the entire year. But as of now, I have been woken up several times per night, and just about every morning by her little hands grabbing my face and she telling me she loves me.
More than once she told me she missed me, and misses me when I'm not there.
I think my daughter is an old soul, and hopefully, she has it in her to get life figured out early enough so she can't be used, or taken advantage of, by the ol egg donor again.
I know I'll have some asses to kick, and right now I'd love nothing more than to brawl with a few people that let all this happen knowingly, but I can't. I can't even sue them. I just have to figure out how to get off high-alert after all this time and relax.
The story is one of those that would take a few nights, and more than a couple of bottles of Boones Farm to retell.
So many pivotal moments, and so many near chances of failure that were thwarted.
A few funny moments, and then best of all, hearing the PhD tell the court that I should be awarded full physical, and full legal, and that my ex should get 3 days visitation per month and thats it.
Holy shit. I'd hate to have been her that day.
Chances are that later on your daughter won't even remember any of this. My advice is to look forward to the years you will have together with your daughter and work on some positive goals rather than dwell on the crap sandwiches you had to eat during this process. You won so be the winner and make a good life with your little girl.
Oh. You made me cry. I'm very happy for you.
Nonetheless, she's still a bit young for the Boones Farm, don't you think? 
Congratulations! You've obviously reaped the rewards deserved, your daughter is in good hands and has nothing but a bright future to look forward to because of persistence. You will miss the tea parties one day and wish she still played with the doll house while carrying it outside for the garage sale many years from now. Those are things you can't put a dollar figure on.
Best to you both.
I've already decided that when its time to garage sale the doll houses, we'll take it up to the parents cabin, place it in the fire pit and play "insurance fraud".
I've always wanted to burn down a doll house.
I'm glad I didn't bring this up to the evaluator.
Oh believe you me, I've ate my fair share of shit sandwiches, and washed them down with bitterness.
You'd never think that you would hear someone say that attorneys are the decent people in the world, but after this, I've met a few good people, most of them attorneys.
I had more bullshit sessions with attorneys and the PhD than I could tell you about. I don't know if that was part of the process but I enjoyed it.
She wouldn't know if it was Capri Sun or Boones, so maybe she'd do ok!
Lets hope she takes after me and can really hold her liquor and/or drink everyone under the table.
Damn straight!
Got my signed documents today too. Its all official and they've handed me the keys.
And, its time to go pick her up. We're going to the park.
Later dudes.
Big_T
Congratulations on your court effort$.
You've lost a year of your life and lot's of $$$ and some sanity, but will hopefully gain a lifetime with your daughter.
Have fun at the tea party ... Don't spoil her too much!