Update

BM attempted in 2011 to get visitation back (1.5 years since she had last seen the boys), but she never ended up serving DH with the hearing info, so the hearing was canceled. Nothing again until just recently, we had the hearing today. As expected, BM shot herself in the foot, and all we had to do was stand back and watch it...

BM requested that visitation be re-instated to the prior parenting plan which allowed for 2 visits/year (BM lives out of state), duration to be determined by SS's. Oldest SS is 19 now, so his visits are no longer our issue, SS16 is turning 17 in March.

DH countered with two 1 week visits contingent on BM providing us with current counseling information showing she is still receiving treatment for her prescription drug addiction.

At the hearing the master starts by asking if BM agrees to the two 1 week vacations. She states yes. She also agrees to providing current information re: treatment. The master seems to think things are ticking right along, and he proposes a hash out the visitation then and there, asks DH if April vacation would work (which it would since that provides us the 45 days notice afforded in the previous parenting plan). DH agrees. At some point during the discussion between the master and DH, it must have dawned on BM that she just agreed to 1 week visitations (instead of the prior parenting plan), so when the master asked her if she would like to have SS16 come out for April vacation (which DH had just agreed to), she says "uhhh, NO" quite emphatically...

Yes, that's crickets you are hearing in the courtroom...

...and this was the expression on the master's face

Who does that? This "mother" hasn't seen her kids in 2.5 years due to her own misbehavior, has finally, after one failed attempt, gotten to the point of reinstating her visitation, she would be able to see SS16 in two months, and she says no? Oh wait, the same woman that gave up custody of her children over some Boyd's Bears (which she never got either).

She then proceeds to ramble on about SS16 wanting to spend the WHOLE summer with her (which has nothing to do with April vacation), and goes on and on about how she can't communicate with DH regarding travel arrangements because the parenting plan only allows for email/vm communication (no direct phone contact, thank god). After she pauses to breathe for a second, the master, who can clearly see that she is the one with issues making any plans since she has just changed her mind within 5 minutes right in front of him, states that he believes he is going to select the two 1 week periods himself, DH and his lawyer emphatically nodding their heads in the affirmative, and the master then ends the hearing.

Me thinks BM will not be happy with the new visitation order

My gut says the master selects one week early summer and one week late summer. We're just hoping he is very specific on the dates, so then we don't have to contact her at all about the travel plans, except to get her updated treatment info. If the order is too vague, we will probably ask him to clarify, as we really don't want to deal with it. I can't believe in a few days, we may find out that our last contact with BM may be as early as the end of the summer! We've been counting down until March of 2013 when SS16 turns 18, but we may have an early gift! Worst case, instead of 2 summer weeks she gets Christmas, or next Feb vacation, but no matter what, the end is near...

Goes to show yet again, if you give them enough rope...