Mug Shots

Every time I look at that photo of myself I think my nostrils must be flaring. So. Funny. Looking.

Anyway, we are ready for our visa appointment tomorrow with the Mexican consulate. I don't know why I am nervous but I am. Worst case scenario, we have to make another appointment and come back later. We still have plenty of time before our July 28 departure from Brooklyn.

But I really don't have to do that.

So I've got double copies of my retirement accounts and pay stubs and investment accounts and birth certificates and even called the RE's office and got a letter attesting that I conceived with donor sperm. 

Getting the photos was a bit of sh*t storm. Going to CVS with both girls after work/school and asking them to stand extremely still while the young CVS employee attempted to take a workable photo with a crappy camera -- no smiling, ears must show, no glasses, and obviously not blurry -- was ridiculous. And then their machine took forever to process each photo, and we had to repeat each one. Kind of a nightmare. The kids were tearing around the store, playing catch with the large rubber balls from the display. A store manager gently chastised Amelie for playing ball and she got scared and ran to me and buried her head in my shoulder and he felt so bad about it he said never mind and gave the ball back. My little maniuplator.

And then she started asking me if the twenty year old CVS employee if he is Daddy. (snicker.) She asks me that about every man he meets. So he says to Amelie, "Hi, I'm Dennis. What's your name?"

"Dennis," she replies. And won't change her answer no matter what.

Then Calliope volunteered that her name is Annabella Isabella. It probably didn't help their behavior that I was cracking up at the conversation.

They were pretty riled up by this point so finally it occurred to me to get a shopping cart. Amelie got strapped in the child safety seat and Calliope sat in the back. Peace at last. Mission accomplished after a good long wait for the photos to be printed very very slowly and cropped and rung up.

Then yesterday Calliope and I had to leave school early to go to the birth certificate office in downtown Manhattan because naturally I had sent many of my important documents home with my brother for safe keeping. Including, of course, Calliope's birth certificate. I was anxious we wouldn't get there early enough -- I love beaocratic offices that close at 3:30 -- but we finished with time to spare.

Now I just need to run to the ATM to make sure we have sufficient cash to pay our visa fees. And scurry home afterwards to meet another moving company for another moving estimate. Whew. The fun never stops.

Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly tomorrow and I cross another major item off the to do list!