Gotta have a passport and the dreaded closets.

A and I both have had passports since our N. Africa days, and I got a new one after we got married.  We're good on passports, but our littles... not so much.  It was on my "to do" list this week, along with closets.  You can guess which one I wanted to do more.  Here's the deal:  cleaning out closets means I actually have to figure out what to do with all the stuff we won't use/won't ship/don't need.  The snow and freezing weather doesn't exactly facilitate a garage sale and to be honest, I don't want to post it all on craigslist and then manage all the e-mails.  I just don't want to. 

Back to passports.  I went here to figure it out.  It was an extremely easy website to use and walked me right through the paper work.  I filled out the applications on-line, printed them out, gathered birth certificates, passports (for A and I to prove we are US citizens), social security cards (not sure if we need them, but I don't want a hold up), and went to get P and M's pictures taken.  I expected a little booth, a few pictures, choose the best one, print them out, $5-$10 later, we'd be out the door. 
We went to CVS, the cashier grabbed a little digital camera, pulled down a screen and waited.. 
Me:  It isn't for me..
Her:  Oh.
Me:  It's for the kids.
(we both look up at the screen, which is taller than both kids)
Her:  Um..  Can they stand on a stool?


Wow.. That's safe.  Against my better judgement, I stood my children (one at a time) onto the top of a stool, coached them on standing VERY still, and stepped back just far enough to be out of the picture (I was quite sure I could catch them if they tumbled).  Click with the tiny camera and we were done.  5 minutes later, they were printed and we were checking out.  $25!!!  Are you kidding me?

$25 (picture fee) + $210 (passport fee) = .. seriously, just pay it.  Do not calculate, think about it, or wonder why it costs so much.  You must have passports. 

Tomorrow, we go to the passport office.  I've been coaching P on NOT going in character.  She's one of the princess most of the time and often renames M.  During these sessions, I must call them by their character names, or they don't answer me.  I'm bringing chocolate, that should help. 

A is taking the kids to a movie at the library tonight so I have time to do more organizing.  The more I organize, the more my house looks like a pit!  Oh well, the season of transition is upon us.