passport stress!

the past two weeks have been quite hectic - arranging a funeral for the first time, having unexpected houseguests, disposing of a whole apartment's worth of stuff, and waiting in vain for amori's passport.

after a month of waiting to hear from the passport office, amori doesn't have a passport yet. our application was returned this week - because the photo we submitted was unacceptable. so i had to take her to a photo studio again, make her wear a boy's t-shirt (because white and pink or any pastel color are a no-no), and have the family accountant sign it again (the passport has to be signed by a guarantor - who sort of certifies that it's her in the photo). so we submitted it again, this time in person. after 2 hours in line, the officer says it's still unacceptable. because amori's hair is too high, the white space in the photo is not enough. ACK! aldo wanted to strangle the officer and demanded that she show him where in the requirements it says that a specific measurement of white space is needed. since there was none, the officer continued to process the application - without any promise that it will not be returned again.

two more weeks before our departure and we're still not sure if amori's passport will be out in time. i'm still keeping my fingers crossed because i don't want to gel my daughter's hair to make it flat enough for a photo.

on the bright side though, i won a framed family portrait at Sears! at least i got something out of having a 2nd set of passport photos done! i have never won any raffle so this was definitely a first!