Passport
I found out yesterday that the kids need passports to go to Turks & Caicos.* I had already started the process of renewing my passport. So this meant that after coming home from choir rehersal (stopping to pick up the passport applications on the way home) I took the kids to CVS for thier passport photos. Shayna was easy but Skyler did not want his photo taken, at least not in front of the white door or white screen (he was 100% fine if you snapped a pic of him just standing in the store). So I got a passport photo of him crying...here is the photo:
Since we spent well over 40 minutes in CVS (had to wait for the machine as well as attempt about 20 times to get him to not cry for the photos) it was too late to go to the library to apply for the passports since they stop at 8pm (I had filled out the applications, gotten the birth certificates so we were all ready). So we planned on going Wednesday right after school to apply. Manny said we would try again Wednesday (today) to get his photo taken. But this time try the photo booth at the mall, where Manny had his passport photos taken back in 1997. So off to the mall we went on Wednesday afternoon. It worked fine, with Manny holding Skyler and contorting himself to not be in the photo. Skyler was distracted/amused by the big buttons in the booth and by seeing his live image on the screen. No camera in sight. We got what we thought would be - hopefully- passable "passport" photos and NOT crying. Note: the background in the booth was white but came out blue in the picture. the photos here are in the chronological order in which they were taken. The last one at the bottom is quite funny and I have NO idea what he was doing!
OK, so now we go pick up Shayna at school (after completing the important errand of obtaining the school superintendent's signature on the child labor form for Shayna's oct. 12th TV shoot). off to the library we all go. When applying for a child's passport, both parents and the child must be present (thus why we all went).
It turns out that the mall photo booth pics are not acceptable (wrong size, blue background, etc.) so we wound up having to use the CVS crying shot. We only have 6 weeks until we leave and as it is we are expediting all the passports (it is 6-8 weeks normally but 2 weeks when expedited). So we just submitted the crying pics. The girl helping us was not 100% sure they would accept it because he is crying. I said most likely when we pass through customs he will be crying anyway.
So now Skyler can honestly say he has the worst passport photo.
*Starting in 2008 everyone will need passports to enter in/out even to canada and Mexico. However, it seems to be implemented now in some way because from what I have been told people (coming from canada) and also children without passports coming into the caribbean are havinga hard time and being detained for a long time. i.e. if you have a passport you easily go through while it will take a long time without.
**Also, by the end of this year all new passports will have micro chips. so when you go through customs, they scan your passport reading the chip and all your info. comes right up. will make going through much faster. of course eventually we will have these embedded in our fingertips and then at some point all newborns will have chips embedded in the hospital.
***If your name has changed due to marriage you must submit your original marriage certificate with your passport renewal application.
****passport renewals are ONLY done through the mail.
Since we spent well over 40 minutes in CVS (had to wait for the machine as well as attempt about 20 times to get him to not cry for the photos) it was too late to go to the library to apply for the passports since they stop at 8pm (I had filled out the applications, gotten the birth certificates so we were all ready). So we planned on going Wednesday right after school to apply. Manny said we would try again Wednesday (today) to get his photo taken. But this time try the photo booth at the mall, where Manny had his passport photos taken back in 1997. So off to the mall we went on Wednesday afternoon. It worked fine, with Manny holding Skyler and contorting himself to not be in the photo. Skyler was distracted/amused by the big buttons in the booth and by seeing his live image on the screen. No camera in sight. We got what we thought would be - hopefully- passable "passport" photos and NOT crying. Note: the background in the booth was white but came out blue in the picture. the photos here are in the chronological order in which they were taken. The last one at the bottom is quite funny and I have NO idea what he was doing!
OK, so now we go pick up Shayna at school (after completing the important errand of obtaining the school superintendent's signature on the child labor form for Shayna's oct. 12th TV shoot). off to the library we all go. When applying for a child's passport, both parents and the child must be present (thus why we all went).
It turns out that the mall photo booth pics are not acceptable (wrong size, blue background, etc.) so we wound up having to use the CVS crying shot. We only have 6 weeks until we leave and as it is we are expediting all the passports (it is 6-8 weeks normally but 2 weeks when expedited). So we just submitted the crying pics. The girl helping us was not 100% sure they would accept it because he is crying. I said most likely when we pass through customs he will be crying anyway.
So now Skyler can honestly say he has the worst passport photo.
*Starting in 2008 everyone will need passports to enter in/out even to canada and Mexico. However, it seems to be implemented now in some way because from what I have been told people (coming from canada) and also children without passports coming into the caribbean are havinga hard time and being detained for a long time. i.e. if you have a passport you easily go through while it will take a long time without.
**Also, by the end of this year all new passports will have micro chips. so when you go through customs, they scan your passport reading the chip and all your info. comes right up. will make going through much faster. of course eventually we will have these embedded in our fingertips and then at some point all newborns will have chips embedded in the hospital.
***If your name has changed due to marriage you must submit your original marriage certificate with your passport renewal application.
****passport renewals are ONLY done through the mail.
posted by shoshanamom @ 11:45 PM
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