Last week in Bonvicino

This is our last week in Bonvicino, at villa, before we return to Sausalito. Was meant to be a quiet week at home - one of the few without guests, where we could attend to projects, take care of the house and the kids could have the property to themselves. Needless to say it has been chaos from the start. Beginning with hubbie's local photo shoot on a day when the kids were nuts and inconsolably irritable. Then on to the "questura," immigration office, to reapply for our residency visas since the three hours we spent last time (shlepping the kids) resulted in NOTHING - the computer went down and apparently our records were lost. So, back to the office with two absolutely miserable, irritable and tantrummy children. Petite is inexplicably afraid of the police so any mention that we are in a police office (not unsimilar to the doctor's office) sends her into hysteria. Trying to negotiate visa reapplication, in Italian which I have not yet mastered, with one hysterical child crying in my lap, terrified mommy is going "to jail," while the other is climbing up onto my shoulders like a monkey,is not easy. One would think that after seven years, my Italian would be much improved. But when I realize that 99.9% of my conversations take place with one or two children screaming "mamamamama I need...!!" and climbing on me, it is easy to see that understanding the dynamics of our plumbing system or attempting to negotiate auto insurance is impossible. I can barely even order a chicken at the butcher.