Family Picture Marathon

Yesterday we had an appointment at Target to have our family pictures made.

I have been dreading it. Getting this many personalities to cooperate during a photo session, is really really hard.

If you feed them before you go then they are energized.

Wait to feed them after the session and all you hear is ‘I am STARVING’.

Ensuring that no one falls asleep on the car ride there is a chore.

But, we had to get this done. We HAD to!

We have not had a family photo that included both parents since I was pregnant with the twins.

I have taken kids to have pictures made and have jumped in a picture or two, but nothing with all the children and Lenny and me. And, generally this kind of stuff has to be scheduled for a school night, because on the weekends one of the big boys is often gone visiting another parent. The joys of a blended family.

And, poor baby Matthew, has had no professional pictures made since he was born. In part because of the eczema and in part because it is just so hard to schedule it. I feel bad.

So, we get to Target, Crystal and Co. style, which means a little late. If you are more than 10 minutes late they move on to another appointment. I could not imagine having girls, we would never get out the door. With all of these boys, who are pretty low maintenance and Lenny’s work schedule we are generally late everywhere we go.

And yes, I tell them the appointment is at 5:00, when really it is 5:20, but still we are late.

So, we had to wait a bit for an opening or for someone to not show up for an appointment since the photographer (and there is only one session at a time) had to move on when we were late. She asked us to shop for 40 minutes and then come back. Finally we got in, but she only had 20 minutes. She felt like this was plenty of time. I knew it was going to be a mess- I knew it!

By the time we finished, if she was not a smoker before she started on our photo session, she is now. It was not her fault… it was just everything.

The kids were over it before we even started the first picture.

I am not sure she had photographed so many little ones at one time.

Not everyone smiles at the same time.

Three of them are under four years old.

The oldest two children spend their time making tons of suggestions for ‘photo set up’ instead of just listening and smiling.

AND, did I mention she only had 20 minutes.

We did not even get to view our pictures, we have to schedule another time to do this, she was that booked.

After our session we left, feeling bummed. On the car ride home Lenny and I were just so disappointed.

I had spent well over 2 hours getting all of these people ready, had put make up and heels on and we are not one step closer to a Christmas photo card than we were when the day started.

Talk about defeated.

We were on our way home to pout and I thought, let’s call Picture People which is where I have gotten all of the kids pictures made since the twins were born. They told us to come on over.

Here is a recap of what we got…. (Any white little bally things you see on Nick and Luke’s clothes, that would be a Styrofoam ball they destroyed about 15 minutes into the session. Three and a half is such a fun age- NOT! Said with a smile of course. Ugh!) The photographer was so patient. She has seven children herself.

Mi Familia

Lenny’s boys have his back.

A family picture is not a family picture unless you have a little one picking his nose! These are the memories I love to capture. They make me smile. It is the truest peek into my life.