Oh, Goody!

I'm so excited to have in my hot little hands a CD of the pictures my new friend Oni took last Saturday! There are some really beautiful ones. I was, however, reminded of why having pictures taken is an all-day event for our family. Actually, an event that begins the night before.

Night before: Bathe younger kids, making sure noses and nails are presentable. Goad older kids to shower and do a thorough job. Iron clothes and lay out socks, shoes, accessories.

Morning of: Feed children hearty stick-to-their-ribs breakfast to carry them through all that smiling. Dress others, dress myself, fix hair of several little girls. Warn said girls to avoid rough-housing that might muss their hair. Nurse baby, praying that he will hold up well and act cute for his first photo shoot.

During: Remind everyone to smile, smile, look at the camera. Stop fighting. Stay out of the mud. Please, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I'm sorry your shoes hurt. Smile anyway and don't ruin the pictures for us all! This approach probably didn't qualify me for the Mommy of the Year award.

After: Hustle hungry and smiled-out children home for lunch and down for naps. Collapse on the floor. Not really...but it was a bit tiring! However, SO worth it! Who knew all these beautiful shots would come out of what felt chaotic at times? Thanks for a beautiful job, Oni! I hope to share some of the shots when my computer-savvy husband can reduce some of them for posting.