Picture Failure

So I tried to make Christmas Cards this year.  Or last year, rather.  We had family pictures taken.

Fail.

I didn't even buy any yet.  None I want to share of the family.  We did get a few cute ones of this kids, but out of 300+ pictures taken, maybe seven I would buy and share.  None were really spend-more-money- on-custom-Christmas-card worthy.  In fact, the best one was a photo I captured on my iphone afterwards.  But of course it is a bit blurry and too low quality to have printed.  Of course.

So I did what any normal mom would do.  I tried to bribe my hubby to help me take some of "just the kids".  I dressed them up, brought props and bribes, and took them to a photogenic place.  Maybe some unsuspecting nice person would walk by and I could get them to take our family picture.

Oh sweet failure.  We know each other so well.  Of course we would meet again so soon.

Why does Pinterest and card companies make family pictures look so effortlessly blissful?  Better yet, why do I feel so compelled to recreate my own picture of family happiness? Anyway, while I wallow in self pity for not being able to capture the sweetness of my kiddos, here are a few of the photos for you to snicker over.

Thanks to World Market for the oversized candy canes.

This might be the best one.

He's so handsome!  But no sister....

A tad bit more realistic...

So we had to move on from just candy canes to the lolly pops.... maybe the props were becoming too much of a distraction?

Totally enamored with the candy.  But at least they aren't running around.  Two kids in the same frame is the goal, right?

So we decided to lay on the sidewalk for a while...

And here is my princess.  Its hard to choose between candy and flowers.

No words.

And this is what happens when I try to get a picture with my babies.  Actually, I have about 9 pictures like this.

I'm exhausted and my kids had a sugar high.  My hubby was not amused by my idea of a photo session and we went through a whole package of baby wipes to clean up the sticky.  Isn't life wonderful?  Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, or Happy Valentine's Day, which ever holiday is closest by the time I end up posting this!  Hope you have just as much fun documenting your family as I have with mine!

Almost Three

This week for Embrace the Camera I tried to get a picture with my Handsome boy.  He will be three this Saturday and really isn't in to sitting still for 2 seconds.  This is the best picture I got.  Yes, he is blurry and trying to escape, but at least he didn't have a screaming expression.

This little guy is full of energy and a joy to be around.  It's hard to believe my baby is almost three!


Learn more about Embrace the Camera at Emily Anderson's blog here.

Embrace the Camera

I've become one of those moms, you know, the one that's obsessed with getting a "good" picture of her family.  And I fail.  Miserably.  I also have very few pictures of me (or my hubby) with the kids.  I don't want to look back in 10 years or more and wonder if my kids had parents or if they were left to their own defenses.  So I've decided to make a more conscious effort to include myself and hubby in pictures of our kiddos.  Sure my hair might be a greasy mess, or my face lack make up.  I'm probably going to be in pajama pants and tee shirts, but that doesn't mean I don't care.  In 10 years I'll probably think my skin looks great and un-wrinkled and I'll laugh at my dated hairstyle, but my kids will see the mom who loves them and was present in their daily activities.  So here is my first picture:

her hat just kills me, so adorable

I learned about this idea from Emily Anderson at the The Anderson Crew.  Emily hosts Embrace the Camera every Thursday and this is my first time joining in.