A Picture Outing

I took the kids to get their pictures taken at Target today. The pictures are cute, but I have a feeling that years from now I will look at them and smile, remembering what it was really like to get them taken.

A few months ago my parents bought the kids matching outfits and my mom mentioned that she thought it would be cute to have their picture taken together. I decided about a week ago that I needed to get that picture taken soon, before the summer was over and they grew out of the clothes. Ray is preaching tomorrow and was going to be working on his sermon this morning. So I decided that today would be a good day to take the kids somewhere to get their picture taken. It would get us out of the house and allow Ray some quiet time to work. I looked online to find a nearby portrait studio with the best prices. Target's site had a big coupon for a free 8x10 with the purchase of a $7.99 portrait package (1 8x10, 2 5x7's, 4 3x5's, and wallets). Perfect! I love a good bargain and I figured I couldn't beat a $7.99 portrait package. I couldn't do it that cheaply if I took the picture myself and printed enlargements. I don't have a printer so I couldn't print the coupon, but I decided I didn't need the free 8x10. So I called Target and they had openings for appointments today. I was hoping for an 11am appointment because it would interfere the least with the kids naps. Just my luck, they had an 11:20am appointment open. 11am would have been better, but 11:20am was close enough. When I asked for the 11:20am appointment the girl asked me if I would be able to make it on time. I wondered if she knew what it was like to get out the door with 2 small kids, but I was determined I would be actually be 5 minutes early.

So, Ava wakes up from her nap, I get the kids dressed and we're out the door. The only problem was that Ava wasn't interested in eating before we left, but I figured she would be OK at least until the pictures were done. Then, if I had to, I could feed her in the car. I had an ounce of expressed milk in the fridge that I decided to take along, just in case she wanted to eat a little in the middle of the photo shoot. It would be enough to hold her over, I thought. So, we get into the store so far so good. The outfits are still clean, and Jonas doesn't object when I strap him into the shopping cart so he can't run ahead of me. I get to the portrait studio area and wait a bit while they are helping other customers. Jonas starts getting antsy, and I realize that Ava is getting hungry. Not good. I take out the bottle I brought and offer it to her. It was the first time I had given her a bottle since I was trying to teach her how to take one before I went back to work. I was surprised at how quickly and easily she drank from it now. Much too quickly. She drained it fast and I didn't have any more. Finally the photographer tells me that they are running about 20 minutes behind. Not good at all. I contemplate canceling, but I got the kids dressed and out the door. We could stick it out. I decide to take the kids to the restroom to feed Ava. She hates eating under a blanket, so I usually end up feeding her while standing in a bathroom stall when we are out in public. When we get into Target's restroom, I find that the handicap stall is actually large enough to push the shopping cart into it and close the door. But my luck ends there because it's too loud and Ava is too distracted to eat. I'm sure much of the distraction came from Jonas who thought that sitting in a shopping cart in the bathroom was great fun. He kept excitedly shouting "go to the potty!" and screaming for the fun of hearing his voice echo. So, back to the portrait studio area we go. It seems the ounce I gave Ava is holding her over for now.

Finally we get to go in to get the pictures taken! See cute pictures above. I think the photographer felt bad because we didn't get a lot of great shots. Jonas was too excited to sit still for long, and by the end of it Ava was trying to eat the mini-couch she was sitting on. I thought we got some great ones, considering.

But now we have to order the pictures and Ava is starting to cry from hunger. I tell the girl that I want the $7.99 portrait package. Apparently the coupon (that I didn't print) for the free 8x10 with $7.99 package is the only way to get the $7.99 package. If I had read a little more closely I might have understood that I could only get the portrait package for $7.99 with the coupon. I think it was a little misleading though. Why didn't the coupon just say it was for a $7.99 portrait package, and list 2 8x10's as part of the package? And anyway, I have a 2 year old and an almost 7 month old who has just started to crawl. I don't have a lot of time to read things closely.

So the girl is going through her sales pitch trying to sell me pictures for over $100, Ava is crying, and Jonas (thankfully) is sitting quietly in the cart eating a peanut butter sandwich I had packed for him. Ava is so hungry she decides it's worth it to be covered up and gives up and eats under a blanket. I breath a sigh of relief and finally focus on looking at the pictures. I tell the girl I want to keep it pretty basic, and I end up ordering 1 8x10, 2 5x7's and a 4x10. The total comes to over $60. Yikes. So much for my bargain. But I walk out of the store feeling pretty good about things. Yes, it was more expensive, but I have thought of ways to cut back on some other spending to make up for it. Ava and Jonas have eaten and are in good moods. They will fall asleep on the ride home and Jonas will be tired enough to go back to sleep for his full nap when we get home. But my relief was a bit premature. After I put the cart away I tell Jonas that I will take his little bowl of crackers that he is carefully carrying with both hands so that I can hold his hand until we get to the car. I tell him he can have it back in the car. But seeing me put it in my bag sent him into a meltdown and he threw himself onto the pavement in a temper tantrum. Finally, we make it to the car and head home. It was so stressful, but I am already finding the humor in it. Just a day in the life of this mommy.