A Photo Shoot, a Princess, and a Whopper.

Now doesn't that sound like a full day? The super cool idea came where most super cool ideas come. . . at Target. I had this gift card burning a hole in my wallet, and rather than spend it all on luna bars (tempting) I decided to get a frame and then fill it with an adorable picture of me and the kids for Daddy D. After circling the frames aisle at least fifteen times looking for something masculine, cool, hip, and unique, I finally found something perfectish. Then came the photo shoot.
Picture People is a wonderful place. A wonderful, crowded place that really should invest in a dvd player or some kind of brain-numbing device for everyone under the age of 17. Especially those that have been jammed into an outfit they hate to smile at a camera being held by someone they don't know. Doesn't it seem obvious that movies should be involved in this process? Honestly. Well, I at least was wise enough not to attempt a solo photo shoot with the kids in any serious kind of fashion. I let them wear what they wanted (except for Emma, I still control her) and brought a bag of books and toys for them to use as props, distractions, or tools of destruction. The photographer really enjoyed what came next, which was me getting crawled on by all three children at varying levels of intensity while at times looking at the camera and yelling "CHEESE!!" Honestly, it was exactly what I wanted. I wanted a picture for Daddy D that would capture the laughter and energy that make our family so fantastic. Of course, another reason it was successful was that, being an evil mother, I put a cookie out there for all cheerful photo participants. Worked like a charm. . .until we found out that the Mrs. Field's cookie shop had been shut down. What kind of soul-less mall czar would close a Mrs. Field's? So, we walked a few laps in search of appropriate sugar laden bribery and as I walked around with Princess Belle a.k.a Lucy, I got to bask in all the smiles she brought. I really think she brightened people's days flitting about in that gown, and I decided she needed to wear it more often just to spread some joy. As one person said, "you only have so many years in your life where you can pull that off, I think she should milk it." I agree.
Well, we found some cookies, and then had another waiting period where I became an even more evil mother and then promised Burger King to whoever could sit on the bench until I said go. And that is why the day ended with a whopper and a very deep breath. Unfortunately I couldn't tell Daddy D anything about why the day was chaotic and I made the kids hide their kid's meal toys so as not to risk discovery of either the bribery or its purpose. But on Father's Day morning when he opened the fan family photo, it was the perfect reaction, and it made it all worth it. It was even better than a cookie. . . almost.