Redondo Beach Child Photographer | Seeing Red {or “how I won’t get the Best Mom Ever award for 2013”}

Don’t you love those days when everything works out perfectly, when the stars perfectly align in the sky and all is well in the world. 

That wasn’t yesterday - or the day before for that matter.  It was one of those “pouring orange juice on the cereal” kind of days. I tried to pull out of it but I was a hot mess and the stars were just, plain out of alignment – or so it felt). 
…and then I realized we don’t have the Valentine cards for school – I needed 30 Valentine cards – STAT!

 

Last year I started early and was even able to accommodate for a change.  Unfortunately, Harrison got sick and missed Valentines day at school. 
This year – I completely dropped the ball… and I was Seeing Red (you know. When you’re grumpy, agitated, cranky, in a bad mood for no good reason).  A deadly combination. When he got home from school, I reminded Harrison that we still needed to take pictures to make cards. I was greeted with the all-too-common-lately Moans and Groans – the seven-year-old version of weeping and gnashing of teeth – and I Am Seeing Red {not conducive for “Best Mom Ever” awards}.  I walk away.

The G.I.D. stepped up and took Harrison to the store to get basic, boring cookie-cutter V-cards. 
Slam-Dunk Done – Fine. 20 minutes later he calls, “We’ve struck out at three different places, all that’s left is Bob The Builder.” 

Back to square one.  More battles, more Red, more Gnashing of Teeth – all around. 
Fast forward to 4:40 pm, the day before they are due.  We get to the park, camera and prop in hand, it’s cold, the sun is quickly moving lower in the sky. We walk over to the entrance – and it’s closed. 
Seriously? Closed?
Okay. No problem.

We’ll roll with the punches, the parking lot will do. We are on mission! After all, there will be NO pre-fab Valentine cards, not after last year’s offering.  It just didn’t feel right in my bones. However, we’re in a hurry, it’s getting colder, he’s making more goofy faces then nice smiles and my vision is just not panning out.  Deep breath. Move on.

I get home, upload and view my images, smash my forehead into my palm, … Now it’s 5:30pm. The hubby gets pizza, I eat, go choose favorites, edit a photo and create a Valentine. 6:00pm – the computer freezes up and I have to restart.  6:30 – hubby takes Harrison to his Awana’s group, I upload to Costco to print and pick up in an hour before picking up H. 8pm – before I hit “send” I see that Costco’s local photo center is down.  7pm, more research, everything is closing (and time is closing in on me). 7:10 - I upload to the local Walmart photo center out of shear desperation.  7:40 I get the message that the pictures were ready at 7:25.  I pick up H at 8pm, we run over to Walmart, no one is in the photo department.  I find someone, they can’t find my order… or the order of the person now standing next to me, or the person who approached after that. Great, I am officially in Valentine making hell. 40 minutes and three people later, a manager picks up a pile of prints off the machine and asks another guy, “what are these?”  “Those are Mine!” I say, seeing red and green.  “Oh, I didn’t think they were it because they didn’t have anything attached”  YA COULD HAVE ASKED ME! 8:50 – we are heading home. PHEW!

9:30 – Harrison has signed all Valentines and is in bed by 9:35pm.
He looks at me and says, “That was fun!” 

We filled bags with chocolates (no guilt this year!), folded the 4x6’s in half and stapled them closed. 
Done – just in the knick of time!

Okay, I may not get the Best Mom Ever award but at least stars are back in alignment – just in time for Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day!