Motherhood (aka: Herding Cats)

I've heard the metaphor "herding cats." I always thought it was funny. Then, I tried it. Not actual cats, but a being just as moody, sneaky and volatile - 3 small children. My neice and nephew came to visit the weekend of Halloween. We haven't had pictures taken of them since the babies were less than 2 months old, so I called my friend, Lauren, and asked her to come snap some pictures.

We started with the girls. We thought that would be easy. They love each other, Zoe has a fun hat, they have a matching outfit... what more do two little girls need to be happy? Apparetly a lot. Brynna was just up from a nap, so she was more cooperative than Zoe, but you can see what is to come. That look scares the heck out of me. You smile because it's cute but you kind of cringe because there's a little evil in those adorable eyes. Let's all take a moment of silence and pray together for my life when she's a teenager.

While we waited for the girls to change clothes and pull themselves together, Lauren took pictures of AJ. He's so easy. He's all boy - laid back, could care less, will smile if you ask but is really more interested in his toes than whatever drama the girls are causing. God love him for that. This portion of the day was more like herding cattle. Cows move when you direct them. Cows listen when you speak. Cats run, screeching in circles, doing what they want rather than what you ask. Case in point - back to the girls.

So the main objective of the day was to get a picture with all three kids. Christmas is coming soon and there's no faster way to take care of grandparent gifts than cute pictures of grandkids. They don't care that you spent 47 cents at Walgreens on their gift. They have bragging rights for a year with all their friends and life is good! Apparently we did not clearly define our goal for the models, however, because they misunderstood the purpose of the afternoon's activities. For the most part, they kept the meltdowns to one at a time. They didn't all freak out at once. But they ensured that the best picture of all three of them required that they have toys to chew on.

That's not to say there aren't great pictures. They are fabulous. And they will make a great collage photo frame. But that one picture in the middle that was supposed to have all of them together will just be reserved for the score.
Babies (cats): 1, Mommies (herders): 0.