Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Little Things

At my house this isn't always the case!
It's the little things, really, that make motherhood so rewarding:


The extra long hugs, especially when you know your kids don't usually love them.

The charming I'm-so-proud-of-myself smiles of accomplishment.

The crayons found hidden in your underwear drawer by only God knows who, that make you laugh out loud at 6:00 a.m. when you find them.

The almost compliments received, like "you'd be pretty today, Mommy, if you weren't wearing make-up.  Or that shirt."

The hilarity of going out without the children, thinking you look great for a change, only to discover one of your charming offspring used your shoulder as a tissue when she hugged you good-bye, and so now you look like maybe YOU are the one that uncouthly blew your nose on your shirt.  

The countless pieces of artwork that threaten to swallow your fridge whole.

The shampoo bottles in the shower that have all been filled to the top with water.

The moments when you almost catch your kids using good manners, like when they fart so long you think they might need to be hosed off after, and then they say "EXCUSE ME FOR FARTING!!  THAT WAS ME!"  *eye roll*

The notes scribbled on bedroom walls in pen.

The smiley faces on well-done school assignments.

The laughter you hear when your children are playing and you know they are NOT in the middle of destroying something.


These things all make me laugh (eventually), and the list could go on and on.  But regardless of what memories your kids create for you to hold in your heart forever, nothing is quite so smile-inducing as a good old-fashioned school photo.  A school photo is one of those little things that you will reflect upon and smile about forever.  I mean, seriously, how could you not get a kick out of a school picture?!  They are usually less than perfect pictures, which makes them completely perfect memories!  (Not to mention great blackmail when the whole dating garbage begins.)

So, with out further ado, let me reveal the third grade results for Princess and Birdie's fall school photos!

Birdie's picture was the best I've seen in a long while on the Crazy Train.  Although she's not exactly smiling, she's not rolling her eyes like she was in her first grade picture, and she's not wearing jewelry made from animal parts or silk foliage in her hair like in the second grade picture.  I'll take it.


Birdie, doing her best impression of what Mona Lisa
would look like without a smile.


Princess's picture is also not bad, per se... but I could have hoped for a better expression.  I am going to give the photographer the benefit of the doubt and say that s/he couldn't have possibly looked at this picture before dismissing Princess.  I mean, they had digital cameras, for Pete's sake!  They could have done a do-over on the spot if they'd just taken a look.  Doesn't the look on her face convey confusion?  Or at the very least a this-shouldn't-be-a school-picture vibe?!  Seeing the look on her face makes me wonder what she was looking at... should I be reporting an inappropriate something going on during picture day?  Whatever caused this expression is something I, too, would like to see-- purely for the sake of science, mind you.  What a gloriously giggle-inducing picture-- it's pretty and pretty silly all at the same time!  And the best part is that Princess loves it and refuses to have a retake!  You're welcome, Class of 2012-13-- this one's going in the yearbook!  Oh yeah!


Can't you just see the  "WTF" thought bubble
floating over her head?!


Like I said, it's the little things, people, that put a smile in a mother's heart.  Right now, my heart's smiling AND singing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da" all at the same time.  I'm gonna love whipping this bad boy out for future boyfriends!  (You know-- because she likes this picture so much and all.)

Just for fun, I would LOVE it if you tried to caption these pictures-- my co-workers and I have already had a stab at it, and of course we were cracking ourselves up!  Go ahead.  Make me laugh-- I dare you!

16 comments:

  1. Princess: "Say cheese? Why the hell would I say cheese? I don't even like cheese. Do you even HAVE any cheese? This is ridiculous!"

    Birdie: "Yeah, my sister warned me about you. I'm not falling for your little 'say cheese' crap."

    Teri

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    1. HAHAHAHA! That is awesome! I can totally hear my children having the "cheese conversation", for real. Thanks for the giggle. :)

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  2. Hmmm...gonna have to think about that some more...

    I'm just bummed we couldn't even *get* a class photo this year! Samantha *refused* to sit for it. :-( Hoping the retake goes better. That's how we sort-of got one last year. Oy, her photos are more like mug-shots. Love the ones of your girls!

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    1. Thanks, lady! These are still some of the better pictures I've seen of my angels.

      Hope you get your photo, Becca. There were plenty of kids on picture day that were... resistant, shall we say, to the picture-taking process, and many others that should have had their picture retaken on the spot. :/

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  3. If you'll recall Ri's kindergarten pic...there was no digital back when my boys started school. :) As for retakes I don't even bother although I do have to wonder (as you said) why they would even have to do that now-a-days. Pretty sure they don't even look. *smh*

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    1. PS I think the pics are absolutely perfect and there is waaaay too much pressure put on school pics anyways. Unless of course you are one of "those" moms who has one of those school photo frames with every grade in it. Uhhhh...yes that would be me. Haaahaaahaa!

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    2. I thought about having a picture frame gallery of each year's school pic, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I don't think I'd ever be able to get anything done for staring at the school pics and giggling all day. Is that wrong of me to say?! hehehe

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    3. You should do it! I have a complete one for all three of my kids, and it's absolutely priceless. My oldest even took a picture of his to share on Facebook. He calls it the "Evolution of Dan."

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  4. ...or the pride you feel when you see your baby earn a college degree and support himself. :)

    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

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    1. Caption: I can't believe that dude still thinks we'll smile when he waves that stupid stuffed bunny.

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    2. Another very good one! I'm starting to think that just about any incredulous statement would be hilarious as the caption of this photo!

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  5. Awe, adorable! You’re right it is the little things! I love it when moms post such things but it is so heart warming to see you find the joy in even the sarcasm of your little ones!

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  6. hhhahaha!!! The comments above are so hilarious!! I just love the beginning of your post too!

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  7. Newest follower here! I found you through the Friday blog hop! Cute blog, I can’t wait to read more!
    -meandmr.com

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  8. Such a cute post. Here are my captions:

    Birdie: "I am SOOO over this (but I'll go along with it for my mother's sake. She loves this crap."

    Princess: "Really.....? No, really?"

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  9. Hi! Linking up with the TGIF blog hop :)
    So cute! Love the facial expressions :)
    bloggitymoo.blogspot.com

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