Family pictures. They cover my Facebook newsfeed this time of year. And I love them. Don’t you?
A family friend who used to change my diapers and now changes the boys’ is getting her start in the world of photography. And she captures some beautiful sunsets. So we scheduled some time with her to get some current snaps of our fam of five. Especially since we’ve been lazy about booking a pro for pics since H came into the fold. So pictures were in the books for last Saturday afternoon.
So, of course, I awoke Saturday morning to this.
Friday night, we {the whole clan} met up with grandma and grandpa B for dinner. Following our relaxing and leisurely meal {HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 3 kids does not a leisurely meal out make. Good times. But not relaxing times.}, we parted ways. With the two olders, the hubs, and the gparents, headed to a basketball game. And the babe and mama, headed home.
After getting home, the babe and I played for a bit, and then we did the whole bedtime schpiel. And then. Then I had the house, basically to myself {save the babe in the crib}. ALONE TIME!!! AGH!!! IN MY OWN HOUSE!!! DOUBLE AGH!!! I was tempted to pull a Tom Cruise and run around playing Jonah’s Woof Woof guitar throughout the house while donning one of Adam’s dress shirts, but instead, I settled in for a night of Gilmore Girl watching and face masking. I know. I really know how to get wild and crazy. But there’s this facial peel that I do. I love it. The Ole Henriksen Power Peel. It sloughs all of my dry skin. And makes my skin radiant. For as many as three hours. Maybe even over night. And so, I thought, what a great way to prepare for family photos tomorrow! I’ll look fresh and dewy! And who doesn’t want to look fresh and dewy? Dewy is all the rage!
So I did it. I watched Gilmore Girls. Wrote. And peeled my face off. And it felt totally normal. That is, until I woke up the next morn. Feeling a bit itchy. And then… more itchy. And then, feasted my eyes on a hot firey rash that had staked its claim on my face and neck. And also, had oddly puffified my eyelids {yes. I believe that puffified is the technical term}. Which made it appear as though I’d downed a 1.75 of Jose the night before. Or had been up all night with a sad babe. Or both. My face was splotchy. Bright red. And made it appear as though I’d spent the weekend snow skiing. This was not dewy! I almost peeled my face off. Awesome.
{Of note, 6 years ago, I believe that this occurence would have completely unraveled me. I would have likely believed this to be the end of the world. I probably would have cursed the universe for ruining picture day. So thanks, Motherhood, for toughening me up. And knowing that mama ain’t got no time for drama. We just had to roll with it. And I was hopeful that rashes would magically be in by the time the pictures would adorn our walls.}
The hubs bought me some Benadryl. But with a packed day, there was no time for drowsy mama. {My pharmacist friend suggested I have time for a nap if I was gonna go poppin’ the pills}. So I applied a little hydrocortisone, aquaphor, and said a prayer {of note: do not put hydrocortisone on your face and eyes if you can help it. I’m not saying it didn’t help. I am just letting you know that it is not recommended so that way if you choose to do it EVER and it goes awry, you can’t sue me like the McDonalds coffee situation. Alternatively, Aquaphor is magic. Baby butts. Puffy peel face. Dry elbows. It’s the best in the biz.}. And miraculously, by the time pictures occured, a turtleneck, makeup, and an authentic smile worked to mask any residual effects… I think.
I decided later that, perhaps, the antibiotic I was on for my ear infection {yes. You read that correctly. I had an ear infection last week. Because I’m apaprently 6 years old again} and the peel did not get along. But it didn’t really end up mattering because the boys looked priceless {in my humble mama opinion}.
And we were able to get a picture of all of us together. That I adore.
Photo Cred: PamAndie Photography |
But let’s be real… like any mama, I didn’t really care what I ended up looking like because I really just wanted pictures so I could have this as my cover photo on my phone. And so I could make my boys say, in 10 years, “why did you make us wear those stupid ties?”.
Photo Cred: PamAndie Photography |
So rash or no rash, mission accomplished. Memories captured. Documentation of their existence for their future spouses acquired. And that peel… well… I returned it {One of the reasons I love Sephora;)}. Perhaps that decision was rash. But better safe than sorry… again.
Happy Friday!!!