One of my fave things to do is set up a photo sesh in my living room. Prep time is critical, you've got to gather all of your props and know what the costume changes will be. Get the toddler ready, set up the shoot, then feed and change the baby. Go time!
My first set up was with my crimson chenille blanket draped over the couch as the backdrop and the kids sitting in front. Baby girl is 6 1/2 months old in these pics and can't quite sit well unsupported for long times. So, onto the bellies we went! The top shot was the one we used for Valentine's cards that we printed at CVS and sent off to friends and family. Hint: position yourself in front of the tv, so the toddler can smile and giggle at his funny Dreamworks movie du jour and you get the benefits of it on 
The baby rolled over so I jumped on the couch and captured these shots of them lying on the floor. There was a shot or ten with the letters spelling "EVOL". Not quite the Valentine message of love I was hoping for! Re-do!
The face in the picture reads, "I love my life and my sweet little sister". In real life the face was a mish mash of rolled eyes and kicking feet and "When do I get my lollipop?"
One day I will invest in Photoshop and get rid of the creepy arm in her presh pic! Ruffle bottom bloomers found for $16 at Little Lam Boutique in Richardson, Texas.
I'd like to end the blog here and leave you thinking that I'm super mom. But I am compelled to be honest and real with you. I felt like a MAJOR Valentine's failure. Excuses first: We were sick the weekend before and we were also trying to prep for baby girl's baptism the weekend after Valentine's Day.
Okay, here's the scoop. The day before I took the kids to Market Street to pick up teacher gifts. I had been looking around for things a month before, but since each kid has 4 teachers at daycare I had to stretch the budget, but still wanted to honor each teacher with a little something special. (And not another damn mug or box of chocolates!) So we chose little cups of mini chocolate chip cookies and decorated them with foam heart stickers.
We then went next door to the Christian bookstore to find something special for Daddy. I ended up with books for the kids (which is a Valentine tradition we started on Cade's first Valentine's) and a book for Daddy. At this point it was cold and rainy so we drove through Chic Fil A for the ride home. (Busted my New Year's Resolution of cooking at home Monday through Thursday nights!)
I wanted to get the kids in bed early, and we succeeded with Devyn but then I realized that Cade hadn't filled out his Valentine's and I wanted him to sign his name. Yes, he's 2 1/2. But out came the green marker. It was cute to me and I got some cute pics of it, but no other kid did that in class, so it was kind of pointless. We put the lollipops in his Dora and Diego Valentine's and then called it a night. Finally. At 8:30pm. Eek!
In all my hard work I totally forgot to fill out Valentine's for Devyn's daycare friends. I know they're all under 1 year old, but I felt like Loser Mommy when I picked her up and saw her Valentine bag her teachers had made each child and peeked inside to see 8 little Valentine's to her. Mommy Fail! Sorry little infant friends! Please don't remember this or hold it against me! At least her teachers got their sweet little Valentine cookies.
So then, as if I wasn't Valentine Failure enough, I encouraged Nick to pick up Chili's for dinner. I called it in on his way home and he was going to stop off and get it. Until he got there and called me saying they didn't have our order. Because I'm stupid. And called it in to the wrong one. And it would take 45 minutes to put in a new order and wait. So he drove across town. So I could not cook a healthy yummy steak dinner like I had planned, but so I could eat potato skins and ceasar salad. To be fair, work was a total beating that day. Oh, and Chili's failed us too. I had wanted to suprise Nick with a cheesecake for dessert, but he didn't know I had ordered it. He just quickly signed the receipt and didn't check and there was no dessert but we paid for it. Boo! Valentines Fail. Again.
Oh, and Devyn was so tired she went to bed early, so Daddy didn't get to see her and we didn't get to give her the Valentine's present until the next morning. (Cade remembered to give it to her!).
So my dreams of a perfectly Pinteresty Valentine's failed. :( Mommy Guilt #328329.
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