Pygmy Marmosets

Today, we had the joy of holiday photos. I needed a stiff drink after that photo shoot, let me tell you! Our holiday photos were supposed to be last Monday, but Georgia’s little face has been all broken out, so I decided to postpone them until today. Bad idea.

Yesterday, Eli developed a cold complete with runny nose and he felt “hot and cold at the same time.” Crap! Georgia’s face is still broken out, and I think it’s because of the dry weather. So this morning, I was faced with Eli’s very red, very crusty nose, and Georgia’s irritated little face. Aside from that, both children were up during the night and we were all tired. A perfect time for those Christmas card pictures!

Our appointment was at 1:30 this afternoon. I usually put Georgia down for a nap shortly after 1:00, but that was the only appointment I could get. You can see, it’s just getting better and better. I spent the morning primping the children. First, we did make-up. I did Eli first. Foundation, concealer, powder, and Gold Dust for some added sparkles. (I’m really not kidding.) Next up was Georgia. She needed more foundation than Eli did. Luckily, we all have fair skin, so my make-up was the right shade. Then, concealer. Then powder. Then Gold Dust. Beautiful.

Next up – hair. Eli’s was fairly easy, but then came Georgia. I only know how to do a girl’s hair one way – the way I do my hair. You can tell this when you look at the pictures because Georgia’s hairstyle is exactly the same as mine. First we wet it down, then curling mousse, then blow dry with diffuser, then styling spritz. We were doing okay so far.

Then Eric got home. One look at the kids and he said, “Jesus Christ, Neila! They’re wearing more make-up than you are!” Okay, I personally thought they looked good, but whatever. I don’t think you can tell in the photos that they’re wearing make-up.

When we all managed to get out of the house and to the photo studio, I had high hopes. Until it was our turn. We did the family photos first. Trying to get the four of us to look at the photographer at the same time and smile was more difficult than you could possibly imagine. Georgia was tired, impatient, and screaming. Eli was squinting his eyes shut because apparently he thinks that makes his smile bigger. Eric and I were busy looking at the children to make sure they had decent looks on their faces. It was not going well. We tried several family shots, shots of the children together, and shots of the children separately. The photographer took a total of 83 pictures. We were only able to choose five decent pictures.

After the photo shoot, the kids ran around the play area, while the parents sat at the big screen computers and tried to decide on photos. I was going as fast as I could because Eli was busy doing his own thing. He organized a group of about five little girls and they were running around the portrait studio with Eli screaming, “We have to save the pygmy marmosets from the dragon.” That got me some looks from the other mothers. What?! My kid’s creative. Deal with it!

We finally tore Eli away from the pygmy marmosets, got our photos, our holiday cards and off we went, content in the fact that I don’t have to do pictures again for another six months.