It's a Mean Mommy kind of a day....

Wow, where to begin....

I love pictures. I have never missed an opportunity to capture my kids' milestone birthdays with a professional photograph. We live far away from family and my closest friends so getting pictures taken is a great opportunity to write a letter, reconnect, send pictures of the kids and to show our loved ones how much the kids have grown.

Today we all headed to JC Pennys to get Princess's 6 year picture, Prince's 4 year picture, and a group shot of all three kids.

The kids' behavior was horrible!

I don't know what triggered it.... The Cocoa Puffs at breakfast? Our new kind of orange juice? Or maybe they managed to sneak into my pantry, climb up to the top shelf, and help themselves to a cup or two of my sugar??

It was THAT bad!

My 6 year old laughed at me when I told her to stop hitting her baby brother.

My 4 year old ran away from me when I called out to him.

My 2 year old was, well, a two year old and took every opportunity that came his way to bolt from the studio.

And he had the best behavior of the bunch!

Arg! I am surprised that I have ANY hair left after today.

Of course we were called back late. We arrived at 10:10 for our 10:20 appointment, and they did not call us back until 10:35. That didn't help matters.

Before we went into the store, I told all three kids that if they had good behavior we would get a cookie afterwards as a reward.

This has worked many, many times in the past.

Not today.

They did manage to listen to the photographer once we were finally called back, so we did get some nice photos, but the process was excruciating.

At one point the Princess and the Prince were screaming at each other and pulling at each other's clothing.

I am sure that the people in the waiting room as well as the photographers thought I was a horribly inept mother.

And maybe I was, who knows?

This is where it would be so nice to have a grandma or a friend with me for back-up.

After the pictures were taken, JC Pennys had me wait a good 15 minutes before they showed me the pictures. Meanwhile, the Prince and the Princess picked up right where they had left off. They went back to the waiting room and continued to misbehave.

Finally, I was able to choose the pictures I wanted and get the hell out of Dodge.

The kids did not get cookies.

I am a mean, inept, cookie-depriving Mommy who cannot control her own kids.

Maybe next year we will just print out some digital pictures and call it good.