Scratch and Sniff Photos

Thanks, dear friends, for all the encouraging emails and comments you’ve sent in response to my recent redecorating. I wish my house looked as updated as my blog 🙂  Since so many of you have mentioned that you love the fountain photos, I’ve decided it’s time to ‘fess up and tell you the REAL STORY behind those pictures.


For starters, when my friends at Tekeme Studios recommended that I use “professional” photos instead of family snapshots, I was resistant to the suggestion. I haven’t been in front of the camera since my wedding day (and for most of those poses I had a handsome man at my side). In fact, one glance through my children’s photo albums confirms that I’ve been BEHIND the camera for the past decade of my life. (If my children’s memories fail them when I’m gone, they may begin to wonder if they ever had a mom. I mean, really, if she was more than a mere figment of their imaginations why wasn’t her face captured in a single family vacation picture?)


When I went digging for a few appropriate snapshots to post on the updated blog pages, I realized that the only semi-current pictures of me were a small buffet of shots taken in a smattering of hospital rooms (4 Ob wards, 2 states, 5 babies).   Of course, if I chose those pictures as my redecorating fodder, I’d have to retitle the blog “Hospital Gown Glamor and Other Beauty Tips”  or “Three Cheers for Living through Labor AGAIN!” I had no doubt that my authenticity ratings would soar if I posted my moments-after-giving-birth portfolio, but I wondered if my VERY REAL greasy hair, racoon eyes, and IV tubes would successfully promote my new Overflow theme.


When it became evident that tracking down a snapshot of myself in day clothes was going to be a challenge, I considered my final option: I think my mom still has a few of my senior pictures laying around somewhere.  While I’m not crazy about the poodle hair I sported in the early ’90s, I do appreciate the flat stomached, non red-eyed look from that era of my life. And who knows, red,white and blue plaid paints with oversized matching argyle sweaters might make the fashion headlines again soon.


After a bit of consideration, I decided to take my blog designers’ advice and schedule a mommy-photo-shoot. On the morning of my appointment, I climbed out of bed unusually early and soaked extra long in the Word.  I prayed specifically that God would protect me from any strands of pride that could develop as I spent a few hours “promoting myself” in front of a camera, and I asked God to help the photographers capture the REAL me, the woman my Savior sees when He glances my way.  I put my school-agers on the bus, drove my little ones to a babysitter’s house and came home to get ready for the photo session. I took a shower without Maggie unwrapping an entire box of tampons, put on my makeup without explaining to Joshua a dozen times why boys don’t wear lipstick, and I actually dried AND styled my hair without rescuing a single child from the jacuzzi tub that is most often used as a make shift slip and slide.


In just 35 minutes I pulled myself together and traded my sweats for my little black dress. I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the look. No spit up stains, no snot streaks, and no smushed cheerios on my clothes. I glanced at the clock and felt REALLY impressed that I was not only dressed but also running on time. However, as I headed to the van, I remembered that I’d made a meal the night before for a girlfriend who had just had surgery. Efficiency trumped excitement.  I ran back into the house to grab the food out of my refrigerator so that I could deliver the meal after my photo shoot. Unfortunately, as I grabbed the disposable casserole pan, the plastic lid slid off and pineapple meatball curry sauce streamed out. . . down my leg and onto the floor. As I bent to mop the floor, the dog rubbed up against my black-leggings and added a nice layer of Sheltie hair to my classy little outfit. I grabbed a dishcloth, scrubbed the curry sauce from my legs and rejoiced in the fact that my leggings hadn’t absorbed the bright yellow color of the drips. With no time to change clothes and no other “nice clothes” to change into (as if a stay at home mom has more than one cute black dress!), I climbed into the van and raced into town. 


As I drove I nearly gagged on the strong smell of curry wafting from my thigh. “Okay, Lord,” I giggled. “You’ve done a great job of reminding me who I really am! I may look more put together than normal today, but beneath this black dress is just an ordinary mommy!”


When I waltzed into the photography studio, I was greeted by two totally hip and cute twenty-somethings who were ready to have some fun with an old mama.  As we headed out the door to the waiting fountain, I overheard one photographer say to the other, “Do you smell something weird? The whole studio smells like an Indian restuarant!” 

Supressing a giggle, this not-so-glamorous mom responded, “Oh, that’s just me; my pineapple curry meatballs  OVERFLOWED this morning!”  Then I gracefully extended my aromatic leg toward the camera toters and asked, “Are you using scratch and sniff film today?”

Today’s Splash of Hope:  “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God...”  2 Corinthians 2:15a