The Waiting Game (we lose)

I'm a scheduler and a planner. It comes from years of back timing everything to get my newscasts on and off the air on time. I back timed my workdays. Now that my number one job is raising for the kids, I back time our lives. The goal is always the finish line. Getting things done on time.

With Alex, almost 1 year old, and Ella, 2 and a half, that's easier said than done. I plan in lots of pad time. Extra 15 minutes here for a snack. extra 10 there for diaper changes and nose wiping. I try to cover all my bases.

Alex will turn one on May 5, and I wanted photos of him to mark the end of this first year. I also want to send them to friends, family and the grandmas and great-grandma for Mother's Day. So I scheduled an appointment last Sunday morning. This is MAJOR national photo chain. They have great prices, they take good photos, it's not too expensive. We've had relatively good luck with them in the past. Only once did we have to wait a little longer than expected. I thought scheduling when many families were still at church would be ideal. We got Alex a morning nap, had a quick snack and few drinks of milk, brought the clothes with us, so no one would get messy or wrinkled on the way, and headed out.

Perfect timing, we arrived just 5-10 minutes early. Just enough time to get everyone dressed, coiffed, and picture perfect. But wait, we're running a few minutes behind, it will be about 20 minutes. That's okay, 20 minutes is in the pad time. They shouldn't be starving or overly tired. There are blocks and other kids to play with, etc...

That 20 minutes turned into an hour and half. 90 minutes late! Before we even started taking photos. By the time we finished nearly 2 hours later than our scheduled appointment time, Alex was screaming, Ella was hungry too, and Troy was about to let it rip. They left, ,headed for the nearest McDonald's to get lunch, some milk for the boy, and escape the craziness of that lobby.

I spent 20 minutes picking the photos we wanted and really, bought more than I planned to, just to get out of there before I lost my mind. I think that's the catch. They book families 15 minutes apart in an effort to drive you nuts, so you'll just buy anything to escape!!!

We did get some decent photos. Not our best, but enough to satisfy my needs for the first birthday milestone. Next time, I'm using my friend Adam and his wife. They have small photography business that comes to you, works with your schedule, etc... and they just charge by the prints you want. Check them out at http://www.arephotography.com/.

I'll post a sample of what we left the national chain with. These are just the proofs which they gave us on a CD, after we spent half our life savings. Not making that mistake again.