This Mom's Confessions

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School Pictures & Lies of Omission

Filed Under: Kids Posts, Married Life Tagged With: , , ,

“Emma’s not doing picture retake, right?”, Kevin’s mom said to me.

“No, she is doing the retake today,” I answered.

“But Kevin said she wasn’t, when I talked to him last night,” she responded to me.

Emma’s First School Picture–See No Smile!!

“I know he doesn’t know, because he didn’t think it was necessary, but she wasn’t even smiling in those pictures. So, I am just having her retake them and then tell him when we get the pictures back,” I explained.

“Well, now you are finally learning. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him!,” my mother-in-law told me quite easily.

So that probably sounds awful, but it was just a lie of omission. I know it was still a lie though, but the original pictures were pretty bad. Emma wasn’t even smiling and looked almost like a deer caught in headlights.

We have had pictures taken in the last year professionally at Target twice and the pictures came out absolutely beautiful. I probably sound prejudice, but seriously she was all smiles and even posed the way they told her to pose.

These pictures though were your classic school pictures that most kids dread looking back on. I bet you have a few of them. Hell, I have my fair share! My mom has them altogether in brag book that has many of my school stuff, such as awards and stuff (yes I was a smarty pants back in the day). I can tell you right now off hand one in particular that I wish was never taken. I was in kindergarten and my mother put me in this pink outfit. It was so light in color and looked like pajamas. Then came the awful hair pictures from bangs to no bangs, to stick straight to perms–I did it all with my hair and rather wish I hadn’t!!

So, when I saw this picture of Emma, I felt for her and didn’t want her to have this as evidence of her first ever school picture. I talked with Kevin about this, but as a guy it truly didn’t seem to phase him. And he even did have a conversation with his mom the night before telling her that we weren’t doing the retake (I know, because I heard it and just bit my tongue).

The following day, I made sure to have all the pictures from the school package (I got one of the cheapest by the way) and put them in her backpack. When I went to drop her off, the conversation from the beginning did take place, because my mother-in-law drops my niece off (the girls are the same age and in the same class). My niece was getting the retake, but after how adamant Kevin was with her the night before I couldn’t blame her for asking and being confused. Thankfully, my mother-in-law is usually on my side and got it. She kept her mouth closed and never did say anything.


Flash forward to last night, when I had the new pictures to show off.

I very gingerly opened the conversation up with, “I had to take the picture retake package for your mom yesterday.”

“The pictures were done already. That was quick. How did they come out?”, Kevin asked me.

“They came out fine. By the way, I actually had Emma do the retake too and have the new pictures for her if you want to see them?”, I very carefully stated.

“I thought we weren’t getting them done again?”, he said half questioning.

“Well, she had a weird expression on her face originally and I decided to have her try to retake them. I figured they couldn’t come out any worse,” I added for good measure.

“How did they come out? Can I see them?”, Kevin questioned me.

“Good and she is smiling now. Hang on, I will get them,” I said as I was walking in the other room to retrieve the new pictures.

Emma’s Picture Retake–Smiling, But Wearing Purple. You Can’t Win Them All!!

He takes them from me and looks at them. The first thing he asks, “How did they get her to smile so nicely and comfortably this time out?”, Kevin wanted to know.

“I showed her the other pictured we took recently and told her to smile just like that. We talked about this the day of picture retakes all morning and she even told me afterwards that she did just that,” I explained still not sure how she never ratted me out either.

“Well, they did come out pretty good this time, but why did you put her in purple when the background was blue?”, Kevin the artist had to add for good measure.

“Of course you would have something to find to complain about. If it were up to you, we would still have the pictures where she looked scared of her own shadow. And this is what she wanted to wear. Have you ever tried to fight a 3 year old princess diva?”, I said knowing that should pretty much end the conversation, because he knows how she has to always pick out her own outfits.

And there you have it sometimes as a wife you have to lie ever so slightly to get things done the right way even if it isn’t the first time. Even though somehow my shy child and mother-in-law didn’t rat me out, I still didn’t win completely with Emma’s choice of clothes for the day. But in the grand scheme of things I guess at least I have pictures that she is happy and smiling in!  And I now I have a whole year before I have to worry about this one again!!

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About Janine

Janine is a published author of the books, The Mother of All Meltdowns and Only Trollops Shave Above the Knee. She has been featured on The Huffington Post, Mamapedia, Today Parenting Team and SheKnows. She also runs her own graphic design company at J9 Designs.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dani Ryan says

    Ha! Reminds me of an "Advice Shower" I went to when a friend got married many years ago. We all had to give her a piece of advice, and her mother's stuck with me. She said: Never go to bed angry, and don't tell him everything. 😉

    That is one cute little girl! And we have that same shirt. 😉

    • Janine Huldie says

      Lol, Dani. I love that shirt and The Children's Place has such great clothes for the price. As for the telling all, I am sometimes too honest for my own good, but as you can see I am learning!! 🙂 🙂

  2. Kat Biggie says

    That is pretty funny! My sons pics were so bad this year! I should have done the retake but did not! Yes, the retake is much better! So cute! On my way to vote!

  4. Cyndi says

    I do like the new pic and well, you can't win every little detail. Now, a person experienced with GIMP or photoshop could change the background, but you know…she looks great! I don't blame you for getting them done. I have pictures where I'm like, dear God, why did that photographer even PERMIT me to have my picture taken when my hair looks like the originator of the Static Cling? Hahaha. Awesome post!

    • Janine Huldie says

      Thanks Cyndi and Kevin uses Photoshop for work so he could most definitely change the background, but he was being a scooch to me on this and had to come up with something, lol!! 🙂 and by the way, I too have way too many of those photos, too and cringe thinking of them!!

  5. Janine Huldie says

    Thanks Amy and I can't say enough she will probably have her share that she hates, but didn't want that to be her first. Just couldn't do that to her. Like you and already stated I have been there and truly wanted to spare her that one.

  6. Emily says

    She looks adorable in the retake! You were smart to do that…my kids never seem to come out looking natural in their school photos either. I'm always too lazy to do the retake and I figure since they're boys, they won't care that much. Besides, I have tons of photos of them taken by Sportography when they've played on all the different sports teams. And I too have horrible memories of my own school photos…my friends have posted the class photos on Facebook, which makes me cringe.

    • Janine Huldie says

      Thanks Emily and I think we do have enough wonderful photos of both my kids, but still like you cringe at the site of my school photos and couldn't help, but remember this when seeing the original photo. So, I guess I couldn't help myself on this one!!

  7. Bill says

    Oh my….you just hit on a subject that Bev and I have argued over…I don't believe in lies of omission…Bev does. 🙂

    • Janine Huldie says

      Very interesting and I am really usually too honest for my own good, but I did lie here, but I honestly have the heart for the fight over something like this. I felt like it was as with my kids just picking and choosing my battles.

  8. Lanaya @ Raising Rea says

    She is so cute! Reagan is in a weird picture stage right now and it is driving me nuts! I hope she gets out of the funk soon because having to surprise her with a camera is like pulling teeth!

    ¤´¨)
    ¸.•*´
    (¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo http://www.raising-reagan.com

    • Janine Huldie says

      Thanks so much Lanaya and we had that stage here, too with Emma and she now loves taking pictures and usually smiles with her whole face while screaming "cheese", but this face she had in the first picture looked more scared (she is shy) to me, so I am glad I pushed for the retake 🙂 🙂 xoxo!!

  11. Desirae R says

    I think this little lie was worth it! School pictures can be so horrible, it is always to have nice ones.

  13. Stephanie Sprenger says

    You definitely made the right call- I would have done the same thing! They are both adorable of course! 😉 I had to laugh at the purple/blue background "You can't win 'em all" comment! Too funny…

  19. The Next Step says

    I planned to get my 5yo to do the retake, but she was in a horrible mood that day, wouldn't put on a decent shirt, and refused a hair brushing. I went with "no smile" pictures and no more fighting that day.

    • Janine Huldie says

      Oh that sounds about what I might have gotten today Lori. She was in such a mood when we left for school. I love how they get in a mood, but what about us. I wish I could get a in a mood and use that as my excuse, lol!! 🙂

  20. Christy Birmingham says

    Awww Emma's new pic is adorable, J 🙂 I like her big smile. I remember my mom had me take a few retakes and today I'm wondering what happened with some of the outfits she dressed me in! Lol :))

    • Janine Huldie says

      Lol, Christy. God only knows what happened to some of my outfits!! I was raised in the 70's and 80's as a child, so those where definitely some interesting looks to say the least!! 🙂

  22. gigigirl says

    Love that smiling Emma! The retakes are great and worth the little white lies. She looks so pretty……give her a xxoo from me.

  24. Melanie Chisnall says

    Hehehe, I think the second picture is beautiful Janine! And yes, you can't win them all! You're lucky, we had no such thing as picture retakes. I want to sink into the floor when I think about some of mine, lol.

  25. Michelle Liew says

    Yup, we fib or leave things out…just so we can get things we want done properly! Too true. Thanks for sharing, Janine!

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