Other news...

I got so absorbed in my birthing post that I forgot about a bunch of other things. The first of which is that my little Honda Civic is being repaired as I type, and I'm quite happy about it. And the damage is less than $300, so we'll label that a victory and call it a day. I'm so reliant on my car, I'm be thrilled to get little Civic back running smoothly and happily.

And in fact, I need it tonight because I have bellydance class tonight. And tonight, for the first time, I was invited to join the next session as a member of the advanced class and performance group, and I couldn't be more pleased about this. I've had a smile plastered on my face for weeks. I'm super duper happy.

The bad news is that yesterday we received Henry's school pictures. *sighs* Remember, the shirt debacle from two mornings ago? Well, Henry exacted his revenge, if unwittingly.

We'll go back in time to sum up this experience, 2 years. That was Henry's first year at the daycare, and his pictures turned out *smashing*. I mean, I know he's my kid and all, but he's super, SUPER cute and photogenic. And his picture was awesome. We chose the fall/harvest background, and 2-year old Henry is sitting cherubically among a pumpkin and bushel of fall leaves, clutching an apple in one hand. His cheeks are pink, his blue eyes (I must have a recessive gene; I can't explain this any other way) are sparkling, and his smile is bright. That's still my favorite picture of him of all time, and I still have it displayed in our dining room.

The next year, I signed up for all kinds of pictures based on the promise of the previous year. The pictures were...ok. Not bad. Not great, but certainly not bad. I didn't like that I had put an adorable bear sweater on Henry and they had him pose with his legs cruched up in front of him, so you couldn't see it. His smile looked a bit forced, but it wasn't terrible. His cheeks were again real rosy, and I love the fall background.

So, this year, it's his last year at our wonderful daycare/preschool. I ordered a bunch of pictures (it's the same photography company) and hoped for a result like the first year. And, this year...the pictures are just bad. And I could live with them being bad if I hadn't spent $80 on them. But I don't want to spend $80 on pictures in which Henry looks like he's either (a) constipated, or (b) in terrific pain and trying to hide it bravely. They're just not good. And I find this inexcusable (even in the school pictures trade, where bad pictures are the cherished norm) in the age of digital photography. You snap the picture, see immediately that the kid's face looks pinched and painful, and thus you rearrange him and snap another. It's so simple, and I really think this is what should happen.

Sigh. So, I'm not happy about this whole thing. But you win some, you lose some, right?