Christmas Card Conundrum - An Ode to Old Navy

Just killing time before I can get the littlest lovie down for her nap and then sneak out and run errands. No worries... Daniel is working from home today. No, I do NOT leave my children at the house alone to run errands even if I actually think Parker wouldn't notice I was gone for at least 62 minutes... the length of Blue Mountain Mystery. 

We've got our family pictures on Sunday for the good 'ol Christmas card. How is it already Christmas card time?! So here's my debacle..... I didn't want the standard "everyone in coordinating neutrals" picture like I did last year. I'm in a colorful phase right now with my $19 Old Navy color pop jeans that you KNOW my kids will laugh at in a few years and I will regret terribly (anyone having visions of puffy sleeves, shoulder pads and acid washed jeans?). So I set out a month ago for outfits that said "we just put this on and it happens to look good together and Oh hey... there is someone taking our picture!"  Avery had a leopard sweater dress and tulle addorned leggings Parker had a plaid shirt and puffy vest. Daniel a collared shirt, sleeves rolled and jeans and I had cobalt blue jeans, kelly green cardigan and a necklace that brought it all together. It was coordinating without being too matchy matchy. I was pleased and no longer loosing sleep over it.... a sad but true fact.

Then I checked the weather on Wednesday and realized at 9am on Sunday morning (yes mom, I'm skipping church for family pictures) it's gonna be freezing... literally.... like frost on the ground cold. I'm having to scrap my very planned and purchased ensembles for something warmer. After looking in our closets, I decided I could go 1 of 2 ways.... funeral chic or Old Navy ad bright.

Everyone but Avery has nice black peacoats or winter coats and I know I could easily find one for A but I'm worried pictures in the woods in black coats might look like we buried a family pet and were memorializing them with a family service caught on camera. 

So Old Navy ad bright it is.... obviously, I would prefer for it to not look like an Old Navy performance fleece ad (are you singing the jingle yet?) but lets be honest... man in a thermal shirt and puffy vest, woman in a yellow peacoat, son in a plaid shirt and puffy vest and baby girl in a pink peacoat and colorful leggings is only a dog in a hat and random black child short of an Old Navy ad. 

Wise Family Christmas Card Preview

I called my fashionista sister who lives in NYC for her opinion but she's pretty busy with bigger problems like lack of power and water. I called her the other day to discuss color combinations and she was walking like 60 blocks to see if her apartment was broken into and if the power is back on. I felt like an ant but I suppose now we're even with bad timing phone calls. When she was in college at UNCW, she called me from the beach telling me she was having "the best day of her life" and then asked what I was up to.... you know.... just getting my 1st round of chemo. Now I'm gonna have to quit holding that over her head since she has ammo of her own! I digress.... back to my ""problems"" .... which deserve double air quotes and I KNOW they aren't actually PROBLEMS so much as they are conundrums.

 

In all honestly, I AM excited about our "Merry and Bright" photoshoot as I'm calling it. Maybe Old Navy will love our ode to them SO MUCH that they'll buy the rights to our photos and we'll be thousandaires. 

Now off to get little lovie to sleep so mama can go pick up Parker's vest that's on hold at Gymboree, bribes for smiles and a football for Parker to hold in the pictures in efforts for his train collection or Woody to NOT be in this year's family pics. Kid doesn't know what to do with his hands!

 I couldn't resist!