Looking back on today.

This morning my children and I all snuggled up on my bed and took a bunch of pictures together. Every so often I pull out my phone and make sure I've captured a few pictures with them. If they end up on my lap, out comes my phone. if they are laying down together, out comes my phone. Eventually when I am not on such a tight budget, we'll be able to invest in a new point and shoot camera so that I don't have to use my phone, but until then, we are Instagram pro-photographers.
Once upon a time, I was always behind the camera. I rarely was in them, and to be honest I only occasionally cared. I was more than happy to take pictures of Husband with the Monsters, because I always wanted there to pictures of them together. Then I started to think that maybe, just maybe, my kids might want to look back on their childhood photos and see that they actually had two parents, and not just a Daddy. I mean really, they need to have visual aides of the warm fuzzy Mommy Monster, instead of what they actually remember....You know, the timeouts and the "Please-God-I'm-Begging-You,-Go-To-Your-Room-and-Play"s, and frantic, "We've got to get the house cleaned up before Mommy goes insane" moments. Instead I want them to look through the ENDLESS photo albums and remember, "Oh yeah, we used to all pile up on Mommy's bed while daddy was at work, and read and snuggle and take funny face pictures together." I want them to see the pictures of us playing dress up and popstar, posing with their play guitars with all the barrettes and headbands and bows that we own adorning our heads. Because one day they will be grown, and taking pictures with Mommy will not be as much fun as it is Right Now. Making silly faces at the camera will be a game for "babies". And Mommy, God forbid, will no longer be cool to them.
Not to mention, I can't wait for the days when my Monsters look through all these pictures and say "Wow Mommy, look how pretty you were without wrinkles, and grey hair and whoa, was your hair PURPLE in that picture? You were so awesome!"

One day when I am gone, my children will be able to look back on today, a day when all three of them had a picture with their Mommy, one of the two people in this world who would die for them. Who would take a picture sans makeup and actual clothes, just for a memento of our fun. They will see all of our smiles and know that their Mommy loved them to the moon and back.