I don’t remember when it happened... how it happened... how many people it took to make it happen… or how I fit into that dress! But the Mother’s Day photo shoot for Better Homes and Gardens Magazine’s May issue happened, and it was good! Anna Carina was 6 weeks old. Sleep was non-existent then, just as it is now. I was still in that twilight zone… the one where it feels like you’re in a Vegas casino and day turns into night turns into day and you don’t even realize time is moving forward. Someone held the baby. Probably someone responsible ’cause they’re doin’ fine. Someone made me sit in a hair and makeup chair (probably @mmmarqz) for 2 hours so I’d be photo ready and not look like the zombie that I felt like. Someone made the food look gorgeous (Jill Lust, most likely). Someone helped me style this gorgeous table (Melissa from @PowWow Design Studio, no doubt). I mean, there had to be a photographer, and she had to be some sort of magician, because if you look at those pictures, I look like I slept more than the two hours I actually got the night before and the food looks so damned good you want to rip the magazine page out and shove the chilaquiles photo in da mouth. Pretty sure it was @coralvz but it’s kind of all a haze. I vaguely remember a phone interview while I had a newborn attached to my boob, so thanks @JoeYonan for not making me sound like a crazy person.
And even though everything was kind of a blur, @nancy_bhg’s hummingbird energy is impossible to forget, and the way she pieced all these moving parts together is kind of a miracle! There were babies all over, pumping sessions, kids arriving from school, food, crew, music, lights, screens, hanging stars… just craziness. But sitting here looking at it now, with goosebumps and a lump in my throat, I can genuinely tell you it’s one of my favorite spreads ever, not just because of how beautiful the piece came out, but because it was such a challenge. Because the focus of the story was mothers and Mother’s Day and that day I had to summon not only all of my strength, but the strength of all the moms in my family that came before me. I needed every ounce of their energy and inspiration too to get through that day.
And that’s what moms do. We figure it out. We push through. We get it done. And (most of the time) we do it without complaining because we know that’s just our job. There’s no plan B! You get it done, period. They all have to be fed, bathed, warm, happy, and perfect so you can go smile for the camera. And then we have our support system, and they need celebrating too! Today and every day and a million times over with a million balloons, I most of all want to celebrate my sister, Carina. She has these magical powers that make me feel and remember that this is all icing on the cake and that I just need to focus on the gratitude. That when that crew of 20 goes home, my unit is still there, solid as can be. And as much as I truly love you guys and the TV and the magazines, I also know I’d be just fine without all of it… with just these people in my house. She reminds me of that constantly. That makes life easier to navigate.
So yeah, moms. We’re amazing. You’re amazing. Carina, you’re from another planet. Better Homes and Gardens, you’re amazing. Everyone is amazing right now. That’s how happy this article is making me feel right now because, honestly, I was just so tired. And thank God for the incredible women (and Joe) mentioned here (most of whom are moms!). This one’s getting framed.
So here’re some photos, as seen in Better Homes and Gardens and behind the scenes by @isabellamfuncke… enjoy, my loves!
