There Is a Catch

Well, I'm sure lots of mommies know this already about professional photography studios located in malls that offer free shots of your little ones...they say that there isn't a catch but there are strings attached to getting your "free" 10x13 photo of your cutie-pie or in our case, little Miss Sassy-Pants. A photogragher, once again, at our local mall approached us about having Munch's picture taken for free. In the past we never really showed any interest because we felt certain that there would be some hidden fees at the end of the ordeal. But today, we had some time to kill and Gi had not had her I'm-So-Into-My-Terrible-Twos meltdown yet so we proceeded with caution when the nice lady photographer approached us. All is going well...Gi is posing with happiness and spirit, Mommy is sitting down relaxing and Daddy is trying to amuse the Munch. The photographer announces that the photos are ready and that we should mosey on up to the monitor to view and pick our favorite ones. We pick our favorite ones and assume that we would be handed our free 10x13 soon. Nope! Now the studio trotts out all your favorite shots in matted and framed formats with an assortment of outrageous prices. And in the end they politely ask you, "So which frame is your favorite?" This is when Hubs pretends to be tending after Munch a few feet away and leaves me to be the bad guy. I muster up a superficial smile and tell the photographer that I am only interested in the free picture and not the framed ones. With a slight hint of disappointment, the photographer complies with my request and sends me on my merry way. I leave the neatly and cheerfully appointed studio as if I just swindled the place out of a million dollars. I know, I know...you say it's only a free photo. But I feel victorious nonetheless.