We are not the family who goes out and gets their picture taken professionally.
In fact, we have only done this once and that was in March of 2009 and it coincided with Tatertot’s first birthday.
Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVED the photos from that day.
Here are just a few

Again, I really liked the pictures and they were fairly inexpensive thanks to a coupon.
The only thing I didn’t like was that they were so staged.
I am not a fan of catching those perfectly planned and staged moments.
I prefer to capture my kids when they are being just who they are.
In 2009, we had a friend take a picture of us together at a family members wedding.
If you ask me, the result was much better than when we went into a studio to have them done.

This picture just represents our family so much better.
Especially since the little man is sitting there with a blank look on his face.
In fact, I liked this picture so much we used on our Christmas cards that same year.
The following year we took at family vacation and a stranger was kind enough to snap a picture of the five of us together (since I am usually the photographer).
Again, another picture I absolutely adore because it is our family and we are just being us.

Of course, once again the little dude has that dazed and confused look on his face but I still adore the picture.

After having our pictures taken by a professional and then just doing random family shots, I have to say the pictures I enjoy the most are the ones we have taken at random moments. I love that this way we can capture each family members individuality. But, I do not promise that we won’t be donning matching apparel in the near future to take another family picture. What can I say, we are having a baby soon and the Packers are 7-0! I think once the little lady arrives we will be breaking out the Packer gear and getting another family shot in but I doubt we will do it in the studio with a professional. I’m thinking the family, a camera and Lambeau Field as the backdrop!

What is your favorite family photo and do you prefer the staged professional photos or the random moments in life?
Check out the Family Photo Days at Shutterfly, to help meet customer needs and to raise awareness of Shutterfly holiday cards, Shutterfly is planning “Family Photo Days” throughout November.   These have been very popular among  customers in the past on a smaller scale.  The objective is to generally drive inspiration around taking and creating a family photo (early enough so you can get it into a fantastic online holiday card), and raise awareness of Shutterfly as a provider of online holiday cards

Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the Shutterfly Family Photo Day Campaign with Global Influence. I received compensation for my participation. All opinions are 100% mine.

The big portion of Zman and Drama Queen’s Summer activities came to an end last week.
Both baseball and soccer are over and we are back to a normal routine around here….for now.

(Click on photos to enlarge for better viewing)

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Courtney for winning all 3 promo codes as chosen by the And The Winner Is….. plugin. I will be emailing you shortly.

I’ve been using Shutterfly for a few years to print photos I’ve taken, for birth announcements when my youngest, Tatertot, was born, last years family Christmas card adorned with our family photo, a photobook we gifted my mother for Christmas last year and now I am working on my latest project, stationery cards to be used as Thank You cards for various occasions such as the kids birthdays, anniversaries and more!

The things I love most about Shutterfly (aside from the great discounts they offer) is the convenience and ease of use. The Shutterfly site is much easier to upload and organize your photos then other sites I have tried. They offer a multitude of projects you can create for every occasion and it is so easy to do!

Thanks to the folks at Shutterfly and SheBlogs not only am I able to create these stationery cards for my own use, but I also get to offer a great prize to 3 of my readers!

THREE, yes 3! of my fabulous readers will win a promo code for 10 FREE stationery cards from Shutterfly! Choose from holiday cards, birth announcements, thank you cards, party invitations and more printed on premium cardstock in a variety of card sizes. Talk about a GREAT deal!

To enter to win is easy. For your first entry, visit Shutterfly.com and tell me what you would use your promo code on and leave me a note in the comments section below.

For additional entries (because dude, you really want to win!) pick and choose from the list below, or do them all because you are seriously dedicated to winning! Be sure to leave a comment for each and be sure to number your entries if you choose an option that gives you multiply entries.

1. Follow me on Twitter for 1 entry. Leave a comment with your Twitter ID.

2. Tweet: << @Anne54304 is giving away 10 FREE stationery cards from @Shutterfly to 3 lucky people! Enter now! http://themegalomaniacmommy.com/?p=3612 #WIN >> then leave me a comment with the link to your tweet. (CAN BE DONE DAILY!!!)

3. Subscribe to my newsletter and leave a comment with your email address for 2 entries.

4. Subscribe to The Megalomaniac Mommy via a reader for 2 entries.

5. Follow me on Google Friend Connect (in right sidebar) for 2 entries.

6. Like The Megalomaniac Mommy on Facebook for 2 entries.

7. Follow The Megalomaniac Mommy on Networked Blogs (right sidebar) for 2 entries.

8. Grab my button and add it to your page and leave me the URL for your page for 3 entries.

9. For 5 additional entries, blog about this giveaway and leave me a comment with a link to your post.

10. Submit this post to the social networking site of your choice and receive 1 entry for each submission just leave a comment with a link for each.

This giveaway will begin on Monday, July 26th 2010 and end on Tuesday, August 10th 2010 at 12 Noon CST.

**I received a promotional code for free products from Shutterfly.com in order to review their product and was given promotional codes to giveaway to readers.**

Awesome piggy picture shot from the hip at The Farm in Door County for Secret Agent Mama’s Shooting from the Hip giveaway

(Click to enlarge for better viewing.)