I talk quite a bit around here (and lately, on TV as well!) about the importance of getting family photos taken with your kids. I really and truly believe there is not a better gift to give to your children than photos of your entire family together. Some of my most treasured possessions are prints of images of myself, my siblings and my parents together when we were younger. I love looking at the clothes we were wearing, seeing the grins on our faces and remembering what life felt like. I feel equally as giddy seeing photos of my parents and grandparents when they were young…think of how incredible it would be to watch your own grandchildren look through images of you as a young mom and their own parents as kids! I get excited just imagining those moments.
So each year I do my very best to practice what I preach to all of you, and find time to get our OWN family photos taken. Now, mind you, this idea totally horrifies my family. They have me following them around with a camera all the time, not to mention the random commercial shoots our family has been lucky enough to participate in together, but for me, a family session with a pro photographer is different. It’s not for anyone else, it’s for us. We don’t have a director or a client telling us what to wear or how to act, instead we get to decide. And for me, as a photographer, I want to be included in the photos. We have hundreds of images of our family together…minus one very important component…ME! Because I spend so much time behind the camera, often our memories look like I wasn’t there at all. So even though my family may feel like doing a family photo session is overkill, for me, it’s just right. And I’m always so grateful when I get the images back and see my children, husband and I interacting, playing and having fun TOGETHER. All of us.
This year I asked Allison French of Allison Corrin Photography to not only take our photos, but create a short video as well. I love making Video Keepsakes for my own clients, so I really wanted something similar for my own family. We decided to do the shoot at Prospero’s Bookstore in order to focus on my children’s love of reading, and then followed that up with some portraits in the West Plaza neighborhood where we lived during our first years in Kansas City many (many) moons ago. The video is everything to me and I’m so grateful to have such a beautiful keepsake to remember this time in our lives!
Huge thanks to Allison to working with our crazy crew and for giving us such gorgeous memories! I love them all so much, I couldn’t choose just a few to share, so here’s about a million of them!
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2016-09-23_0012.jpg533800Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2016-09-23 10:15:122016-09-23 10:15:12Our Family Photo Session with Allison Corrin Photography
Recently I was invited back to the Better Kansas City show to talk about how I manage stress while trying to get my kids out the door and off to school in the morning. I know it’s funny, but my number one tip is to have my kids sleep in their clothes! It works! And saves me at least 30 minutes of arguing over outfits in the morning. You can see the rest of my tips and tricks in the clip below.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Better-KC-Sep-2016.jpg30244032Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2016-09-19 14:57:162016-09-19 15:05:03Tips to Save Your Sanity in the Morning
Anyone who has met me knows I’m not a big shopper…I just find the whole process extremely overwhelming, especially when it comes to shopping for clothes. I walk into a department store and my skin starts to crawl. I can’t help it! The chaos of all the clothing racks and the multitudes of options make my heart race and trying on clothes in a dressing room gets me all clammy.
The worst part of this particular aversion is that it ends up being pretty expensive. Most discount stores and shops with reduced prices tend to be the ones that are, for lack of a better word, messy! While the more expensive, exclusive stores are set up in a way that is much easier for me to navigate, with lots of white space, limited options and uncluttered dressing rooms. I always hear of friends getting amazing deals on clothing for themselves and their kids by using coupons or shopping during special sales, but the thought of that makes me want to hyperventilate. Shopping is stressful enough without crowds and clipping coupons!
That’s why I was so excited to hear about Groupon’s newest offering, Groupon Coupons. Groupon has partnered with a huge number of retailers to provide thousands of online coupons to shoppers, and it’s so easy to use. You just head to their website to find tons of coupon codes, many of which you can use online and in the store. And this isn’t just for random shops either! With back-to-school shopping and kids who grow out of their clothes on a monthly basis, I have been using Groupon Coupons at some of our favorite shopping spots, like J. Crew Factory and Macy’s. We also like to stock up on extra special school supplies, educational games and books at Barnes & Noble, so we were super pumped to find a Groupon Coupon for there as well.
I’m so happy that Groupon is helping shopping-averse goofballs like me save a little money, and that they are keeping it super simple with Groupon Coupons!
This post was sponsored by Groupon, but all opinions and words are my own.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2016-08-17_0003.jpg533800Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2016-09-16 12:26:542016-09-16 12:27:49Saving Money and My Sanity with Groupon Coupons
Our Family Photo Session with Allison Corrin Photography
/0 Comments/in Crazybananas Photography - Personal, Happiness /by MeganI talk quite a bit around here (and lately, on TV as well!) about the importance of getting family photos taken with your kids. I really and truly believe there is not a better gift to give to your children than photos of your entire family together. Some of my most treasured possessions are prints of images of myself, my siblings and my parents together when we were younger. I love looking at the clothes we were wearing, seeing the grins on our faces and remembering what life felt like. I feel equally as giddy seeing photos of my parents and grandparents when they were young…think of how incredible it would be to watch your own grandchildren look through images of you as a young mom and their own parents as kids! I get excited just imagining those moments.
So each year I do my very best to practice what I preach to all of you, and find time to get our OWN family photos taken. Now, mind you, this idea totally horrifies my family. They have me following them around with a camera all the time, not to mention the random commercial shoots our family has been lucky enough to participate in together, but for me, a family session with a pro photographer is different. It’s not for anyone else, it’s for us. We don’t have a director or a client telling us what to wear or how to act, instead we get to decide. And for me, as a photographer, I want to be included in the photos. We have hundreds of images of our family together…minus one very important component…ME! Because I spend so much time behind the camera, often our memories look like I wasn’t there at all. So even though my family may feel like doing a family photo session is overkill, for me, it’s just right. And I’m always so grateful when I get the images back and see my children, husband and I interacting, playing and having fun TOGETHER. All of us.
This year I asked Allison French of Allison Corrin Photography to not only take our photos, but create a short video as well. I love making Video Keepsakes for my own clients, so I really wanted something similar for my own family. We decided to do the shoot at Prospero’s Bookstore in order to focus on my children’s love of reading, and then followed that up with some portraits in the West Plaza neighborhood where we lived during our first years in Kansas City many (many) moons ago. The video is everything to me and I’m so grateful to have such a beautiful keepsake to remember this time in our lives!
Huge thanks to Allison to working with our crazy crew and for giving us such gorgeous memories! I love them all so much, I couldn’t choose just a few to share, so here’s about a million of them!
Tips to Save Your Sanity in the Morning
/0 Comments/in Parenting, Videos /by MeganRecently I was invited back to the Better Kansas City show to talk about how I manage stress while trying to get my kids out the door and off to school in the morning. I know it’s funny, but my number one tip is to have my kids sleep in their clothes! It works! And saves me at least 30 minutes of arguing over outfits in the morning. You can see the rest of my tips and tricks in the clip below.
Saving Money and My Sanity with Groupon Coupons
/0 Comments/in Gimme, Parenting /by MeganAnyone who has met me knows I’m not a big shopper…I just find the whole process extremely overwhelming, especially when it comes to shopping for clothes. I walk into a department store and my skin starts to crawl. I can’t help it! The chaos of all the clothing racks and the multitudes of options make my heart race and trying on clothes in a dressing room gets me all clammy.
The worst part of this particular aversion is that it ends up being pretty expensive. Most discount stores and shops with reduced prices tend to be the ones that are, for lack of a better word, messy! While the more expensive, exclusive stores are set up in a way that is much easier for me to navigate, with lots of white space, limited options and uncluttered dressing rooms. I always hear of friends getting amazing deals on clothing for themselves and their kids by using coupons or shopping during special sales, but the thought of that makes me want to hyperventilate. Shopping is stressful enough without crowds and clipping coupons!
That’s why I was so excited to hear about Groupon’s newest offering, Groupon Coupons. Groupon has partnered with a huge number of retailers to provide thousands of online coupons to shoppers, and it’s so easy to use. You just head to their website to find tons of coupon codes, many of which you can use online and in the store. And this isn’t just for random shops either! With back-to-school shopping and kids who grow out of their clothes on a monthly basis, I have been using Groupon Coupons at some of our favorite shopping spots, like J. Crew Factory and Macy’s. We also like to stock up on extra special school supplies, educational games and books at Barnes & Noble, so we were super pumped to find a Groupon Coupon for there as well.
I’m so happy that Groupon is helping shopping-averse goofballs like me save a little money, and that they are keeping it super simple with Groupon Coupons!
This post was sponsored by Groupon, but all opinions and words are my own.