This weekend, as a pre-Mothers Day treat, I took the boys down to Picture People UAE for a coffee morning with a twist.
Most coffee mornings you expect a half decent coffee, the lure of a good baked good generally in the form of a croissant and some “mum chat” with the types of mum you meet at baby group. Mainly about poo. Or sleep (and lack of). This Friday however, it was different. Not only was it a chance for me to catch up with (and meet!) some of my favourite UAE Mummy Bloggers. It also took place in Picture People UAE, which, if you hadn’t guessed already, is a photo studio.
Coffee – big tick.
Almond Croissant – bigger tick.
Photos of me and my boys – biggest tick going.
I LOVE photos. One look at my Instagram Feed and you will see photo after photo of my boys, capturing the little moments of their childhood. A climbing of a tree. A pulling to stand. The glint in their eyes. What you don’t often see is ME. After reading a lovely post from Sian over at Quite Frankly She Said, on how she is missing from photos with her children I started the year determined to get in the shot more, get out from behind the camera. And to show my boys that I was there in their childhood memories.
This was one of the reasons why I was looking forward to this coffee morning. I love getting out and talking to people, I love talking about my boys, and I love blogging. I was pretty excited to meet the people who’s blogs I’ve read and admired from afar as well as getting some cherished photos taken along the way.
The morning exceeded all my expectations, with areas set out for all the children to play in, with toys and the ladies working at Picture People UAE down on the floor getting to know each child before introducing them to the scary workings of posing for the camera. They oozed warmth. They were truly interested in each child. And they chased both of mine around the studio floor as the Big One decided to imitate the Baby in the commando crawl move (and got stuck under the pram but they rescued him).
With coffee flowing and the chat turning to all things blogging (and poo, there is always poo talk) we started to slip away one by one for a short, but sweet, studio session. With three rooms in operation and each shoot lasting around 15-20 minutes there was always someone to chat with outside, while drinking coffee, and the shoots were just the right length of time to hold my boys attention. Though the Big One did declare he didn’t want me or the Baby in, just him, and continued to pose away.
The shots that were captured were fantastic studio shots. The Big One. The Baby. Me with each boy. Me with both boys.
And these photos? Were taken, edited and given to me within 30 minutes….now that is customer service.
With the fantastic experience that we had, we are looking at opening it out to other Mums in Dubai, who want to come, drink coffee, meet other mums (talk about poo) and have the same experience in getting photos with their babies. The stage is set, the week is likely to be 27th March, we are ready and waiting we just need to know if you want to do it. More details can be found on the Facebook Event. Please do pop along, make a note that you are interested and write me a little comment about the best day for you, then the details can be worked out with Picture People UAE and you too could be walking home from a coffee morning with an extra special momento.
* The lovely Mummy Bloggers from:
Top – Mummy on my Mind, My Yellow Bells, Sand in my Toes, Inner Beauty Buzz, Cuddles and Crumbs
Middle – Walck this Way, A B and Me
Sitting – Green Living in Dubai, Ginger and Scotch, The Son and The Moon, Milk and Sandcastles, Life with Baby Kicks
What a clever idea! Wish we had that in Malta. I have NO studio shots of my kids at all.
I LOVE this!! Do you know, aaaaages ago Mummy on My Mind took part in Real Mums and I asked her if she knew you – then realised that was a silly question, a bit like asking if someone knows someone else in London you know? So I am really glad you did get to meet in the end. What a great day! x
Author
Haha no Dubai is a small place and mummy bloggers are even smaller so we all tend to go to the same events! Though soon I’ll be coming to the London ones and I’ll get to meet all you guys š oh it was so fab, definitely something they should bring to the UK! X