HP Photo Books are perfect for sharing memories. In these interviews, mom bloggers share their thoughts on photography and the photos that captured the special moments of their lives.
Rita Arens called her blog Surrender, Dorothy because she lives in Kansas City and when she started the blog, "motherhood had me throwing up my hands in surrender." But she didn't give up, and now we can all enjoy her amusing tales of life with husband and daughter in a fixer-upper house. As Dorothy said, there's no place like home.
Rita has had a camera since fourth grade and recalls that she and her friends were quite the historians, taking photos of everything. She was also very intrigued by the old family photo albums:
"My cousins and I used to get together and go through the baby photos of our parents every time we went to our grandparents' house. I see photographs as a connection to the youth of those I love, which now extends to my own family."
Her first camera was a 35 mm, and she now uses a "horrid" 3.0 megapixel digital camera that she got when her three and a half year old daughter was born and which "periodically refuses to work."
Photos are about capturing a memory or a moment. When we look at the photo and remember, we step back into the moment. Rita shared some of her favorite moments with me.
"My favorite picture of me from childhood is one of my mother and me when I was about three. I'm leaning on her legs and it's just a really mellow summer afternoon moment. We look so peaceful."
Another favorite memory is from her wedding: "We got married on a beach, and I love the photos of us standing at the edge of the water at sunset."
Recently, she had professional photos taken of her family, and she loved how happy they looked in the photos:
"It really captured a side of us I want to remember."
I have yet to meet a mom that doesn't like taking photos of her child. Rita's favorite shot of her daughter is one she took when her daughter was about 10 months old:
"I took this photo of my daughter wearing sunglasses and a crocheted hat. She was a chubby baby, and the combination of the cheeks and the accessories was so precious."
"I also love a shot I took of my husband the day we got married. We were at the pool before the wedding, and he was wearing sunglasses and a straw hat - you can see me reflected in the sunglasses, taking the picture. His expression is so calm and happy."
On candid versus posed pictures of children, Rita agrees with the other moms I spoke with for these interviews:
"Candids are definitely best. My daughter is beautiful, but she seizes up when someone tries to pose her and doesn't look natural. I like to capture her with an expression on her face that shows her developing personality. Let the professionals get her smiling perfectly."
Rita was really looking forward to making some HP Photo Books. She plans to use one to document her daughter. And the other:
"I'm going to use to document the transformation of Chateau Travolta - that's what we call the bank foreclosure we moved into this summer. I have to constantly look back at the photos to remind myself how far we've come when I get frustrated with the condition of the house!"
Her sister Blondie from Tales from Clark Street may also be lucky enough to get one as a gift this holiday season:
"She sees the world and her life as a picture stream, and I think she would really enjoy photos she could hold and touch, unlike the digital ones I'm always battering her with."
Print or Share online?
"I mostly share them digitally. We back them up every night after almost losing them in a computer crash. I do love a printed picture though. Once we get settled -- we moved this summer, -- I want to print a bunch of photos and update our albums."
Printable version
Rita Arens called her blog 
I have yet to meet a mom that doesn't like taking photos of her child. Rita's favorite shot of her daughter is one she took when her daughter was about 10 months old:
On candid versus posed pictures of children, Rita agrees with the other moms I spoke with for these interviews: