Last week, I did the fitness photo shoot for the November issue of Experience Life, and let me tell you, I had a blast. It was hard work — holding elevated poses without going boggle-eyed so the photographer can capture the moves is challenging — but really fun. Lydia and Jen, if you’re reading this: ANYTIME! JUST SAY THE WORD.

I started getting excited the week before, when I received an email from Pam, the clothes/hair/makeup stylist, asking for my clothing and shoe sizes. Then I got the call sheet: arrival time for “talent” (that would be me!) was 9:30 am. No problem.

Until it was. My day got off to a crazy start when my 9-month old got sick on the way to the babysitter’s house. Twenty minutes from home, with 45 minutes to get to the shoot location on time, I did a quickie clean-up of MK before turning around, canceling the babysitters and then calling my mother-in-law (MIL) in a panic to see if she can fill-in. Yes, she’d meet me at the house.

We pulled into the driveway 15 minutes from call-time, and I proceeded to hand my fever-stricken, throw-up-covered little girl off to my MIL before dashing out the door. (FYI: MK was happy to see her grandma and in surprisingly good spirits despite not feeling so hot, so I didn’t feel quite as bad for leaving her during her first real illness.)

I arrived at the club 20 minutes late, and though I was stressed about putting everyone behind schedule, it turned out to be no big deal. Senior fitness editor Jen Sinkler was getting prepped for new headshots for her Expert Answers column; while she was having her pics taken, I got the full hair and makeup treatment (like I said, Jen and Lyd, ANYTIME). Within 45 minutes, we were on the workout floor: