Last updated on November 19th, 2023 at 12:29 am
How did we get to the end of January 2016 already? I am not going to lie to you, January has not been kind to us in more ways than one. It’s been one of the hardest months as a parent, as a blogger, and as a wife just keeping up with life and everything it demands of me.
The first week saw us trying to get back into a routine of school/nursery/work which felt tiring and busy more than normal. The second week found the kids being very emotional, cranky, and the weather turning for the worse. The third week saw the kids both with puke buckets for days follow by Mr P and I not well either. It was like the plague hit us all at once. This past week has been the toughest of all. I know I shouldn’t admit that my website has been hacked. You are supposed to say, “it in maintenance”. But no I need to say it has ruined me for days trying to fix and sort out. When you eat, sleep and breathe your blog and work hard to make it the very best, it’s not easy to handle. I had a big breakdown and even at 32, I just wanted my mommy. I called and begged her to come visit me. It’s time like this I get so homesick that I can’t just go have a coffee and get a hug from my mother.
While this is one of my favorite projects that I started over two years ago I am admitting I feel like I failed this month. I had all these plans for 2016 family captures to be fun, creative and unique. Instead… it was the first time we have attempted taking our family capture more than once and actually this month it was the third attempt and I had to just say, you know what life isn’t perfect, life throws you curve balls and well this is our grainy, blurred, tired eyes, mix matched clothes, cheesy grins of life below. In all it’s imperfections. I look at these and I can see the tough month we have had but I also can see that after it all we are still a team, a family unit. That’s what its all about. 
Together we are loving…
Staying in our pjs a little longer on the weekends than normal.
Duvet days and movies together.
Not planning anything for the weekends and being home together.
Trying to live a slower paced life.
Clearing out the house of all it’s unwanted, unneeded items. (maybe just mommy)
Sometimes as bloggers I think we may get wrapped up into the perfect picture, the perfect setting and capturing moments that are real but lovely. I will fully admit this and I feel pressure when I see that our family captures one month may have come out unfocused or bad. But as a supportive friend said to me this week, that’s not what its about. I really have to step back and stop putting extra added pressure on myself. So what if these are not in the best location, the lighting is crap and they are grainy which is what I first thought of when I downloaded them. But looking at them closer I see passed all that. I see MM enjoying an inside joke with her Daddy and see how much B has really grown up and changed since the last time we sat here and took a photo together. I see that we can have a laugh together despite the crappy month we have had. I am trying to focus on the positives as we look forward to February starting and a chance to try it all over again.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed when things go bad? Does it ever feel like it’s snowballing together? How do you get back on course? I know, it’s always better to share clear, lovely photos on my blog which each month I try desperately but sometimes I have to say life just doesn’t play ball like you want it to and you got to roll with it. These will still be memories of our life together.
Why not check out the Me & Mine host and team and see what their lovely families have been up to this month. Lucy at Dear Beautiful, Katie at Mummy Daddy Me, Fritha at Tigerlilly Quinn, Lucy at Capture By Lucy, and Alex at Bump-to-Baby.
Oh Jenny, it’s certainly been a tough month for you all. And it’s so easy for us bloggers to be tough on ourselves when things aren’t perfect. But this is kind of what The Me and Mine Project is all about, not waiting for the perfect moment to get the perfect family photo, because the truth is that we’d e waiting forever. It’s about grabbing your family and taking a photo anyway. And I guarantee when you look back on this photo you won’t remember every detail of your crappy month, you’ll say how happy you looked, how in love you all are. x
Oh no Jenny, I hope your blog is ok now and I hope you’re all feeling much much better. It’s hard enough when just one person gets sick but when it’s everyone at once it’s the hardest thing ever. I always want my mum then too. May February be much kinder to you all xx
Hope Feb is a little kinder to you. These photos are wonderful – so full of love!
Oh what is it with this January – it’s been so hard on so many of us, and what a month you’ve had too – I’ll admit I will be welcoming February with open arms – here’s to some long lazy days, good health all round and maybe even a bit of sunshine, or snow, I’d accept snow!
I have plenty of moments like these too, and its so frustrating. one of my websites got completely deleted the other day and I had to start from scratch. You’re right in what you’re saying with that when you put your everything into something and when it backfires – it completely defeats you right? You’re not alone in that thinking though so big hugs to you. wishing you a positive month in February. and as for the photos, I think if its an honest capture, then it’s just as good as something you have planned and idealised. These are lovely natural photos, and in the comfort of your home too which is fab xxx
So sorry to hear about your website. It must be hard when your mum isn’t just a short drive away. Bless you. xxx
The photos are lovely and love and happiness shines through xxx
I’m terrible for letting things get on top of me and then I’ll flip my lid. I know it passes, so I just ride it out. I think your pictures are gorgeous. Your friend is right…I’m not taking part in this to see photographer grade snaps, but to see people’s family, the bond, the growth and the love. It’s real life! Crikey I have descending fog in mine…great start! xx
I think your photographs are beautiful, really lovely 🙂 I had a horrible November and December last year, really really horrible, 3 awful things happened and 2 have turned out really well and fingers crossed the third will be sorted soon and things will start to settle down. Sometimes life gets in the way and it is hard and it’s horrible, we have a little family saying “we may not have it altogether but together we have it all” and it’s true, when things got really bad I had to keep reminding myself that we were all still here and it would be ok, it is hard to do though. But you’re not alone and although I don’t know you personally, it’s not nice to think of you having a bad time. I hope things pick up for you, lots of love and hugs xxxx <3
Zoe ♥ MammafulZo
I bet you can’t wait for your Mom to give you a cuddle. I really do admire you sometimes Jenny, which I don’t even think you realise. J and I often talk about how we would love to move away from where we live, our area isn’t particularly exciting or inspiring, but I can’t because I am just too much of a wimp to leave my family, in particular my Mum. While you have made your own beautiful family and are happy here, it really must be hard to live thousands of miles away from where you grew up. You should give yourself a break from time to time and realise that you are a very strong lady. I know that I would be beside myself if my blog broke (as I have been in the past!) and I hope it is all sorted as much as it can be. Like I have put pressure on myself to get the perfect photos for my blog. But like Lucy said, I think especially with this project, it’s all about capturing your family. The perfect moments and the not so perfect moments- because life isn’t perfect all the time lets face it. Sometimes it is shitty and we feel shitty and we shouldn’t have to pretend that we are fine. For what its worth I think these photos are lovely. You can tell the love between you and thats the most important thing. I hope February is kinder to you all. xxxxxx
Oh I really hope you have a better February. I still think the photos are lovely, I adore the way your little girl is looking up to her Daddy, so sweet.
These are gorgeous photos! Sometimes life is pretty tough isn’t it? You feel tired or unmotivated and it sucks big time. I often feel like finally it’s going well and then boom something happens to knock it. Here’s hoping February is a better month x
Oh no! It really does sounds like you’ve had a pretty awful January. Your photos might just be taken at home and might be a bit grainy (I think there might be a lot of those round this month though!) but they still show what a happy, loving family you are. And it’s nowhere near as far away but I live 250 miles away from my parents and I totally get what you mean about how sometimes you just need your mum! I really hope February is kinder to you.
What an awful month, I really hope your Feburary is much better. I always love your pictures, and this month is no exception, you all look so happy and relaxed. I am finding things overwhelming at the moment, and I think admiting it to myself and a few friends and talking about it has helped, as well as cutting out a few things to make life easier. I think I am on a similar mission as you to simplify things at home and thats really helping too! Sending hugs xx
Oh lovely! I’m so sorry that you’ve had a tough month but as for your photos, I’m not seeing any grain or anything else, I’m seeing perfect photos of you all looking stunning and more importantly, happy. Sending hugs xx
Oh Jenny, reading this made me want to just come and give you a big hug! I’m sorry you haven’t had the best January but a new month is the perfect opportunity to start fresh. Forget about what happened last month and focus on February being better, which i’m sure it will be! I totally agree with you about putting pressure on ourselves, I’m the worst for it. I’m always striving to be the perfect Mama/Wife/Friend/Blogger etc and sometimes it can just feel so overwhelming and it makes me want to just bury my head. I often find writing a list helps me to reevaluate everything and clears my head. Try not to be so hard on yourself lovely, you are doing great and these photos are so full of love, which is all that matters. xoxo
January has definitely been the month of the sick bug! I think every member of every family has had it and I am hoping Febraury is healthier for us all x
Oh Jenny what a month you’ve all had!! My mum lives in west Wales, so I do (kind of) understand how you feel – although she does make the trip up to visit us on a regular basis (thank goodness). I hope you’re all now over the bug and that you’ve managed to sort everything out with your beautiful blog. That must have been a total nightmare!!
Now you must STOP giving yourself a hard time about your pictures! I see beautiful pictures, of a gorgeous and happy family. To me they are PERFECT! xxx
Your photos are lovely – the picture of your daughter looking up at her dad is pure joy 🙂
Ah Jenny, I can so relate to everything you’ve said. If you’re a perfectionist as a person and a blogger, life is not easy!!! And you are always your own worst critic, I am exactly the same way. I chastise and blame myself when something as silly as a photo isn’t how I wanted/imagined it to be when I download it – it’s always the worst thing in the world in my mind, even though in reality it’s so very trivial! It’s so hard to pull yourself out of that headspace sometimes.
And with blogging too – it’s so easy to become bogged down in things, to self doubt and self depricate – compare yourself unfavourably to what everybody seems to be capable of. It’s a tough gig sometimes.
But you’re so right – nobody else looks at these photos and see’s any of those imperfections that you think are there – they seem a happy family, happy children, and a lot of love. And thats what your kids will see when they look back at them in 20 years time too 🙂 xxx
Perfectly imperfect. I love these photo’s because you are right, sometimes life just throws everything at us and we just have to go with it. I hope you are all feeling a lot better and that February is a much brighter month for you all xo
Thank you. Yes I am trying to live life as it is instead of how we want it to look sometimes you get caught up in that and you get ocd about it all. The kids probably can feel that. We were literally just sat on the floor and went with it. 🙂
Ah don’t be silly Jenny. The photos are gorgeous. Very bright in my opinion. When I look at my own photos they are always dark or something wrong with them. But I don’t have a fancy DSLR camera so I am happy that I am getting clear photos even.
Oh yes most of my blog photos the last six months are from my iphone and all my ig is iphone captures. I hate grain but it’s hard to get my big camera out and carry it around my pocket to capture those funny moments of the kids. lol
aww Jenny! I didn’t realise what a bad month you were having, so sorry to hear it. I can only imagine how homesick you must feel from time to time. I don’t see my family much but I have such a string friendship group that are kinda like family here I doubt I could ever move away. I hope Feb is kinder to you xx
Thanks lovely Fritha. I hope February is kinder to me too. It’s started out good so far. 🙂 Sometimes friends are just as good as family when you are that close. I have my uk adopted family as I call them my best friend’s parents are so close to us and I couldn’t not have them. But sometimes you just need your momma. I can’t wait for her to visit.
Your pictures are gorgeous, I don’t think anyone else would see the imperfections that you can. I just see a family full of love. So sorry to hear about your blog getting hacked, what an absolute nightmare! Glad you got it sorted, that must have been so stressful.
OH it was the worse week ever. Why I may be harsh about my photos it was an all around horrible month and I am glad to see the end of it. We are taking February with a better stride already.
Oh Jenny I resonate with so much in this post. Sorry you have had a tough month and here is to a better February. I too got disappointed with the missed opportunities and bad lighting for my family photos as I had high expectations but like you I try to look past them and into the moment itself and thankful that at least I have the month captured. Together. Yours are beautiful though xx
Aww such gorgeous and rather relaxed pictures. I really need some help setting up our family photos x
These were on the floor of our dining room lol But they are bit dark and grainy as it’s been so miserable weather wise outdoors. But I like some outdoors and some indoors just chilling it’s easier for the little ones than posing. Yours are always beautiful.