Me and Mine | June ’17

Oh dear. It seems the last time I blogged was May’s Me and Mine photos. I am a truly lazy and rubbish blogger this month, but that’s okay, isn’t it?!

June has been filled with a lot of work, a lot of sun and a lot of mild stress. It’s been busy, I feel like i’ve hardly seen the children at all and July is set to be even busier. Peek wedding season for me means I haven’t got a single full day with all 3 kids together until they break up from school. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for them to break up!! Camping trips, pool days and evenings by the sea will be filling our August – Bring it ooonnn.

So not only did I fail on a sunny gorgeous photo this month, I literally took these TODAY. On the day they are meant to go live. WHOOOOPS.

I hope everyone has had a ruddy lovely July!

Do go check out the other wonderful co hosts and have a nosey at their photos too. Lucy, Alex, Katie, Fritha, Jenny and Lucy.

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Me and Mine | May ’17

May has been a bit of a whirlwind month, with birthday celebrations and travelling to Budapest with my Mum. (You can see all our snaps over on my business blog here) But it has been full of fun and sun! I feel like I say every month has been busy, this year has flew by in a flash but it has, so far, been one of my favourite starts to a year in so so long!

I had all the visions of romantic close up pictures in the dunes at Camber Sands after Harvey’s birthday meal but alas, we ended up rolling around in the sand and had WAY too much fun!! We did manage to get a couple of pictures before though just before the sun went down so they will have to do!

We made a little vow to each other when we were there that we would visit much more often this year as we tend to steer away from Camber during the Summer months. It gets super busy during the day but late afternoon/evening strolls are so ideal for us. So bring on picnic dinners, sunset watching and a million more photos over the next few months!

A few things we have been enjoying this month

– Dinner outside
– The smell of suncream!
– Lego batman on the Wii
– Harry Potter!
– Seeing friends

We are super excited for another fun packed month. Trips to London, I have loads of work on with lots of weddings i’m shooting at and we are praying for lots more SUN!

I hope you all have a marvellous June.

Do go check out the other wonderful co hosts and have a nosey at their photos too. Lucy, Alex, Katie, Fritha, Jenny and Lucy.

Me and Mine | April ’17

April has been busy, exhausting, fun and exciting. I have laughed more than I thought imaginable, cried more than I thought possible. I have been on 2 weekends away, both equally awesome in their own ways. I have celebrated turning 27 with a whole heap of new friends, I have missed the kids so much, I have wanted to shout at them a lot.

I went to see my wonderful friend Charlie from Farlie Photography at the beginning of the month and so of course, I had to rope in a favour and she took our pictures for the month. I love them so much, some of my favourites to date – so THANK YOU Charlie!

I can’t bloody wait to head into May. More travels, birthday celebrations and COME ON SUN!! WE NEED YOU SO BAD NOW!!

Do go check out the other wonderful co hosts and have a nosey at their photos too. Lucy, Alex, Katie, Fritha, Jenny and Lucy.

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Me and Mine | March 2017

March has been full of birthday celebrations, planning the next few months exciting adventures and also some SUN!!

April is going to be our busiest month yet, I am away 3 out of the 4 weekends and also spending 5 days in Wales on a photography workshop retreat (which I am SO excited about I can’t even tell you.) It is also the Easter holidays so I have a feeling come May i’m going to need a spa day… 😉 I will be making short videos of some our days during the holidays so please do go and check out our little YouTube channel and subscribe if you’d like to keep up to date with what our weeks are looking like!

We’ve been loving having the sun grace our skin a bit more in March. The freckles are making an appearance and the windows have been swung open on more than one occasion. It feels like we have turned a corner and I know when I say this i’m speaking on behalf of 95% of the British population –  Bring oooonn the Summer!!

Our Me and Mine photos this month were a struggle. Mainly because my newly 5 year old daughter was a complete misery. My sister in law and I decided we would take each others photos when we could as we all know having a tripod set up is a complete ballache so we took prime opportunity on Mother’s Day to take these. Alas, when a child doesn’t play ball there aint enough love nore money thats going to change her mind. Just check out that face on the 2nd picture. But thank you, Harri, for grabbing these 3 for us. I actually really love the first one of us all!

Can’t wait to flick through everyone elses this month, promise I will be commenting on much more from now as I have massively slacked so far!  Do go check out the other wonderful co hosts and have a nosey at their photos too. Lucy, Alex, Katie, Fritha, Jenny and Lucy.

 
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Me & Mine | February 2017

February… Errr. WHAT? Where did that go? Even sans the few days we miss out on in Feb – Those 28 days whizzed by in a weird windy doris induced blur!

#isurviveddoris #butmyhairdidnot

We had a lot of downtime this month, with a sickness bug taking over our half term we were sofa bound for the most part but we did manage to get out to the beach a couple of times. I’ve said it before but ‘big days out’ are totally overrated in our house. Beach trips, walks in the woods and park dates is what its all about for us.

So here we are at our favourite place on the planet, salt in the air and wind through our hair. (unintentional poetry for you.)

Funny fact – It was so windy and we were freezing when we took these photos. The kids were hungry and we just wanted to cuddle up on the sofa after a weekend apart. I didn’t check my camera settings properly and didn’t check back of camera mid session. Got home, uploaded them. All out of focus. So we’re winging it. I actually really love them! Not all bad!

I am still feeling incredibly chuffed that I am co-hosting this link up. If you don’t already join in – it’s not too late! You can join in whatever month you like, it is such a lovely project to look back on no matter how long you have been doing it. Do go check out the other wonderful co hosts and have a nosey at their photos too. Lucy, Alex, Katie, Fritha, Jenny and Lucy.

Char x

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Me and Mine | January 2017

Like so many others, when I started this blog it was purely for recording the journey of being a parent. I wanted my children to see what it was like from my point of view, I wanted to share photo after photo and I wanted to have it as a creative outburst. I also never wanted to sugar coat our lives and back when I first started I did pour my heart out on more than 500 occasions, which is a lot more than I do now. I started a little blog over 6 years ago and so much has changed since then and I guess the way I view things has changed too. I feel more vulnerable now, maybe that comes with age, although I am still so young I feel so much older than I did 5 years ago which in turn has meant I hold back a lot more. But going through a separation has made me wonder if I was perhaps sugar coating our lives for the last few years. So many people have said to me that we portrayed ‘The perfect family’ and as much as we did have a wonderful family unit, it made me sad that I didn’t stay as true and as honest as I did at the beginning.

So 2017 is not only going to be an incredible year, it is going to be an honest one. It is going to be vulnerable and challenging and raw. And I hope that you can see that as time goes on, and I hope that my blog posts no longer portray an idyllic life. Because we are far from that!

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When Lucy over at Dear Beautiful contacted me to ask if I wanted to co-host the Me and Mine Project alongside herself and 5 other wonderfully creative bloggers for the year I shrieked with joy because this is most definitely a photography project that speaks to me on every level, just like it is for many other bloggers too! I feel extremely honoured to be alongside this bunch of ladies. So here we are, month 1 of 2017 and this is our first collection of photos of our new unit. And here we are, being honest and true to ourselves. We took them last night, Harvey actually has a sickness bug right now too. We were in our pyjamas, hadn’t had a bath and Oliver had spilt tomato sauce from his meatballs down his vest which then got all over my white sheets. Oh and i’ve just noticed my minging dry feet too. 😉 You’re welcome. We weren’t organised and we probably won’t be in the future either, but this is me, and these are mine. And I couldn’t ask for a more incredible bunch of small humans to spend my days and nights with.

Do go check out the other co hosts and have a nosey at their photos too. Lucy, Alex, Katie, Fritha, Jenny and Lucy.

“Can we pretend to be asleep” – Oliver 😉

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Me and Mine | August ’16

August!!? Where have you gone?! I cannot get over how fast these Summer hols have gone and I know we say this every month but REALLY. 1 week today and they are back to school. The start of a new chapter for my darling (demanding, stroppy, diva like) Elsie.

SLOW DOWN LIFE.

We have had a total and utter blast. Yeah, it’s been really bloody hard and I have had my fair share of tantrums alongside the kids but on a whole it has been awesome. We are feeling ever so grateful for the great British weather who was clearly on our side this year and I don’t think we had a single day where we didn’t go outside for at least an hour or two! HALLELUJAH!! I’ll be honest, the thought of spending 6 weeks solo with the kids did terrify me somewhat and I was half dreading the thought of thinking of something to do day in day out. But alas, they have been happy to play in the garden or just wander up to the park in between the trips to see friends, walks in the woods and picnics at the beach.

We wrote a Summer bucket list (which i totally meant to blog about) and we have ticked off nearly every single one so I’d say that was a result! Not only did we have a 6th birthday to celebrate (which again… I meant to blog about….) we went camping, AND welcomed a new baby cousin into our family. (WHICH I WILL BE BLOGGING ABOUT…!!) We have had a pretty spectacular 6 weeks.

So I have written a post about our trip to Mayfield Lavender and touched on the fact it wasn’t all it cracked up to be with 3 fed up kids, a lot of stinging nettles and 5000 bumble bees. But we did get a few hilarious shots that are too good not to share 😉 They are not how I wanted them, as always, but I need to stop putting pressure on myself to deliver the best photos month in month out. And actually, this shows exactly who we are as a family. Totally bonkers.

Happy September folks!

Char x

Me and Mine July ’16

July has been a bit of a funny month for us. It all went by in a bit of an emotional blur which you can read more about here. Not only did I sob my way through it, the weather was utterly divine which meant we were out and about throughout the entirety of the month. However, this did not mean we were organised and by the time it came to our planned weekend for taking these, a few of us became ill and everything else got pushed aside!

Technically cheating as these were taken on the 1st August and do not show how beautiful July really was but alas, they will have to do!

We had end of year plays, sports day, graduation from pre school, camping with friends a few trips to the beach and the new Hastings Pier! So we thought it would be fun to do some of our pictures on the pier as its quite a huge milestone in town and we should definitely celebrate it. After the old pier was burnt down in 2010, it has finally reopened after soooo much fundraising.

If you are ever down south, be sure to have a wander along and visit as it really is quite lovely!

Char x

Me and Mine June ’16

I am fully aware I have exhausted all outlet for holiday snaps but just let me have this one more post, okay?! 😉

We couldn’t resist having our June family photos from our holibobs from the beginning of the month. I again, had visioned them to be like this at all and I had hoped for some on the beach more, but alas I really do love a sunset so a sunset it shall be!

The bonus about going away with family is they can take your pictures for you without having to use the remote and a tripod! Thank you Harri for taking our me and mine photos for June!

You can have a look at some of my other posts about our time away here , here and here!

Char x

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Me and Mine May ’16

I can’t even begin to tell you how stressful this little jaunt down to the river side was. Imagine trying to pose 3 children and a husband, then running to position the camera on a stack of straw and mud as you couldn’t find your tripod, putting on the self timer and running back down as fast as you can and positioning yourself correctly. All whilst the kids are now bored, and the dog is photo bombing in the least dignifying position ever and the camera already clicked to take the photo 3 seconds ago whilst you were shouting at the dog and the children and the husband…

Breathe.

This month has been quite emotional in lots of ways. Our eldest baby turned 8 at the weekend and it was also our 5 year wedding anniversary last week. Lots going on behind the scenes that I tend to not write about, or share with many people either. I think i’ll probably write a post about it one day but for now I am going through some things that are being dealt with but will be a long process! So please excuse my lack of motivation on my blog at the minute but hopefully I will get my mojo back whilst sipping cocktails and soaking up some sun next week. Did I tell you how excited I am we are going away in 4 sleeps!!?? 😉

Anyhoo… here are my few pictures we did manage to take one evening along the river side. As stressful as it was, I love the light in them and how cringey co ordinated we are… Definitely wasn’t planned. Okay it was.

Char x

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Me and Mine March ’16

I am pleased to announce that we are ILL FREE! 😉 February consisted of virus after cold after cough and March has consisted of recovery, slowing down and family time.

Although technically we haven’t had a quiet March we have squeezed in the odd sofa day which seems to have calmed the pace of our crazy March schedule. A 4th birthday, (posts here, here and here) Mother’s Day and Easter seem to have consumed our March but for all the right reasons. Lots of time for family days and enjoying each others company, I hope that April is just as wonderful!

My blog has been pretty much taken over by our youngest and if you’re a new reader looking at my blog right now you would assume we just had 1 daughter. We don’t… 😉 March has made me realise how tricky it is to get photos of the boys. Not only because they spend 5 out of 7 days at school but also because when we are out they are either racing ahead, climbing a tree or refusing to let me photograph them. April is my boys challenge month and I SHALL most definitely be dedicated a few posts to my sons. The Easter holidays and lighter evenings will definitely play a huge support in my challenge!! Wish me luck!

We took these photos at the beginning of the month at Sissinghurst Castle Garden and had quite a lot of fun doing them! Although I do always get the short straw with running to and fro to the camera. A workout as well as our family pictures, win win!! The ground was fairly boggy beneath us and I wanted to get some more sitting down but I didn’t take my big tripod and we didn’t fancy getting muddy bottoms. I am quite pleased with these still though and this just sums up our family. Bonkers.

Char x

Bored already, Oliver?!

Linking up with Katie and the rest of the gang with the Me and Mine Project.