Make a personalized Christmas card, they said...

It'll be fun, they said.

It'll be cute, they said.

You can even do it yourself, they said.

Yeah, right.

See, "they" forgot to mention a few things:

• one year olds don't take direction very well
• four year olds get bored when the one year old is mucking around
• baubles can and will be used as projectiles
• someone will cry (it might be you)
• props will be knocked over and broken
• you will bribe them to stay still
• at least one of them will have closed eyes in about a quarter of the photos you take
• their young ears may be subject to a few muttered swear words
• they'll do something cute but because you're just using your phone, it will be blurry
• when one is looking adorable the other will be mid-sneeze or have a finger up their nose
• out of 4,382 photos, only three will look somewhat acceptable
• you will need a stiff drink after

Cameo from our Colzart Duxzart Christmas Duck.

Merry Christmas, gorgeous people of the Internet. Those are my three somewhat acceptable photos. You're welcome.

Note to self: start saving for a photographer for next year's card.

The Perfect Protest

Are you perfect? I'm not. But a whole lot of the time I try to be and it can really make life hard. The perfect wife. The perfect mother. The perfect sister, daughter, friend.

Brene Brown writes that "perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it's the thing that's really preventing us from taking flight." And you know what? She's right. Now being free from your own self judgment isn't as simple as saying "I'm not perfect" but it sure is a good way to start.

My house is messy

When my house looks clean, everything has just been hidden in cupboards

I have curves

I don't exercise nearly enough to be healthy

I put on a happy face, even to the people who want to see the real me

I have been known to be so tired that I'll skip a shower and go straight to bed

When I'm overtired and can't sleep, I cry

Sometimes it only takes a second for my anger to bubble over

And so much more.

Because I'm not perfect... I'm way too busy.

To show you just how much of a perfectionist I am though, I'll let you in on a secret. I made the sign twice - the first time it looked really bad so I threw it out and did it again. The second time it looked worse... but this time I just laughed at the irony of it all - trying to make a perfect sign for a post about not trying to be perfect. Then I thought the photos were too blurry, maybe I should take some more or run them through Photoshop? I'm still doing it! Still trying to be perfect! So screw it, I'll have a shoddy sign and blurry photos and surprise, surprise, THE WORLD WILL NOT COME TO AN END!

If you're a blogger and would like to join the Perfect Protest you can go here for details. If you just want to do it yourself, head on over to the Where's My Glow Facebook page and upload a photo of yourself with your sign, telling me why you're not perfect.