Welcome to Janeville
Hey you, I am so glad you're here! I'm Janelle, the Jane behind Janeville. I am married to my husband, TJ. We have two boys, Bear, 10, and Monkey, 6 (names have been changed to protect the innocent). We have two dogs, one cat, two full-time jobs and lots of chaos.
First Things First
I hope you aren't here for fashion advice. This mama hasn't worn pants with a button in five years. I am an average suburban boy-mom.
I am a hard-core introvert trying to navigate
an extroverted world. My husband and our two sons are extroverted and I often feel out of place. I often wonder: What’s my purpose? What do I have to offer? Do you feel rundown and unseen? Do the days blend together?
Don’t feel bad if your days are an endless loop of butt wiper extraordinaire and snack bitch. Your little ones love you enormously and depend on you for their every need. You're an amazing mom! You chose this life and you wouldn't trade it for ANYthing (except a hot bath and 24 hours of solitude). In a hot second. 🔥
You have been putting yourself last far too long and so have I. And, what have I earned for my efforts, you ask? A muffin top and a wine habit. Lovely parting gifts.
Fuel Your Passion
Motherhood is changing. We are raising families, crushing it at work, breaking through the glass ceiling, leaning in … wait, leaning out, and smashing the patriarchy. It's a great time to be a woman. It's also exhausting.
Listen when I tell you: You cannot pour from an empty cup. Trust me, I know that sounds trite, it seems downright impossible to find a moment for yourself when everyone else depends on you for their needs. But, your family is like a beautiful brick house that you have lovingly built by hand. Brick by brick. And, you are the foundation. When you are happy and fulfilled, you can more aptly care for them. You are worth it. Fill your cup. Put on your oxygen mask first.
Remember that thing you used to love doing? That thing that brought you pure joy? That ONE thing that lit your soul on fire? You've got to dig it out of the basement storage, slap the dust off it and make it a priority again.
Last year I got fed up with myself. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was tired of being busy, but not productive. Tired of existing, but not living. Tired of having no joy in my journey. Tired of waiting for life to happen to me. I wanted my spark back.
That's when I decided to cut out the biggest killer of my time, energy and money. I broke up with a very long-time toxic friend – wine.
What to Expect
Here's what you need to know about me. I am not an expert. All I know for sure is that I want to start living— truly living an authentic life.
I look around and see a lot of friends who are rocking this stage of life. They are natural born moms who seem effortlessly organized. My sisters-in-law are like this. They just know how to mom. While my sis-in-law, Katie, was singing songs about ceiling fans during diaper changes, I was completely task oriented. Like my babies were a daily agenda that needed to be managed.
Have you ever heard this kind of exchange between two women:
OMG, I was so stressed out I couldn't stop scrubbing my stovetop!
Girl, same.
Not me. Not even close.
I didn't get that gene. I read a lot. I Google. I'm not a bad mom, I'm just not the Pinterest mom, or the organic mom, or the jogging-stroller mom or the germaphobe mom. I'm the undefined mom. The winging-it mom. Often, the shit-show mom.
In this blog, I will be baring my soul about my journey to become alcohol-free. I will share what it has meant to me to kick my wine habit; and the freedom and joy that took me by surprise as a result. I will write about raising my boys to be men that you’d be happy to see your daughter marry. I will also write about the tools I have implemented to help me streamline life and free up time and mental bandwidth.
I am tired of women tearing each other down. Let's raise each other up, because we are the same.
I can't wait to connect with you! Join my email list so you never miss a post!
I am you. I am every mom. I am Jane. ❤️