Instagram my life, please

Instagram. Are you on it yet? It’s life re-touched, blurred, and toned up for maximum beauty. I recently ramped up my Instagram usage after reading Michelle’s awesome post “Should you let your kids get on Instagram” – I figured I needed to get Instagram-savvy before my oldest started begging for a user name (and after reading Michelle’s post, I suggest you do the same – gotta stay current, Smarties!).

Well, now I’m officially addicted. And CSP is, too. We are on Instagram! Follow us – our user name is @charlottesmartypants -we can’t wait to “meet” all of you in the Instagram world!! (FYI – if you’ve never used Instagram, it’s really an app for your smartphone – there’s a web site, but it’s not very user-friendly.)

It’s like a fun mix of Twitter and Facebook. You can create your own user name (like Twitter), so get as creative as you want here. Hashtags are also all over Instagram so it’s easy to search for a topic, trend, or news item (plus it’s super fun to come up with quirky hashtags to #describeyourphoto). Follow celebrities, stores, companies, or just your close group of friends. Make your profile public or private. Share with just Instagram users or on Twitter, Facebook, email, etc. It’s super easy to use.

AND it’s super easy to make your life look…perfect…with no words at all – or maybe just a quick #hashtag. Who doesn’t love that?

Take, for example, my daily life. I took a few pics with my phone of just a normal day around my house and jazzed them up on Instagram to show you just how pretty #reallife can be.

Morning chores. Unmade beds Instragram-ed look…gosh, they almost look like they came out of an old novel right or maybe a scary movie? I mean, the machine gun under the bed almost looks mysterious in this one. #beautyinthedailygrind, folks.

The boys’ bathroom. Clutter is surreal…almost calming in this pic. I mean, even the leftover lice treatment (that’s been sitting there for months, but I’m no dummy – I’ve got 4 kids – I’m sure we’ll get it again and I’m #notthrowin’itaway) is pretty, right? (And yes, that’s Axe hair gel for my 7-year-old – it takes me a full day to get the smell out of my hands when we use it #sonotreadyforteens.)

Laundry. OK, Smarties, this isn’t actually that realistic of my daily laundry workload, but I’ve been trying to keep up this summer, and I’m not going to ruin a good thing just for this post, so this is actually just one load of whites – not the bajillion loads I do in a week. But still, the harshness of the workload ahead of me is blurred on Instagram.  #ineedawifetohelpwithlaundry

OK, how about this one – three of the kids zoned out watching a movie. Doesn’t it look like we did a photography session of just our daily life? You wouldn’t even guess that right before this they were fighting over the remote, demanding more snacks, and refusing to play outside on a beautiful day. You also wouldn’t pick up on the fact that they didn’t clean up their mess. On Instagram I’d title it something like: Relaxing after a long day at the pool; then I’d have to add #ilivewithslobs. Just to be honest.

I mean, everyone is a photographer on Instagram. Here’s a “series” of two photos (can a series be only two? It can on Instagram!) of my five-year-old’s tantrum after his sister took the EZ Roller.

I’m like a #photographypoet, right?

You can be, too, my friend. Just join Instagram. It’s FUN. I follow celebs (yes, the Kardashians are always in full make up – no matter what) and some of the stores I love. Plus, my REAL friends (could I count Justin Timberlake as a “real” friend since I follow him?) are SO funny and quirky with their captions and hashtags on each photo – they are what make Instagram fun to me. And seriously, your kids are gonna be asking to get on it, so might as well get up to speed.

When you do join or if you’ve already joined, make SURE to follow us, @charlottesmartypants, for all the latest news on the prettied-up #pink’ngreen life!!

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