An instagram a day

Last Friday was the first official day of summer... yay! Since I am home all summer with my three ladies, I have decided (and told everyone I know) that I am going to be living at the beach all summer. Sounds like a pretty nice way to spend the summer to me. But let's be real for a minute... I probably won't get there EVERY SINGLE DAY. In fact, I'll be lucky to get there three days a week (might be my new revised goal). Despite my revised plan, I am determined to make this a super fun summer to remember with just the right amount of relaxation, a pinch of adventure, and lots and lots of fun in the sun (nothing like a little pressure to really get the relaxation going.)

I've recently fallen back in love with Instagram (we had a short lived affair last fall that didn't last.) I decided to start a mini summer project of taking one Instagram picture every day, with the hopes of documenting something fun or memorable we did that day. 

Here are a few of my favorites so far this summer.

Sidewalk chalk

Strawberry picking

Afternoon at the beach

I love all the effect options Instagram offers for photos. I am especially loving the filter I used for the beach photos called Earlybird. 

I'm not sure yet what I'll do with the photos - a collage of some kind perhaps? I have found plenty of great ideas on Pinterest, but that is a whole other blog for another day!

To follow our adventures on Instagram go to http://instagram.com and follow sonarevette.

Happy summer all!

A summer reading list for the whole family to enjoy

My oldest daughter has really been enjoying chapter books recently so I began to create a summer reading list of books for us to read together. We just finished reading Pippi Longstocking and she has loved it. It had been a while since I read Pippi and I quite enjoyed this hilarious book too. So I thought... why not choose more chapter books that L loves and that I actually like reading too? I think I've done just that with our latest pick. We are reading The Silver Crown now and last night when we finished the chapter we were on, I sent L off to bed. My husband came into our room a few minutes later and caught me still reading. Our conversation went something like this. 

Husband: Are you reading ahead? (smirking)
Me: Well... err.. yes. 
Husband: Didn't you just tell L only one chapter a night?
Me: Um... I need to check ahead to see if it's appropriate for a five-year-old. (guilty smile)

OK, maybe I am enjoying this most recent book a bit too much. Or maybe it is just perfect for our family to read together. I have always been a big fan of Young Adult Literature so why not enjoy this new phase of chapter book reading as much as the kids? 

I don't know if we'll actually get to read all of these titles this summer, but here is our proposed summer reading list:

The Silver Crown

Ballet Shoes

Mary Poppins

The Ordinary Princess

Harriet The Spy

Little House on the Prarie

Do you have a summer reading list? Are you as into Young Adult Literature as I am? Are you reading chapter books with your little ones? What books do you recommend reading together? 

4 (or more!) kids is easier than 3!?

A recent study from TODAYmoms.com claims that three is the most stressful number of children to have. As a new-ish mom to three little girls, I believe it! And of course three is harder than two. You're outnumbered! But say what? They are telling me that adding another to my brood would actually make life easier? I don't know that I'm buying what you're selling todaymom.com. 

So what's the story? Do you just get to be an expert on child rearing when you hit four+ kiddos? Or is it that you just give up on ever getting anything done again? The article seems to suggest a little bit of both. "There's just not enough space in your head for perfectionism when you get to four or more kids," claims Dr. Janet Taylor. And then later in the article Taylor says, "The more children you have, the more confident you become in your parenting abilities." 

Another theory is that the older children start helping with the younger children as you add more. I can see that in a situation like The Duggar family, but when the oldest is only six, I'm not sure that the help they give would be enough. 

My vote is that no matter how many kids you have, be it one or nineteen, we moms need to find some time to relax, to regroup, to recharge. One of my favorite activities every week is getting together with a group of moms and our two-year-olds. We started the weekly playgroup for our little ones who weren't quite ready for pre-school, but who needed some social time. It turns out, the moms needed some social time too! Even during the craziest of weeks, when I've barely had time to shower, let alone exercise, I love knowing I have my Thursday morning playgroup to look forward to! 

So what do you do to keep your sanity? Meditation? Time out with friends? A day (or an hour) at the spa? 

And we would love to hear from moms of four or more out there to tell us. Does it really get easier??? 

Summah time

We are having a heat wave here in Boston. With this heat wave, it officially feels like summah time! I have pledged to take my 3 children to the beach A LOT this summer. In fact, I have used the term *every day* to anyone who will listen on multiple occasions. Now that the summer is here, I am starting to get a little worried about how I will actually accomplish said every day beach going. I'm going to have to get organized to be able to get all 3 to the beach solo even once. We were lucky to spend this past 95 degree Saturday as a family on a beautiful North Shore beach. It was great, but how am I going to do that on my own? I was picturing a napping 6 month old and 2 little girls building sand castles next to us. Now I'm thinking a possibly sleeping baby, an almost 3-year old playing in the sand and running down the beach while my 5-year old is going deeper and deeper into the ocean. So I need some help! Do I need the beach caddy or is less better? Do I go for an umbrella or a tent? Come on you beach going veterans out there... what are the beach necessities and what can I do without?