Family Archives - Page 5 of 19

Category: Family

What’s Up Wednesday (early!) {08.24.22}

Posted on August 24, 2022August 23, 2022 by Lauren Lane

This is my favorite post every month. I love sharing and reading about just the everyday things that people are into currently! We’re going to be gone next week on vacation, so I’m sharing my WUW with you early! I just couldn’t miss it.

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK: This week we’re doing homemade pizzas, cheesy sausage pasta florentine, and lemon butter chicken piccata!

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

Reminiscing and enjoying the pictures and videos from Jonathan and Holden’s second birthday party! We all had so much fun celebrating our little COVID babies!

Dear New Mom,

Posted on August 23, 2022August 16, 2022 by Lauren Lane

I’ve been a mom for four short years already. I struggle constantly in a state of trying to be appreciative of the phase of life I’m in and wishing things were a bit easier. It’s a strange paradigm as a mother, and father too, knowing that these phases of childhood are fleeting. That while so many firsts are happening, there are also so many lasts happening on a regular basis. When will it be the last time that they ask to mow as soon as they wake up? The last time that their little voice sounds so high and innocent? The last time that they tell you that you’re beautiful totally unprompted with your hair in a three day old mom bun, a stress pimple on your chin, and spit up on your clothes? The last time that they ask you to tickle them until their stomach hurts and they beg you to stop? The last time that they sign “I love you” instead of saying it with words? It’s a struggle to live presently as their mama knowing that childhood goes so quickly. To hold on to the sweetness of their little souls and moments of time in their lives knowing that they will never be like this again. But to also feel the yearn for some of the ease that comes with growing up. Looking forward to the times that they can pack their own bag for swim lesson and dress themselves. A time when they pick up their own plate after meals and the messes they make.

Friday Favorites {08.12.22}

Posted on August 12, 2022August 11, 2022 by Lauren Lane

Happy Friday, friends! It was the boys’ last official week in their current classrooms, and they are off from daycare today for a teacher in-service day! We have lots of errands to run to get ready for Jonathan’s birthday party this weekend, so I’m hoping they’ve put on their ”helper” pants and are eager to be good listeners today. Hahaha. Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!

I took Harrison for a special birthday treat/breakfast in April, and I loved the short little one-on-one time with him. Jonathan had his first dentist appointment last week, so I took the opportunity to sneak him away for a little special birthday breakfast date, too. He apparently missed the memo that it was breakfast and opted for an iced sugar cookie. Emphasis on just eating the icing, though.

How I Thought About Changing Jobs

Posted on August 3, 2022August 5, 2022 by Lauren Lane

Over a year ago, I accepted and started a new job. I’m not sure that I ever explicitly talked about starting a new job on this blog, but you may have figured it out from Instagram or other comments I had made along the way. I thought I’d talk a bit more about how I considered changing jobs after being in the same function for my entire adult professional life.

{{Side note: This picture above is from my masters year in North Carolina of press pictures we took for the graduate school. I never take pictures in work attire, so struggled to come up with pictures for this post. 😆}}

I spent my entire career working for a public accounting firm. When I moved from North Carolina back to Kansas City, I made a switch from one public accounting firm to another, but the work I was doing for both companies was exactly the same. I spent thirteen years working my way up in my chosen career path. For all intents and purposes, anyone would look at where I was just below the very top of my career path, and wonder why would you spend thirteen years of your life doing something only to give it up just *moments* before reaching the very top?

What’s Up Wednesday {07.27.22}

Posted on July 27, 2022July 26, 2022 by Lauren Lane

This is always my favorite post of the month. They’re the most fun to go back and read, it’s a little bit of food, a little bit of my Timehop addiction, reading, watching, all wrapped up in one post.

As always, I’m linking up with Shay and Sheaffer to share with you what’s going on in our life!

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK: I’m trying a new Half Baked Harvest recipe for my resident shrimp lover in the house (Mr. Harrison): Garden Herb Shrimp Scampi. We’re going to attempt to brave the heat this week and grill some burgers and hot dogs, and taco stuffed sweet potatoes, which I’ve never done before either! We’re rounding out the week with a couple of fun sweet treats for the boys to help me make: watermelon popsicles and blueberry cobbler, so I can use up some of the blueberries we picked and froze last month!

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT: It snuck up on me, but my littlest boy is turning 2 this weekend! This past year seemed to fly by, and it’s amazing going back and watching videos of our Jonathan at this time last year. I think we always think about so much changing the first year of life, but my goodness! They change so much in year 1 to 2! Walking, talking, becoming so strong-willed and independent. Love my little guy so stinking much, and watching the boy that he is becoming now!

The Black Hills 2022: Part 2

Posted on July 20, 2022July 21, 2022 by Lauren Lane

Over the week of the Fourth of July, my family and I packed up the car and headed to South Dakota to spend a week in the Black Hills visiting my parents. They have a cabin just outside of Deadwood. I look forward to going up there for a week every year. It’s cool, crisp, and the mountain air is perfection.

If you missed Part 1 of our trip, I blogged about it yesterday HERE!

Part 2 starts with a hike on the Mickelson Trail. Baby J absolutely LOVED this hike. In fact, even though we took the stroller, Harrison rode in the stroller most of the time and Jonathan walked!

The Black Hills 2022: Part 1

Posted on July 19, 2022July 21, 2022 by Lauren Lane

We got back last week from a trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota to visit my parents. For those that are new here, a bit of history on the Black Hills for my family, because this isn’t going to be a typical travel post about what we did and where we ate!

My parents grew up at the foot of the Black Hills in Rapid City, SD. My maternal grandparents bought some land in the Black Hills before my living memory, and lived in the Hills pretty my entire childhood. As kids, we’d always spend a week in the Hills visiting my grandparents. My sister and I have wonderful memories in the Hills growing up. We’d catch and release chipmunks, go camping, feed the deer, hike (I hated hiking growing up, though), and just generally lived outside in nature for a week.

Years ago, my parents bought land in the Hills as well, and in 2014 built a cabin on that land. They spend their summers living at the cabin, and the rest of the year they live in Kansas City. Thus began our own family annual pilgrimage to the Hills once a year.

My Third Blogaversary!

Posted on July 12, 2022June 28, 2022 by Lauren Lane

Harrison was one year old at the time. I was working in a job that, while I was very good at it, gave me zero energy to get up in the morning to go do. I remember feeling like Harrison was growing so fast. I had memorialized as much of his first year as I possibly could on Instagram. I took up writing my little boys letters each month of their first year of life. A monthly letter to him the first year of his life. In fact, my very first real blog post was a letter to Harrison.

But I was struggling with how to keep up with remembering all of the things about family life and Harrison growing up without those monthly milestones of a first year.

What’s Up Wednesday {06.29.22}

Posted on June 29, 2022June 29, 2022 by Lauren Lane

Happy What’s Up Wednesday! A little bit of everything in one post. I LOVE this post every month, and they’re my favorite to read of other blog friends! So let’s get into it!

As always, I’m linking up with Shay and Sheaffer to share with you what’s going on in our life!

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK: We made HBH’s Chicken Gyros again, because we’re absolutely obsessed with the taziki sauce! We’re also having another Half Baked Harvest recipe this week: Lemon Butter Chicken Piccata, and some easy pasta with TJ’s sauce from the jar to round out the week. 🙂

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

We’re getting ready for our trip to my parents’ cabin in South Dakota. Here are a few pictures from last year at the cabin…

Friday Favorites {06.10.22}

Posted on June 10, 2022June 10, 2022 by Lauren Lane

Happy Friday, friends! It’s been a busy week around here. I was traveling for work for a few days, which always seems to make the week fly by. I hope you have something fun planned for the weekend!

Can I be really honest with you for a sec? 2020/COVID really kind of burned me out to my very core.

I loved doing special adventuring with, back then, just Harrison and me. It filled me up. I used to be on a flexible work arrangement that allowed me to do something special with Harrison every Friday.

But COVID quarantine, working full time with him home, then having both boys be home, honestly just knocked me on my booty. And in the past year, more often than not, even when I’ve had the option of being able to have the boys at home because I had PTO to use or a holiday, I opted to send them to daycare because I truly have felt like I’m still recovering from the depletion that was 2020.