Dear Harrison v. V

Posted on by Lauren Lane

My sweet little boy. Officially two and a half today. I’d ask how is it possible, but we all know that time has a way of stealing away. There are so many moments, little boy, that I adore being your mama. I watch you share, take care of your brother, give hugs, find joy in hanging with your people. And I sit back in awe and think to myself, I can’t believe I’m so lucky to get to witness this boy grow up.

And being two, your independent streak is showing up strong these days. Seeming to test just how far you can push your parents’ patience, and whether those limits can be bent. You seem to prefer to learn lessons the hard way – you are hard-headed and fearless. And holy smokes, I know those are traits that some day I will praise in their rightful place, but man, is it a challenge some days.

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The Lanes Lately – October Edition

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I’ve been gone from blog world for almost two months. I thought I’d only be gone for six weeks. Maybe even only four if everything went well! But like everything with life and a new baby, you just can’t really estimate what life will be like juggling two little ones instead of just one.

To make matters more interesting and challenging, because #COVID, Harrison was home with us for about a month leading up to Jonathan’s birth and for two months afterwards. This is his very first week back at daycare. I adore his daycare, and he has truly thrived there, so I was eager to get him back to his routine, his friends, and a place he really loves, but it also weighs on me these types of decisions right now. Whether he’ll be safe from coronavirus, whether we will be ok if he brings it home to us…you just can’t really know. We weighed the risks and benefits of it all, and decided that for Harrison and our family, it was best for him to go back to school. I know so many of you have had that hard decision to make this fall too, and it makes me so happy when I see other moms supporting each other and the hard decisions we make for our families. So keep it up, friends! This is a tough year and season of life, but I have no doubt that good, good things are coming.

MAKING: A whole lot of energy bites. I blogged the recipe HERE. We go through at least a full batch of these weekly right now.

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Peanut Butter Energy Bites

Posted on by Lauren Lane

As a brand new mom (again), most days the first true meal I get to sit down and eat is dinner. The rest of the day, I’m living off of energy bars and anything that can be eaten quickly with one hand while holding a baby and playing soccer with a toddler. I shared a few weeks back on my Instagram a video of Harrison and I making these peanut butter energy bites. So super easy to make with kiddos. Lots of opportunity to let them taste test the ingredients – that’s Harrison’s most prized part of helping cook or bake – and as my husband says, they taste better than his beloved Clif peanut butter bars. Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Peanut Butter Energy Bites

Course: Snack

Ingredients

  • 1 C Rolled oats
  • 1/2 C Peanut butter
  • 1/3 C Honey
  • 1/4 C Chocolate chips
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp Chia seeds
  • 1 Tbsp Flax seeds

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients
  • Chill for 20 minutes in the fridge, then roll into balls

Jonathan’s Birth Novella

Posted on by Lauren Lane

Jonathan’s birthday started on the most treasured day of the week for his brother, Harrison. Thursday. Trash day. We woke Thursday, July 30th believing that we would be waiting yet another day to meet our new sweet little one. Both Nathan and I thought that when Jonathan would make his appearance, labor would start in the early hours of the morning, just like Harrison’s labor. So awaking Thursday morning, I was disappointed that it would be one more day VERY pregnant on a VERY hot, humid summer day.

The boys gathered the trash and wheeled the trash cans to the curb, a favorite weekday activity for Harrison! And then I grabbed my one cup of coffee and set up camp with Harrison in the driveway to wait to wait for the trash trucks to come “dump the rocks out.” (Harrison’s interpretation of the trash truck’s job.) One truck came by, and about 8:30 in the morning, as we were waiting for the recycling truck, contractions started.

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Our Newest Addition!

Posted on by Lauren Lane

Hi friends! It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, and in case you were wondering where I had gone, our newest addition to the Lane family arrived on just in time to be a July baby on Thursday, July 30th.

Jonathan Brooks has been a complete joy for our family. Harrison is loving being a big brother, and we are settling in to our new normal as a family of four. I’m going to take a few more weeks off from blogging, as we adjust to Nathan heading back to work and me juggling the two boys during the day. I do get around to posting daily pictures and videos of the boys over on Instagram, so pop over there to keep up with us until I can work in time to write, and say ‘hi!’

What’s Up Wednesday {07.29.20}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

As I’m writing this over the weekend, we’re still waiting on a little boy to make his appearance. Harrison was exactly two days late….so we’re hoping between the rainy weather change and the fact that Harrison was a few days late, that we’re going to be having a baby sometime this week. I’m writing this listening to THE NEW TAYLOR SWIFT ALBUM. What a happy little surprise that she decided to drop a new album to brighten up quarantine and welcome the newest Lane to the family. 🙂

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

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK:

  • Sunday: Marinated flank steak with chimichurri and roasted red potatoes
  • Monday: Leftovers
  • Tuesday: Jambalaya
  • Wednesday: Leftovers
  • Thursday: No idea….
  • Friday: Still no idea… surely there will be a baby by Friday

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

Hot is the understatement of the century for the weather in Kansas City right now. And I’m missing the pool. Public pools are closed in most of the metro right now, and when it’s this hot out, I miss them and having someplace to take Harrison to cool off a bit.

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Patio Planters & Bistro Lights

Posted on by Lauren Lane

About a month ago, Nathan came out of project retirement thanks to the boredom of staying home from COVID, and approached me with an idea to switch up our patio. He had always envisioned making the rectangular side of our patio more of a set aside space that would lend itself to an outdoor picnic set or table and chairs.

Per usual, I was terrible at taking “before” pictures. I just want to get to the end result! Here’s a look from last year at what this area looked like:

We re-homed both the hydrangea you can see on the far back left of the above picture, and the boxwood on the far right corner to new homes for this project. Then, Nathan built a couple of cedar planters to put in the corners instead.

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Friday Favorites {07.24.20}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

This week can most aptly be characterized as “eagerly awaiting the arrival of Baby Lane” week. Harrison was two days late, and we kept thinking that the second baby would arrive a bit earlier than the first. Nathan and I have had our schedules cleared the latter half of the week anticipating his arrival, but here we still wait.

You all know that I’m not a big nail polish girl. I’ve never liked painting my fingernails, because I invariably chip them within 24 hours of painting them. Especially during the summer and working in the garden! But I do always like to have my toenails polished during the summer. There’s something that looks odd to me about unpolished toenails. I picked up this bright pretty pink color in my recent Target drive-up order, and it’s been making me smile all week. Cheery, happy, and so summer-y!

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7 Quick Takes (v. IV)

Posted on by Lauren Lane

If you’re new around here, every once in awhile I like to round up seven quick things that are making me laugh or melting my heart about Harrison currently. It’s an easy way that I can memorialize these small little bits of his personality as he grows, hoping that I can remember the things that made each stage special.

-1- I mentioned to Nathan the other day that I’m going to miss when Harrison starts referring to himself in the first person. And he pointed out that in fact Harrison does refer to himself in the first person when he says, “I need a hug!” Ok, ok. This one time I’ll allow the use of the word “I.”

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Pregnancy: The Third Trimester

Posted on by Lauren Lane

My final trimester of pregnancy is coming to a close. <Insert happy dance!> In all seriousness, I have made a very conscious effort to enjoy this pregnancy more. To embrace my body that is growing another human being, rather than get frustrated at the number of pounds gained or how I looked. I am unbelievably grateful for this body that is able to sustain life, and I know that is a privilege that so many would ache to have. But, I am ready to move to the next phase of meeting this new little man.

This popped up on my Instagram feed the other day, and it really hit home. This time three years ago waiting for Harrison, the fear and anxiety I had over the birth, how we would survive with a newborn, how Nathan and I would transition to parenthood were all-consumiing. And this time around, even though I know it won’t be the same, there’s confidence that we will be alright. And we will figure it out. And yes, it will be hard. And yes, there are going to be things that we didn’t experience with Harrison that we’ll experience this time, but it will all even out. And we’ll be ok. Better than ok. It will be hard to imagine our family without the newest little guy.

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