All About…Our House

Posted on by Lauren Lane

We moved into our house almost six years ago come July. Our house was built in the 1970’s and is located in a suburb of Kansas City called Prairie Village. That’s on the Kansas side of the state line. I’ve said so many times to Nathan that I never plan on moving out of this house. I love it. I love our little shopping center that’s walking distance from us, love that some of our neighbors are young families as well, and this house feels completely homey to me.

We began our house search in the fall of 2013. We had a very specific area that we wanted live in, and probably more than our fair share of house feature non-negotiables. And given the market at that time, and those two factors, we looked and looked for a house for moooonths. It wasn’t until June 2014 that we finally found the perfect one, made an offer on the first day it was on the market, and as I’ve said to many friends before about this house, God must have had his hand in us getting it because it was truly a miracle that they picked our offer.

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Friday Favorites {06.19.20}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

My sister in law and I have spent all week working on Harrison’s new big boy room! Prepping and painting it. I haven’t painted in yeeeaaars. Years. It is not my gift, but when our painter wasn’t going to be able to do it thanks to COVID before new baby arrived, we decided to give it another go. I’ve got big plans of getting Harrison moved into his big boy bed and settled before this new little one arrives! Nesting has kicked into high gear to get everything ready. 🙂

This week, I have a whole bunch of random favorites for you!

I was casually browsing the frozen treat aisle at the grocery store, as any very pregnant lady does, and happened upon this little delightful discovery. Ben and Jerry’s makes their cookie dough bites and brownie bites available in packages……whaaaaat? Ben & Jerry’s making pregnant lady’s dreams come true.

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Growing Into a Boy Mom

Posted on by Lauren Lane

Almost three years ago, Nathan and I were in New York just the two of us. I was pregnant, and it was on that trip we had planned for Nathan and I to find out whether baby #1 was going to be a boy or a girl. I had imagined this moment in my mind so many times. I had seen so many pictures and videos of gender reveals: the excitement and joy! I kept wondering what was wrong with me, though. I had this sense of dread at finding out the gender of our baby. That somehow that would make it even more real. And even more so than that, if we got right down to the core of it, I was terrified that I was going to have a boy.

We opened the little envelope alone together in our hotel room. And a little blue ribbon fell out. Nathan said something like, “You’re going to be a boy mom!” And that’s when I looked away, and the tears started. Like the tears streamed down my face, and my mind went into a panic.

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Our Before Baby Summer Bucket List

Posted on by Lauren Lane

We’re coming up on the last few weeks as just a family of three. The temperatures are rising, and just about everything that reminds me of summer is closed this year. But rather than dwell on the ‘what could have been,’ I’ve put together a list of fun summer things that I want to do with our little family of three before baby brother arrives at the end of July.

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Let’s Look At…Where I’m Dreaming of Vacationing

Posted on by Lauren Lane

Once a month, I link up with two of my favorite blogs (Shay @ Mix and Match Mama and Erika @ A Little Bit of Everything), to share a “look” into some little aspect of our life. Before we get to this month, here’s a peak back at what we’ve “looked” at so far this year:

Today, we were supposed to share what was inside our carry-on bag. To be able to participate this month, I would have had to have the foresight to document what was in my carry on bag last November when Nathan and I got away for a long weekend in New York to celebrate our anniversary. [Stay + Play NY, Eat + Drink NY] That was the last time I traveled on a plane or packed my carry on bag!

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Quarantine Recipe Round-Up

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I’ve been doing so much more cooking during quarantine. Three people at home for three meals a day has resulted in the need for a LOT more food. I didn’t even mention snacks. Is it just me or do 2 year olds seem to snack constantly? Or maybe that’s just part of Harrison’s genes.

We’ve been able to take advantage of this extra time, though, and try out quite a few new recipes. Some were hits. Some were duds. So I’m sharing all of my thoughts on the new recipes we’ve tried this quarantine today.

Grilled Italian Sausages & Cowboy Tin Foil Packets

This one is a bit made up. I was desperate to find something different to grill this summer aside from just burgers and hot dogs, and pregnancy currently has me totally avoiding chicken. So, I grabbed some Italian sausages from the meat counter, and made we call “Cowboy packets” with lots of veggies one night for dinner, and it was a hit! So simple and delicious.

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What I’m Buying for Baby #2

Posted on by Lauren Lane

The good part about baby #2 is that generally, you don’t have to buy all of the STUFF that comes with having the first baby. The stuff alone is daunting: crib, bassinet, bottle warmers, how many contraptions to get for your home to put baby down in, swaddles, sling, wrap or carrier, car seat, stroller. The list goes on and on!

The bad news for us was that we borrowed almost ALL of the baby essentials from my sister when we had Harrison. And when we found out that baby #2 for each of us was going to arrive within a week of each other this summer, we turned to our friends to borrow a lot of the things that we absolutely needed. But there were a few things on my list that I didn’t have the first time around or wanted more of, that I’m buying for baby #2, and I wanted to share those with you!

The Baby Bjorn bouncer.

We had a Baby Bjorn bouncer for Harrison, and it was my single most favorite thing to put him down in while I needed my hands free in a room. I’d pick it up and move it from one room to the next. Harrison loved it, particularly when he figured out he could bounce it himself, and we even took it to South Dakota us twice to my parents’ cabin. Aside from the pack and play, it was the only baby gear I brought with me that first year to visit them. That’s how much I loved it. And given that my sister also LOVED it, I knew I was going to be buying a second one for our new little guy.

Aw…Look at Baby Harrison in the bouncer.

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