A Note to My Low-Risk Friends About COVID-19

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I had plans today to talk about my visions for Harrison’s new big boy room. The plans I’ve been making for theme, colors, and decor. But I feel compelled to change that given the national upheaval and fear that the coronavirus has taken over in many Americans’ lives. Let me start by saying, I am not an expert, and I do not purport to be an expert of any sort. I’m just a mom to a little one year old boy. A daughter to parents who are over the age of 65. A granddaughter to a grandpa who lives in a senior assisted care facility many, many miles away from me that is currently on lockdown. A sister-in-law to a sibling with an auto-immune disorder. And I myself, am 21 weeks pregnant with our second little boy. This is just one tiny voice among millions in my little corner of the internet world.

The entire nation seems to be at one pregnant pause right now. Waiting to exhale collectively…I stood in line on Thursday evening buying provisions in an attempt to provide us food for several weeks to be able to avoid the grocery store. And as I picked up each item off the shelf, I wondered if the person who had placed that box there had been sick, and unable to stay home until they were healthy.

Read more

Friday Favorites {03.13.20}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I started writing this post last weekend. The tone of this Friday Favorites feels very different four days later (I’m writing this on Thursday night). The entire world feels like it’s shutting down because of the coronavirus. And I’ve got to say, I’ve got a decent amount of worry about it. Mostly for my parents and Nathan and my grandparents. I know there are many people saying that the country is over-reacting, and you know, maybe they are overreacting. But what if they’re not? What if extreme measures ARE in fact necessary to slow the spread of this? I just don’t think anyone is going to look back at these decisions and say, “that was too much” if it does in fact reduce the number of new cases. And isn’t that the most important thing? That we be painfully cautious. That we depend on each other to take care of each other. And right now, that means forgoing some of the luxuries that we so freely enjoy regularly.

Anyways, enough about the fear and worry. Instead, maybe focus on some happier things. It’s my first Friday of the calendar year with my little man again! Given that I know there are only a limited number of Fridays left with just Harrison in my life before our newest little one arrives, I’m going to savor these days. Just me and my first little baby love. We also had our 20 week ultrasound on Monday, and I’ll share more from that soon!

Today, I’m sharing a few pictures from life lately around the Lane house. Just a whole lot of Harrison pictures really…

We celebrated our beautiful Aunt Ashton’s birthday this past weekend. I love the heart of this girl. She’s a blessing to me and to Harrison. I’ll say it over and over again, I hit the jackpot when I married into the Lane family. But this girl in particular, she loved me in this family before I had probably earned it. And that’s just the way her heart works. Happy birthday, Aunt Ashton!

Read more

The Importance of Words

Posted on by Lauren Lane

From a very young age, I was taught that words mattered. The words that you choose to speak and write could have a profound and long-lasting impact on someone’s life. This probably played into one of my primary love languages being Word of Affirmation. Words have the power to tear people down, or build them up. To speak confidence and appreciation to someone, or to hurt and make others feel small.

I think the power of the written word in particular is often lost on my generation and younger generations. The way in which handwritten letters and notes can change the course of someone’s thinking is diminished to a fleeting text message in a hurried day. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t send the text, to let someone know you are thinking about them. The unbelievable access we have to one another makes our ability to communicate on a regular basis easier than ever.

Read more

Friday Favorites: Current Favorite Curly Girl Products

Posted on by Lauren Lane

Last fall, I talked about all of the research I had done on the Curly Girl Hair Method. Almost six months later, and I’m still following this method. My hair feels healthier than it’s ever felt because I’m not washing it and styling it every day with heat. It’s like my hair is saying, “you’re finally figuring out what we like.” Along my journey, I’ve tried many products. And the one thing I’ve found about the CGM is that my hair is not the same month-to-month. The things that will work for me in the dead of winter with no moisture need to be switched up as humidity starts creeping back up as well.

Here are the products I’ve been loving in the low humidity this winter.

Read more

7 Quick Takes (v. II)

Posted on by Lauren Lane

The last time a posted a Harrison quick take was in November. High time to give you seven more of the things that I’m loving about Harrison right now.

-1- He thanks his mommy and daddy constantly. And I am soaking it up for the day that our child doesn’t thank us for a thing. Food put on his plate, “Thank you, Mommy.” Has his hands cleaned up, “Thank you, Daddy.” Be still my heart.

-2- And to that end, mark it down. At almost 23 months old, my child has transitioned this past week to calling me Mommy instead of Mama. A moment of silence for this transition from one stage of motherhood to the next, please.

-3- He delays bedtime by asking for “hugs.” You know how often that works? 100% of the time.

-4- The number of toys and other things that he’s found around the house placed in odd spots has increased. His socks? Puts them in mama’s boots. Matchbox car? Add it to the measuring cup drawer.

-5- Harrison loves hide and seek. The best is when he hides, and gives you a really good idea of where he’s hiding when he shouts out at the end of your counting, “TEN!”

-6- He came home from daycare one day, and promptly began telling us to “Walk away” when we were doing something he didn’t want us to do. “Walk away, Mama. Walk away.” Ok, bud. Thanks for the tip.

-7- His sheer excitement pointing out himself in pictures, or declaring that HE is going to do something. “Harrison do it!”

The 3 Movies I Watch Over and Over Again…

Posted on by Lauren Lane

You know the movies I’m talking about. They’re playing on a cable TV station with a million commercials, and you still opt to put them on for background noise. You could recite practically the entire script you’ve watched it so much, but you still love it. I love hearing about other people’s “background” movies. I feel like it tells me so much about them, and a little bit of a window into their lives. I’ve found that the movies that I listen to over and over again are usually the ones that I watched during the years of my life where I was really starting to come into my own as an adult. Maybe you’re the same 🙂

Good Will Hunting. Hands down my favorite movie to this day of all time. I love the writing. The quick banter and dialogue and deep character development. Robin Williams is brilliant. My Dad still texts me lines from this movie sometimes – it’s one of those loves that we’ll always share.

Read more

Friday Favorites {02.28.20}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

Happy last Friday in February! I only have one more week of busy season, and then I’m back to hanging with my little man on Fridays! And I can’t wait for lot of adventures with Harrison before our newest little man arrives, which brings me to my first favorite for this week…

If you missed my post on our gender reveal the other weekend, you can read it HERE! But my first favorite is knowing that I’m going to have another cute little boy to love on in just five months!

 Read more

What’s Up Wednesday {02.26.20}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

The end is in sight for the end of busy season! If you’ve been following along here, you know that I work full time in the accounting field, and our busiest time of the year during January and February. And the end is ALMOST HERE! Which means, spring is just around the corner! Time for walks outside, planting season and trips to the garden center, and more time with my sweet little man.

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: Nathan made burgers this weekend – one of my absolute favorite things that he makes in the whole world. So we did leftovers on Sunday.
  • Tuesday: Chicken taquitos
  • Wednesday: Leftovers
  • Thursday: Potato soup
  • Friday: Leftovers
  • Saturday: Out to eat!

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

Our gender reveal last weekend!

Read more

We’re Expecting a…

Posted on by Lauren Lane

First off, I just wanted to thank you for the patience and understanding with needing a quick break! I had one of my clients file on Friday. I left work at noon and got a pedicure to celebrate. It felt like the first true exhale and promise that spring was close at home.

I wanted to share about our gender reveal today!

A few weekends ago, Nathan’s family and my family gathered at my parents house for our big gender reveal. Leading up to the day, I had no time to think about ideas of how we would do the reveal. I had originally planned on hosting everyone at our house for chili, but the weeks leading up to that day turned into a blur of stress, deadlines, and Nathan working super long hours that left me feeling completely depleted emotionally. So my parents volunteered to host instead. And I sheepishly and guiltily accepted because I just couldn’t add another thing to my plate.

Read more

A Quick Break

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I decided on Friday that I would allow myself a break this week from blogging. Work things, personal things piled on top of pregnancy things this week. And there are just times when something has to give for the sake of working on the things that are your priorities in life. And that’s this week. So, I had great things planned for the blog this week, but I’m just going to move them to next week to allow myself the rest and space I need right now. I hope your week is wonderful, and I’ll see you back here next Tuesday!