What’s Up Wednesday {08.30.23}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

This WUW post feels like no time at all has passed since my July one. Another month gone in the blink of an eye. We are in full fall activities mode here. All of the things have started, the boys are loving their new classrooms, and I’m sharing a bit of what we’ve been up to this month!

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 had a Lane family favorite, Chicken Taquitos, on Sunday. Monday we had buffalo chicken wraps, and last night was Crockpot Italian Beef sandwiches. We’ll do leftovers the rest of the week!

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

I’m a couple of weeks out from going back to work. And I can just hardly believe that five months has already gone since our little Aidan’s birth.

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Dear Aidan (v. II),

Posted on by Lauren Lane

We’ve officially entered the month that you go to daycare and I go back to work. This month seemed so far away when you were born. And it was, five whole months with you already. Like any passage of time, though, lately, it’s shocking to realize the time has already come.

You’ve been such a blessing to me, little boy. For the first time, I don’t feel like I’m rushing your baby year. It took me two previous babies to really slow down. I don’t find myself eager to check off milestones. I’m so content to soak up your little-ness. Bask in the simplicity of gummy smiles and silly conversations. Enjoy the quietness of time away from the chaos, just nursing you.

I feel so fortunate to be your mommy. Nothing compares to the way your eyes search for me in a room. The way you settle when I pick you up, knowing that you’re safe and loved. Thank you for allowing me to get to experience babyhood just one more time.

Love always,

Mommy

Friday Favorites {08.25.23}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

Happy Friday! I’m so looking forward to this weekend and the temperature going below 100* for a change. We have been MELTING all week. It’s so miserably hot here. If it’s going to be this hot, I should be by a beach!

We’re officially closing out our first full week of school here, and it’s gone so well so far!

My Mother’s Day gift arrived this week. I asked Nathan for this necklace with the boys’ silhouettes as a Mother’s Day gift this year, and I’m completely blown away and so in love with this delicate little necklace. I’ve only taken it off to shower and work out since it got here!

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August 2023 Garden Tour

Posted on by Lauren Lane

The August garden. It always looks a little wonky around here. A few things are passed their prime, but the zinnias and ornamental onions are just entering as the star of the show. Only another month before most of these annuals will come out and I’ll be trading the summer colors for fall reds and golds. Here’s a look at where we started and where we’re at now! We had a big storm come through in late July, and some plants have just never recovered. Such is life as a gardener!

May:

August:

This one turned out to be more purple than I had intended. The purple flowers seemed to enjoy their spot more than the other flowers I had in there that provided some depth of color.

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Young, Wild, & THREE!

Posted on by Lauren Lane

First off, I wanted to say THANK YOU! for all of the advice and experience you shared on my Friday post with regards to all of my kitchen decisions! Truly so helpful to hear what has and hasn’t worked for you all!

Today, I wanted to share Jonathan’s birthday party with you all!

We celebrated Jonathan and Cousin Holden’s third birthdays with an amazing and fun Young, Wild, and THREE party!

I designed the invitations using Canva…

And we decided on an All-American boy themed party!

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Friday Favorites {08.11.23}

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I’ve thought a lot about this moment. Ever since Harrison was born, we’ve just been slogging (and mostly enjoying) these rather long days of parenting really young kids. The baby era, where they’re so helpless and need you for EVERYTHING. The toddler era, where they’re so drunk for power and control and think they know everything. And man, it feels like we’ve lived in a bunker for the past five years. Batten down the hatches. Slogging away at the day in and out of parenting littles. And I’ve {{mostly}} Loved it. I love being these boys’ everything. And it’s also so utterly physically exhausting at the same time.

I’m a bit in denial today. I’ve obviously KNOWN for weeks…months…that this day was coming. But it’s surreal that it’s here. Today is the last day that Harrison and Jonathan will be at the same school together until Jonathan goes to Kindergarten. It really does feel like this is an end of an era (yes, that is a subtle nod to Ms. Swift). I can’t count the number of people that have told me that Kindergarten to high school graduation is like a blink, and then it’s over.

And it feels like in the past week, I’ve poked my head out of my bunker, and Harrison has been called up to the big leagues. Like out of nowhere, the powers that be have decided he’s ready to really start to have his life shaped by other people: friends and teachers. And I feel like I’ve been in the bunker for so long, that I was not mentally ready for that. For it to land on my lap like that this week. When it really hit me, as I cried to myself adding lunch money to his account for school.

So many of you have asked me if I’m going to cry on his first day. And I’m pretty sure now, there’s no way I’m walking out of that school without tears streaming down my face.

Let’s do a little Friday Favorites roundup.

I took this sweet boy Back to School shopping the other week. We went shopping for his new backpack and lunchbox. He picked out some new clothes, and we had lunch at a restaurant of his choosing. (He picked Panera, by the way.). When I said this reality of him starting Kindergarten came crashing down on me, I mean it. I had this realization that my days of just being able to pull him out of school for fun one-on-one time were coming to a close. So this one was extra special for me.

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A Nautical Baby Boy Nursery

Posted on by Lauren Lane

I have a new favorite room of the house. I LOVE Aidan’s nursery. It’s elegant and classic, yet calming, but with the perfect little nods to little boy life and nautical sea adventure. I could spend hours rocking him in his nursery.

The last time I designed a nursery was for Harrison, our oldest baby. When Jonathan was born, we just used the same nursery with no changes at all for Jonathan. So I was really excited at the prospect of getting to design a nursery for the second time for our third boy.

Our Big Boys share connecting rooms through a Jack & Jill bathroom. When we were trying to decide our set-up for baby #3, I chose to keep all of the boys separate in their own rooms. I think there’s lots to be gained from room sharing, but also, I really wanted each of my kids to have a space that was just for them in our house.

Harrison and Jonathan decided together that they wanted to stay in their current rooms, which meant Aidan would get the last room upstairs as his room. It was the room that we used for years as our playroom, and it’s by far the biggest.

As I set out to design his nursery, I happened upon this little sailboat at Target…

And decided to base the entire room on it.

Room details and links at the bottom!

Paint colors: Sherwin Williams Alabaster & Sherwin Williams Cityscape

Curtains: Linen white curtains from Amazon!

Curtain rod: Also from Amazon!

Blackout Blinds: Cordless Blackout Cellular Blinds in Classic White. When they arrived, they had a crease in them, and they replaced them immediately for free

Glider: Has been with us for all three boys, and it’s beyond comfortable

Crib: Our exact style isn’t sold anymore – but the crib is from Pottery Barn Kids

Art: Love her work. This is the fourth piece I’ve bought from her!

Dresser: Price can’t be beat for the quality

Wooden Name Blocks: So cute and we used them for his name announcement as well

Stacking wooden wave toy: Love buying from small shops on Etsy

Rug: From Amazon in color Sky/Stone

Long Live Boyhood flag: Bought a flag from them for Harrison’s room and loved it so much. I’ve had my eye on this one for while!

Whale toy walker: I bought it from Amazon, but it doesn’t look like it’s there anymore!

Side table: Target – old

Blue side table lamp: Target again!

Black Floor lamp: From Target

Blue & white basket: Target – old

Crib sheet: Etsy for the win

Changing table sheet: Also from Amazon!

Whale stuffed animal: Also an impulse buy from Target 🙂

Let’s Look…At My Worst Habits

Posted on by Lauren Lane

It’s been months since I’ve written a Let’s Look post. And last week got sidetracked and busy, and I just struggled to find time to sit down and write. So, it’s a new week. New week, new me! If you’re new to these parts of the interwebs, this series is a little link up hosted by Shay and Erika to share a look into an aspect of our lives. And today’s topic is our worst habits.

I tend to be a pretty sensitive person. I over-analyze situations, tones of voice. I notice when small things have been moved from the position I put them in previously. I pick up on people’s idiosyncrasies pretty quickly. And all of those things that can sometimes be such wonderful traits, can also be a curse…so let’s settle in for a tour of some of my worst habits…

I overfill the trash can…regularly. In our house, Nathan takes out the kitchen trash. It’s one of those few things in life that I rarely do, even if it’s needed. I will wait for him to take it out. I should also probably wait to put more things into an overflowing trash can, but I don’t. I just keep filling it up. And then there are usually curse words and grumbles when Nathan comes home and takes it out.

I will keep my 5am alarm on even if I know I’m not going to get up and work out in the morning. To be fair, Nathan never turns off his 6:15 alarm even though I’ve never seen him wake up at this time.

I lose my phone multiple times a day, and have to ping it with my watch to figure out where I left in the house…or the garage…or the garden.

I never remember to have a snack on me at all times. I suffer from what many people call ‘hanger.’ It comes on suddenly, and like a tidal wave. One minute I’m fine, the next I will bit your head off over the most dumb thing and turn it into an argument.

And I still after all of this time of knowing that low blood sugar does this to me, I still forget to carry a granola bar on me at all times.

I have a chronic sniff from post-nasal drip that never seems to go away. Should I really have this looked at? Probably. I don’t even notice it anymore, except when I hear myself on videos. Like seriously, lady. Sniffing every couple of minutes.

I can not do painted nails. I will sit and pick at them until I completely take them all off. And then I don’t pick the nail polish off and throw it in the trash, I will leave it sitting on the coffee table for a week until I finally pick it up.

I will gladly help pick off your peeling skin from a sunburn. Nothing thrills me more than peeling off dead skin. I find it so completely satisfying.

I’m addicted to chapstick. I literally cannot live without having a chapstick in every room of the house, in every purse, and in my car. I need my lips to be coated with the original chapstick at all times.

This resonates deeply with me…

I’m sure there are others…let’s just not ask Nathan. 😆. I can’t wait to read through the links to see what others consider their worst habits!