Hi! I’m Lauren, and I am so incredibly humbled to be joining the AMB contributor team! 

I have always loved to write. My repertoire includes a few gems from elementary school such as, “Stoney and Rufus Get in Trouble” — a book my best friend and I wrote about our dogs flooding the house with bubbles, and the incredibly tragic autobiographical poem titled “Freckle Face.” Nowadays, I have a little spot on the world wide web where I share stories and recipes. However, I have never considered myself a writer in any legitimate sense of the word. Needless to say, it is pretty thrilling to have the opportunity to share my ideas with a larger community… this is where I pinch myself, right?!

Let’s start at the very beginning (after all, it’s a very good place to start). I grew up kinda all over the place. I was born in Australia, did a brief year in China (when I was 4, don’t remember much), traveled up and down the US during elementary and middle school, and finished high school in England. All the moving was due to my dad’s job, and while it was difficult a lot of the time, looking back I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything.

Having no real tie to a certain state, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go to college. So naturally, I consulted my bestie, and we chose based on where we could go together (duh). Full of anticipation and excitement, we packed ourselves up and headed to Austin to attend the University of Texas. That was in 2002 — and I can now say that Austin is the place I have lived the longest, which is just the strangest thing to me. Randomly I get the itch to go somewhere fresh, but the truth is, I love our little life right here, and I adore this city. 

I met my husband Matt while at UT — we were 19-year-old babies. Our best friends set us up on a date, and we were pretty inseparable from there on out. (There was a brief but dramatic “break” in the middle somewhere, but we, obviously, got over it.) He put a ring on it in 2008. We had one amazing party to celebrate surrounded by family and friends. He is my life (and tech) support, an amazing dad to our 2 boys, puts up with all of my shenanigans, and I am so thankful and blessed that he is my partner in this life of ours. 

We welcomed our first baby boy in August of 2012. We named him Jacob Henry, but call him Jake, and yes, he was born with that hair. He is just as fiery and dramatic as his hair would lead you to believe, but also thoughtful, sweet, and hilarious. He loves to sing and is our resident expert on all things Paw Patrol (someone make it stop). Jake has taught me more about myself and the human I want to be during his short 4 years of life than I managed to figure out in the first 29 BC (you know, before children). 

My latest squishy is Evan Spencer, and he arrived in May 2016. We thought for sure he would be blonde or red-headed (bets may have been wagered). As you can see though, he is most certainly brunette. Genes are weird. He is only 8 months old, but I can already tell he is going to be my wild child. Where Jake is careful and thoughtful, Evan just dives right in. He is so busy and e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. I’m only slightly obsessed with his baby cuteness and bright smile. 

I am still a pretty new momma, deep in the trenches with the littles; and both my little boogers have already changed me and taught me so much… but maybe the most humbling lesson has been this — Being a mom is so much harder than anyone makes it look. Even my best friends make it look easier to me. (and y’all, I knowwww their struggles because we are often — i.e. every 5 minutes — commiserating on the latest tantrum/power struggle/failed discipline strategy.)

If I can do nothing else by writing for AMB, I hope to reach any mommas out there who feel like they are not enough. (So like all of us, amiright?) Anyone who believes the lie that other moms don’t struggle like you do, that other kids don’t behave like yours do, or feel like other marriages don’t deal with what yours does. The only way to connect our experiences is to share them. The only way to reach each other is to talk. So I am here. Ready to lay it all out there. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I believe when we all start to see our struggles as parents (aka humans) are normal, our fears are common, and our worries are universal, we can get over the lies of (social media induced) comparison, and start with a fresh appreciation and perspective each morning. 

So that’s me… just another momma, struggling and surviving on caffeine, gratitude, and faith… and a good dose of love. Glad to be here. You can also follow me at flyingthyme.com

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