Meet Lauren Wiatrek

Hello Austin mamas! I am absolutely giddy to be writing for Austin Moms Blog. I was born and raised right here in fabulous Austin, Texas where I grew up frequenting the chilly waters of Barton Springs, lapping up Kerby Lane queso, cooling off with a Sandy’s chocolate malt and playing sports all over the city. 

Now I am in my mid-30s, married five years to the keeper of my heart, Evan, and mama to my vivacious, blue eyed girlies. Growing up I always wanted to write, my parents said that I had an old soul and I had an opinion about everything. I tried to use this to my advantage when I attended Texas State and then as an event planner turned teacher. After I met my husband, we spent the next eight years hopping from city to city seven times from Dallas to Colorado back to Austin back to Colorado back to Austin. We have decided we have a knack for real estate and love scoping out homes in our favorite parts of the country. 

I taught high school English for five years and absolutely loved it. However, for as long as I can remember, my soul yearned to be a mom. We welcomed Halen Rae Carol into our lives in May 2014 and she forever changed my heart. I cherished the entire summer with her and reluctantly went back to teaching that fall. I prayed long and hard about getting to stay home with my new little one and my prayers were answered when we moved back to Colorado and I started an in-home daycare. It was such a blessing, but hands down the hardest job on the planet. In the fall of 2015 I became pregnant again and longed to be home. We welcomed Henley Charlevoix into our family in May 2016 and moved home quickly afterwards.

Staying home with my girls has been the biggest blessing, I absolutely love nursing Henley on demand and answering Halen’s funny questions. I love the small windows of time I get with just Halen or just Henley, as other kiddos nap. Motherhood has been a beautiful yet chaotic journey for me. I am definitely an attachment parent and that gives me zero space on my own for a good six months with a new baby and even then time is sparse before the little one turns one. But I wouldn’t trade the closeness in for anything. Although I do dream about drinking an oversized frozen margarita on the patio of Guero’s… there’s no where I’d truly rather be.

Along with being an attached, pro-breast feeding, pro co-sleeping parent, I am also a huge advocate of natural, unmedicated birth and really just empowering women and their pregnant/birth experience. Living the most natural life possible is really important to me, especially now with littles. By the time Halen was one, she had already been diagnosed with five ear infections in each ear, and was were referred to an ENT for tubes to be put in. My heart just couldn’t do it, so I researched and found Thieves essential oil. I put it on her feet every night before bed and, lo and behold, her ear infections stopped. A year and a half later, she’s never had another one. I felt like I had hit the jackpot and at that point, I took a leap of faith and became a YoungLiving Essential Oils distributor. Now, I feel oils are the best thing since leggings became acceptable pant-wear!

The things that make me tick are hosting small intimate gatherings,  large boisterous parties, or any chance I get to cook, bake and host wonderful friends and family. I love traveling, eating at local restaurants, being outside, becoming a better Jesus follower, road trips, and running. I started a food blog five years ago, have written half a novel about my year living in New York City, and a personalized blog for each of my daughters. I am thrilled to share this momma-preneur journey with y’all. 

Lauren Wiatrek
Lauren Wiatrek is a native Austinite that after moving to New York and Colorado, decided her heart was in the center of Texas. Her husband, Evan helped build their family of daughters in a home they love. After battling stage 3 breast cancer in 2017 Lauren has become a strong voice for wellness, health advocacy, and her faith. Lauren loves to travel every chance she can get. Lauren enjoys extra hot coffee on the porch, her F45 workouts, Young Living lifestyle, being all things as a #girlmom and helping empower women. Lauren started her journey with cancer on her blog www.bestillandsmile.com you can also follow her on her Instagram: @lauren.wiatrek for motherhood tips and her wellness journey after cancer.

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