Lauren Conrad shares how raising 2 little boys has made her 'a little more relaxed'
Welcome to So Mini Ways, Yahoo Life's parenting series on the joys and challenges of child-rearing.
The Hills captured a 20-something Lauren Conrad at a crossroads in terms of her career and personal relationships. More than a decade later, the former MTV star has found her footing as a married mom of two, fashion designer, author and all-around lifestyle influencer. And while Conrad has left the drama of reality TV behind, there's no shortage of wild moments for the Laguna Beach vet, thanks to the sons she shares with husband William Tell.
"The biggest challenge of having two little boys is that things get wild in my house, which I'm learning to adjust to," Conrad, mom to Liam, 5, and Charlie, 2 1/2, tells Yahoo Life's So Mini Ways. "I already knew that I couldn't really own nice things because everything gets destroyed in my home, but it's fine; I was, like, ready for that. But yeah, things are getting really wild. It's still fun and playful, but they're doing laps around my house, they're trying to ride bikes in there."
Conrad has learned to roll with the punches. She credits motherhood — and the chaos that can come with it — for helping her be "a little more relaxed about things."
"I think I've learned to kind of let go and — not go with the flow, because I'm not that chill — just be a little more laidback and understand you can't plan everything," she says. "Like, you kind of have to figure things out as you go."
One thing Conrad doesn't really sweat is meal time. The designer counts herself lucky that her boys enjoy fruits and vegetables and aren't overly picky; "I never had to force them into eating vegetables," she says. But it also helps to draw on a fellow mom's advice that "as long as you can get one really solid, healthy meal into them during the day, you don't have to stress about the other meals." For Conrad, that's meant making her sons breakfast smoothies that are loaded with vegetables. And because her household is dairy-free, she swaps out oat milk.
"I've always just used it as an alternative to regular milk," says Conrad, who has contributed a series of recipes in partnership with Planet Oat Oatmilk and its Taste Exploration Summer Sampling Tour. "When I'm baking, I always use it. My kids drink it from the glass."
While the former Teen Vogue intern's latest pieces from her long-running LC Lauren Conrad womenswear collection for Kohl's include smart citrus-print short suits and ruffled sundresses, she says a combination of mom life and working from home has made her own day-to-day style more "casual" lately. "I'm not wearing a lot of dry-clean-only pieces," she says.
While she's no longer sharing her life on the small screen, Conrad enjoys connecting with others on social media. She's careful to find a balance when it comes to posting about her sons, but notes, "your kids become your life and that's my life, so I do want to share tidbits of it."
The only crying she does these days comes courtesy of her boys — in a good way. Conrad recalls tearing up after recently overhearing Liam console his younger brother.
"He was just being so sweet and that got me," the proud mom says. "Their love is so special."
As she savors the experience of raising her sons, Conrad leans on other mom friends for support and advice. She credits that network for helping her feel more confident as a parent and more forgiving of herself if things aren't going smoothly.
"I feel like moms are really hard on themselves," she says. "Just the fact that you're worrying shows that you care. So I think like, just do your best."
—Video produced by Kat Vasquez
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