Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Vanessa Lachey Admits Sending Her Kids Back to School Gets Harder Every Year: ‘They’re Not My Babies Anymore’

SOURCE
By 

Growing pains! Vanessa Lachey is sending all three kids back to school this year, but the major milestone doesn’t get any easier for her.


I’d like to say that it’s easier, but that would be lying because there’s always a monkey wrench you don’t know about,” the Top Chef Juniorhost, 38, told Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday, July 30, while promoting Kohl’s Back to School Favorites Checklist. “So you just prepare as much as you can.”
The Dancing With the Stars alum, who shares Camden, 6, Brooklyn, 4, and Phoenix, 2, with Nick Lachey, added, “Camden’s going into first grade and he’s good, but Phoenix is two and that will be harder emotionally for me because it’s the first time I’ll be leaving him by himself for three hours. It’s only a few days a week, but he’s got a backpack and a cubby and a lunch box. I’m excited about having the morning to myself, but they’re not your babies anymore.”


Vanessa Lachey and Nick Lachey and Family Disneyland
(L-R) Camden, Vanessa Lachey, Phoenix, Brooklyn and Nick Lachey pose together at Disneyland.Courtesy of Vanessa Lachey/Instagram

When it came to picking out book bags this year, the model knew that her eldest son was really growing up. “I think that, at this age, backpacks are a lot of their identity,” she told Us. “This year, [Camden’s] a big boy. He said, ‘Mom, I want a gray or black Jansport backpack.’ Phoenix is like, ‘Forky!’ and Brooklyn likes anything with horses, unicorns, glitter or princesses.”
Volume 90%
Vanessa and the singer, 45, tied the knot in 2011 and started growing their family the following year. Camden became a big brother when Brooklyn and Phoenix arrived in 2015 and 2016, respectively.


Vanessa Lachey Kohls Backpacks
Vanessa Lachey Back To School Shopping At Kohl’s on July 30, 2019 in Jersey City, New Jersey.Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Kohls

In February, the former beauty queen told Us exclusively that when it comes to keeping the romance alive with so many little ones at home, compliments are key for her and her husband. “You forget yourself, like, telling them how much you appreciate them and how handsome they are,” she explained at the time. “Instead, it becomes all about school pick-ups, soccer practice and dance class, and you forget to say, ‘Hey, you’re really cute,’ or, ‘Thank you so much for taking the kids to the bus today.’ You just want to feel appreciated.”


Nick And Vanessa Lachey Are Getting Their Three Kids Ready For Back To School

SOURCE

"He's not my little baby anymore!" Vanessa Lachey tells PEOPLE of son Phoenix, 2½, who will go to preschool part-time for the first year


2019 marks the first year all three of Vanessa Lachey‘s children will be going to school — and the TV host has a plan.
“I’m going to get their bags packed the night before. I’m going to get all of their essentials for school and the next size up, so when they size out of that they’re ready to go,” Vanessa, 38, explains to PEOPLE.
“I’m going to have their lunches packed the night before, we’re going to have gas in the car, we’re going to be ready,” she enthuses.
Why? “So when you wake up, you can just be present and ask them if they’re excited about school, if they’re ready for their day,” Vanessa says. “Just enjoy the moments that go by way too fast.”
Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Parents newsletter.
Mother to Phoenix Robert, 2½, Brooklyn Elisabeth, 4½, and Camden John, 7 next month, Vanessa is partnering with Kohl's to make the planning easier for this important back-to-school season. She and musician husband Nick Lachey will send Phoenix to preschool part-time for the first year.
“It’s a big deal. It’s him starting to gain his independence and starting to figure things out for himself,” she says. “He’s not my little baby anymore!”
But Phoenix will have some help: big sister Brooklyn, who’ll be attending the same preschool full-time. Says Vanessa of her only daughter, “She’s the cutest little caregiver-helper-lover-person in the world.”
Vanessa Lachey shopping at Kohl's
Vanessa Lachey shopping at Kohl's
 
DAVE KOTINSKY/GETTY IMAGES FOR KOHLS
RELATED VIDEO: Nick Lachey Reveals His Valentine’s Day Plans With Wife Vanessa
YOU MIGHT LIKE
ANGEL HAS FALLEN'S GERARD BUTLER HAD AN INSTANT CONNECTION WITH ON-SCREEN FATHER NICK NOLTE
DEMI LOVATO CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY IN LONDON WITH SWEET ARIANA GRANDE-LED CHANT
Meanwhile, the couple’s oldest child will start first grade at his K-6 elementary school, but he’s equally excited about spending time outside the classroom.
“Camden is my little sports guy,” Vanessa shares with PEOPLE. “You name it, he does it. He wants to try everything. He’s so active. He does not stop.”
With Vanessa filming for Top Chef Junior, which she hosts, and her husband touring with his band 98 Degrees, she acknowledges that they’re “constantly trying to figure parenting out day to day.” (They still make time to watch TV together at night, or hop on the phone when they’re away from each other.)
Last Friday — with Nick, 45, on tour — Vanessa was running late to get Camden and Brooklyn to their summer camps in the morning. She decided it wasn’t worth rushing her kids; instead, she’d take Camden to camp late and let Brooklyn spend the day at home.
“I said to myself, ‘I’m by myself. There is no reason I need to force these kids to speed up the process of brushing their teeth and eating their breakfast and running upstairs and getting in the car,’ ” Vanessa tells PEOPLE. ” ‘I’m going to stress them out, I’m going to stress myself out. It’s summer camp, it’s not that deep.’ “
When she arrived at Camden’s camp a half hour late, she saw they’d barely started. Then, she spent the day at home with Brooklyn making muffins for when Nick came home Sunday. “I said to myself, ‘It’s not the end of the world, it’s going to be okay,’ and it was,” Vanessa says.
And with a busy school year ahead, it’s a lesson she wants to keep in mind: “You’ve just got to know that things aren’t going to always go according to plan, and you’ll be okay.”

Exclusive: Vanessa Lachey Dishes on '90210' Reboot & Playing Jason Priestley's Wife

SOURCE
TANVIER PEART






With just days (yes, days!) to go until the premiere of the Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot, we're on the edges of our seats waiting to see how this all turns out. Since the first trailer of BH90210dropped, we've been told the original gang from West Beverly will be returning to play heightened versions of themselves. We knew actress Vanessa Lachey was participating in the project, and now we get to hear firsthand what it's like playing the wife of one of our favorite '90s heartthrobs.
  • CafeMom recently caught up with Vanessa to talk about her upcoming role on BH90210

  • And while she couldn't give too many deets, she did open up about how unreal it is playing Jason Priestley's wife on the show.
    • "It's unbelievably surreal," the celeb mom of three tells CafeMom. 
      "I literally sit there as Jason is talking to me his lines, and I keep thinking to myself, 'OMG, I'm in a scene with Brandon Walsh -- I'm in a scene with Brandon Walsh.  Toughen up, toughen up, you're line is coming up, you're line is coming up. Wait! What was I supposed to say?' I have those moments going in my head, and I actually can't believe I just said that out loud."
    • "It's really surreal to look at him as he's talking to me. I'm not watching him on TV, I'm in a scene playing his wife."

      • "I'm still just as giddy, and he is such a professional, so easy going, so fun to work with and be around," she adds. "Everybody loves him. It's a really environment to be in. It's one you dream about and hope for."
        Sounds like the Brandon Walsh -- we mean Jason Priestley -- we've loved all of these years!
      • Speaking of '90s heartthrobs, since Vanessa is married to 98 Degrees crooner Nick Lachey, we had to ask her one important question:

    • Playing Jason Priestley's Wife



      Emma McIntyre/Getty Images; George Pimentel/Getty Images

      With just days (yes, days!) to go until the premiere of the Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot, we're on the edges of our seats waiting to see how this all turns out. Since the first trailer of BH90210dropped, we've been told the original gang from West Beverly will be returning to play heightened versions of themselves. We knew actress Vanessa Lachey was participating in the project, and now we get to hear firsthand what it's like playing the wife of one of our favorite '90s heartthrobs.
      • CafeMom recently caught up with Vanessa to talk about her upcoming role on BH90210.


        Jennie Garth, Jason Priestley, Tori Spelling, Ian Ziering, Shannen Doherty, Gabrielle Carteris, and Brian Austin Green are all on board for the reboot that has fans of the original show all sorts of excited. In addition to the OG cast, Christine Elise, who played Emily Valentine, is also coming back -- with La La Anthony and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills newcomer Denise Richardsparticipating, too.
      • And while she couldn't give too many deets, she did open up about how unreal it is playing Jason Priestley's wife on the show.


        "It's unbelievably surreal," the celeb mom of three tells CafeMom. 
        "I literally sit there as Jason is talking to me his lines, and I keep thinking to myself, 'OMG, I'm in a scene with Brandon Walsh -- I'm in a scene with Brandon Walsh.  Toughen up, toughen up, you're line is coming up, you're line is coming up. Wait! What was I supposed to say?' I have those moments going in my head, and I actually can't believe I just said that out loud."
      • "It's really surreal to look at him as he's talking to me. I'm not watching him on TV, I'm in a scene playing his wife."


        "I'm still just as giddy, and he is such a professional, so easy going, so fun to work with and be around," she adds. "Everybody loves him. It's a really environment to be in. It's one you dream about and hope for."
        Sounds like the Brandon Walsh -- we mean Jason Priestley -- we've loved all of these years!
      • Speaking of '90s heartthrobs, since Vanessa is married to 98 Degrees crooner Nick Lachey, we had to ask her one important question:


        Vanessa and Nick Lachey, who've been married for eight years (together for 13 total), have three kiddos together: Camden, 7, Brooklyn, 4 1/2, and Phoenix, 2 1/2.
      • Who had the hotter Tiger Beat poster: 98 Degrees (aka Nick) or Jason?

      • Nick Lachey in 98 Degrees and Jason Priestley in 90210
        • "This isn't fair," Vanessa laughs. "You're literally giving my husband fodder for our marital conversations."
          Still, she answered the question.
          "I love my husband, but I've said it before on record I was not a 98 Degrees fan -- not that I didn't love them, I did. I loved *NSYNC. I loved Saved by the Bell. I loved Beverly Hills, 90210. I respected 98 Degrees. If you were to put both of those posters in front of me, I for sure probably would've gravitated towards Jason Priestley. BUT, then I tell my husband I truly love him for him, not because of 98 Degrees."
          Good answer (LOL).
        • BH90210 is set to air Wednesday, August 7 on Fox.


        • According to Vanessa, we're in for "drama, surprises, and nostalgia," so it sounds like a great time. We're really curious how this will all come together and will have our DVRs set for 9 p.m. ET.