Texas Lou

Good morning friends!  I’ve been trying to be extra grateful lately!  I’ve been getting back into meditation and trying to remember to practice/teach gratitude with my boys.  We have a chalk board in our kitchen, and when I can remember, I ask them what we are thankful for that day and we write it on the board.  I’m hoping to raise them to always look on the bright side of things and practice gratitude regularly.  Here are a few things I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m thankful for a beautiful weekend spent outdoors!  Ben, the boys, and I did so much outside including a summer kick-off carnival at ACAC, 2 pool days with friends at ACAC, the Farmer’s Market, playing outside in our yard, going for walks in our neighborhood, putting up the umbrella on our deck and enjoying lunches and dinners outside, and spending an afternoon at the lake!  What a blast it was!  I hope my boys are learning to love the outdoors and I’m sure the vitamin D is doing us all some good!
2. I’m thankful for an easier pregnancy this time around.  While it certainly hasn’t been easy in the general sense of the word, for the most part, it has been easier than a twin pregnancy and I’m so grateful for that because here I am at 30 weeks and am still somewhat able to keep up with the boys and do lots of activities with them.
3. I’m so grateful for my boys!  Every day they are teaching me to be more patient and appreciate life more.  While I don’t always realize it in the moment, I am learning slowly that there is more to life than a clean house, checked-off to-do list, and TV at the end of the day.  I’m doing much better at going to bed with a living room full of toys on the floor and a kitchen sink full of dirty dishes.  While those things still bother me, the boys remind me constantly that I only have this time with them at this age once so I’m trying to soak it up more.
4. I’m so thankful for my baby.  I’m sure it is partially the hormones talking, but I am getting so excited about holding him and nursing him and seeing what he looks like.  I don’t remember feeling those things much with the boys because I was so focused on keeping them inside for longer and preventing premature birth that I didn’t have much time to get excited for them to be here.  I’m so glad that so far, according to my doctors, premature birth with this baby is looking less and less likely.
5. I’m grateful for good friends who help me be a better parent and reassure me that I’m on the right track.  I have some great friends who are traveling down this parenting road with me and if it weren’t for their help, support, reassurance, and great listening skills, I’d probably be in a much darker place about how I feel about my parenting.  Thank you friends for being there!

Have a great day!