Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Ben’ Category

Happy New Year friends!  So far 2019 is off to a great start for me!  I’m learning, reading, moving, and improving!  Here are a few things I’m thankful for today:

1. I’m so so so grateful for a wonderful long vacation in Dallas visiting my mom and extended family!  We had such a wonderful time celebrating Christmas and seeing everyone and I’m grateful my mom has plenty of room for the whole family to stay when we all visit.
2. I’m grateful for easy traveling, on-time flights, and safe travels over Christmas.  Our biggest travel woe was a screaming toddler on an airplane which is to be expected and I’m so thankful we didn’t have to deal with any delays or cancellations.
3. I’m grateful my mom, sister, brother, and I and all of our spouses and kids could be together for Christmas for the first time in 3 years.  We are rarely all together in one place so it was a blessing that we were all able to come together for a couple of days to celebrate Christmas.
4. I’m thankful for my husband who puts up with my incessant requests to travel to Texas.  I know traveling with young children can be grueling and I’m so grateful he understands how important it is to me to spend time with my family despite them living far away.
5. I’m grateful for a fresh start.  I love new beginnings and the new year certainly seems to be the ultimate new beginning.  I am really taking the bull by the horns in 2019 and trying to be a better person in all aspects of my life!

Wishing you all a happy and grateful 2019!

Hola!  I’m keeping that spirit of gratitude alive!  Here are just a few of the things I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m grateful that my nephew was born safe and healthy and that my sister is recovering well after giving birth on Thursday!  I’m so excited to welcome a sweet new baby into our family!
2. I’m thankful for great mama friends who help me make it through the long days of motherhood!  On Friday, we had lunch with Amy and Roland and on Monday, we spent the day at Lindsey’s!  I’m happy I have good friends who have sweet children that my kiddos are becoming buddies with!
3. I’m thankful for a little warmth after a lot of cold!  We had temperatures in the 60s on Friday and it was a really nice break in between cold snaps!
4. I’m grateful for a husband who is a great handyman!  He’s always doing his best to fix things around the house so we don’t have to pay someone to do it!
5. I’m grateful for coffee!  I wake up every morning looking forward to the smell and taste of it and the caffeine definitely helps with the lack of sleep I’m getting due to middle-of-the-night feedings!

Have a happy day!

Hello and happy new year!  I meant to post last week but life is busy!  I’ve been trying to remember to be grateful and to teach my boys gratitude as well but nothing beats writing it down to really get in the gratitude mindset.  Here’s what I’m thankful for today:

1. I’m thankful for my job, my boss, my coworkers, and the amazing working environment they all create together.  Going back to work after having Auggie, while a bit sad, wasn’t very hard at all because of the people and place I came back to.  Everyone was so welcoming and being back feels almost like I wasn’t gone for 4 months!  Also, I’m so thankful to my work for the more than standard maternity leave with 4 months with Auggie and 6 months with Carter and Morgan.  I’m so blessed to work here!
2. I’m grateful for my husband who is quickly learning how to manage 2 toddlers and a baby by himself so that I can, on occasion, have “me” time.  I was able to go to dinner and a movie with friends last weekend and happy hour this week!  I feel like having that time really helps me recharge and be a better mommy.  Thanks Ben!
3. I’m so thankful for a break from the super cold weather we’ve had.  The temperature is in the 50s and 60s today and tomorrow.
4. I’m grateful for my 3 boys whose hugs and smiles always make me feel loved and bring me back to what’s important.
5. I’m grateful for my new work desktop and laptop.  They are making doing my job so much easier!

Happy day friends!

Well, it’s been a while since I last posted but I have a very good reason!  My sweet baby boy, August “Auggie” Asher Davidson was born a month ago! So clearly, I’ve been very busy but I also have so much to be thankful for!

1. I’m grateful that my baby boy was born healthy and he and I both made it safely through delivery.
2. I’m thankful that I have an AMAZING doctor and many awesome nurses, doctors, and hospital staff who got me through almost 10 months of an unexpected pregnancy with lots of support, love, and expertise!
3. I’m so grateful that a very scary complication that arose 5 days post part-em was taken care of quickly by more amazing doctors, nurses, and staff and that I made it through safely.
4. I’m so very grateful for my in-laws, Peter and Phyllis, and my mom for all the help they’ve provided over the past very difficult month with childcare, meals, cleaning, and moral support as we have figured out how to become a family of 5 and dealt with health issues.
5. Lastly, I am so grateful for all of the kind words, support, and advice of friends and family on becoming a mama of 3.  It has been a rough transition, much tougher than I expected, and everyone’s support has gotten me through it in much better shape and much more quickly than had we gone it alone.
6. Bonus: I’m grateful for my husband Ben for all of his support and help with the toddlers while I’ve been recovering and trying to breastfeed!  I’m a lucky woman to be married to him!

Love you all and I’ll try to post regularly, at least while I’m on maternity leave!

Good morning and welcome to Thankful Tuesday!

One thing I’ve been trying to do to make sure I express gratitude more often or when I don’t have time to post on this blog is to write a few things down that I’m grateful for each day in a little notebook I keep in my purse.  I’d say I remember/have time to do this about 3 times a week.  I have noticed that it seems to help me think more positively and have a happier outlook on all things.  I’ll hopefully continue to do that along with updating my “Thankful Monday” posts on this blog and occasionally practicing gratitude with my boys by writing what we’re thankful for on our kitchen chalk board.

Here are just a few things I’m thankful for today:

1. I’m grateful that Charlottesville now has an Alamo Drafthouse and I’m also thankful for a fun girls night out with Sarah, Lindsey, and Sherry to check it!  We went and saw the Dark Tower and had dinner at the theater and I was so excited and impressed with the new space!  Any time we get something like this here that reminds me of Texas, it makes Charlottesville feel a little more like home! 🙂  Bonus:  the owners are from Beaumont, Texas!
2. I’m thankful for Ben watching the boys and holding down the fort (doing dinner and bath/bed time on his own) so that I could enjoy possibly a last girls night for a while since the baby is supposed to come soon.  Thank you Ben for helping me have some “me time”.
3. I’m thankful I’m still feeling relatively well despite being between 37 and 38 weeks pregnant.  After my first pregnancy, I really had low expectations for feeling good (and still being pregnant) at this stage so I’m very glad that it hasn’t been torture like last time.
4. I’m grateful I *mostly* wrapped up a big project I’ve been working on for weeks last week before the baby arrives.  I was nervous about getting this project done in time especially since I had put so much work into it so having it finished has been a big relief!
5. I’m thankful for a fun pool day with friends and for my mama tribe!  Saturday, the boys and I spent a fun day at the pool with Sarah, Lindsey, and all the kiddos!  I probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable taking the boys to the pool by myself this late in my pregnancy so I’m glad Sarah and Lindsey were up for a fun play date to help us get out of the house.

Have a happy day!

Hi friends!  As usual, I have sooooo much to be thankful for!

1. I’m beyond grateful that my cousin Shelly delivered a healthy baby boy yesterday and both she and baby are doing well!  I’ve said many prayers for the two of them over the past few months and I’m grateful that they were answered!
2. I’m thankful my baby is still cooking!  I was having some seemingly early labor symptoms starting last week but luckily, it looks like he’s due to stay put for a little while longer.
3. I’m thankful for my amazing doctor!  Not only is she down-to earth, always available, and takes great care of Ben, the boys, and me, she also has been so responsive during my pregnancy.  She has commiserated with me and been acknowledging and supportive of the fact that I had a very traumatic pregnancy, pre-term birth experience, and post term experience last time and she’s been right there all along the way to calm my fears and go above and beyond to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make this time around a much better experience for all involved!  I’m so grateful I found such a wonderful family doctor and I hope she’ll be with my family for many years to come!
4. I’m grateful for my husband and everything he does for us!  I nag him to do a lot for me and the boys, especially when pregnant, and I complain about him not doing things for us too much but he really is our knight in shining armor and has helped out so much.  I’m especially thankful for all that he did to get the house cleaned up this weekend to appease my nesting instincts and for getting out of bed last night to wipe up the floor and table from dinner after he’d forgotten.
5. I’m grateful for the opportunity to teach my boys gratitude and the joys of doing things for others.  This weekend, they got to pick out a gift for their baby brother to bring to him when they first meet him.  We also made brownies and we took some to their grandparents’ house to share.  And lastly, they wanted to color and play with stickers this weekend and on their own, they announced they were making their pictures to give to their grandparents.  Sometimes I worry that my attempt to teach them the good things is going in one ear and out the other and also being negated by the example of my bad habits that I’m always trying to make better, but then they do sweet things like this that make me feel like maybe we are all doing something right. 🙂

Lots of love and gratitude to you all!

Hi friends!

Once again, I have so much to be thankful for!

1. I’m so grateful for amazing friends who love and care about me!  On Saturday afternoon, some of my closest girlfriends surprised me with a baby shower/luncheon.  I had no clue that they were planning it and thought I was just meeting a couple of girlfriends for an early dinner and movie.  I was overwhelmed by love and gratitude for this sweet gesture!  Whenever I am feeling down or distant from my friends, I need to remember times like these that prove how loved I am and what wonderful people I have in my life.
2. I’m thankful for good friends who make the effort to stay in your lives despite busy schedules and the chaos of raising children.  We have friends with twin kiddos around the boys’ age that we became close with over the past couple years.  Last summer, I was so sad to learn that they were moving to Florida.  However, we’ve kept in touch and they were in town visiting yesterday and we got to spend a great day with them!  We had coffee and play time at the park and lunch and ice cream in Crozet.  After the kiddos napped, our friends came over for dinner and more play time.  It was so nice to see our friends and I’m so grateful for the effort they have put in to stay close despite the geographical distance between us.  I hope we stay good friends for many years to come!
3. I’m thankful for my husband, my dad, and my father-in-law.  We celebrated Father’s Day on Sunday and while I try to remember to be grateful for these awesome men every day, the day is always a nice reminder to reflect on how much they do and have done for us.  I love you Dad, Ben, and Peter!
4. I’m grateful for exercise and the ability my body has to perform it.  I have been trying to exercise this pregnancy with occasional walking, light running, elliptical training, and some light weight training.  With my twin pregnancy and all the complications that came with it, exercise for me was pretty much non-existent.  However, since I’m just having one baby this time with hopefully a normal pregnancy, I’ve been trying to stay more physically fit, especially since I want to be able to keep up with my boys during pregnancy and after.  I’ve noticed that on the days I exercise, my pregnancy aches and pains are much less bothersome if not non-existent so I’m so thankful I am able to still be exercising in my third trimester.
5. I’m grateful for my husband.  He just gets me and it’s nice to have someone who gets you and knows you better than most people.  Thanks for being one of my people Ben and for never putting up with my bullshit!  I love you!

Have a grateful day!

WOW!  It’s been a long time y’all!  Life is busy with 2 toddlers!  I think since the last time I’ve written we’ve enjoyed 2 trips to Texas, endured multiple illnesses, and celebrated the boys turning 2!

I actually have a quick moment to express some gratitude so here it is:

1. I’m thankful that my boys are 2!  They are amazing and watching them learn, play, and interact with each other every day is a blessing times 2!
2. I’m thankful that my boys seem to be catching up developmentally.  Being born 2 months early, we’ve dealt with physical delays, speech delays, motor skill delays and have been involved in multiple therapies.  While they still have some catching up to do, the development doctors and therapists at their 2 year NICU development checkup yesterday were very pleased with their growth and improvement!  Go Carter and Morgan!
3. I’m thankful for my husband.  We don’t always agree or get along but he humors me more than I probably realize and he works very hard to take care of the boys and I, our house, and himself.  He went out and bought a window AC unit for the boys’ room since the HVAC on our second floor is broken and installed it right away!
4. I’m thankful for my good friend Lindsey who has taken family photos of us multiple times over the past 2 years.  She is so talented and did I mention she does it for FREE?!?!  Plus she is just an amazing person!  Here’s one of my favorite shots from our most recent photo shoot about a month ago:
5.   I’m thankful for all the amazing people I work with!  We’ve been having lots of good times at happy hours lately and its so nice to work with friendly and fun people!
6.   BONUS – I’m grateful our cat, Revolver Ocelot, came back after running away and being gone for almost a full month!  I’m so thankful he is ok despite losing a lot of weight and being bitten by another animal.

Happy day friends!

Hi friends.  It’s not been a good day or a good week.  But that’s all the more reason to remember to be grateful for the good things.

1. I’m grateful no one was hurt in the car accident I had this morning.  Cars can be repaired and replaced but people cannot.
2. I’m grateful my little boys seem to be getting better.  Morgan and Carter have had bad colds and Carter has croup but they both seem to be getting better and Carter has done much better than the doctor predicted thus far.
3. I’m thankful for my husband once again.  I’ve been sick, and trying to get over my cold along with dealing with two sick toddlers and a car accident has taken its toll.  Ben has been a big help, getting up in the middle of the night for the boys, putting an inconsolable Morgan to sleep, cleaning humidifiers, making dinner, and offering to deal with the insurance companies for me.  I love that man.
4. I’m thankful for last weekend that was filled with fun and friends.  We had a play date with friends in Crozet Friday morning followed by a play date with more friends at the Discovery Museum on Friday afternoon.  We also had swimming lessons on Saturday and our good friends Robert and Crystal were so gracious to host us at the Massanutten Water Park on Sunday.  The boys had so much fun and we definitely made up for the boring snow days stuck inside.
5. I’m thankful for my husband AGAIN (he gets a double today).  He took me to the Know Good Beer Festival last Saturday (the tickets were my birthday present) where we had tons of fun together and with friends.  Then he was my designated driver, fed me dinner, and put the boys to bed because I had a little too much fun.  On top of all of that, he found my wedding ring that had fallen off my finger in our bedroom (I thought I’d lost it for good).  I do have an amazing man in my life.

Here’s hoping next week is free of illnesses and car accidents.

Hi friends!  Here’s a dose of gratitude for you!

1. Today, I’m thankful for the sunshine!  I love the warmth, light, and vitamin D!
2. I’m grateful for wonderful friends!  I have so many wonderful friends, and even more wonderful friends that I’ve met through those friends!  I’m looking forward to the next few days filled with those wonderful friends!  I hope they all know how much their friendship means to me.
3. I’m grateful for highly competent, skilled, and helpful coworkers.  I wouldn’t be able to do my job to the best of my ability without the help of the people on my team at work.
4. I’m thankful for the time change.  While I’m not crazy about it getting dark so early, I do enjoy seeing the sun on my way to work again and my boys sure have been sleeping well since we “fell back an hour”.
5. I’m thankful for my husband Ben who works so hard for us.  He takes good care of our house, cleans the kitty litter, saves spiders, squirrels, and other critters by catching them humanely and releasing them back outside, and he built a beautiful greenhouse to hold most of our plants during the winter.  I hope he knows how much I appreciate him.

Happy day friends!