Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Ben’ Category

I’m trying to keep positive these days!  Lately, I’m thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful for fun friends visiting from out of town and a husband who watches our children so I can have a night out!  My friends Cris and Carolyn were in town so a bunch of us spent a great evening at World of Beer!  It was a blast!  Then on Sunday, we had a great lunch at Beer Run!  I got to enjoy awesome people, great food, and two of my favorite beer joints in town!
2. I’m thankful for my hard-working husband who spends most of his free time trying to keep up with the demands of our yard and house!  He is constantly fixing something or mowing the grass or doing some sort of upkeep and I hope he knows how much I appreciate it.
3. I’m thankful I FINALLY get to take my boys to Texas and go to the beach after a 2 year beach-hiatus!
4. I’m grateful for the holiday we have this week!  YAY 4th of July!
5. I’m thankful for electricity.  We had a rough thunderstorm with hail last Thursday and I was afraid we were going to lose power again.  It blinked a couple of times but luckily it came right back on.  After last weekend’s power outage, I am much more grateful for the common comforts electricity provides that we often take for granted!

Happy day friends!

Good morning and what a thankful Thursday this is!

1. I’m thankful for a wonderful weekend spent with friends and family!  We got to see our niece win a soccer game on Saturday morning and visit with family.  Then that afternoon, we visited friends and met their new baby!  Sunday was spent on the lawn at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards with fun friends and cute babies sipping wine and making onesies!  I have many amazing people in my life!
2. I’m thankful for a husband who puts aloe on my back every day after getting a sunburn from the above mentioned winery lawn sitting!
3. I’m grateful that I have a wonderful husband who is also an involved father and has daddy-son days occasionally so I can get out and have a break (like today when I am getting my hair cut!).
4. I’m thankful for the rain we’ve had this week.  It may be a pain but we need it and it washes all that pollen away.
5. I’m grateful for my work friend who was so nice to bring me an Apricot flavored seltzer water this morning for me to try (in case you don’t know, I’m addicted to seltzer water!).

Happy day friends!

That’s me…I’m happy and grateful today!

1. I’m so thankful that several of my friends have recently had healthy little babies with no complications!  And I’m so grateful that we have all these wonderful little people joining our world!
2. I’m thankful for a mommy’s night out with my bestie and SIL, Sarah!  We went to the Tin Whistle Irish Pub on Friday and enjoyed good beer from Three Notch’d Brewing Company, great Irish food, awesome Irish music, and amazing homemade desserts!  It was so nice to have a date with one of my best friends and chat without babies interrupting us!
3. I’m grateful for all the other moms out there who have been so helpful to me in this first year of motherhood.  I will never be able to express how thankful I am for all of their advice, support, friendship, and love.
4. I’m thankful for good nights when my boys sleep well all night and go to bed without a fight!
5. Lastly, I’m thankful for my husband Ben who is so good with our boys!  Seeing them smile when they see him makes my heart happy!

Love to all!

I’m having a very difficult time being grateful today.  I’m running on 2 hours of sleep due to sleep training, still trying to get over this cough, and started my morning off by spilling coffee on myself.  However, I need to remember that this isn’t forever, it’s just today.  So here’s my best shot at being grateful on an ungrateful-feeling day:

1. I’m thankful for the meditation session at work today.  It was nice just to have some quiet time even if my sleep deprivation was causing me to nod off.
2. I’m thankful my babies are feeling better and are over their colds.
3. I’m thankful for Ben who has been alternating sleep training duty with me so that we each at least get some sleep every other night.
4. I’m grateful for the opportunity to run.  It gives me time to think and clear my head.
5. I’m thankful for new friends and old friends.  This past weekend I got the opportunity to make a new friend as well as hang out with some amazing old friends.

Happy day!

I’m really having a hard time being grateful right now as I’m exhausted from lack of sleep, overwhelmed with work, household duties, mothering responsibilities, and Christmas shopping, and just unmotivated with everything piling on.  But when is the best time to be grateful?  When you find it hardest to be grateful!  Of course that is supposedly when it should be the most helpful, so here it goes:

1. I’m thankful that we got to take our boys to see Santa and get a Christmas tree on Sunday.  And we did it all while supporting two great causes.  We donated to the East Rivanna Volunteer Fire Company which hosted the Santa Clause pictures and we bought our Christmas tree from the boy scouts.
2. I’m thankful for my husband for taking time off of work on Friday and Monday to help me take the boys to doctors appointments.  It’s getting more and more difficult for me to take them places on my own and I’m so thankful Ben has a great employer that allows him to be flexible.
3. I’m thankful for fun times this past weekend, stir-fry night with the Rejonis’, a baby shower for my friend Jamie, Christmas cookie decorating, Christmas shopping, and spending time with family and friends.
4. I’m grateful for the internet that is making Christmas shopping with 2 seven month old babies much less stressful than it has to be!
5. I’m thankful for the sweet smiles and laughs of my boys that make me forget all my troubles!

Happy day friends!

Monday was busy but I think I can squeeze in a quick post today.

Today, I’m thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful for my boys’ progress.  We have physical therapy sessions every other week for both boys to address delays in their motor skills and preferences for their right sides cause flattening on the right sides of their heads, and yesterday, the Physical Therapist was so impressed with their progress that she thinks they only need a couple more sessions until they no longer need her assistance.  My boys are growing fast!
2. I’m thankful for my husband who is covering the night shift with the babies this week since he has the whole week off of work and I don’t.
3. I’m thankful for family, and Thanksgiving, and days off of work!
4. I’m thankful for technology.  Since I can’t be with my Texas family for Thanksgiving, we’ll enjoy each others’ company via Skype!
5. I’m thankful for my little family.  I don’t feel like we are complete yet, but having children during the holidays really reinforces what they are all about and I’m so grateful I have healthy and happy little ones to share the holidays with and start making memories and continuing traditions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful Monday was a bust but how about Thankful Tuesday!

I’m thankful for the following this lovely autumn day:

1. I’m thankful for our double jogging stroller that I bought used for $50 when I was pregnant.  If it weren’t for this awesome invention, I’d pretty much be getting no exercise or vitamin D via outdoor time.  Last weekend, Ben and I took the boys for a walk in the stroller on the Saunders-Monticello Trail and they seemed to enjoy a nice change in scenery from our regular neighborhood walks.
2. I’m thankful for our new Honda Odyssey that has given us much more room to travel together as a family and allows us to take the above-mentioned stroller to other locations besides our house!  I can’t wait to drive it to Texas!
3. I’m thankful for my husband and his willingness to buy the typical mommy vehicle instead of buying something that the young, cool guy in him wanted.  Ben has NEVER had a new car and I’m sure when his got totaled he was thinking, this is my chance to buy something new and fun.  But I convinced him that we needed a bigger vehicle and now he is driving the 3-year old Subaru Forester while I drive the fancy new van.
4. I’m thankful for my part-time schedule and an employer that allows it.  I work 30 hours a week – 24 hours at work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and the other 6 hours from home when the boys are sleeping during nap time or at night.  Because of this, I am still able to spend the majority of my time with my buddies which is the most important thing to me!
5. I’m thankful for coffee!  It really does make it easier to get up at 5 AM with only 4 hours of sleep behind me!

Happy day friends!

I haven’t written my weekly Thankful Monday post in a while and those of you who know me well know that it’s because I had my twin boys unexpectedly early on Saturday, May 3rd.  We had a month in the NICU and then it’s been almost two months of taking care of newborns around the clock.  I’ve been trying to get the chance to write down what I’m thankful for over the past couple of weeks but this is the first Monday where the boys are both napping at the same time and I have the opportunity.  So here it goes:

This week, I’m thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful for two beautiful, healthy, amazing little boys!  Carter Mitchel “Tex” Davidson and Morgan Fox ‘Virg” Davidson were born at 32 weeks and 4 days at 3:50 AM and 3:54 AM on Saturday, May 3, 2o14.  Despite being almost 2 month early, they were both breathing room air on their own and were perfectly healthy.  They only needed to stay in the hospital to learn to regulate their temperatues on their own and learn to eat by mouth.  Especially after meeting so many parents in the NICU who’s babies were sick or came much earlier than ours and were facing a lifetime of health issues and much longer NICU stays, I thank God for our blessings!
   

   First picture of my babies minutes after being born

   

   Morgan after being inducted into the NICU

   

   Carter after being inducted into the NICU

   

   Our first family photo

   

   My angels yesterday at 12 weeks old

2. I’m thankful for the amazing doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and all staff at both Martha Jefferson Hospital and the University of Virginia Medical Center as well as the great EMTs who transported me from one place to another.  We were all very well taken care of!
3. I’m grateful for a fairly easy birth experience and recovery.  I was lucky to avoid a C-section despite many people thinking that twins are born that way.  In addition, my active labor and delivery only lasted about 6 hours and I pushed for less than an hour so I’m very thankful for the short period of pain, especially compared to many other first time mothers who they say tend to labor for a longer period of time.
4. I’m thankful that we have formula available to us and enough money to afford it.  Unfortunately I don’t make enough milk for my babies so I am grateful we can supplement without having to worry about it affecting our finances too much.
5. I’m thankful for my husband and the father of my babies.  He was amazing throughout my short but extremely uncomfortable pregnancy, the surprise announcement that we were having twins, and the long NICU stay.  He took me to the hospital every morning on his way to work, then brought me lunch and visited the boys every afternoon, and then came back to visit and take me home after work every day.  He is a wonderful husband, father, and friend and I couldn’t have gotten through the past 10 months without him.

Hopefully this post will become weekly again as it is very helpful with my happiness and mental health and I will try my hardest but it will all depend on my sweet baby boys!  Happy Monday and don’t forget to be thankful!

Good morning and happy Thankful Monday.

Today, I am thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful I’ve made it to 32 weeks today and hopeful that I can make it to 36 weeks.  I’m also thankful that our babies looked safe and healthy in our ultrasound last week, and I’m hoping for the same diagnosis at our ultrasound today.
2. I’m grateful for my in-laws who drove me to the doctor last Monday and are driving me to the doctor again today since it has gotten very difficult for me to drive.  I’m also so thankful that they live so close to me in case I need anything or there is an emergency while I am working from home in these last few weeks of pregnancy.
3. I’m thankful for my sister-in-law Sarah who came over and helped me get the nursery somewhat organized this weekend and cheer me up since I’ve been a bit house-bound lately.
4. I’m thankful for Ben who has put up with my mood swings and been great at supporting me through the rough parts of my pregnancy.  I’m also so grateful for his help in fixing all of the furniture for the nursery.  He’s working so hard when I know he’d rather be doing other things.
5. I’m thankful for all of the support, well wishes, and sympathetic ears from people over the past couple of really difficult weeks, especially my mom.

Hopefully these babies will still be cooking this time next week.  Have a great day!

Good morning and happy belated Easter and happy Thankful Monday!

Today I’m thankful for the following:

1. Now that it has been officially announced and I can “shout it from the rooftops”, I’m so thankful that my sister-in-law sister, Sarah, and brother-in-law, Ian, are expecting a baby!  I’m so happy to be an aunt and for my baby boys to have a cousin close to their age!  Most of my best friends are my cousins and we had so many amazing times growing up together.  I am so happy my babies will have that opportunity as well, especially since I think that family is the most important thing in life!  Congrats to Ian and Sarah and baby Davidson!  Our family is exploding this year and I am so grateful that so far we are all happy and healthy and bringing new life into this world!
2. I’m thankful I’m made it to 31 weeks.  I’ve been in so much pain and discomfort over the last week and I know it will only get worse before it gets better, but I try to remember that with every day of pain comes one more day that my babies are safe and growing inside of me.  I have been trying to focus on the little things that make me happy like a good hour of sleep, a sunny day, a comforting bath, when Ben rubs my belly and talks to our sons, and the fact that I have a supportive boss and the opportunity to work from home some to help me retain some comfort.  My goal is to keep these babies in for another 5 weeks at least no matter how much pain it causes me.
3. I’m thankful for a wonderful gift from my mom that I can’t wait to be delivered!  Because I have trouble sleeping laying down these days, my mom bought me a glider/rocker/recliner to sleep in until the babies come and then to use for rocking, nursing, reading, cuddling, etc. after the babies are born.  My mom is the best and I am even more thankful for her as a mother.  I’m also grateful for her understanding and support as she understands what I’m going through and has been helpful when I’m having a hard time remembering to be thankful.
4. I’m thankful for my in-laws.  Yesterday, they gave us as old chest of drawers they were no longer using for the nursery since buying one is a large expense we shouldn’t incur and then my father-in-law helped Ben fix the leak in our bathtub so I can take baths again and experience some form of weightlessness to have a break from carrying around my gigantic belly.  I’m also thankful that despite falling down the stairs on Friday, my mother-in-law only broke her toe and was not seriously injured.
5. I’m thankful for my third opportunity to mentor for Computers 4 Kids and get to know another young member of my community.  Unfortunately I had to finish up our mentoring sessions early on Thursday due to my pregnancy but I’m so glad I got to mentor my third learning partner.  I learned alot from her and from our mentoring sessions and I hope she learned just as much from me.

Have a happy day!