Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Thankful Mondays’ Category

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!

I’m thankful for a free moment to write this post! 😉

I’m a busy woman but not too busy for gratitude!  Here are some of my thankful things today:

1. I’m thankful my boys are 7 months old today!  They started out as tiny premature babies, but they are now big and healthy little guys!
2. I’m thankful for a fun and relaxing week last week and the opportunity for my boys to enjoy their first Thanksgiving!  We spent the day Skyping with my family in Texas, visiting their grandparents, spending time with their aunt, uncle, and cousin, eating a new kind of squash that their grandma grew, and trying their first meat, turkey.
3. I’m thankful for technology, Skype in particular, for allowing me to spend time with my family over the holidays even though we live far apart.  I’m also thankful my boys are getting to know their Texas family via Skype!
4. I’m thankful for good friends and good times!  My friend Lindsey came over to bake pies Wednesday night and it was so nice to get to visit with her.  Then on Monday, Sarah and I took all the babies on an almost 2 hour long walk and enjoyed the unusually warm weather!  I don’t get to spend as much time with friends as I used to so I’m even more thankful for those opportunities now.
5. Lastly, I’m thankful for the fun date night Ben and I had Saturday and also thankful to my mother-in-law for watching the boys.  Ben and I went to South Street Brewery where we had our first date a few years ago.  It was recently bought out by another local brewery so they had a renovated space, new menu, and lots of new beers to try.  So of course we went all out by ordering an appetizer with our meals and trying a flight of all the beers.  Then we saw Interstellar which was an awesome movie!  I miss these date nights but it’s nice that we still get the opportunity to have them occasionally as I know there are many parents out there who do not have that option.

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!

It’s been a while since I last wrote and life has been super busy but it’s a good day for some gratitude so here’s what I’m thankful for:

1. I’m thankful for my beautiful and healthy niece, Cora, who arrived 3 weeks ago today.  I’m also thankful that my sister, Sarah, had a complication-free labor and delivery!
2. I’m thankful to work for such a great company who allowed me to come back to work part-time after a 6 month maternity leave!
3. I’m thankful for my little boys who are happy and healthy and turn 6 months old today!
4. I’m thankful for a great family who made celebrating the boys’ first Halloween a blast!
5. I’m grateful for my mother-in-law who provides free childcare for us!  We are so lucky to be able to save money and have our boys spend time with their grandma instead of at a daycare!

Have a great day!

I should start calling this post “Thankful Nap Time” since the only time I have to write it is when both of my boys are napping!  Here’s what I’m thankful for today:

1. I’m thankful my dad is coming to visit this week to meet his grandchildren for the first time!  I’m so excited to see him and for the boys to meet him!
2. I’m thankful for working for a company that has been so amazing to me throughout my journey to motherhood.  They have given me an unheard-of 6 months off to be with my boys who were born early and had to spend their first month of life in the hospital.  I’ll be forever grateful the their generosity!
3. I’m grateful for opportunities I get to leave the house, spend time with friends and family, and show my boys the world.  Leaving the house with them is pretty difficult on my own so I’m so thankful for all the help I have when I do take them somewhere or when I want to go somewhere on my own.
4. I’m thankful for my sister and brother-in-law, Sarah and Ian, letting us use their 3rd car until we can buy a new one since we currently only have the Forester.
5. I’m grateful for early bedtimes and the evenings when the boys do go to bed early and sleep through the night.  Though they may be few and far between, I am no less happy for them.

Have a great day!

Nap time is almost over so here’s what I’m thankful for today:

1. I’m thankful for nap time, especially when both babies nap at the same time, because I can actually get things done like laundry, eating lunch, checking email, or writing this post!
2. I’m thankful for my new little family.  I love being a parent despite the rough times that come with it!
3. I’m thankful for our Tula Baby Carriers and grateful to my sister, Sarah, and Aunt Mary for giving them to us.  They allowed us to take the babies to the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello this past weekend! 
4. I’m thankful for a great place to work that has allowed me to take such a long maternity leave so that I can be with my babies until they are developmentally 3 months old and not just chronologically 3 months old.
5. I’m thankful for baby smiles, coos, and babbles that make all of the hard stuff like crying, fussing, and screaming worthwhile!

Better grab something to eat before my monkeys wake up!

Ok, so I know it’s not Monday, but it feels like a Monday because yesterday was a holiday and both babies are happy and quiet at the moment so here’s a quick list of what I’m currently thankful for:

1. I’m thankful for my two little guys who bring me joy every day with their smiles!  I always knew I wanted to be a mother and though parenthood is filled with alot of uncomfortable and undesirable things, it is still amazing!
2. I’m thankful for an amazing Mother-In-Law who comes over almost every day to help me with my babies.  Not only is it helpful for me but it gives my boys more individual attention which I am always worried they are lacking since they are twins and there is only so much of me to go around while Ben is at work.
3. I’m thankful for technology.  This weekend, the boys got to Skype with Grandma, Uncle Pete, Uncle Mike, Aunt Linda, Aunt Connie, Cousin Marc, Aunt Cat, and Aunt Debbie!  I’m so glad they can be close to their family even when we live far away!  Oh and I’m also thankful for my awesome new Samsung Galaxy S5 that takes amazing photos!  I’m going to run out of space soon with all of the pictures I’ve been taking!
4. I’m thankful for my health!  After my pregnancy, my thyroid is doing great and I’m down 7.5 pounds (37 pounds since giving birth) and only have 5 pounds to lose until I hit my pre-pregnancy weight.
5. I’m thankful for family!  Not only did we get to Skype with my family this weekend, we also got to spend plenty of time with my mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law and soon-to-be-born niece, brother-in-law, and 2 nieces.  Plus this coming weekend, we get to see even more family who will be in town for Sarah’s baby shower!

Have a great and grateful day!

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!