Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Thankful Mondays’ Category

Happy New Year Friends!

I’m wishing everyone peace, prosperity, health, and happiness in 2017!  Here’s what I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m grateful for an amazing Christmas holiday celebrated in Texas surrounded by so much family!  I’m so thankful that we were able to travel and spend time with so many of the people that mean the most to me!  I hope you had a great Christmas too!
2. I’m thankful that I work for a great company with an awesome employee discount benefit!  Our 10 year old TV finally kicked the bucket last night and I was able to save almost $500 on a new TV with my employee discount.  Thanks Crutchfield!
3. I’m grateful for my mom.  She always does her best to make sure that her family has a great Christmas.  She outdid herself this year by providing a big and beautiful festive home for us all to convene for the holidays and by cooking some amazing holiday meals!  Thank you Mom!
4. I’m grateful for my husband who spent his first Christmas away from his parents so that we could spend the holiday in Texas (my first time in 5 years!).  I know it wasn’t easy for him or his family to be apart on Christmas so I want to say a special thanks to them all for being cool with it.
5. I’m grateful for a fresh start and the new year.  There are exciting things coming for my family this year and one of my goals is to try and remain grateful with a positive attitude and to also raise my boys with that same mindset.

Happy 2017!  Love you all!

Good morning!  It’s been a while but I keep coming back!

Here’s what I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m grateful that I live in a country where we all have the right to vote on this election day!  I voted this morning and regardless of who the winners are, I’m just grateful that I am a citizen of the greatest country in the world!
2. I’m grateful for a beautiful fall weekend filled with family time!  Saturday, Ben, the boys, and I ran the Wolanski 2 Miler to celebrate the retirement of my awesome OBGYN.  We then bought lots of goodies at the Farmer’s Market and continued on to Carter Mountain Orchard for some apple picking.  The boys had such a great time and I’m thankful I can give them fun and awesome experiences like these!
3.  I’m grateful to live in a city with such amazing preschool options!  We’ve been touring preschools to enroll the boys in next fall and there are so many great schools around that it’s overwhelming to choose one!
4. I’m thankful for the extra hour we got this weekend.  While I’m not a fan of it getting dark super early, it was nice to get that extra hour on Sunday especially when there are never enough hours in the day!
5. I’m grateful for a sweet sister.  She sent me a sweet card and beautiful bracelet to ask me if I’d be her matron of honor in her wedding!  I’m so excited for her and thankful to be her sister.

Happy day friends!

Happy Tuesday to whoever might be reading this!

Here’s what I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m thankful for a fun weekend with my boys which involved playing at Pen Park, Friday lunch with Daddy at Zoe’s, the Farmer’s Market, an awesome twin birthday party, and watching Zootopia!  It feels like we lived life to the fullest this weekend and I’m thankful for that opportunity.
2. I’m thankful for the nice pedicure I got on Thursday afternoon and the sweet lady who did my toes.  She is a twin and was telling me how much she loves her twin sister and this made me feel happy and hopeful for my boys and their future relationship.
3. I’m thankful for my mother-in-law and father-in-law for watching the boys so Ben and I could try out the new Random Row Brewing Co. on Sunday and see a movie.
4. I’m thankful to live in a great city that seems to always have so much to offer.  I’m usually overwhelmed with options for things to see and do and luckily, most of them are kid friendly!
5. Last but not least, I’m grateful for the opportunities I have to grow and learn at work.  I’ve been learning so many new things lately, ajax, Knockoutjs, database design, and I’m so thankful for the opportunity and the help and experience from my coworkers!

Have a great day!

Hola!  Showing up for gratitude 2 weeks in a row!  I’ve got to keep this up. 🙂

1. Recently, I’m grateful for something that has happened to me.  I don’t want to go into details as its a long story and not worth getting into all the gory details.  However, I can say that a HUGE weight has been lifted from my shoulders and my stress levels are way down as a result.  I’m so grateful for this positive light and relief!
2. I’m grateful for 2 people who have listened to me vent and complain on far too many occasions.  My mom and my bestie, Sarah, have been wonderful listeners and sources of advice.  I hope they know how much they mean to me and know that I appreciate them listening to my constant complaining!  Love you both!
3. I’m thankful for our friend Robert.  He has done so much to help us with our house problems, specifically our failing HVACs and he has saved us a lot of money!  Thank you Robert for everything you do!
4. I’m grateful for the University of Virginia NICU.  This weekend, they had their 2016 NICU reunion that we attended with the boys.  It was an amazing event filled with games, activities, food, music, familiar faces, and fun.  My boys had so much fun and it was also a great reminder of how blessed and lucky we are that we live in a time and place where we had such wonderful care available to us and our babies.  Thank you to everyone who helped put on a great event and every doctor, nurse, volunteer, and staff member at the UVA NICU!
5. I’m thankful for life.  Some days are hard and some days are amazing and I’m just grateful I am lucky enough to get to feel it all, the good and the bad.

Have a great one!

I’m here for some gratitude!

1. I’m grateful for sunshine!  We’ve had so much of it lately and it makes me happy to be outside and get fresh air and Vitamin D!  Soaking it all up before winter is here!
2. I’m thankful for my in-laws who do so much to help us.  I don’t express how grateful I am to them enough so I’m going to try and do that more.
3. I’m thankful for a healthy body.  I’ve been running and walking a lot lately and it makes me feel so good!  I’m so thankful I have the good health and physical capacity to be able to walk and run whenever I want!
4. I’m grateful for coffee!  I just love my coffee! 🙂
5. I’m thankful for my co-workers.  It is a joy to come to work every day because of the amazing people I work with!

Happy day!

Good morning!  Here’s a quick dose of gratitude to keep me positive this morning!

1. I’m thankful for nice weather this past weekend.  Even though it was hot and there was a heat advisory, I’m still happy the sun was shining.  The boys and I were able to get outdoors quite a bit (while making sure to stay hydrated) and to me, that is much more fun than being stuck inside because of rain.  We went on walks, attending the Charlottesville Farmers Market, and went to the Greenleaf Spray Park with friends!
2. I’m thankful for my in-laws and all that they do to help us.  On Saturday, they watched the boys for a couple hours so Ben and I could have an old-fashioned date:  lunch at Beer Run and seeing Suicide Squad at Regal Stonefield (yay for free movie tickets)!
3. I’m grateful for technology!  This one shows up often on my list but that’s because it is a huge part of our everyday life.  I’m so thankful we have the opportunity to watch the 2016 Summer Olympics thanks to the internet and television.  It’s so awesome seeing the different competitors and matches!
4. I’m thankful that my mom found a new job and that it is located close to where her family lives.  She started her new job yesterday after being out of work since late February and I’m so grateful my uncle and aunt are letting her stay with them until she finds a place nearby.
5. I’m thankful for Carter and Morgan.  They are constantly reminding me what life is really about.

Have a great day!

Good grateful morning to you!  We had a fun and fabulous weekend to make up for the sad and uneventful one before.  Here’s what I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m grateful for amazing friends who are so nice to share with us.  My friend Lindsey and her husband and kiddos invited us to ACAC waterpark where they have a membership and we had so much fun with them!  There is an enclosed kiddie area with a kiddie pool and splash pad so I was able to take the boys by myself without an extra helper.  We had a great time, played in the water, and enjoyed lots of snacks by the pool.  Thanks Lindsey and Greg!
   

   Enjoying snacks by the pool

2.  I’m grateful again for amazing friends and daddies who watch kiddos so mommies can get some much needed relaxation and adult time!  Friday night, Sarah and I went to the free wine tasting at Market Street Wine Shop, something we used to do all the time B.K. (before kids!) and even ran into some old friends.  Then Lindsey, Sarah, Kaleigh, Sherry, and a couple others met up at Wine & Design to paint a tree at sunset scene.  Everyone brought delicious snacks and wine to share.  We had a blast and decided to continue the evening with drinks at The Whiskey Jar.  What an awesome night!  Thanks to Lindsey for planning and thanks to Ben, Ian, and Greg for pulling extra daddy duties and putting the kids to bed so we could all enjoy the evening!
   

   Some of the ladies and I at The Whiskey Jar

3.   I am so grateful I live in such an amazing part of the country where I can witness the beauty of nature every day!  Saturday afternoon, while the boys were napping, I was sitting on the deck enjoying the sunshine and watching for hummingbirds when 2 bald eagles flew right by me and landed in a tree nearby.  Ben and I watched them for several minutes with the binoculars.  I’ve never seen one, much less 2, that close before!  I’m so thankful I was in the right place at the right time!
   

   They’re difficult to see but you can spot 2 black blurs in the tree

   

   1 of the bald eagles flying above the house

4. I’m grateful for my boys and for being given the gift of twins.  Now that they are getting older, I’m getting glimpses of sibling love that just melt my heart and I’m so thankful I get to witness it.  Morgan LOVES to hug and kiss Carter (although Carter isn’t always the biggest fan since it sometimes turns into a wrestling match) and it makes my heart so happy to see the love between them!
5. Lastly, I’m thankful for my in-laws who help us in so many ways.  This weekend, they allowed us to use their membership to a local neighborhood beach so we could take the boys to the lake and let them practice using their new floaties.  They had so much fun and I’m so grateful to my in-laws for sharing these amenities with us!

Happy day friends!

Boy was I negative this weekend.  Both my boys were sick, a good friend moved away and we didn’t get to say goodbye, it rained on the 4th of July and we didn’t do anything to celebrate the holiday, and I spent most of the weekend dwelling on the fact that I live far from my family.  Needless to say, I put way too much negative energy into feeling sorry for myself this weekend.  I really need a dose of gratitude today so here it is:

1. My boys may have had a cold this weekend but I’m so thankful they didn’t also have a stomach bug.  They each vomited once in their sleep and I was afraid we were all going to get another stomach bug but it seems things were just related to all the mucus that came with the cold.  I’m grateful they weren’t as sick as I worried they were.
2. I’m sad my friend moved away but I’m very thankful for all the good memories we have and for her friendship.  I’m also hopeful we’ll visit each other and remain friends in the future.
3. I’m thankful for the rain.  Without it, we wouldn’t be able to have life on this planet and we also wouldn’t be able to appreciate the sunny days.
4. Even though we didn’t celebrate the Fourth of July, I’m thankful I got to spend the day with my boys and make my family a nice dinner.  I know many people have no one to spend the holidays with so I’m thankful I wasn’t in that position.
5. I wish we didn’t live so far away from my family but I’m thankful we get to visit them in a few weeks and I’m also grateful we have things like Skype, Facebook, and phone calls to stay in touch.

I hope everyone had a happy Fourth of July!  Doing my best to stay positive over here. 🙂

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!

It’s been a busy week as usual but I gotta make time for gratitude!  Here’s my weekly 5:

1. I’m thankful for fun friends and girls nights out!  I had a blast at Firefly karaoke last night and made some new friends!
2. I’m thankful my boys are feeling better after a nasty cold and rough week of illness.
3. I’m grateful for the weekend and getting to spend time with my boys.
4. I’m thankful for my dad who bought us plane tickets to Texas to visit with family in a few weeks and I’m grateful for my sister and her boyfriend who are graciously hosting us while we’re there.
5. I’m grateful for music and Spotify!  I love listening to music while I’m at work and I’m glad I can listen to whatever I want, whenever I want, for free!

Have a great day!