Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Happy Thursday and happy spring! I’ve actually been practicing daily gratitude since the new year with a handwritten journal so I haven’t been keeping up with my weekly gratitude posts on this blog but today I feel like I need an extra dose of it!

1. I’m grateful for spring, flowers, warm weather, and sunshine. Winter here is so so hard for me. The short days, the gloomy weather, and the cold really have an effect on me so I’m so thankful and full of energy to welcome spring and the promise of summer!
2. I’m thankful for a really fun girls trip to Savannah and for my husband and mother-in-law who helped take care of my boys so I could have a little break and spend time with some of my best gal pals and my mom while exploring a new city.
3. I’m grateful for an amazing preschool that my kids attend. Not only have they taught my children so much over the past 2 years, they have gone above and beyond to accommodate Morgan and his broken leg.
4. I’m thankful for exercise and my body’s ability to participate in it. With the warmer weather, I’ve been exercising more and my body and mind feel so much better!
5. I’m thankful for my 3 sons. They are constantly teaching me and motivating me to try to become a better person.

Have a wonderful day!

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!

Although I didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving this year, I have so much to be thankful for:

1. I’m so grateful to my in-laws for taking care of my 3 boys (and my 2 nieces for helping) so that Ben and I could attend my brother’s wedding in Costa Rica.  Although we wanted to take them with us, we just couldn’t make it work and I’m so glad we didn’t have to miss the wedding and I didn’t have to go alone.  Thanks so much to my in-laws for all of their help!
2. I’m thankful for 5 days in paradise with my family.  This was the first time in 11 years I’ve been with my family on Thanksgiving.  And even though we didn’t have Thanksgiving dinner, we definitely had a celebration!
3. I’m grateful that my brother found his best friend and soul mate in Erin.  I’m so happy for them as they start their lives together.
4. I’m thankful that we made it through all of our travels safely.  Traveling to a foreign country can be scary and full of anxiety but we were lucky to be safe and not have any hiccups along the way.
5. I’m grateful that I get to see my family again soon for Christmas!

Happy day friends!

My mom left after a fun visit today and I’m feeling kinda down so I think I need a dose of gratitude to help me perk up.  Here are just a few things I’m grateful for lately:

1. I’m grateful that my mom was able to come visit and help celebrate Auggie Bear’s first birthday.  It means more than the world to me that my boys are getting to spend quality time with my mom/best friend.
2. I’m grateful we made it through the first year of life with 3 kiddos under 4!  Those first few weeks were daunting but we made it and are all stronger because of them!
3. I’m thankful for a wonderful summer filled with visits from loved ones and travel!  I have to say an extra thank you to Ben and his mom for helping out with the kiddos so I could travel to Houston, Padre Island, and Chicago to help celebrate my brother and his fiance.  I’m also so grateful to have had both my mom and my brother and his fiance visit us this summer.  I don’t care how often I have to wash the sheets in the guest room…I’d do it a million times for precious memories made with my loved ones!
4. I’m grateful for my little family.  For so long, I wanted my own little family and now my life is full with a great husband and 3 sweet, healthy, and active little boys!
5. I’m thankful for a challenging job that I enjoy and awesome coworkers plus the opportunity to work part time so I can spend more time with my babies.

Have a great day friends!

I’m drowning in life and to-dos and I’m trying to remember to stay positive and practice gratitude.  So here’s some gratitude to keep me in the right frame of mind!

Today, I’m thankful for:

1. I’m thankful for the opportunity to travel a couple times this summer to help celebrate my brother and his fiance.  I’m very grateful to have extra childcare from my in-laws and husband to allow me to make this possible!
2. I’m thankful for my health.  Despite some injuries and illnesses lately, everything has been minor, and I’m so thankful to have good health.
3. I’m grateful for good influences in my life.  I have certain friends and family in my life who set such a good example for me as a person and parent and I’m grateful for them and their influence.
4. I’m so grateful for warm weather…FINALLY!
5. I’m thankful to feel like I’m emerging from the fog!  Though I still feel like I’m constantly busy and have a thousand things to do, I’m starting to feel like I’m managing the anxiety of being a working mom of 3 small children much better and no longer feel like I’m constantly living in a postpartum fog!

Happy day to you all!

Hi friends,

It’s been a long time (3 months to be exact) since I last posted.  Life’s been busy with 2 two-year olds, work, home-ownership, and a few other things I have up my sleeve.  I’ve been trying to remember to be grateful and practice gratitude and I’m even trying to teach my boys how to practice it, but nothing seems to work as well as this weekly posting so I’m back for more!

Today, I’m thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful for a fun trip to Texas 2 weeks ago and also so thankful to my dad for footing the bill, my sister and brother and their significant others for hosting us, and my mom for making a special trip just to see us for a couple of hours.  We had such a great time in Houston and got to see so many friends and family we love so much.  We can’t wait for our next trip!
2. I’m grateful for the opportunity my boys have to start preschool in August.  We got into our first choice school and I’m so excited for them to start attending and learning!  I’m grateful they were accepted and we didn’t have to be on a wait-list.
3. I’m thankful for new opportunities at work.  I’m been extra busy at work since the start of 2017 learning some new skills and getting familiar with new areas of our website that I hadn’t previously had the opportunity to work in.  I’m grateful to my boss and team for giving me the opportunity and also providing me with support as I learn.
4. I’m thankful for spring!  It’s here and the cold weather, my least favorite, is almost behind us!  Bring on the flip-flops!
5. I’m thankful for my husband who continues to work hard on getting our house in order.  It seems like he is constantly fixing or improving something and all of that on top of working full time and taking great care of his health and fitness!  We would be lost without him.

Have a happy day and I hope to post again next week!

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!

This week, my family and I have a lot to be grateful for:

1. My father-in-law nearly choked to death and my mother-in-law saved his life!  I’m grateful that he is ok and so thankful that my mother-in-law was there and able to save him.  I’m also very thankful for the quick-responding EMTs and hospital staff at Martha Jefferson who took good care of him.
2. I’m thankful for each day that myself and everyone I love wakes up and is healthy.  After what happened this week, I am reminded that every day is a gift for us all.
3. I’m thankful that we live close to my in-laws and were able to be nearby in an emergency.
4. I’m grateful for washing machines!  We’ve had alot of blowouts this week and having a washing machine and dryer sure does make life with toddlers a lot easier!
5. I’m thankful for the week ahead which will be filled with sun, fun, family, and friends!

Love to you all!

Oh wow!  It’s been a while since my last post!  Summer has been busy yall!  I need to remember to be grateful and keep a positive outlook on life so here’s a few nuggets of gratitude!

1. I’m thankful for the opportunity to fly to Texas with Ben and the boys back in July and introduce Carter and Morgan to so many friends and family and the place that I first (and will forever) called home!  They got to meet so many people who are some of the most important people in my life and that makes me so happy!
2. I’m thankful for an amazing summer so far!  We’ve done so much, including but not limited to, graduated from swimming lessons, tried out our first splash park, flew to Texas and back, ate authentic Tex-Mex, went to the Richmond Zoo, met and visited uncles, aunts, and cousins (in both Texas and Virginia), attended 2 beer festivals, went to King Family Polo with awesome friends, had so many awesome play dates, went swimming, visited new wineries and breweries, tried lots of new foods and restaurants, and went on lots of fun walks!  If I have time, I’ll do a detailed recap of the boys’ big summer.  What a blast it has been and I thank my boys and everyone involved for making it so much fun!
3. I’m thankful for a new restaurant in town I’ve discovered, Brazos Tacos.  It is owned and run by Texans, serves authentic Texas-style tacos and awesome salsas and guac, and is totally kid friendly!  I’m so thankful for a little taste of home here in Virginia.
4. I’m grateful for awesome coworkers and cool people I have the opportunity to work with.  I’m lucky to be surrounded by such talent and amazing personalities.
5. I’m grateful for all of the moms in my life…they make being a mom myself so much easier and so much more fun!

Love to you all!

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!