Texas Lou

Hi friends!  Ready for some gratitude?  This is a BIG one!

Today, I’m thankful for:

1. Our third baby!  I’ve made it to the third trimester and feel fairly safe to share with the rest of the world (if you hadn’t seen me me recently).
2. I’m thankful our little guy (that’s right, another boy) seems to be healthy and growing on schedule!
3. I’m grateful that my 2 boys already seem to love their baby brother!
4. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have 1 baby and *hopefully* a normal pregnancy and birth experience.
5. I’m grateful for this gift from God to my family!

Love 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!

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!

I like this article titled How to Host a Crappy Dinner (And See Your Friends More Often).  Its the kind of friend I want to be and have.  I’m mostly just posting this here because I don’t want to forget it.

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!