Texas Lou

Hi friends!

Once again, I have so much to be thankful for!

1. I’m so grateful for amazing friends who love and care about me!  On Saturday afternoon, some of my closest girlfriends surprised me with a baby shower/luncheon.  I had no clue that they were planning it and thought I was just meeting a couple of girlfriends for an early dinner and movie.  I was overwhelmed by love and gratitude for this sweet gesture!  Whenever I am feeling down or distant from my friends, I need to remember times like these that prove how loved I am and what wonderful people I have in my life.
2. I’m thankful for good friends who make the effort to stay in your lives despite busy schedules and the chaos of raising children.  We have friends with twin kiddos around the boys’ age that we became close with over the past couple years.  Last summer, I was so sad to learn that they were moving to Florida.  However, we’ve kept in touch and they were in town visiting yesterday and we got to spend a great day with them!  We had coffee and play time at the park and lunch and ice cream in Crozet.  After the kiddos napped, our friends came over for dinner and more play time.  It was so nice to see our friends and I’m so grateful for the effort they have put in to stay close despite the geographical distance between us.  I hope we stay good friends for many years to come!
3. I’m thankful for my husband, my dad, and my father-in-law.  We celebrated Father’s Day on Sunday and while I try to remember to be grateful for these awesome men every day, the day is always a nice reminder to reflect on how much they do and have done for us.  I love you Dad, Ben, and Peter!
4. I’m grateful for exercise and the ability my body has to perform it.  I have been trying to exercise this pregnancy with occasional walking, light running, elliptical training, and some light weight training.  With my twin pregnancy and all the complications that came with it, exercise for me was pretty much non-existent.  However, since I’m just having one baby this time with hopefully a normal pregnancy, I’ve been trying to stay more physically fit, especially since I want to be able to keep up with my boys during pregnancy and after.  I’ve noticed that on the days I exercise, my pregnancy aches and pains are much less bothersome if not non-existent so I’m so thankful I am able to still be exercising in my third trimester.
5. I’m grateful for my husband.  He just gets me and it’s nice to have someone who gets you and knows you better than most people.  Thanks for being one of my people Ben and for never putting up with my bullshit!  I love you!

Have a grateful day!

Good morning friends!  I’ve been trying to be extra grateful lately!  I’ve been getting back into meditation and trying to remember to practice/teach gratitude with my boys.  We have a chalk board in our kitchen, and when I can remember, I ask them what we are thankful for that day and we write it on the board.  I’m hoping to raise them to always look on the bright side of things and practice gratitude regularly.  Here are a few things I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m thankful for a beautiful weekend spent outdoors!  Ben, the boys, and I did so much outside including a summer kick-off carnival at ACAC, 2 pool days with friends at ACAC, the Farmer’s Market, playing outside in our yard, going for walks in our neighborhood, putting up the umbrella on our deck and enjoying lunches and dinners outside, and spending an afternoon at the lake!  What a blast it was!  I hope my boys are learning to love the outdoors and I’m sure the vitamin D is doing us all some good!
2. I’m thankful for an easier pregnancy this time around.  While it certainly hasn’t been easy in the general sense of the word, for the most part, it has been easier than a twin pregnancy and I’m so grateful for that because here I am at 30 weeks and am still somewhat able to keep up with the boys and do lots of activities with them.
3. I’m so grateful for my boys!  Every day they are teaching me to be more patient and appreciate life more.  While I don’t always realize it in the moment, I am learning slowly that there is more to life than a clean house, checked-off to-do list, and TV at the end of the day.  I’m doing much better at going to bed with a living room full of toys on the floor and a kitchen sink full of dirty dishes.  While those things still bother me, the boys remind me constantly that I only have this time with them at this age once so I’m trying to soak it up more.
4. I’m so thankful for my baby.  I’m sure it is partially the hormones talking, but I am getting so excited about holding him and nursing him and seeing what he looks like.  I don’t remember feeling those things much with the boys because I was so focused on keeping them inside for longer and preventing premature birth that I didn’t have much time to get excited for them to be here.  I’m so glad that so far, according to my doctors, premature birth with this baby is looking less and less likely.
5. I’m grateful for good friends who help me be a better parent and reassure me that I’m on the right track.  I have some great friends who are traveling down this parenting road with me and if it weren’t for their help, support, reassurance, and great listening skills, I’d probably be in a much darker place about how I feel about my parenting.  Thank you friends for being there!

Have a great day!

Hi friends!

I have a weekend full of gratitude to share!

1. I’m thankful for my mom visiting this past weekend.  I know that it’s not always fun, easy, or cheap to travel so I’m extremely grateful when someone comes to visit, especially by plane.  As a matter of fact, when my sister and brother ask me what I want for Christmas, I usually say that I just want them to come visit!  I’m so thankful my mom was able to come and spend time with us.
2. I’m grateful for the amazing weather we had this past weekend.  It was so nice and warm out that mom, the boys, and I (and Ben)  got outside every day she was here.  We spent time at Fridays After Five, ate on the patio at The Bebedero, went to the City Market, shopped on the Downtown Mall, and played a bunch in our yard.
3. I’m thankful for my mom and her delicious home cooking.  Saturday night, she made us one of my favorites dishes, swedish meatballs, with green beans, strawberry, spinach, poppy seed salad, egg noodles, and apple cheddar jalapeno scones.  We also had apple dumplings with vanilla ice cream for dessert!  I’ve always loved my mom’s cooking and it is a treat when she cooks for Ben, the boys, and I.
4. I’m grateful for a mom who is a great role model for me as a mother and also a fun and amazing grandma to my boys.  Even though the boys don’t see her often since she lives in Texas, they always warm up to her right away.  It’s so important to me that they have a relationship with their family so I’m thankful for the people in my life who make the effort to make those relationships happen.
5. I’m grateful for my mom’s wisdom, knowledge, and smart advice.  I’ve had some financial things that I’ve needed to get in order for a while and mom helped me a bunch while she was here to get things organized and understand some financial information that I’ve been wanting to learn about.

Thank you mom for being amazing and being you!

Happy day friends!

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!