Texas Lou

I found another great happiness infographic on lifehack.org and wanted to save it here for future reference.

28 Small Changes That Can Make Your Life Much Happier

Time for a little gratitude!

1. I’m thankful for a wonderful place to work that provides me with flexibility, a part time schedule, and working from home capabilities that all allow me to spend more time with my children.  They also have a wonderful wellness program that has helped me beyond any drug out there and has introduced me to the wonderful world of mindfulness and meditation.  And to top it all off, they have a bi-annual employee appreciation day!  I’m very grateful to work here!
2. I’m grateful for access to therapies for my boys.  Because they were born premature, they’ve been late to walk and talk and we are lucky to have a physical therapist and speech therapist who come to our house to work with us in addition to insurance that pays for it.  Both the boys are walking now and are starting to mimic our words so I’m very grateful for their continued improvements and development!
3. I’m thankful for the good things in life that have been happening for my sister and brother.  Within the past year and a half they have both started new jobs in their preferred career path, begun relationships with very nice significant others, and have found their first real adult homes.  I’m happy to see them happy!
4. I’m grateful for the internet and social media.  It has allowed my extended family to stay connected and plan a future family reunion that has been long overdue!
5. I’m grateful for long walks on autumn days.  My boys and I have been spending lots of time outdoors soaking up the last of the warmth and sunshine before winter comes and it makes me so happy to spend time with them outside.

Happy day friends!

I liked this infographic from happify.com so I wanted to save it here.

Quick reminder to be grateful!

1. I’m thankful for the mindfulness class at work yesterday.  I needed the mindfulness practice and the time to just sit, reflect, and stop trying to go 1000 miles per second!
2. I’m grateful for pay day!  It’s always nice to wake up in the morning and see the email from ADP that my paycheck has been deposited because I always forget these days!
3. I’m thankful for my work schedule.  I’m so lucky to have a job that allows me to work 30 hours a week, much of it from home, so that I may have a flexible schedule and spend more time with my boys.
4. I’m thankful for the benefits I receive through work.  With Open Enrollment just completing, it reminds me to be glad I work somewhere that provides me with health, dental, and life insurance among other helpful benefits.
5. I’m grateful for friends who are there to listen to me vent about problems I am having.  Specifically, my sister from another mister and my mom have helped me through some difficult issues I’ve been having recently by just listening and offering advice.

Happy day friends!

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!

Good morning and happy Thankful Thursday (it’s been a busy week)!

Today I’m thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful our tenant has decided to continue renting for 6 more months!  That definitely takes some pressure off since we can delay finding a new renter for a while.  Plus he’s a great tenant!
2. I’m thankful that we can afford to go to Texas to spend some time with family at the beach this summer!
3. I’m thankful that I was able to successfully complete a fairly tough project at work despite having a cold that is lasting a long time and causing my head to be foggy.
4. I’m grateful for my in-laws who housed us, fed us, and provided us with air-conditioning and running water when our power was out for 26 hours last weekend.
5. I’m grateful our power was only out for a day and not longer and that none of our food in the refrigerator or freezer went bad.

Have a great day!

I’m having a bit of a hard time staying positive these days.  I’m pretty busy and stretched very thin between work, home responsibilities, and raising 2 twoddlers who want to get into EVERYTHING.  So maybe making this list will help me remember what is important.

1. I’m thankful that my boys let me sleep for most of the night since I have a bad summer cold and desperately needed the rest.
2. I’m thankful that my little guys seem to be progressing perfectly despite their prematurity.  Carter is walking and Morgan is very close to cruising.  Both boys are crawling all over the place faster than I can keep up!
3. I’m thankful for the new program my work is facilitating to allow us to purchase shares of locally grown fruits and veggies every other week.  This will make grocery shopping a little easier/quicker for us and also provide all 4 of us with a healthy diet.
4. I’m thankful for children that thus far have seemed to have little or no issues with change and are pretty easy-going.  They took to the bottle easily, they made the transition to cow’s milk without a blink of an eye, they did so well with me going back to work, and they took to sleeping in their cribs like pros.  They also eat pretty much anything we put in front of them!  I’m hoping they continue to be laid-back and enjoy going with the flow!
5. I’m grateful for Skype.  I’ve been pretty down lately about that fact that we live so far away from my family.  People close to me are having babies and experiencing important life events and it hurts that I’m not there to meet the little ones or be a part of the celebrations.  At least having Skype makes that hurt a little less.

Have a great day!

Good morning friends!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day!  Here’s a list of things I’m thankful for today:

1. I’m thankful for a great 12 month checkup for my boys on Friday with no reactions to immunizations thus far!  I’m also thankful for the doctor’s go-ahead that we can start giving the boys cow’s milk instead of formula.  That is going to save us so much time and money!
2. I’m thankful for a fun-filled weekend!  After our doctors appointment on Friday, we met up with my friend Lindsey and her kiddos for some outdoor time and walking at Saunders-Monticello Trail.  Lindsey took beautiful photos of us a couple of weeks ago and wanted to give me the pictures.  Afterward, we met up with Ben and headed to Fridays After Five where we met our friends Chris and Cara and their little ones.  We had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather and dancing to the live music!  The boys did so great!  Saturday, after an awesome personal record-making 4 mile run, I got to spend some quality time with some amazing ladies helping to throw a baby shower for my friend Amy and her lil guy who arrives in August!  Sunday was low key with some quality family time.  Monday, we celebrated Memorial Day with brunch at Beer Run.  Sarah and Cora joined us for brunch and then we all headed over to Old Mills Trail near where Ben and I used to live and run together for a sunny walk.  Afterward, we took the boys swimming for the first time!  The weekend ended perfectly with a cookout at Ben’s parents’ house.  The boys got their share of hamburgers and fruit salad!
   

   Mommy with her boys in the pool for the first time

   

   Daddy with his boys in the pool for the first time

   

   Morgan at Beer Run for brunch

   

   Carter excited for brunch at Beer Run

3. I’m so grateful for the new drive-thru Starbucks in town!  Coffee and I are best friends now that I have 2 children who like to wake up before 6 AM and unloading and reloading the boys in and out of the car just wasn’t feasible for a latte but now my prayers have been answered and I can get my caffeine fix without waking them up!  An extra special thanks goes out to my cousin Megan for the Starbucks gift card she gave me…my bank account is grateful for that!
4. I’m thankful for the beautiful weather we’ve been having and while I’m thankful for the rain Texas has been receiving due to their drought status of recent years, I’m also thankful that all of my family in Texas is safe and sound despite the floods and storms.
5. I’m thankful for all my friends and family who bring happiness and smiles to my days!  Love you all!