Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Summer’ Category

Wow, am I grateful!

1. I am grateful for the opportunity to “live” in Texas for 5 weeks this summer! What an amazing summer it was!
2. I am thankful that my children got the chance to spend so much time with extended family getting to make memories and form bonds with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
3. I am grateful for all of the time I got to spend with some of my favorite and most important people making memories and catching up.
4. I am grateful for all of the fun things we did and experiencing all the firsts with my kiddos! Pool parties, cookouts, the most amazing 4th of July fireworks show, Six Flags and riding roller coasters with my kiddos for the first time, painting with my mom and the kids, road trips, baby showers, multiple aquarium visits with a spectacular dolphin show, date nights, a girls weekend, baby cuddles and meeting new precious babies in the family, hugs from my aunts, uncles, and cousins, Tex-Mex, happy hours with my mom, eating the most delicious homemade meals made by my mom (but not gaining the 10 pounds I gained 🙂 ), Lego Discovery Land, trips to the neighborhood water pack, a visit with cousins to Hawaiian Falls, beach days, eating freshly caught-fish, and so many more!
5. I am grateful for this most special and unique and loving family that I was born into where everyone values each other and makes the effort to stay close! And I am grateful that I have the opportunity to share this family and our values with my kids!

Hi friends! I am so grateful lately! Let me tell you why!

1. I am grateful for getting to spend tons of time with family over the past few days! We’ve had pool parties, 4th of July cookouts and firework celebrations, a Cousins’ Night dinner, and a girl’s weekend at the lake! I LOVE my family and am so thankful for the opportunity to spend so much time with them this month!
2. I am thankful that my mom always welcomes us with open arms and makes us feel 100% comfortable and at home despite the fact that my 3 little boys might accurately be compared to wild animals at times!
3. I’m thankful for the chance to be somewhere with clearner air. The air quality in Virginia has not been great due to the Canadian wildfires so I’m glad our lungs are getting a bit of a break.
4. I’m thankful for Buc-ee’s and that you can find tham outside of Texas now! Best place to stop on a roadtrip EVER!
5. I’m grateful for fun times this summer!

Have a great one!

Good morning! I’m feeling a little down lately and remembered that I hadn’t practiced gratitude in a while. When I was doing it regularly, it seemed to really help me keep a positive attitude. So here I am trying to use gratitude to cheer me up 🙂 .

1. I’m thankful that I am finally starting to feel better. I have had a bad cold and I am starting to feel like myself again.
2. I’m grateful that I was raised in such an open, honest, loving, and supportive family. I’ve seen the way other families work now and am so thankful I didn’t have that kind of upbringing.
3. I’m thankful to have good people in my life and to be smart enough to judge who is a good person for me to be around and who is not.
4. I’m grateful to spend some extra time with my youngest son today.
5. I’m grateful for summer time, warmer weather, and longer days.

Have a wonderful day friends!

Hi friends! Yesterday was a rough day and I could have gained a lot of insight from writing this post then. Here are a few things I’m thankful for lately:

1. I am thankful for my mom and the opportunity for her to come visit for Auggie’s birthday this past weekend. We had such a fun time celebrating my baby turning 2. My mom always knows how to handle anything, especially the difficult situations, and she provides me great advice and guidance. I’m so thankful for her and I hope that she has many healthy years left on this earth so my boys can get to know her well.
2. I’m grateful for our family and friends that celebrated Auggie with us this weekend. We went to Carter Mountain sunsets Thursday, outdoor lunch at Mount Ida Friday, had a small birthday party Saturday after a trip to the Farmers Market, and then celebrated with a family dinner on Sunday. We are blessed to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends!
3. I’m thankful that school starts next week. The transition of our regular routine to a summer/summer camp routine has been rough for us and I’m really glad school starts back soon so my boys and the family can have a better routine and a great preschool influence.
4. I’m so grateful for long days and warm weather. Summer is coming to an end soon and I’m starting to dread the coming of winter, cold, and shorter days but I’m thankful for the summer we’ve had and what we have left. I’m trying to savor the last of it and enjoy it while it is still here.
5. I’m really grateful for an awesome doctor who has been very persistent in helping me figure out some health problems. It finally feels like we are on the right track and I am so thankful to be feeling a lot better lately.

Sending love to you all!

Happy Tuesday! Here are some things I’m thankful for today:

1. I am so thankful for a great camp that my boys are attending this summer. It has succeeded in thoroughly tiring them out and they really seem to enjoy going every day!
2. I am grateful for my job. I enjoy getting to go to work and participate in challenging projects and talk with my coworkers. I really think working makes me a better parent because it allows me to use a part of my brain that parenting doesn’t as well as makes me miss my kiddos and look forward to spending time with them when I have the opportunity.
3. I’m thankful for a husband who works so hard to keep our house and yard together. We recently had some plumbing issues and he spent all of his free time figuring out the problem and fixing it despite his lack of plumbing experience.
4. I’m grateful for summer. I LOVE the heat and the sunshine. I don’t care if it is 100 degrees, I am soaking it all in because once winter is here, I’ll miss it.
5. I’m thankful for things in life that bring people together.

Have a good one!

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!

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!

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!

Happy Tuesday friends!  It feels like I’m always in a hurry these days, but here’s a quick list of gratitude to keep me mindful!

1. I’m thankful for a healthy heart, strong legs, and a nice day that allowed Ben and I to run the Charlottesville Ten Miler on Saturday.  We each got personal records for the distance and ran the whole time despite a lack of training due to cold weather, snow, illnesses, and overwhelming parenting duties!
   

   Ben and I at the finish line!

2. I’m thankful to my mother-in-law for everything she does for us.  She got up early on her day off and watched the boys so Ben and I could run the race Saturday.  She rocks!
3. I’m thankful for my 3 men!  The other day I was thinking that it finally feels like I have a family!  I’ve been missing this feeling since I went away to college and I finally feel complete again.
   

   Visiting Daddy at work on Friday!

4. I’m thankful for warm weather and sunny skies!  My 3 men and I have been going on lots of walks outside now that spring is upon us!  I hope to instill a love of the outdoors in my children so we’re getting out as much as possible!
5. I’m grateful for spring and summer!  There are so many fun things planned in the next few months, I can hardly contain myself!

Happy day friends!

We are getting dangerously close to the end of summer, and although I LOVE fall and all of the beautiful colors and changing leaves and cool and crisp air it brings with it, I dread the shorter days and decrease in sunlight.  The fall colors are something that I never really saw growing up in Houston that I’ve really come to apreciate here in Virginia.  However, the shorter days where it gets dark around 5 PM is also something  that I never saw growing up that I really can’t stand.  It brings on a serious case of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD 🙁 ).

With these last few days of summer and late evenings still filled with dwindling sunlight, I’m trying to soak up as much of it as I can get before the time change.  The Meade Park Farmers Market that takes place every Wednesday afternoon from 3 PM until 7 in Charlottesville is about to come to a close for the season next week so I suggested to Ben that we go for a run to the market after work.  After a beautiful 2.75 mile run to the market in perfect temperatures, we arrived at the market where we bumped into some friends, got to sample some delicious and nutritious bread from the Great Harvest Bread Company, and ended up buying some fresh and local green beans and swiss chard.  We than ran the 2.75 miles back home along the Rivanna River where I cooked barbecue chicken (with authentic Texas Rudy’s barbecue sauce – thanks to Cheryl and Dan), asparagus, and garlic parmesan sauteed zuccini.  After dinner, Ben and I watched 21 Jump Street, the movie and laughed our butts off!  I highly recommend it especially if you’re looking for a good laugh.

It was a great day, made even better by the fact that rather than going and sitting in front of a computer all day, I got to spend the work day volunteering with my company for the Thomas Jefferson Area United Way Day of Caring.  We organized closets, separated donated childrens’ clothing, and made goody bags for young families in the area at the Child, Youth, & Family Services in Charlottesville.  It was wonderful to learn about the organization, help out my community, meet lots of new people, and give my time and effort to such a great cause.  And you should have seen the amazing lunch they provided us!!!

I’d have to say it was definitely a summer day to remember!