I did it!

So some of you may know (from an earlier post, or from talking about it) that I have been running everyday for the past couple months.  Part of the agreement Nathan and I have is to run a 5k together, and today was the day!

I am not sure why, but I had some anxiety last night about the run and couldn't sleep.  So finally at 4am I went to bed hoping that I could get a little nap in before it was time to get up again.  It worked, I got up at 6:30am to get ready.  Nathan got home from work, and the babysitter got there....it was time to go.

We got to the race location, and checked in at the registration table.   Time was coming up fast for the run to start.....I said a little prayer for the strength I needed to finish, and off we went.  We kept a pretty consistent pace for the full race.  My original goal was to run the first two miles and then take it easy on the third.  But I felt pretty good at the two mile mark, and decided to make the commitment to finish the race strong, with out walking.   Boy, the third mile was the LONGEST mile ever!  I was so ready to quit and walk, but Nathan was amazing and kept telling me how good I was doing and that I could do it, just focus.

I can now hear the announcer....the end is getting close!  We were so close, yet seemed SOO far away.  Then we rounded the last corner and I could see the finish line.  Last minute decision to sprint to the end, so I tell Nathan, "Lets go" and take off!  I didn't even realize until I finished the race that he didn't keep up!  I cross the finish line at 34 minutes and 28 seconds.....Nathan followed closely behind at 34 minutes and 31 seconds.

It was such a great experience! I had so much fun spending the morning with my husband at the run.  We had some good conversations & I was reminded (again) how much I love him.  I can't believe I ran the whole race without stopping! and I never could have done it without my best friend.  Thank you Nathan for motivating me to do this, and for doing it with me!

December ALREADY???

Holy Cow! I can't believe it is already December! Where did the year go???

It just hit me today that I haven't finished my Christmas Shopping, I haven't gotten pictures done for our Christmas Cards, needless to say I haven't done our Christmas cards, or wrote our annual letter.....and I need to get all this out, like YESTERDAY!

So just a quick update (sorry no pictures or videos on this one....takes too long to load!)

Lexi and I got to take a quick trip to Utah to visit my side of the family.  She had so much fun playing with her cousins, aunts and uncles!  We ate good food....Spaghetti Factory, Rubios, and IN-N-OUT...YUM! Places that don't exist in San Antonio, so I have to travel to eat at some of my favorite places =)  While I was there I got my hair cut, lots of girls nights, BUNCO, and an early Thanksgiving.  But my favorite day was going to the Provo Temple with my family.  It was the first time that I got to go to the Temple and be with all my siblings and my Mom, and my Grandparents.  What an amazing day!  It was a peek of what Heaven truely is, and the only person that was missing was my Hubby. 

One night while we did a girls night, my brother-in-law, Jared, watched Lexi for me.....he must have been LOTS of fun, because he is now known as "Uncle Awesome" and she asks for him everyday!  I am so glad that she knows her family loves her even though she is so far away, AND that they take the time during our visits to make sure she knows it. We have an "awesome" family! haha

When we got back from our trip I only had a couple days to get everything together, and then my Father-in-Law and brother-in-law came for Thanksgiving week.  We had lots of fun, and Lexi absolutely adores her Uncle Andy!  He was so cute with her, and she just laughed and loved him all week.  We had a great Thanksgiving dinner, and I truely enjoyed having our family here.  Hopefully someday we won't live quite so far away so these trips can become more frequent!

So Christmas is about 3 weeks away, and I have way too much to do still!  But for now I am absolutely exhausted, and will write more, with pictures and all the good stuff later :)

Happy Halloween

I LOOOOVVVEEEEE Halloween!  I think it is so much fun to dress up and enjoy the night.  Although I don't dress up (because I never know what to be...) I am having so much fun with Lexi.  Last year she was only 7 months old and really didn't know what was going on.  But this year she got the hang of it towards the end.  I decided this year that I wanted to make her costume, and I found a DIY pattern for a cute tinkerbell costume.  I altered it a little bit, and I think it turned out pretty cute!

The temperature cooled down a bit, so I thought that it was going to be colder outside than what it was.  I put a shirt under her costume for that reason, which made it not-as-cute, but that's ok.  I made her a tinkerbell trick or treat bag too.  I wonder what she will be next year.....

The Happiest Place on Earth

Wow, time flies when you are having fun!  I can't believe how much time has passed since my last post.  I need to get better at this.....so much to tell about!

So for the small things to start with, my LITTLE "online business" changed it's name.  It started out as Baby Lovebug, making baby items, like carseat covers and bows, but I have expanded into more items, like wreaths and knit hats....so the name didn't quite fit anymore.  I revamped and now have my Business Facebook page as "Simply Shelly's Boutique"  (Shoutout to my sister Linsey who came up with the name, Thanks Lins!!)  Hopefully someday things will take off and I will be a bit busier with those projects. Until then, it's gifts and fun stuff for Lexi :)

So our most recent adventure was our family trip to Florida!  We had such a great time.  We decided to drive so that we could save on airfare and have a car to do what we wanted to do while on our trip.  So we drove 12 hours to McDavid, FL to start our trip at Nathan's grandparents house, Grandpa & Grandma Campbell.  We left at around 10:30pm hoping that Lexi would sleep most of the way.....that didn't really happen.  She would fall asleep, but then wake up at all the noises the car makes on the road.  Lexi is one that likes to sleep ONLY in her crib and nowhere else, so sleeping in the car was difficult.   As we got closer to grandpa & grandma's house we decided to stop for breakfast.  We went to chick-fil-a because we saw they had a playgroud where Lexi could get some of her energy out.  So we ordered & she played her little heart out.  I thought it was kind of odd that she didn't want to eat breakfast. We got her oatmeal, which she usually loves! I figured she was just too busy playing, so I brought it in the car to feed her later.  She fell to sleep pretty quickly and I was so glad she was finally resting.  Maybe an hour or so later she woke up crying.  Anyone who knows Lexi, knows that she doesn't wake up crying.  So I tried to feed her some oatmeal, and that's when it hit me.   She was sick......she started gagging and then it came......her first time being sick and throwing up. I mean real vomit.  Here I am freaking out, I don't know what to do, she is tied into her carseat, I have nothing for her to be sick in, so I put my hand under her mouth, and she fills it up fast, and it keeps coming.  Poor baby didn't know what was happening and she started freaking out!  Long story short we pulled over to a gas station, cleaned her up, put her in the other carseat, (yes we brought two of them!) and put all the yucky stuff in the trunk.  Now she was happy as could be and we made it the rest of the trip with no more episodes.

So I know that was probably WAY more info than what anyone wanted, but boy was that an experience!  The rest of the trip went on without a hit :)  We spent a couple days at Nathan's grandparents house.  Nathan mowed the lawn (10 acres is a BIIGGG job!) and Lexi chased the ducks around the pond.  It is so beautiful there, I love visiting!

After a couple days we drove from McDavid, FL to Orlando to go to Disneyworld!  It was about an 8 hour drive and we were picking up Nathan's parents and brother Eli at the Orlando  Airport when we got there.  It was perfect timing because we pulled into the airport just as they were getting off the plane!

We had a great time, we got a four day pass to the Disney Parks, and had a choice of the Magic Kingdom (which was basically the same as Disneyland in CA), Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and some ESPN park.  We decided that the first day we would go to the Magic Kingdom, spend the second day at Epcot, third day back at Magic Kingdom, and the last day at the Animal Kingdom. 

The first day Lexi was so excited and there was so much to do and see that she never took a nap that day.  I don't think she even closed her eyes to blink!  We started out at It's A Small World, and her eyes were darting everywhere! She really enjoyed it!

Of couse she was wearing her Minnie Mouse dress that I made before the trip!  She was so stinkin cute :).  We spent the whole day in the park, from 9am until midnight, and we had so much fun.  Dumbo was another favorite by Lexi, everytime we walked by the ride she would point at it and say Dumbo....ok so it sounded more like Bumbo, but that's why it was so cute!

The second day we went to Epcot.  It was pretty cool, the back of the park was set up for each counrty to have a section.  Not so much a kid friendly park, there wasn't much for the kids to do there, but Nathan and I really enjoyed walking around the area of the different countries.  It was pretty cool too because they were having a "food and wine festival" so each country had a stand where you could sample food from the country (for a cost of course!). Nathan and I decided to try one item from every country.....some were really good, and others I could have easily done without!  We ate so much that day, constant eating pretty much from 2pm until 8pm. It was fun though.

There was a fun ride for the kids there, it was a Finding Nemo theme, and then a talk with Crush the Turtle.  It was really cute, and Lexi seemed to like it a lot.

She didn't meet Mickey and Minnie until the last day in the Animal Kingdom.  We talked a lot about them and showed her pictures of them so she would know who they were.  On the first night she Loved the Electrical Parade and knew who Mickey was there.  She was so cute when she saw them.  She walked right up to Minnie Mouse and gave her a hug.  She couldn't stop looking at them.  Then as we were leaving she gave both Minnie and Mickey a kiss on the nose, PRECIOUS!



She met Donald and Goofy too.  She wasn't quite as sure about them as she was Mickey, but she didn't cry and seemed to warm up to them after a min or so.

The parks were busy enough that we didn't stand in line for her to meet everyone.  She doesn't know any of the princesses, or other characters yet, so we didn't think it was a big deal.  However she was going to be Tinkerbell for halloween (I will make another post for that!) so I thought she should meet Tink.  She was shy, but did a great job!

After Disneyworld, Nathan's dad and brother flew back to San Diego, and his mom drove back to McDavid with us.  We got to spend a couple more days of relaxing after our busy Disneyworld trip.

Then we made the long trek back home!  It was a great trip, and I can't wait to do it again!!!



Halloween is coming!

So this is just a really quick post to show the Halloween Wreath I made!  It was so easy and CHEAP!  It was fun and I can use the same idea for different holidays! 

I hope I can keep coming up with and finding fun ideas for homemade projects that I can use for my own home or for gifts to others.  Who knows, maybe someday someone will want to buy something I make too!

(a girl can dream can't she!) :))

A quick update!

It's been awhile since I posted something, and it's been on my mind for several days now but my thoughts have been so scattered I haven't really figured out what to write.  Life right now really doesn't have TOO much going on, and I guess I just don't feel like there is much to share.  Nonetheless I decided that I should figure something out tonight.  So here it goes......

It is not a secret that I don't work out as much as I should, or would even like to.  Before my little angel came along I was going to the gym at least 4 times per week, before work, but now I can't do that because Nathan isn't home from work yet.  Since my pregnancy (and the large amount of weight I gained while pregnant) I have not been happy with the changes of my body, and to be honest, the depression of that has kept me from doing anything about it.  Not that I am depressed, that's not what I mean, but you know that overwhelming feeling where there is so much work to be done that you just don't know where to start, so you just keep putting it off? Well that is exactly how I feel about getting my body back!  So a couple months ago Nathan gave me a challenge.  He knows that I have great intentions when I start a workout regimen, but I also give up when I don't see results as quick as I want to.  I am the type of person that when I work hard I want to see results and if they don't come quick enough then I get discouraged and tend to give up, or at least slow down.  So he put some money on the line and challenged me to run a mile, 6 days a week for a month.  If I missed a day then I paid him $20 and if I didn't go because he wasn't home, or couldn't watch Lexi while I went then he paid me $20.  I agreed.  Since I started working from home I don't get out much, so I knew it would be good for me to work SOMETHING into my day, even if it was only a mile.

So at first I couldn't run the whole thing, and my time was AWFUL, but as the days went on, my time got better and I was able to go the whole mile without stopping to walk.  I know, I know, big deal, it's only mile.  But I was SO out of shape that was a good accomplishment for me.  The month came and went and I didn't miss a single day! I was so proud of myself, and couldn't believe how much better it makes me feel to get that workout in, no matter how short, it's better than nothing!  So we renewed our deal, uped the amount to $25 for a missed day, and have our agreement thru the end of February.  The end of the agreement is to run a 5k with eachother by the end of the agreed time period.  I have to say that I have never enjoyed running, but after doing it 6 days a week for 8 weeks now, I am really starting to enjoy it.  Over the next couple months the agreement increases the mileage I run, and I find that I am looking forward to my run as my work day ends.  So wish me luck and let's hope I continue to stick with it! (or my wallet is going to be hurting by the end of the agreement!)

My new purchase was a fun pair of sparkle heels....a birthday present from Grandma Billie :) Thanks Grandma!

So what else have I been up to?  Not much, just enjoying making some crafts, and finding ways to save on $$.  I recently made homemade laundry detergent.  A friend from church gave me the recipe, and it was so easy to make that I decided instead of buying it (which I needed to do to get laundry done that weekend) I would make it.  It really was SO EASY!  Borax, washing soda, and Ivory soap (there were other soap options, but this was the only one I found at my local grocery store that was on the recommended list) 5 minutes later I had a batch made that would give me approx 36 washes for less than $2 for the batch! AWESOME, only $0.04 per load.  I did some quick math and Tide averages  17-22 cents per load.  Pretty good savings if you ask me :)  Today I found a recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent, so when I need to buy that I am going to try the homemade stuff on that too.

As for crafty stuff, I have a few friends getting ready to welcome new little babies into the world, so I made a nursing cover for one of them.  I really liked mine that my cousin gave me (THANKS JENNA!) and used it all the time.  But as Lexi got older I found myself wishing it was slightly larger.  So I made my own to give to my friend.  It is larger for more coverage, and I added a little pocket (for those pesky nursing pads, or whatever else you may need it for like a binky) and extra material along the bottom for wiping the baby's mouth.  I am so excited for how it turned out! I would post pictures on here, but I know she subscribes to this blog and I don't want to ruin it for her....eventhough she already knows she is getting it :)  But as soon as her baby shower happens and she has it, pictures for sure!  I can't wait to make more for some others, and for myself, whenever I need another one :)

I made some dresses for Lexi, a halloween one, and a lady bug one, which are both posted in a previous entry, I am like them so much I had to share them again! I am addicted!  They are so cute and so fun to make, before I know it her closet will be full of mommy projects :)

I also made a crayon  holder because she ripped the box to her crayons and they didn't have a home.  I love this because it fits so easy in her diaper bag for crayons on the go!

I started making Lexi's Halloween costume too, pictures of that when it's done :) She is going to be Tinkerbell and I am super excited about her costume.  We have some plans this month, so hopefully I can get it done before the craziness starts! Nathan's mom sent me a knitting loom for my birthday, and I have  had some fun making knit caps too :) Thanks Vanessa!

 I can't believe how big she is getting, and she is SO SMART!  We got some flash cards awhile ago for her, and have been working with her on them for a little while now.  Hopefully everyone can see the video below.....

Lastly, I took Lexi to get her pictures taken for her 18 month milestone, I can't believe how fast time flies!  And as you can see, she loves to get her picture taken...

Ok I think I have at least touched on the things buzzing around in my mind, but I will get some more together and write again soon! Until next time....

"Holly Homemaker"

Lately I have been getting more and more into making things for our home and for Lexis.  I got a new sewing machine, not anything too fancy but an upgrade from my basic one I had.  I LOVE IT!  In the two or three days since I purchased it I have made Lexi two dresses, and another that I am making for a friend!  The first one I made I found on a crafting blog.....I will have to add it later, I can't think of it off the top of my head right now.  But is a dress made out of a pillowcase with a halloween theme......

It's a little big because how wide the pillowcase was, but I really like the way it turned out!  It's not a costume, but just an outfit that she can wear during the Halloween Season, and I bet she will wear it a lot!

So since I was so happy the way it turned out, except for how big it is on her I decided to make another one, same basic pattern, but instead of using a pillowcase I just used material I had so I could make it a little smaller.  I haven't tried it on her yet, so I hope it fits, but if it does she will be the cutest "bug" in town!

The arm holes are much smaller too than on the first, so that is the only thing I am slightly worried about.  I made them smaller on purpose, but I think maybe they are smaller than I anticipated them to be! oh well, if it's too small then it can be a gift!

I also got curious and made BUTTER!  I knew it was easy, but I didn't realize HOW EASY it was.  It took me about 20 min, a mason jar (small/med one) and some heavy cream......put the cream in the jar and shake!  My arms were so tired afterward, but it was really good butter!  Something that I will probably continue to do now that I know how easy it is!  Now I just need to get the homemade bread mastered, since I don't have a bread machine, and I can have homemade bread and butter!

I wish I didn't have to work so I could enjoy more fun stuff like this, instead of staying up all hours of the night!  Oh well, I will take what I can get for now :)

A New Adventure Awaits....

Summer is SLOWLY coming to an end, and I can not be more excited for the winter weather!  Not that it gets super cold here, but I am really tired of the heat.

With the close of summer also comes the start of school...one would think school isn't a concern for us yet, after all Lexi is only 17 months old....however, Nathan is the one starting school this semester! I actually should say that he started school, his first day of class was on Monday 8/22.  He is working toward his BA and I am so proud of him.  School is hard work and I remember how stressful it was BEFORE we had a baby! I hope I can help him by making sure the house is quiet while he studies.  He is doing all online courses, so hopefully the fact that the computer is in the same office I work in won't create a problem...

I am also trying to potty train Lexi....I don't know how successful I can say that I am.  I have been working with her on sign language (see previous post for videos :) ) and taught her the sign for "potty" (well it's really "toilet") since she doesn't talk enough to tell me when she has to go.  Usually I find that she uses the sign after she already goes, or sometimes while she is going.  Only a couple times has she told me before and we actually made it to the potty before her diaper was full.  I guess it is definately progress that she can recognize when she is at least going.  We have only had a couple accidents where the floor paid the price, but overall we are just trying to be consistent.  I am thinking maybe I will get some of the cloth training pants so she is more uncomfortable when she doesn't tell us, but haven't made the decision to make the investment.

Hopefully things will go smooth for Nathan and his new beginning in school and Lexi with her potty training, but it's all an adventure for me, (since I will probably be taking the class WITH Nathan, and running to the potty every 30 minutes with Lexi!). Wish me luck!

Learning More Everyday

Lexis has been such a blessing in our lives, and I hate that I can't be a stay at home mom to teach her and show her what life is all about.  Hopefully some day that dream will become a reality, but until then I do my best to juggle my full time job as an insurance agent for USAA, my duties as a wife to my wonderful husband, and my joys of being a mother to my sweet angel, Lexis. 

I try to make sure she knows how much I love her, even if I can't spend all day with her.  I dress her, feed her, read to her, and teach her the importance of the gospel and prayer.  The Lord has chosen me to be the lucky woman to get to be called "Lexi's Mommy" and have this amazing child in my life.

The thing I have always thought would be difficult, and what I have often struggled with was how to know what Lexi wants and needs.  Without being able to tell me, "Mommy I am hungry," or "Mommy, this is what I want," it seems to be a guessing game.  So I decided when Lexi was around 6 months old to try to teach her some of the Baby Signs to make it easier, not just for me but for Lexi too, to communicate with me and her dad.

At first she didn't seem very interested and it was difficult to get her to use the signs.  She is a smart little thing, and I could tell she understood what I was trying to get her to do, but she was resistant to actually do the motions.  But I told myself to stay consistent and hopefully she would catch on.

As time went on, Lexi started to realize that when she wanted or needed something it was easy for me to do exactly as she was requesting if she would use her signs, so she would, here and there, start to respond with the signs that I had been using with her.  Now she uses about 5 different signs on a regular basis, and is still learning some new ones.

She is talking here and there as well, mostly just repeating things we ask her to say.  Here are a few of the words she says....I couldn't get all of them in before her attention was lost to something WAY more interesting than mom with a camera ;)

There are so many things in life that I know I have to teach her, but for now I am enjoying the little things in life that make her smile.  She is amazing and I am so blessed to be her mommy.



She Loves Shoes Too!

So Lexi has developed a love for shoes just like her mama! She is constantly putting on other peoples shoes.  Mine, Nathan's and anyone else's that she can find. She can actually walk in my heels pretty well considering how little her feet are!

Home Sweet Home

We were so excited when we bought our first home in 2007.  We moved to Texas because there was no way we could buy a home we truely loved the way the housing market was in San Diego CA.  Our home is 3223 sqare feet which is a far cry from the <1000 sqft condos we were looking at before we moved.  Our home has 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. 

After we moved in it took awhile to fill our house and furnish all the rooms. Going from a one bedroom apartment to over 3200 sqft was a big change in our space!  We have since done some painting and projects to make it our own. One of the big projects Nathan did was crown moulding throughout the house.  He did an AMAZING job!  He has been working on it on and off for the last couple years, taking it slow and doing one room at a time.  This past weekend he finished the last room in the house which was the Game Room.  Nathan had a little helper who really enjoyed climbing the latter and helping paint.

"I can do it Daddy!"

Little Monkey climbed all the way to the top by herself!

And some pictures of the amazing work my hubby did!.....

Dining Room

Kitchen 

Breakfast area 

Living Room 

Laundry Room 

Front Entry 

Master Bedroom 

Game Room 

Guest Room #1 

Guest Room #2 

And the journey continues....