DIY Chalkboard Tutorial

For the past, oh I don't know, year or so I have wanted a chalkboard to adorn the enormous blank wall in my kitchen.  I had an idea in mind, but laid it to rest until I found something I loved.  I couldn't find one that would fit my wall and I wasn't particularly fond of any.  I recently have gotten back on the kick of Pinterest and found this tutorial.  I was smitten with its rustic look and the simplicity of it.  I knew this was one project I could tackle on my own.  

So here it goes, a little tutorial according to my iPhone.............

Step One - Map out the size of chalk board you would like.

(Washi Tape is all I had and it worked great)

Step Two - Make your way to Home Depot to get your supplies.

FYI - My Home Depot here in Fresno, did not carry the chalkboard sheet, so I found the cheapest piece of plywood they had and spray painted two coats of chalk board paint on top.  (Let each coat dry for a minimum 24 hours).  The plywood was so big I decided to make two more additional chalk boards out of it.  I didn't want any scraps left over.  Home Depot is great and will cut the wood for you.  I am not so good with numbers, so I gave them the measurements of my wall, that I had taped off and they figured out the rest.  

- plywood
- 2 cans of chalkboard spray paint (I ended up using five total for all three boards)
- 1" x 3" for the boarder (I needed at least four for all of three of my chalkboards)
- foam paint brushes
- stain (I used Minway Dark Walnut for my larger board)
- wood glue
- chalk

Step Three - Stain wood and spray paint plywood.

(I had such a hard time waiting for the paint to dry.  I am not patient, but let me tell you, it was worth the wait.)

Step Four - Glue your stained wood onto your chalkboard. 

(I used paint cans for weights, to ensure the wood stayed in place until the glue dried).

Step Five - Get out your chalk and have some fun!

^^^ Smaller chalkboard that has the exact measurements as the tutorial on Pinterest. ^^^

^^^ My large and in charge chalkboard 35" x 53". ^^^^
This has been one of the most rewarding projects I have ever done.  I absolutely love how it turned out and look forward to the many many quotes that will be written on it.

10 Months

Dear Penelope,

I can't believe that I am writing the words 10 months!  My days with you as my little baby are dwindling before my eyes.  I don't know what it is, but this past month has been really hard on me.  I find myself almost in tears, thinking about you growing up.  Your baby rolls are starting to decrease by the day, from all of your moving around.  The little neck roll that you had is deflating quickly.  You are getting so close to crawling.  I swear it is going to happen any day.  You no longer fit in your infant car seat and now ride in style, in your big girl car seat.  It almost takes up our entire back seat.  It's a crack up!

I have to say the cutest and most favorite thing you have done this past month is giving kisses.  All I have to say is give mommy a kiss and you lean forward and open your mouth.  It is the sweetest sloppiest kiss in the world.  You even try and give GiGi kisses.

You are my little carp.  Anything and everything goes into your mouth.  I have to watch you like a hawk.  I will have a million toys in front of you, but you seem to prefer GiGi's toys above all else.  You are only nursing once a day now.  You have grown keen to your bottle.  It has been nice in some aspects, because your daddy has got the chance to put you to sleep.  We fight over who gets to feed you before bed.  It is the best snuggling you in your silky blanky and watching you drift into dream land.  

You tried banana bread for the first time and I think I can say, it is your favorite food to date.  You are going to be like your mama, liking baked goods and all.  You have tried avocados, tomatoes, and rice.  I tried giving you blueberries and strawberries, but you quickly spit those up.  For some reason you are not a fan of solid fruits.

You have been sick a lot this past month.  It has been hard watching you be in pain.  You have your two K9 teeth.  They are so cute and out of place.  I love it.  You got your first ear infection, which was not fun, but oh how you loved your pink medicine.  We had a scare with worms!  Yup, I said worms.  I found one in your diaper and about died.  I called your pediatrician immediately and got you and GiGi on some medication.  Luckily, no more worms made an appearance in our house.  I started to question, if it really was one.  Better safe than sorry.  It about threw your mom through the roof.  The only downside, I will say to having a dog.  Luckily, GiGi didn't end up having them either.

You are pure entertainment for those around you.  You growl, smile, and are the most flexible baby around.  I have never seen someone so young, with such flexibility.  You are my little rubber band girl.  You roll through the splits left and right.  You are getting closer and closer to pulling yourself up.  While hanging out in your walker, you have discovered how to open and close the cupboards.  We are going to be doing a lot of baby proofing around here.

GiGi is still your favorite thing.  You wave at her as soon as you spot her.  Waving is your new favorite trick.  I love taking you to the grocery store, because you wave at every single person.  I love how you have no fear and love everyone.  You brighten everyone's day, as soon as they see you.

You sleep on your tummy now.  I love going in your room, in the middle of the night.  Your plump cheeks rest perfectly on your mattress.  I love hearing you breath and wonder what you are dreaming about.  Getting you out of bed is always a booster to my day.  You nuzzle your little nose into my neck and hold onto me with all your might.  It makes me feel incredibly loved.

Watching you grow has been nothing short of amazing.  You learn so quickly and are growing right before our eyes.  I can't wait to see what these next months have in store.  You make our world spin round and make every day worth living to its fullest.

We love you to the moon and back baby girl!

Love,

Mama and Papa

^^^Baby hands are my favorite.^^^

Thoughts On Breastfeeding

If you can remember breastfeeding did not come easy for me.  In fact, it was really really hard.  But, I persisted on because that is what I felt was best for Penelope.  There were many days, if not every day, that were frustrating and difficult.  My let down didn't happen when Penelope would be hungry.  She would have to suck and suck to finally get it to happen.  I felt so sorry that my body couldn't feed her at times quick enough.  

When my let down finally did happen, things were pure bliss.  I savored those moments where she would nurse like a champ.  She would play with my P necklace and try and put her fingers in my mouth.  She would even rest her chubby little leg up on my shoulder.  Oh how I lived for these moments.  I cherished every night I got to nurse her to sleep.  It calmed her down for the night and did the same for me in return.  I didn't mind waking up in the middle of the night to feed her, because that was the one sure time breastfeeding was not a battle.  Nellie was too delirious to realize she had to work for her food.  It was awesome. 

I am proud of both of us for getting to where we are.  Nellie was able to keep breastfeeding, even through the tough times.  She stuck with it through her RSV stay at Primary Childrens and through her open heart surgery.  I did a lot of pumping, but was able to keep my milk supply up for her.  

In the past I had always said I wanted to nurse her till six months, but once six months came, I wasn't ready to be done.  My next goal was to make it to a year.  This past week changed those plans.  Penelope has always been such an easy going baby.  I would hear that this was just not normal.  She loved her car seat, her binkie, sleeping on her back and was simply pretty close to the perfect baby.  Nursing aside, I felt like this motherhood thing was pretty easy.  Last week really through me for a loop.  She decided she didn't want her binkie, she screamed and screamed every time I put her in her car seat, she got her first ear infection, didn't want to be put down for bed and the icing on the cake, she decided she didn't want to nurse anymore.  

This broke my heart.  I tried throughout the week on and off.  I would wait till she was really hungry and try again.  She was just not having it.  She would shake her head and scream.  Because nursing was so difficult for me, I thought I would be shouting from the roof tops once I had made it to the one year mark.  I wasn't going to miss the mastitis, the engorged feeling, the battle to get my let down to happen, and carrying around those few extra pounds.  She decided she was done and not me.  I didn't know it was going to be so hard.  Maybe it was a mix of emotions with everything else that had been going on throughout the week.  But honestly, I think I really enjoyed nursing my baby.  It was the one thing that I could give her that nobody else could.  My milk got her nice and plumpy and gave her each and every one of her luscious rolls.  I feel like it gave her strength to make it through her surgery and helped teach me so much about patience and persistence.  

I let a few tears fall and still have a hard time thinking this special time with Penelope is over with.  She still wakes up once in the middle of the night to eat, still too delirious to realize she is nursing.  I'm not sure how much longer I can handle not sleeping through the night and how much longer it is going to be before I dry up completely.  Is it this hard for everyone to let go of nursing or just me?

Sometimes I want to cry, but I have to tell myself I did it.  I stuck with it as long as I possibly could.  I will still have those bonding moments with Penelope, they will just happen in other ways.  I have truly cherished this season of my life.  My love and respect for other women has grown so much.  I am a stronger person and now know my body can work, it just is a little harder for me than most.  

I love my baby so much and want what is best for her.  Right now that is the bottle and some formula.  I hate paying the money but am so grateful she will take it.  I still love that she snuggles up to me close while I feed her the bottle.  I know she can do it on her own, but I enjoy seeing that chubby face of hers rest on her chest, while her big eyes stare into mine.

I cherish these moments and love that I get to be Penelope's mom.  I hope one day she will realize, that there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her.

Rolo Cookie Recipe

The youth in our church have a yearly auction, where they raise money for their upcoming activities.  The ward members are asked to donate, whether it be time, a craft, or any other item.  It ends up being a great night for everyone.  Since I enjoy baking so much, I decided to donate a year of baked goods, to one family.  Each month I drop off something I have made.  I try and keep it different and exciting.  This month was the month of the Rolo Cookies!

A couple summers back Tyson and I made the trip up to Yosemite National Park.  We invited our friends Danny and Ali to join us on our adventure.  Ali is a gourmet chef and baker in my eyes.  She always makes the most tasty treats.  She brought with her a Tupperware full of these ooey gooey cookies.  They are soft on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The combination of carmel to chocolate equals perfection. 

Rolo Cookie Recipe

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 package of Rolo candies

Bowl of sugar for dipping

Unwrap all of your Rolo Candies and set aside, while you make the dough.

Combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda into a bowl.

In a separate bowl mix sugars and butter until well combined, then add your eggs and vanilla.

Slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients.

Shape the dough and press one Rolo into the center. Make sure the dough covers the Rolo entirely.  The less dough the better the cookie.  

Once cookie has been shaped, dip it into your bowl of sugar and roll until well coated.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until tops of cookies start to crack.

They are so incredibly delightful, especially when they come right out of the oven.

Cabin Fever

We found ourselves up at Shaver, again this past weekend.  We just can't get away from all of its beauty.  Tyson's cousin invited us up to their gorgeous cabin.  It was such a treat.  They spoiled us with the yummiest spaghetti that has ever touched my lips, birthday cake, candy, and a lovely breakfast in the morning.  We stayed up way too late munching on treats and playing games, but well worth the no sleep.  We woke up and headed out to the lake for a day of fun, in the sun!

Tyson's sister and parents met us at the lake.  We had a great group of family, friends and babies galore.  I couldn't get enough of all of the baby rolls.

^^^ Chloe was cracking me up, with the way she was throwing the sand, with such force. ^^^ 

^^^ Nellie is one flexible little gal.  She loves to put her leg up on my shoulder, while she eats. ^^^

^^^ Look at this big girl stand. ^^^

^^^ Her face was covered in sand and dirt, but was happy as a clam. ^^^

Spending time up at the cabin, got my dreams a cooking.  Tyson and I talked about what our dream cabin would look like and how wonderful it would be to spend Christmas up in the mountains.  We talked about saving out pretty little pennies to make our dreams come true one day.  I love the mountains and I love the water.  Yay for Labor!