Chalkboard DIY Project

I had a very productive weekend. For a while now I had wanted to make a chalkboard for my son. I saw the procedure on Pinterest (my current addiction) and went on Friday to get the materials. I went to my local Home Depot and found exactly what I needed.

The materials needed:
-Non-Sanded Grout
-Acrylic Paint Big bottle, not the two little ones I have on the picture(any color you wish)
-Piece of Wood (any size)
-Sand Paper
-Paint Brushes or Foam Brushes
-Whisk or piece of wood to mix the paint and grout

The first step is to mix a cup of paint and 2 teaspoons of Grout. Mix until the lumps are all out. (Tip: I couldn't get the lumps out and when I did it was a real thick mush ball, therefore I added a little bit of water to make it runny)

I got a large piece of cork board from Home Depot for 51 cents. (Tip: Home Depot has scraps of wood that they sale for 51 cents. It's great to use for DIY Projects and of course super cheap). I sanded the wood a bit began putting the paint with a foam brush.

Awesome project to have your kids help you with

I put 2 coats of paint on it and let it dry overnight. The next day I added a coat of chalk. Yes, chalk not sure why they suggest to do this, but I read it everywhere. Once you have done this clean it with a damp cloth.

Once you clean off the chalk your new board is ready to be used. My son loved it, he won't stop playing with it and now he's talking about doing a white board. He says he is now ready to teach his class.

Scrap Paper Bin Craft

I love arts and crafts! It is a hobby I got into at a very early age, but not until now did I really began to develop it. I began my son's scrapbook almost 7 years ago and I have yet to finish it. It's unfortunate because I now have to began my daughter's and I feel a bit overwhelmed. Nonetheless, that is a project I hope to catch up on this year and of course continue.
My latest craft was a much needed bin. I have a lot of scrapbooking paper and for some time it was all over the place. I never found a bin that I liked at the store, something that would allow me to keep it in one place, but access it easily. I decided to make a bin to my liking and the best part is that the project cost less than $5 to make.

The materials I needed were:
A shoe box (the bigger the better)
A roll of brown PaperBag Paper (you can get these at a Dollar Store or 99Cents Store)
A couple of scrapbook pages (colors or design to your liking)
Tape and scissors

Process:
Tape the entire shoe box shut as if you're never going to open it again.
Cut off a horizontal side of the shoe box so that your scrap paper fits in there right
Wrap the shoe box with the Paper Bag Paper (like you're wrapping a Christmas gift)
Then decorate to your liking with the scrapbook pages

As you can see I used the scrapbook paper to decorate the front of my box only

My bin makes it easy for me to see the different type of papers I have without having to dig through it. If you have any questions on the project email me or write a comment at the bottom. Have a great weekend everyone!

My Loss

Before I got pregnant with my son and daughter I suffered a miscarriage. The Hubbs and I had just gotten married when I found out I was with child. It wasn't as exciting as I always imagined it would be. At the time we didn't feel like we were ready for a baby, therefore the news wasn't met with great joy on our part.
My parents on the other hand were delighted and overjoyed. They went and bought the baby toys that week and my mom started making plans about the nursery and what not. I wanted to feel somewhat joyous, but the pregnancy was draining me. I felt incredibly tired and exhausted, more than I had ever felt my entire life. It was not a great feeling and I guess it didn't help that in the back of our minds we really weren't ready for a baby.
About a month after I found out about our pregnancy I lost the baby. I began spotting on a Sunday and by Tuesday I had miscarried. I felt guilty afterwards because in my mind I felt like I had rejected the baby. At  times I see my son and daughter and wonder about that first one. I don't allow myself to dwell on the "what ifs" too much because the guilt and the emotions overwhelm me. I never truly grieved my loss, I broke down in the car after I was told I was having a miscarriage, but at that moment I still held hope that something could be done to save the pregnancy. Thinking back at that time however, I feel like my emotions were a bit stiff. Not so much because I didn't care at all, but because I truly didn't have that maternal instinct yet. Ironically after I had my son I longed for that baby and even though I didn't get to meet her/him I will always love that little angel. Her/His loss made me appreciate and love my other two so much more.

Lytle Creek, California

During the summer of 2011 I found out I was pregnant with my baby girl and I was, as they say, on cloud nine. Everything all of a sudden was beautiful and exciting. I mention this because that summer I went to a river with my parents and I absolutely fell in love with it. I went later with the Hubbs and some friends and they swore it was ugly. The scenery is awesome and the sound of the river is super calming. Every time I go I can't stop snapping pictures, it has definitely turned into a favorite summer spot. I know for a fact that this summer I will be spending many a days there with my babies.
I don't know if it was because I was in a great place with my pregnancy, but I fell in love with this place.

My wild Baby Girl

Anyone who has ever said that little girls are better behaved than little boys must not have one of their own. My baby girl is 1 and from the moment she was born she has been our feisty little troublemaker. When I heard her cry for the first time she had an angry cry and immediately began throwing her hands around as if trying to fight the nurses. Even at a few months old I could tell she had a shorter fuse than her older brother, her temper would go from 0-10 in a second. I know they say that each child is different, but I didn't think their characters and personalities were going to be so opposite from each other. She's a little dare devil and our son has always been extremely cautious. She loves to fight and will not hesitate to defend herself if need be, to were her brother was more relax. The Hubbs always said that we had it too good with the first one, therefore we were going to struggle more with this one. Although, I don't quite see it that way, I do have to admit it has been a bumpier road this time around, but I love her strong personality and the fact that she will definitely always stand up for herself.
Even with as wild as my baby girl is I wouldn't change anything about her, regardless she will always be my sweet baby girl.

Photography Love

I had a lovely weekend. I didn't do anything spectacular, but it was a calm weekend where I got to do some simple stuff that I like to do. I was able to go to yard sales, which has become something my son and I love to do. We get awesome deals for extremely low prices (more on this on another post). I got to do a craft with my family pictures, which I will be sharing with you in a couple of weeks. My favorite thing that I got to do was to snap some pictures of my kids and nieces.
I love photography, it is one of my passions. I love taking pictures of the scenery and recently I got into taking pictures of people, specifically children. I'm not a professional, but I have taken pointers here and there from people and websites. A few people that have seen the pictures I've taken of friend's kids and my kids think I must have and expensive camera, but I don't. I in fact have an old Cannon that is quite outdated, by today's standards in cameras. I have a few techniques that help me make the most of my camera and shots. I try to take most of my pictures in natural light. I'll take several shots of the same pose or thing, which allows me to later choose the best shot. I then use a an online photo editor (if needed) to fix or change my pictures. My favorite is www.picmonkey.com, it's an awesome option and the best thing is that it's completely FREE!
I have a few hobbies that I love, but I have to say photography is extremely satisfactory to me. I leave you with some examples of my humble work, Enjoy!

So called Parents?

What the hell is wrong with parents these days? I was at a department store yesterday and I heard a kid about 10-12 years old cuss out his mom. Hearing him say the words he was saying was unbelievable, but when I saw that his rant was directed at his mom just made it sad.
I began to wonder what happened to the respect and morals that were thought to children when I was growing up. I wouldn't dare raise my voice at my parents because I knew that if I did I would be in a lot of trouble. My parents were definitely not afraid to discipline my siblings and I if need be. I was thought to respect my elders even if they were complete strangers and mind my manners where ever I went. Now a days you see kids running a mock, while the parents bitch and moan that they can't control them and they don't know why.
In my opinion a lot of parents have forgotten to teach their children simple manners and most of all respect. This is why we have so many young kids being bullied and disrespected by their own peers. Some of these kids can't respect their own parents, what makes us think they are going to respect complete strangers. If parents actually cared to parent we wouldn't have these out of control teenagers. The sad part is that it's a never ending cycle and history repeats itself with future generations. I'm a true believer that there are no bad children, just bad parents. This makes me wonder, if these young people are our future, I shudder to think where our society will end up.