Chalkboard craft and randomness

I was on an intense hunt for a chalkboard recently. You know, the huge rectangle boards with a wood frame. Great for anything. Right, Indiana, PA does not have a single one. Nothing! I wanted a chalkboard to write our weekly menu on so I don't have to keep looking at my notebook (since I plan my meals monthly).

After some processing, I made my own. I was going to use an old window, but I lost motivation at some point and thought of something a little more simple. I found an 11 x 13 wood board and some chalkboard spray paint at Michael's. I had a 50% off and a 40% off coupon, so I got both things for pretty cheap. I got some hangers at Lowe's and got to it. At the end of the project, I think the chalkboard cost something like $11.00 (including a box of white Crayola chalk!).

The board came pre-sanded, so that was less work for me! We had primer on hand, so I painted a coat of that before I applied the spray paint. I applied two coats of spray paint and after I've written on it a few times I'm considering spraying it every few months or so. Also, I wish I would have sanded it myself. It has one "fuzzy" line going down the center of the board. Bummer.

All in all, I think it turned out pretty well. Plus, our weekly menu has a great place to be seen!

So, a side view from when you walk into the kitchen. Note my boy smiling down in the corner...
A frontal view.
What do you think?!

As I was looking for my "meal planning" blog, I got completely distracted by posts from when Benjamin was born! Oh my soul. I can't believe it's been eight months already.

Just for staying on track, here are some pictures of the babe on his eight month day. He is still huge and weighs 21 pounds! I think he's around 29 inches long and his little 9 month pants are getting too short on him. He's getting more active every day and scoots and wiggles around. He loves to stand and gets pretty irritated when he falls down. He eats pretty well and his favorite vegetable is sweet potatoes (obviously!) and he loves any kind of berry fruit. He likes to feed himself puffs and naps pretty regularly, which is wonderful :)

I love watching him grow and change. His personality is so much fun! He is content, patient and generally very fun. He is also pretty stubborn and easily frustrated. It's so incredible to see the very things I've prayed for him since he was born to start to be evident (in his personality). I never, ever cease to thank God for the miracle of Benjamin's life! God has been so sweet to us!

Happy baby!
This is his "squishy" face. He makes this face when he is generally unhappy about something. Annoyed, frustrated, bored - this face makes an appearance in all of those things :)

Here you can see 5 of his 6 teeth. They are so cute, but also very painful sometimes.
I have so much more I want to say, but I really should clean some while the babe is napping!