Review: Benjamin Moore Chalkboard Paint

We recently bought a house and converted the basement into a yoga studio. Previously I traveled to various locations to teach yoga and now I just have to walk down a few steps in my home. It's glorious! I wanted the studio to be light and bright and a place where both kids and adults enjoyed coming to and taking yoga classes.

The Yoga Studio Website: http://www.beeyogafusion.com

Using the colors from the website and the Bee Yoga Fusion logo, I painted the far wall of the studio a dark pink with Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint. I anticipated it to take a lot of paint and over purchased but it's always best to have too much than not enough right? FYI: the paint only comes in quart size and this wall (roughly 8 feet x 6 feet) took two quarts.

Following the advice that I read from other bloggers I first applied the Benjamin Moore primer that was tinted to match the pink color that I chose. The chalkboard paint can be any color that you would like but darker colors work best in allowing the actual chalk to show up. After the primer I applied 5 coats of chalkboard paint. Allowing each coat to dry for several hours before reapplying. When the final coat was dry I allowed the paint to "cure", as per the directions on the can for three days. Before the initial use I took a piece of sidewalk chalk on the long side and rubbed it over the entire wall which several bloggers recommended to do as well.

The yoga kids are loving it! And the adults enjoy the quotes and words of inspiration that are posted before class. The wall is easy to clean with just a wet rag and looks great even when it is left blank. I think a chalkboard wall would be a wonderful addition to any kitchen or mudroom to write messages to various family members or to post to-do lists and grocery lists. The possibilities are endless!
  

Children's Chore Chart

I was tired of constantly asking my children if they combed their hair, brushed their teeth or went to the bathroom before we headed out for school every morning. I felt like such a nag! Things needed to change. The boys are eight and ten years old, old enough to be a bit more responsible.

So I made a chart of all the things that they need to accomplish before school, I had it laminated at Staples and it lives on our fridge where everyone can see it and has access to it. I have also given them the choice to choose when they would like to have their 30 minutes of computer/video game "screen time", in the morning or evening. The catch is, if they don't check off their chart each morning they will then lose the much coveted screen time.

Our mornings have completed shifted and changed, and are a lot less stressful for me. Now the only words that come out of my mouth that fall in the "nag" category are "Have you checked your chart?" and I say it only once to both of my boys. That's it. When I check the chart if it's not filled in for the day the screen time box gets a big X. This was the motivating factor for my kids to complete the chart.

The new system has worked beautifully! I highly recommend that you try it for your family if your children are old enough to follow directions and do everything on their chart by themselves. The boys actually enjoy checking things off and they get really proud of themselves when they do it without me having to remind them to "check the chart".

Top 9 of 2009

I celebrated my birthday this past weekend and every year I like to take a moment and reflect on the year and celebrate, if you will, the things I have accomplished. So this year I made a Top 9 of 2009... because I adore making lists.
1. I biked 100 miles in one day, 9 hours actually.

2. decided that my happiness was important.
3. got a tattoo that I look at everyday and remind myself of it's meaning.

4. got certified to teach yoga, opening a whole new world within me.
5. competed in my third triathlon.
6. became a better mother.
7. I started "tweeting" and have been doing it for a full year now.
8. made quilts to adorn all of our beds.
9. reconnected with friends, becoming mindful of spending my moments with people I love and who bring me joy.