Don't laugh

Okay, you can laugh.  Even roll your eyes.  I sure have at this latest project.  I've put off posting it because I am still undecided of what I think.   It all started months ago when I found a post on Addicted2Decorating blog.

Addicted 2 Decorating.com

I loved it and thought it would be an easy project for our new entryway wall.  Just wooden shims hot glued together in a pattern to create a circle frame for a mirror.

So last June I started her up.

1. Got a few wooden shims from Lowe's that were the perfect size.   Played with the pattern a little and loved it.
2. Moved. And our new Lowe's didn't carry the same shims. Only plastic kinds.
3.  Shopped Home Depot who had 6 inch ones (too small) or the ones I chose.  Big but I thought just fine.
4. Just started gluing sections together without really fitting the whole circle together.

By the time I had about half of the sections glued together, Aaron came over and commented how big the circle was really going to be.  I thought, Big is good.  I like big and making a statement.

Little did I realize just how big it was truly going to be.  Once I started gluing the wood sections together, it hit me. 

Oh. my. goodness. 

This monster was not going to fit on the front entry wall liked I planned.  This giant wasn't even not going to fit above either of our fireplaces. 

Every time I passed it on our dining room table. I just laughed.  It literally was supposed to be half the size it turned out.  This is so me.  Just dive in and go.  Not really measuring.  Just figuring it out as I go.  So this type of thing happens with all us creative types.  :)

So after getting over my laughter and realizing I was too far invested to start over,  Aaron gave me oodles of help to figure out how to secure this sucker together, how to get the circle mirror from falling off the frame and then how to get this baby on the wall without bringing the whole thing down.

It's finally up.

Yep. It's ginormous.  I even hate that word but there really is no other way to describe it. 

I thought about painting or staining it, but I ended up just liking the plain wood.  I put a couple coats of clear lacquer on it and called it good.

I ended up buying an 18" round mirror to try and balance the larger frame but then decided I liked the smaller mirror better.

We hung it up in our family room.  I know I would like a smaller one better but it looks good.  I am going to be reupholstering that chair in the corner.  That was one of my very first projects about 9 years ago.  But I want new fabric to fit in our family room since our new "taupe" couch really is more moss green than anything.

I also painted the walls white.  Yep. White.  That's one reason I left the warm wood of the frame instead of painting it. It looks a little stark in this picture but the other side warms the room all up.  I'll post pictures of that makeover soon.  Don't tell Aaron but I have a big project planned for the walls in here.  After the holidays.  And if Santa brings the power tools I asked for.  :)

Yes,  my life is quite uncomplicated right now.  I have no PTA, very little volunteering in middle school, no busy calling (Go, Cubscouts!), almost no friends and only one little boy who still takes great naps at home during the day.   Plus with a new house to play with, it's a perfect storm.  So I love my projects, even when they don't turn out right, and it's a creative outlet for me.  

Board and battan here I come!

My antidepressant

I can't be sad when I am around this kid.  One round of rescuing Baby Jesus off the stable roof or the daddy train teaching his baby train how to use the potty, and I can't help but smile. Everything in his life is fun.  Whether we're running errands, going visiting teaching or to the vet, he always replies, "That sounds like fun!"

He talks to himself in his car seat and cracks himself up, sending him into a fit of George McFly-esque forced guffaws.

He always interrupts by pointing up his finger and stating, "I have an idea!" Or "Mom, I have a question!" But when asked to elaborate, he's got nothing. No idea. No question. Just wanted to interrupt.

He loves to sing.  Especially "Nephi's Courage" (which has become our family anthem because we sing it for every FHE since we always ask Jonah to pick :) and to the Dragon Tales CD we have in the car.  He'll sing even when he doesn't know the song and just make it up as he goes along.  Hymns in sacrament meeting, the radio or commercials on TV.  He just loves to sing.

He was started crying in the bathtub one night. Not knowing what happened, I of course asked him. He sobbed, "I just freaking out, Mom!  I just FREAKING out!"  He then calmed down and went about his bathtub business.  Never found out what else was bothering him, just that he was freaking out about it. 

Yesterday he was playing with all the Christmas tree ornaments when I told him it was time to read and go down for a nap.  He gives me "the hand" and simply states, "I will be there in a moment, please."  I look at him waiting and he states again, "Go. I will be right there. I need to finish here."  I wonder where he's heard that one before?

Food is always an issue. Me casually trying to get him to try new things and he automatically yelling, "I can't like it!" or "I can't want peanut butter!"  Even though he loves peanut butter, instead he'll put on his "I'm an angel" face and plead, "I ne-ee-ed chips!"  That boy's obsession for Cool Ranch Doritos baffles even me. 

The other day I was putting on a movie for some quiet time and it was a library DVD that was having issues.  I couldn't get the main menu up and the screen went blank for a few minutes.  Jonah waited patiently while I kept fiddling with it to work.  About 4-5 minutes of a black screen, all of a sudden the menu came on and blared music.  And in a voice just like Dr. Frankenstein and both arms raised to the ceiling, Jonah yells "It's alive!"

NO idea where he learned that one.

He is quick to kiss and cuddle and love on me. He won't hold my hand in the parking lot but he gives great hugs complete with mewing sounds and a sappy, emotional "I LOVE you!" 

I know.  The stories themselves aren't that funny.  But when I am with him, I smile every time.  Not to say his day doesn't have its tantrums and monumental whining, but more often I find myself marveling at every new word, expression, & new trick, and feeling joy in his joy.  And this kid is filled with joy and loves life.  It can't help but be contagious. 

I love being a mom!