Choo Choo, Isaiah is 2!

2 years ago today our hearts expanded for a third time as we welcomed Isaiah into our family. What a joy it has been watching him grow into a the little person he is today. He is such a cool mix of his big brothers - funny, smart, full of surprises, strong-headed, and gentle spirited. His list of likes are already long and distinctly him - cars, animals, costumes, playing with big brothers, reading books, and trying to be a big helper with whatever mom and dad are trying to do. Oh, and trains. We happen to live right by train tracks (yes, very exciting) and every single time a train goes by he lights up and starts saying, "Goo-goo, Goo-goo!!" and pointing out the window. This made it pretty simple to pick a Two Two Train theme for his 2nd birthday party. Want to see how we pulled it all together?

Here is the outfit he got to wear (my hubby made the adorable shirt, isn't he talented?):

Big brothers and cousin Sophia also got conductor hats and bandanas to wear on the big day:

The color scheme was red, turquoise, and bright green which matched the Birthday Express plates and napkins I got at a great deal. I found cups in those colors at 4 for $1.00 at Walmart and big bowls to match at the Dollar Store. And I made a train banner with his name that will replace the one in his room from last year's party:

And last but not least, the cake. Every single year I decide it would be a great idea to hand make the kids' birthday cakes only to get into the project and wonder what the heck I was thinking. This year was no exception. Luckily my amazing husband pitched in and we got the job done (and had a lot of laughs at our lack of talent!). It isn't the prettiest train cake there ever was but the kids were mesmerized by the candy and looked past it's imperfections. Isaiah couldn't even wait until the candle was blown out to start grabbing M&M's!

And another Lewis family birthday party is successfully under our belt. It is so much fun planning these special days for my boys. Happy, Happy 2nd Birthday Isaiah! I can't believe how fast the time is going. Stop growing so fast, we want to enjoy you just.like.this. Love you so much little man!

Things I love - Mom 4 Life

I have been known to use this blog from time to time simply for sharing what I love with those who choose to listen read. This is one of those times. Actually, I am not just sharing something I love but something I wish I would have been smart enough to come up with myself. I am talking about one of my favorite sites - Mom 4 Life - which has managed to take everything I want and wrap it all up in one place. Check out some of the things that make Mom 4 Life so great:

 

Mom Owned

Hand Picked Products

Mom Made Products

Free Shipping

10% of Proceeds Go to Moms in Need

Not convinced? Let me show you some of the adorable stuff you can find on their site. 

 

A product I have personally purchased for both of my nieces, BabyLegs. They work on kids of all ages and sizes and can be used as both leg and arm warmers. Not to mention they are both adorable and affordable (which you know are 2 of my favorite qualities!):

{Picture property of Mom 4 Life}

They also carry Hooter Hiders Nursing Covers, which if you haven't seen them before are both stylish and functional. These make a great gift for any new mom and easily tuck into a diaper bag for on the go feedings:

{Picture property of Mom 4 Life}

These are just a few examples of the many, many mom created products that you can find when you choose to shop through Mom 4 Life. I truly love the variety - everything from Maternity to Potty Training to Skin Care products can be found in one central location. And the free shipping makes it an affordable way to shop from the convenience of your home. I can personally attest to their top-notch customer service. The women who work at Mom 4 Life are mom's who love what they do and want to provide a great product for other women. Their generous spirit comes through in their willingness to donate 10% of the proceeds for each item they sell to help moms in need.

I hope you'll check them out and see for yourself what they have to offer. Oh, and if you love it, pass it on! Your friends will thank you:)

Magnetic Paper Dolls

I told you to be on the lookout for my post on Magnetic Paper Dolls...and now you can look no further! This is yet another Pinterest inspired idea. The amazing talent over at Make It and Love It created an awesome tutorial that I actually copied exactly for my nieces birthday.

Aren't they adorable? And this isn't even half the books worth of dolls and outfits so I can get a whole other gift out of the book. Great deal!

While I was making this set for my niece, my boys became totally enamored with it and I actually had to take it away from them to give it to her. It gave me the great idea to search something out for Isaiah who is getting ready to celebrate his second birthday. I came across this link for printable paper dolls and printed them out myself on card stock and then went about the same process of sticking them onto magnet paper and cutting them out. Easy peasy!

I really love the retro look of these and think they will be fun for my little guy. I see many more magnetic dolls in our future because the possibilities are truly endless. You can find all kinds of really cool printable paper dolls online that range from Little House on the Prairie, to wedding themed, to Princess dolls. And for boys you could do super heroes, dinosaurs, heavy machinery, and so on.  And this gift is truly affordable. Printing at home and picking up a cookie sheet at the dollar store makes for minimal cost there. And if you have a Hobby Lobby near you I recommend using their 40% off coupons to get cheap magnet paper. You know how much I love affordable, easy gifts that have that special homemade touch!

Gardening From Kitchen Scraps - Green Onions

Oh, the never-ending wealth of knowledge I receive from Pinterest! I totally have dreams of growing my own garden one day but in this season of life the idea of tending to it seems a little overwhelming. But I am thrilled to learn that there are some pretty easy ways to grow veggies from what I already have in my kitchen with very little time or effort involved. Just my kind of project!

This week I decided to try to grow some green onions. Seemed easy enough. Take a bunch of green onions, cut of the bottoms, place in a jar of water in the window and done. No really, that's it. Too good to be true? Maybe. Let's see how it worked for me.

This is what my green onions looked like the first day when I started this little experiment:

And this is what they looked like exactly one week later:

Pretty awesome, huh? I can just start trimming them off and using them whenever I need and they will continue to grow over and over again. The only upkeep involves changing out the water and rinsing off the roots every once in awhile. I can handle that!

~Thank you Homemade Serenity for the idea~

***Update - Wanted to come back real quick and update you on this. We got 2 great re-growths out of this bunch and then nothing worth using after that. I still think it is worthwhile and a good way to stretch each bunch:) 

Clothespin Dolls

One of my nieces just turned 4 and I have almost always made something homemade for her birthday and Christmas gifts. This year I went completely homemade with Magnetic Paper Dolls (watch for a post soon with a girl version and a boy version) and Clothespin Dolls. I got the inspiration from these Disney Princess Dolls I saw on Pinterest. I was originally going to do those but I wanted to use what I had on hand and painting something to look exactly like something else isn't really my specialty. So I dug through my supplies and found clothespins, yarn, scraps of fabric and a wooden box. And Clothespin dolls were born! Here's what they look like:

I think they are pretty cute if I do say so myself! And they were pretty darn easy too. I don't have a true step-by-step for you because I just kind of winged it. But I will share the basics with you. First I started with some clothespins and I painted the face a neutral color and some different colored "tops" that would match the fabric scraps I had.

Then I added the dress or skirt. This really was as simple as cutting and wrapping the fabric and using a hot glue gun to secure it to the clothespin. No sewing involved! You can go very basic or as complicated as you desire. Here's the first one I came up with (kind of looks like a mermaid:)

Finally, I added hair. Again this step just involved choosing a length and a style and hot-gluing it into place. I started pretty basic but as I went on I was able to do some more creative styles:

At the last minute I decided to glue pieces of craft sticks onto the bottom so that they would be able to stand. And there you have it, 6 unique dolls using supplies I already had on hand:

I happened to have a cute wooden box on hand so I tucked them all inside so that she would have a nice place to store them all.

Want some more homemade gift ideas? Be on the lookout for my next post, Magnetic Paper Dolls for both boys and girls.

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