Shoe Makeover

Ahh, the shoe makeover...

It all started when my (not-so) baby sister Rachel posted this on pinterest.

 Ray and I have always had a lot in common.  Particularly, shoes.  

I loved them.  But I'm not a big shopper these days.  (Oh wait, yes I am, but I buy things like toilet paper and milk, not shoes.)  

And then I remembered this old pair of shoes that I have been meaning to throw away.  

And suddenly, that crafty inspiration struck again!  I was going to recreate the shoes using things I already had!  (I didn't buy a single thing for this project...I just made do with things I already had!)

I decided to paint on the stripes, so after I cut off the little draw strings on top, I started by taping off the shoes.   

Once they were nice and taped, I painted them with regular craft paint.  I had a nice cream color, which turned out looking a little yellower than I expected, but I actually really like it.  Initially, I tried spray painting them, but the fabric just soaked up all of the spray paint, and it wasn't covering well.  Possibly a higher quality spray paint would work better (I was using WalMart's ColorPlace brand), but the craft paint ended up working great.  I did several (three or four) coats, and Liv "helped" by painting some parts brown.  Thankfully, she only painted the taped parts, so it was okay.  :)   

Once they were painted, I sealed the craft paint with clear matte spray paint/sealer, which seems to have worked well so far!  

Because these shoes were so old and ragged, I made some new insoles for them.  I winged it, but next time I will follow this tutorial for diy insoles.  

The last step was making the rosettes for the toes of the shoes.  To do that, I folded strips of fabric, and hand-stitched the ends (with large stitches)  

And then pulled one side of the thread to make it curl.  

I pulled it tight until it was a circle, and then I stitched the ends together.  

For the middle of the rosette, I rolled a strip of fabric and stitched the bottom closed.  Then I glued the small one into the large one, 

glued a circle of fabric to the bottom of the rosette, and glued the whole flower onto the toes of the shoes.  

Not exactly like the original, but pretty cute!  I wore them to church, and people kept asking me "Where did you get those shoes?"

Finger Print Cherry Blossoms

In our own feeble way to attempt to express gratitude and appreciation to the girls' two amazing grandmas (and Jon & my amazing mothers)  the girls and I embarked on a little craft.  

It was such a fun project to do together, and the girls loved it (especially getting messy)!  We started with a tile and some pink craft paint, and I dipped the girls' fingers in the paint and put fingerprints all over the top half of a tile.  While we were at it, we did some pink hand prints for the cards.  They thought it was SO fun to stick their hands in paint, and did a few extra finger paintings while we were at it.  

Once they were cleaned up and napping (!)  I finished up the project.  For the card, I just painted on stems and leaves to make the hand prints into flowers, and then painted a tree trunk with branches on the tiles.  A more artistic person could make this absolutely gorgeous, but I thought it was still cute with my rudimentary art skills.  It had a cherry blossom look, and I added a little tag reading "Dear Mother, all flowers remind me of you" (from one of my favorite primary songs).  I used mod podge on the tag, and then sealed the entire tile with matte clear spray paint.  

The girls were so proud, and the grandmas got to have some little finger prints that aren't on the windows!

Thanks for the Hard Stuff: an open letter to my Mom on Mother's Day

The thing about being a mom is that no one ever says thank you for the things that make being a mom so hard.  Like getting up over and over again in the night with a new baby, or disciplining a kicking-and-screaming toddler.  As a mom of not quite three years, I’m pretty inexperienced, but I’ll bet it’s pretty hard to come by a teen who thanks their mom for setting a strict curfew, or taking away privileges when rules are broken.  I doubt many thank you’s are spoken to seasoned moms who lose sleep over poor decisions made by their adult children, or for the tears shed and the prayers uttered over a wayward son or daughter.  Sure, my toddler thanks me when I give her treats, or do something special for her, which I appreciate, but quite frankly, those are the fun parts of motherhood.  I don’t often get thanked for doing the things that push me to my limits and really make me stretch.

I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the many expressions of thanks that I receive from my husband and children each day.  They are wonderful, and I love the way they show their appreciation.  It’s just that being a mom has made me realize that I need to show my gratitude a little better to my own mom.  I know now that there is so much more to thank her for than making good meals, cheering me on, and setting a good example.  It’s time to show gratitude for the hard things she did, the things that no one appreciated, and the things that made her a truly great mom. 

Mom, thank you for carrying me in your womb, for being willing to experience the sickness, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, hormonal wackiness, weight gain, and general discomfort that come with pregnancy, in order to give me life.  Thank you for getting up with me, night after night, for losing sleep, for feeling like a zombie, for not having a chance to take a shower, or really, do much of anything for yourself. Thank you for the sore arms you got from carrying me around when I didn’t want to sit contentedly in my swing.  Thank you for cleaning all the spit-up and poop.  Thanks for putting up with the baby food slinging, and the refusals to eat veggies, and the screaming tantrums for a lollipop. 

Thank you for disciplining me as a toddler, thank you for putting me in time out when I misbehaved, and for sacrificing having a cute and stylish house in order to have a safe and kid-friendly one.  Thanks for making me wear my seat-belt.  Thank you for brushing the tangles out of my hair, and for letting me dress myself, and for limiting my sugar-intake. 

Thank you for waking me up for school, and for making me go to that service project.  Thanks for letting me experience the consequences of my actions, and for loving me after a fight.  Thank you for saying “sorry” when necessary, and for forgiving me my blunders over and over again. 

Thank you for saying no, when I wanted to go to that party, and for saying yes, when it made you uncomfortable, but I needed the room to grow.  Thank you for praying for me when I was having a hard time, and for all the nights you worried about me.  Thank you for checking up on me when I was trying to get away with things, and for paying attention to my friends and boyfriends.  Thank you for putting your foot down, thank you for not buying me everything I wanted, and thanks for making decisions based on what was right, not on what was cool. 

Thank you for giving me freedom when it was time for me to leave home, and for letting me make decisions, and learn to be responsible.  Thank you for letting me learn some lessons the hard way, for letting me learn to be a mom, and for respecting my parenting choices even though you probably know a better way to do it. 

I realize now that being a mom is HARD, not just because you have to cook and clean and juggle schedules, and do laundry and chase kids, and keep up with a zillion activities, and grocery shop, but because you have to make choices that are painful, you have to say no when it’s easier to say yes, because the sleep deprivation doesn’t end when your babies start sleeping through the night, because you never stop worrying about your kids, even when they’re not kids, and it’s no longer your job to protect them.  It’s a hard, sometimes thankless job, but to my own angel Mother, my sweet Mother-in-law, and to moms everywhere, thank you for doing those hard things!  Those are the things that make you great.  Those are the things that shape your children into who they become.  THANK YOU for being a Mom, especially when it’s no fun at all.  

Fifteen Dollar Playhouse

I was browsing at a consignment sale the other day and came across a collapsible Strawberry Shortcake playhouse for $5.  Being a bit of a bargain junkie (thanks Dad) I bought it.  Unfortunately, when I set it up, I saw that it was in pretty bad shape.

You can't see it in this picture, but the plastic was torn in several places, and a little artist had done some interior decorating with black marker.

 "Ah, well," I thought "the girls can play with it for a few days before we toss it."

 And that's when the inspiration hit.

The house came on a collapsible plastic frame that was still in great condition.

So I decided to ditch the tacky, torn, scribbled plastic cover and make my own.

To do that, I bought some cute, cheap sheets at Walmart (I was thinking blue, but Olivia helped choose, and she wanted pink!  Of course.)  I used flat, twin size sheets, and they were $5 each.  

I used the existing frame and cover to cut out pieces for our new cover,  and then sewed away.  Sorry, no pictures of the sewing process...I had to sew like the wind to finish while the girls were playing happily.  I added some ruffles to the roof, and ties to keep the door open, but if you omit those, the whole thing is basically just sewing straight lines.  Surprisingly simple project!  I did the whole thing in one afternoon.

Ta da!  Are you impressed? I am.  :)

The girls love their new playhouse, but when they get tired of it, we can collapse it, and put it away until we are ready to use it again.  For $15 total, I'm pretty happy with it!

2011 Christmas Letter

America has voted, and the results are in.  The WINNERS of the Leininger Family Awards for 2011 are as follows…

(cue dramatic music)

The award for DEDICATION goes to…JON!

This year Jon has shown immense dedication as he woke up in the 5 o’clock hour nearly every day to work on his masters degree in Systems Engineering, then head to his full-time job at Lockheed Martin, sometimes commuting to DC, returned home to have dinner, play with his girls, help put them to bed, and then continued to study, often late into the night.  His dedication paid off, and in November, he completed his degree from Johns Hopkins University!  He continues to show his dedication to God, his family, and his job, as he serves with the young men at church, makes time to help around the house and hold regular dance parties with the girls, and work hard at his job every day. 

(cue more dramatic music)

The award for BRAVERY goes to…SARAH!

Sarah has been brave in 2011, doing many scary things like grocery shopping with two small children, potty training Olivia, sleep training Anna, tackling New York City with both girls by herself, and flying across the country with both girls, also by herself!  She also showed bravery by entering the frightening world of counting calories, giving up sugar for two months, and running regularly with the girls and family’s newest addition, BOB (our super-fab double jogging stroller).  It paid off, as she shed all the baby weight and then some! 

(cue even more dramatic music)

The award for INDEPENDENCE goes to…OLIVIA!

Olivia (2.5 years) has declared herself independent this year as she has learned to use the potty, dress herself, and even mastered getting into and zipping up footy pajamas without help!  She is so independent, that if someone helps even a tiny bit with a task she is trying to complete, she will start over.  From the very beginning.  She can feed herself, set the table, call people on the phone, and talk in sentences.  She also loves to open Anna’s bedroom door when she wakes up, to greet her with an enthusiastic “Hiiiiiiii, Anna Boo!”  In addition to her fierce demonstration of independence this year, Olivia loves to collect rocks, wear “pretty skirts”, dance and sing, play with “choo-choo trains”, and be with friends.  She enjoys her nursery class at church, but desperately wants to join the bigger kids in Primary. 

(cue…nevermind, you get the idea…)

The award for GROWTH goes to…ANNA!

Anna (one year on 12/28) has shown tremendous growth this year!  Besides more than tripling in body weight, she has gone from a milk-only diet to eating table foods, is sleeping through the night (mostly), loves babbling and making talking sounds, and has gone from completely helpless, floppy baby to rolling, sitting, crawling, and most recently, walking!  She has grown a head of hair, her eyes finally decided on hazel, and she has three little teeth with plenty more on the way.  She wants to be big like her sister, and loves to play with baby dolls, put on necklaces, and sit on the potty seat.  She has changed more this year than anyone else in the family, and will probably never change this much again in a 12 month period. 

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks for tuning in to the Leininger Family Awards, 2011!  We would like to remind you that the Leiningers hope you and yours are enjoying this sacred celebration of Christ’s birth, and send their love.

Merry Christmas! 

Lentil & Quinoa Stew

I love fall!  Gorgeous colors, sweater weather, and my birthday.  We've been extra busy this fall since we flew across the country to celebrate my 30th birthday with my family.  It was a fantastic trip, and included some much needed sibling and cousin bonding time. 

Now that we're back home, and getting back into the swing of things, I have been back to whipping up my healthy creations for fall.  This Lentil & Quinoa stew is awesome.  Easy and good.  My husband loved it, and Liv, who usually eats nothing but cheese and bread at dinner, tried it willingly. 

I love lentils, and I've been looking for more ways to use quinoa (a super healthy grain from South America), so this cozy meal was perfect. The combination is super hearty, and really delicious.

Lentils: admittedly, not the most visually appealing legume.  Nice fall color palate nonetheless. 

Here's the recipe!


What's in it:
1 lb. bag dry lentils, rinsed
1 C. uncooked quinoa (you can use more if you want!)
1 C. carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 Tb. minced garlic
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more, if you want it spicy)
2 Italian sausage links, browned (I remove the sausage from the "skin" and brown it in a pan, like I would ground beef)
6 C. chicken broth
4 C. water
salt & pepper to taste


How it's done:
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot, and cook on high for 4-5 hours until the lentils are soft.  That's it.  So easy.  So yummy.  So healthy.  Just go make it. 


PS  This recipe makes a very large amount of soup.  We eat the leftovers, and I also freeze some for an easy meal later.  You could easily half the recipe, but I like to use the entire bag of lentils at once. 

Apple (Pie) Sauce

It's a rainy day, and Olivia decided not to go to the library, so we needed an at-home activity.  Since we went apple picking last weekend, I decided to make apple sauce.  My neighbor, Megan, gave me the recipe after she taught it to her son's preschool class last year, so I thought I would try it out with my little helper.  It was a VERY toddler friendly recipe, and we both had a great time!  Best of all, it turned out to be absolutely delicious, and had no added sugar. 

Here's what it did have:
8-10 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1" chunks (I actually only used 6 apples.  I'm stingy with my apples.)
3/4 C. water (since I only used 6 apples, I only put in about 1/2 C)
 2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon

Here's how it went down:
I peeled, cored, and cut the apples while Olivia watched.  Then I let her put all the apple chunks into the pot.  She loved this.  So did Anna, who kept trying to eat all the chunks she dropped on the floor.  I had to save that poor toothless baby from choking at least three times. 
 
Then I measured out the other ingredients, and let Olivia dump them into the pot.  She helped me to stir everything up, and then I put it on the stove on high heat, stirring more, until it started to boil.  I covered the pot, turned down the heat, and let it simmer for about 25 minutes. I checked it after 20, but the apples didn't seem quite tender enough, so I left it on for a bit longer.  I think cooking time will vary depending on what kind of apples you are using. 

Liv, in heaven mashing apples. 

When the apples were nice and soft, I dumped them into a plastic bowl, and Liv helped me mash it all up with a whisk.  The recipe said to use a potato masher, but I don't have one, so whisk it was.  This makes a chunky apple sauce.  It you want a totally smooth one, throw it all in the blender.  That's what I do when I make apple sauce baby food for Anna. 


When we were done, we immediately sat down and ate it for lunch.  It was so good it tasted like apple pie!  We even put it on top of ritz crackers to get a little "crust" effect. 

This will be gone by tomorrow.  Yummy!

It can be served hot or cold, but I loved it hot!  I think we'll heat some back up, and have it for dessert tonight!  YUM!