{rockstar mom} Leah Cianciola // stay at home mom extraordinaire

Meet rockstar mom Leah!  (You may remember her from that delicious strawberry freezer jam recipe I posted last month).  Leah and I have been good friends since practically birth.  She is a tall drink of water, full of sunshine, beautiful lady, and I'm downright proud to call her a friend.  She is such an inspiration for me personally.  Her love for her family, her thirst for God's written word, and don't let me forget she is one modern Betty Crocker (or maybe I should say Martha Stewart?).  The lady does it all from homeschooling, gardening and canning to cloth diapering, sewing, and home renovations. Somehow she still finds a little time for herself, her relationship with her husband, and her relationship with Jesus Christ.  Alright enough from me... go ahead and say hi to Leah.

Hello my name is Leah and I am a stay at home mom to three adorable children. Jude- 4 years old, Ruth or Ruthie as we call her-2 years old, and Simon- 1 year old.  I feel  honored that Lauren asked me to write, 'How do I do it all? Through family, faith, self and everyday living'

 

Let me rewind a little bit. I met my husband on e-harmony about 6 1/2 years ago. We will be married for six years in September. No he was not the one who still lived with his mom and was secretly on e-harmony and no he was not the one who only believed in King James version Bible only and he was also not the one who worked on "gage' doors for a living (yes the man spelled garage as gage, ha!). Basically, he wasn't the stereotypical creep chatting it up all day online. He was the funny man with the nice smile and was totally on fire for the Lord! We met in January, were engaged in May and married in September. Yes, a very short dating and engagement period! :)  He is my best friend and I love him very much!

We bought our first home 2 years ago on a 2 acre lot with a beautiful fenced in yard for the kiddos. We have 18 chickens, 1 Pyrenees puppy named Madeline, apple trees, raspberry bushes, strawberry patch, raised garden beds and tons of flower beds. Yes, it is a lot of work to maintain but I really try to get the kids involved with me. They help feed the dog, water the garden when in season, pull weeds and help with whatever I ask of them to do. I enjoy picking strawberries from our yard and making freezer jam. (check out Leah's quick and delicious recipe!)  

How do I get the kids to help me with chores? Ha, well I sometimes give them candy, some money or allow them to watch a little show. (I don't allow the kids to watch very much T.V. and when I do it is very limited as to what they can watch. I want my kids to have a passion for reading books, playing outside or learning something new.) But I usually tell them that they are old enough to help out with mommy and that I am getting them ready for when they get older and are on their own. I was raised with having responsibilities and I want to pass that on to my children. 

I absolutely LOVE flowers, the brighter they are the better! When I see a unique colored flower or a different named flower, I buy it and put it in one of the flower beds.  The previous owners did a great job with the flower beds, but all the colors they had were green, dark green, and light green. I have been adding color when I can. I guess you could say my creative side comes out in my flower beds and the inside of my house. I prefer bold and daring colors in the house. The colors consist of bright yellow, red, blue, purple, jadeite green and sherbet orange.  With the two acre lot my favorite time of the week during the season is mowing the grass! I anticipate getting on our zero turn so I can have mommy time. Ha, I laugh when I think that mowing the grass is mommy time :) 

 

 How do I find quality quiet time with the Lord as a mother of three? I get up around 6 am, before anyone else is awake. I would also recommend a book to read on having a quiet time with the Lord in the morning, called 'Shopping for Time, How to do it all and not be overwhelmed' by Carolyn Mahaney,Nicole Whitacre,Kristen Chesemore, Janelle Bradshaw. This book is a great motivator to get up early before the family does and spend time with the Lord!!  When I have a quiet time with the Lord it is so beneficial in my relationship with my husband and with my children. As I seek the Lord out in the morning I pray that he will remind me of what I read in God's Word and help me to show my children the love of Christ. When I get frustrated or upset, because things are not going my way, so selfish I know, I realize this is not about me, but about how I can show the love of Christ to my husband and raise my children to love Christ someday as I do.

 

 

 

It'll be quiet around here for awhile // we're moving back the good ole USA!

It is very bittersweet to say goodbye to our home in Central Alberta.  I still remember the day over two years ago when Brandon texted me and said "we're moving to Canada".  And I thought "uh, WHAT?"  And I had to get out the map to figure out exactly where we would make home.  Needless to say,  I never realized how much these two years would mean to me.  I feel its the first time Brandon and I have actually lived together since we have been married.  Its definitely the longest we have lived in one place.  We ended up celebrating the birth of our beautiful little girl here.  What a sweet little Canadian surprise she was for us. She will always be unique in having dual citizenship/birth abroad status in the USA.  I've made some amazing friends.  I never would have made it through as a new mom without these wonderful women.  There were so many there at all hours of the night, with prayer, food, medical advice, and plenty of hot yoga dates.  I'll also miss the two wonderful ladies (that I've grown to love) as I worked for them part time.  They watched me waddle in and out of their businesses severely pregnant.  I'm so thankful for their friendship, advice, and overall trusting me enough to give me a job.  I'm going to miss my church.  Sherwood Park Alliance is doing some amazingly good things there.  God is definitely at work in that place.  And last but not least, I'm going to miss my one American friend I'm leaving behind in Canada.  I know one day she and her husband will also move back to the states (probably sooner than later).  I'm looking forward to seeing her in October and continuing our friendship over an obscene amount of text messages daily.

Everytime we move it is sad for me.  Yes, I am looking forward to new adventures and (FINALLY) putting down real roots this time around.  It'll be so nice to live by family and to buy a house.  However, I feel a little part of me is always left behind when I move.  Good thing is a new little pieces comes with me. 

Thank you to everyone is has made such a huge impact on my life while in the "great white north".  I hope all of my Canadian friends come visit.  I also hope we can come back for a visit as well.  Afterall, I never did get to go skiing in those Canadian Rockies!


To all my faithful readers, bare with me while I pack, unpack, clean, declutter, and reorganize.  I'll be up and running again shortly.

{recipe of the week} pizza // chicken caesar

Adapted from Fitness Magazine

{the goods}
1/2 pound  whole-wheat pizza dough 
3 tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil  
3 garlic cloves 
3 anchovy fillets 
1/4 cup  plain low-fat yogurt 
2 tablespoons  fresh lemon juice 
1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard 
1/2 teaspoon  black pepper 
3/4 pound  chicken cutlets 
1/4 teaspoon  kosher salt 
1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped (about 12 cups)

** Let's be honest.  I didn't have time to make my own dough.  I just used the whole-wheat already made pizza crust from Wal-mart.  It comes as a two pack so I made this for myself and a traditional pepperoni for my husband.  You can also freeze the extra crust for a later pizza night.

{get to bakin}

Preheat oven to 500 degrees . Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat. Divide dough into four pieces and stretch each one to roughly the size of the skillet. Add 1/2 teaspoon oil to skillet, swirling to coat, and put in one piece of dough. Cook 1 minute, then flip and bake until brown and crisp, about 5 minutes; set aside. Repeat with remaining dough.

Meanwhile, using a blender or a hand blender, puree 2 tablespoons oil, garlic, anchovies, yogurt, lemon juice, mustard and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Return skillet to burner over high heat. Toss chicken with remaining oil and season with salt and remaining pepper. Cook, flipping once, until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes.

Slice chicken into 1/2-inch pieces and toss with romaine and dressing in a large bowl. Divide among pizzas and sprinkle with Parmesan.

{art print} dr. seuss themed nursery // ean john

My cousin in Minnesota welcomed the arrival of the cutest little boy, Ean.  He was only 15 pounds and so many ounces but still such a cutie.  I also love that she decorated his room in Dr. Seuss.  I didn't grow up with Dr. Seuss books (mom's preference) so I'm welcoming them with open arms into our house.  Some I am reading for the first time.

Congratulations again Sarah.  Can't wait to meet him!

Love this?  Check out my other prints at the shop.

{wedding} for simple elegance and a whole lot of Texas country // coral and teal // invitations, programs, and reception decor

I'm so thrilled to finally be posting these pictures.  Elizabeth was kind enough to ask me to design her wedding invitations and some of the reception decor for her wedding (check out the paper straw flags below).  Did you see her save the date magnets?  I just loved working with this gal.

This couple is so lovely I can hardly stand it.  Thank you again Elizabeth for letting me be apart of your day!

 

all photos courtesy Elizabeth by Jennifer Weems Photography

{diy} spray painted champagne glasses // repurpose and reuse

We all have them.  They are courtesy of a company picnic, christmas gift, door prize.  They are etched, monogrammed, and a bit tacky (to be honest).  At the time you think "oh fun!" and then you never put them on display or drink out of them.  Time to fancy them up ladies and gents!  This took me less than an hour. You can even regift with a bottle of wine.

{art print} blue and grey elephant themed nursery // gavin robert

So excited our good friends Brooke and Grant (finally) had a little boy.  I haven't met him yet.  Our trips to Indiana are just too short to squeeze everyone in.  And especially hard to squeeze in enough quality time.  I'm loving on him quite a bit via facebook and instagram (thanks Brooke!)  So excited to make these for his nursery and even more excited that the colors worked out perfectly.

 

 

love this?  check out the rest of my prints at the shop.

{art print} farm themed nursery // holden joseph

As you are noticing on my blog I am surrounded by little boy babies!  I think I have celebrated either the birth or a first birthday of at least ten boy babies since the beginning of Spring.  Yowza.  I am having so much fun with these art prints.  I especially love doing this one for our cousin Holden because of the farm theme.  (Farms are near and dear to my heart since I'm a farmer's daughter).  Looking forward to seeing it on his wall!

{recipe of the week} no cook strawberry freezer jam

My good friend Leah shared this freezer jam with me over Facebook last week.  Oh, you don't have to cook anything over the stove? AND you get to use your food processor to speed up the process?  I'm in.  This recipe is super easy and delicious.   It is in batches of 2 8oz. half pints.

First.  Clean and destem strawberries.

Crush strawberries in a food processor.  You will need 1 2/3 cups of crushed strawberries.

1.Stir 2/3 cup sugar and 2 Tbl. real fruit instant pectin in a bowl. Add fruit, stir 3 min.

 Ladle jam into clean jars or even plastic containers. Let sit 30 min. Enjoy immediately, refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to one year. When filling jars, leave 1/2 inch headspace to allow food expansion during freezing.

Jam Jar Labels

{mommy mondays} picking strawberries with Anna

My friend Alanna asked us to go pick strawberries last week.  I haven't done that since I was little (or have I? maybe its peaches I'm thinking of?)  In my head I saw this glorious hallmark moment with Anna.  You know, the big "life lesson" storybook moment that has been instilled into you from Pinterest, instagram, other bloggers, and professional mommies.  It would be a perfect sunny day.  She'd help pick strawberries.  We'd sit and eat a few.  Laugh.  You get the idea.

I should have known better. There were a lot of thorns.  It was chilly (and we weren't prepared for the weather)  and all Anna wanted to do was throw the picked strawberries out of the bucket.  Thank goodness Emily came along and helped us with all four children.  At the rate I was going I would have never filled my bucket.  I pick two.  Anna throws out one.  You get the idea.

But, we got these adorable pictures of Anna.  It does look like she is having fun and that is all that matters right?  So, it was worth the trip.  And we will probably go and pick raspberries next time. ( I may be better prepared with shoes, pants, and my moby wrap to carry Anna though!)

Now ... time to make JAM!

{recipe of the week} Real Simple's Lobster Rolls

My first time ever cooking lobster tail.  Its not nearly as scary and intimidating as it sounds.  This was husband approved (and I loved it too.  I don't even like lobster).  The dog got a few table scraps and I do believe he is hooked as well.

Adapted from the July 2013 Issue of Real Simple Magazine.
Serves 4
Cooking Time 20 minutes

{the goods}
4 lobster tails (1 1/2lbs.) thawed
3 Tbl. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c. fresh corn (about 1 ear)
2 stalks of celery sliced
1/3 c. mayo
1 Tbl. lemon juice
salt and pepper
4 hot dog buns
** 1-2 dashes of cayenne pepper for a little kick

{to cook}
Fill large saucepan with 1 inch of water and fit with steamer basket.  Bring to a simmer.  Place tails in basket, cover, steam until opaque (8-10 minutes).  Remove tails.  Using shears cut straight down the central membrane and pull apart to break tail in half.  Remove meat from shell immediately (to stop cooking) and chop.  Cool.  Heat oven broiler to low.  Butter inside of hot dog buns and place on cookie sheet.  Put in oven and broil until slightly crisp on edges.  (WATCH and don't burn the buns!) This might only take you 5 minutes depending on your broiler.  Take buns out of oven and divide salad between buns.

This is a great leftover recipe for lunch the next day.