A short video of the boys in the lobby of the Denver news channels…watching me on TV!

“Let’s go in the TV and get her!”

(And then just like that, I wasn’t all that interesting anymore…)

Priceless.

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Colorado Friends…

This Monday morning…July 12th…

I’ll be appearing on the Daybreak on the Deuce at 8:15 am…and I’ll be grilling up a recipe from the NEW cookbook!

And then I’ll feature one of my favorite summertime recipes on Good Day Colorado at 8:45 am!

So tune in or set those DVRs!  You won’t want to miss it!

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Coming up for air…….

and BREATHE!

It is finished.

I emailed the $5 Dinner Mom’s Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook to my editor on Saturday afternoon.

And just after I sent the 267 pages flying into cyber space, I captured this…

No…he is not crawling. Yet!!!

He is so close. He gets up on all 4s…thinks about it…rocks a bit…moves his legs…gets up in the bear crawl position…thinks about it…tries to move an arm…

then faceplants!

Kinda funny, cute and sad all at the same time!

I am just so thankful to have finished the manuscript before that little man gets moving. Because I know once he starts, he won’t stop!

And with this extra time I suddenly have on my hands…I think I’ll spend it by babyproofing the house. Off to hide the Legos, baby Lincoln logs and anything else that Tyler might think is edible.

And when that is finished, I think I’ll sleep for a few days.

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So I thought I’d give you a quick update on some very important deadlines. (And read closely…there’s a giveaway at stake!)

The cookbook manuscript is due July 1.

It is almost finished. I will spend some time this week, adding some last minute finesse. There is not a doubt in my mind that I’ll get it to my editor by my deadline…if not early.

But that other deadline still looms.

It is fast approaching. I’ll show you.

Hey Mom, check it out. I’m up on all fours. (Said in a mocking baby tone.)

Now watch this Mom…I can rock back and forth too. (He’s totally mocking me now.)

(And that’s just all mocking there.)

So far, so good.  Not crawling yet. But he wants too…badly…as you can see by the look on his face.  Little stinker!

What do you think?!?  Will he be crawling by July 1st?!

To make this fun…I’ll be giving away a copy of The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook AND a copy of The $5 Dinner Mom’s Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook (when it comes out) to the person who guesses the closest time and date that Tyler will start crawling.

Definition of first time crawling: Moving arms and legs in such a way to move him forward (not backwards!).

Only 1 entry per person please.

Entries will be closed on Wednesday, June 23rd at 9 am EST. Entries closed.

Winner announced after Tyler starts crawling!

What’s your guess?!? When will Tyler start crawling!?!

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This is what lunch usually looks like for me. A salad with leftovers (grilled chicken and peppers, in this case). Or just plain leftovers. And if I’m really feeling unmotivated. PBJ.

For me, lunch has always been the “most frustrating meal,” and I have come up with quite a few tips and tricks to help streamline the whole lunch prep and experience for us.

But we are each in unique situations and while I have played the SAHM, WAHM and part time working mom roles in my life, I am missing the “full time work outside the home mom” part. And of course the “dad part” too.

Here’s where I need your help. In order to make sure I’ve got ALL the bases covered in the next cookbook, I’ll need to hear your experiences.

All I want to know is what frustrates you about lunch. That’s it!

What is the most frustrating part about lunch…packing it, preparing it, spending too much on convenience foods, lack of creativity, lunchbox getting lost in the office fridge?

It’s time to let your lunch hour woes be known!

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Blackberries. I love their sweetness and their tartness.  I grabbed a few packages for a buck at the store last week. And I just had to make some muffins, or are they cupcakes?

I’m not sure what to call them.  Because they really could be both. They are that versatile.

I love how when berries bake, their little juice pods pop and the juice runs all over!  Mmm.

Now scroll through the delicious-ness and then help me figure out where these little goodies belong in the next cookbook!

Ingredients

½ cup butter or margarine, softened ($.80)
½ cup white sugar ($.05)
2 eggs ($.20)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract ($.10)
1 cup milk ($.10)
2 cups white flour ($.40)
1 teaspoon baking soda ($.03)
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups blackberries, halved ($1)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice ($.10)
2 Tablespoons sugar ($.01)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 24 mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. Slice the blackberries in half and place in a bowl with the lemon juice.

3. Add the sugar and toss away. But do so lightly.  You don’t want to hurt the blackberries!

4. Try your best not to eat ‘em up!

5. Prepare the batter in a stand mixer or mixing bowl with hand mixer by beating the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and milk until smooth.  Then add the flour, baking soda and salt and beat until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour some batter into each of the mini muffin wells.  Fill about 1/4 full.

6. Add 2 blackberry halves to each well.

7. Be sure to not let too much of the liquid from the blackberry bowl get into the batter.  A little is fine.

8. Pour the remaining batter over the top of the blackberries. (I don’t mean to SWAY your  vote, but this batter was VERY much like cake batter!)

9. Fill up the muffins tins.  All the way full is fine!

10. Bake in the preheated oven for 14 to 16 minutes, or until cooked through!

11. Let cool on cooling rack. Enjoy!!!

And now help me decide where to put this recipe in The $5 Dinner Mom’s Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook…

(polls)

Thanks for your help! Y’all are the best!!!

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See those pages there?

I’m convinced they are the reason behind the difficulty I am having shaving off these last few postpartum pounds!!!

For the past 3 months I have been slaving away behind the scenes, working on lots and lots of NEW recipes for my next cookbook…The $5 Dinner Mom’s Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook!!!!!

I have been tasting and eating, and tasting and eating. And not running, as much as I’d like to be…because I’m always tasting and eating! Therefore, the pounds are sticking around a little longer than they did after having Ryan and Charlie!  But I have no doubt they will melt away as soon as I stop all this extra tasting and eating, and I find more free time to run with the boys once the manuscript is finished. (Run-on sentence much?!)

So my deadline is July 1.

I must turn in the entire manuscript to my editor by then. That I am not worried about. I have 8 of the 9 recipe chapters finished. And my mom is coming for a week in June to care for the boys so I can focus on the content chapters.

But there is another deadline that looms.

TYLER CRAWLING.

He rocks, he scoots, he leans on his arms, he pulls his tummy up during tummy time. It’s really only a matter of weeks…and I’m praying he waits until I’m finished up with the manuscript. Oh please, dear baby. Wait until July 1. Or at least June 30th.

Please.

So with these 2 deadlines hanging, I press on to get this finished up. And then I’m going for a really, really, really long run. (In truth, I am contemplating running a half marathon later in the year.)

And when I get back from that run, I might just have to eat yet another Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cupcake. Again. You know, quality control!!!

I’ll be sharing my recipe for Cranberry Apple Muffins later today. Because I promised I would on Facebook.

Oh. And I need some help with my Blackberry Muffins/Cupcakes recipe. I can’t decide which chapter it should go in…the Muffins Chapter…or the Snacks Chapter.  So I’ll post it later in the week along with a poll and you guys can decide which chapter to put it in!!!  Fun, huh?

So with that, I’m headed back to the kitchen to get this last recipe chapter finished up!!!

P.S. I’m going to keep this post stick to the top for this week. ‘Cause I want everyone to hear the exciting news!!!

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I made this recipe what seems like EONS ago…but it really wasn’t that long ago!  But at the same time, it’s been too long.

Y’all know what I mean.  These kiddos of mine have turned up the dial on “time”…to warp speed.  (It’s all happening too fast…they are growing up way to fast.)

Again. I digress!

Anyhoo.

Made this using some fresh “holiday” (meaning discounted price) cranberries from the  holidays…and the pork chops that I cut from the $1.89/lb pork loin last week.  Pair it with some $.49/lb butternut squash from the freezer and $.99/lb asparagus, and I have no doubt that it comes in under $5!

Recipe can be found in The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook.

(Girls gotta sell her cookbooks, right?!?)

UPDATE: For those of you feeling duped or manipulated, don’t! It is not my intention. I have agreements with my publishing house that I must uphold. I made this meal from the cookbook, and shared what I made. As both a blogger and an author, I will forever be using the site to promote my cookbook (the cookbook that I spent HOURS working on, for YOU!). Now look forward to the next FREE recipe!

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UPDATED!!!

If you missed the QVC segment, here you go!!! Watch it now

Yesterday I spent much of the day shopping for an outfit…TO WEAR ON QVC!!!

I’ll be selling the cookbook on QVC this week…so get those DVRs ready!

Wednesday, February 24th at 9 AM EST – QVC Channel

(Don’t have cable…you can watch live online! Click on Watch TV Live)

If you’re curious to see what I *might* be wearing, I had LOTS of fun getting opinions from my Twitamigos!  You can scroll down in my Twitter stream to see picts of the different outfit choices!  And you’ll have to wait and see what  I chose when I’m LIVE on air on Wednesday!!!

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I can’t wait to meet my fellow Texans!

(And experience some warmer, although not much warmer, weather!)

Fort Worth

• Saturday, February 13th
• TCU Bookstore from 2-4 pm

Houston

• Monday, February 15th
• Downtown Houston Library from 6-8 pm

San Antonio

• Wednesday, February 17th
• Borders in the Quarry from 7-9 pm

Complete details here

I look forward to meeting other friends who say “y’all“…people in Ohio look at me weird when I talk Texan!

See Y’ALL soon!!!

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