We are huge fans of your blog, The BakerMama! What inspired you to cook for a living?
My love for food and how it brings people to together and makes people happy. My parents are great cooks so I grew up in a home where we prepared and ate most of our meals together as a family and still do to this day.

Did you always know that this is what you wanted to do?
No…I never dreamed! After we had Baker, I thought I would be a stay-at-home mom, but the opportunity presented itself to start sharing my passion for baking and cookies with others through the blog and I love it!

How did you get started?
A friend suggested that I apply to be the Gold Medal Flour baking blogger. I had never had a blog before nor taken pictures of food, but loved the thought of sharing my recipes with others so I applied. And to my surprise, they choose me! I was honored and thrilled! We also found out the same week that we were expecting twins! OMG!

I started blogging exclusively for Gold Medal Flour where my blog, The BakerMama, was built into their website. A year ago, I took The BakerMama off on my own and now work with several brands/clients to create recipes and content for them as well as share my own recipes and crazy life with my followers.

Best part about your job?
Doing what I love from home and sharing my passion for baking and cooking with others. There’s nothing more rewarding than having someone tell me that they made my recipe and enjoyed it with their family and friends and that everyone loved it! I love all of the people I’ve met through the blogging world, both followers and other bloggers. So much encouragement and inspiration! Oh and I get to eat brownies and cookies for a living! That’s pretty sweet! ;)

Most difficult part about your job?
It’s a hard job to check out from with emails, social media, questions about recipes, meetings and requests from clients, etc. There’s always something, but I’m getting much better at unplugging and letting things wait until tomorrow. It’s also hard working from home because things that need to get done around the house will compete with my to-do list for the blog.

Any fun or inspiring stories to share from work?
It’s always so exciting when my recipes get featured in magazines, on popular websites or shared by fellow food bloggers. I’ve had a few opportunities to do baking demos on TV and have filmed several how-to videos that are on YouTube. I just love sharing my love for baking with others!

I’ve had several followers email me to tell me that I’ve inspired them or encouraged them when it comes to balancing my family life with my passion for baking and blogging. That makes me so happy because I have several people that inspire and encourage me and I know how much I admire them. I’m honored!

Does your husband share your love of cooking? Does he ever help you perfect a recipe you are working on?
Yes, Brandon loves to cook! He’s awesome and ambitious in the kitchen. He’s a much better cook than I am. He loves the challenge of preparing new dishes of all cuisines. We love cooking together on the weekends! We have what we call date night in. We’ll take the boys with us to the grocery store to get all the ingredients for what we’re planning to cook and then we’ll sit down and eat a snack with the boys while they eat their dinner. Once we get the boys to bed, we’ll open a bottle of wine or make some cocktails and start cooking. We’ll prepare several courses and just enjoy each other and the amazing food we prepare. It’s very special time for us!

Brandon is definitely my toughest critic when it comes to my recipes and so I appreciate that! He tells it like it is which in turn helps me to perfect my recipes. He’s my #1 taste tester and he has great taste! 

How do you manage being a mom and writing your own blog?  Any advice for other moms out there wanting to pursue something they are passionate about?
My boys are my first priority and always will be. When I feel stressed or overwhelmed, I just take a deep breath and remember how blessed I am to have three healthy boys and a job that I love so much. Nothing about the blog is life or death so if something has to wait, it has to wait. When the twins were babies, I had someone come to the house a few days a week so I could develop and photograph recipes and then I would do all of the editing, writing, emails, and social media late at night. Once the boys were a little older, I put them in school 5 days a week so I could focus on the blog during the day and be 100% theirs in the mornings before school and after school until they’re in bed. It’s hard work and I run on little sleep, but when you’re so passionate about something, it’s worth it and it’s so rewarding.

Do any of your boys like to cook?  Are you hoping to pass along your love of cooking? 
They seem to love being in the kitchen with us now. The kitchen is never off limits and they know they’re always welcome to pull up a chair and help. We let them help us decide what to make each meal and they join us at the grocery store almost every day. We’re always introducing new foods to them and encouraging them to try new foods. We just hope they know how blessed we are to always have food on our plates.

Please share your favorite lunches for kids! What do you typically put in their lunchboxes?
I get a lot of their lunch box foods in bulk at Costco. Lunch box favorites are: hummus, guacamole, pretzels, crackers, yogurt pouches, string cheese, strawberries, grapes, oranges, peanut butter sandwiches, granola bars, apple sauce pouches, steamed carrots, mini bagels, leftover pancakes, quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, muffins

For example, their lunch boxes today included: mini hummus pack, mini bagel, orange slices, strawberries, apple sauce pouch, pretzels and half a chocolate chip granola bar.

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