MetroMom March Baremore
 Mother of 3, Award-winning baker, Volunteer

MM - How long have you been a mom?

This November it will be 8 years.

MM - How did your life change with each child?

I was a work-a-holic before James was born. I am embarrassed to admit it, but the 1st call I made after James was born was not to family or a friend, but to my boss since a date had changed right before I went into labor and I needed to make that change. Then they handed me this tiny little person and my heart melted. I knew right then why I had been put on this earth. Six weeks later I was laid off and I have been home ever since. I always credit James with making me the person I am today. He is also the reason I started baking. With Jude it was very different. When Jude was born there were complications from the start. I knew from the moment we took him home that something was wrong. A few days later our Dr. discovered he had 2 broken collar bones. It wasn't until 2 months later that the Dr.'s discovered that he had been born with 9 broken bones and suffered from Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) or Brittle Bone disease. So our lives changed dramatically from that moment on. I think we anticipated the most change with Jenner. Jude was still so young and we just thought he would handle it badly. We were so wrong. Jude had the opposite reaction and wants to be around his brother too much! That was when I started saying 3 is much easier than 2. The 2 younger ones really entertain each other.

MM - Your family lives a very active life and you also run a catering business. How do you organize your schedules?

We really need to work as a team to try to get everyone to their schools and activities. I think we are masters of divide and conquer. We usually have one parent take James and the other take the two younger ones. I am more of a scheduler and my husband is not, so I think we have to meet in the middle. As much as we try not to over schedule the kids sometimes it is inevitable. Last summer even though I tried to spread out the activities I never took into account rain delays, playoffs and schedule changes and so my poor son spent a week going from track practice to football camp to baseball playoffs. I really debated rooting for the other team just to knock one of those activities off of our plate. My business is really small and we are just starting out so my orders have really still been manageable, but I have been known to wear a baby in the baby bjorn while baking.

MM - What is your favorite recipe and/or do you have one that you like to share with your kids?

My favorite recipe is for a Carmel Apple Pie. It was my first big winner at the State Fair so it is probably my favorite. It is also my #1 requested pie for the holidays.

Caramel Apple Pie
Ingredients:
6 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
¾ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on crust
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
1 package Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough
Streusel topping (recipe follows)
Beaten egg white
Directions: Preheat oven to 450 F. Sprinkle apples with lemon juice. Combine dry ingredients; add apples and toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream. Melt butter in a heavy skillet; add apple mixture. Cook about 2 minutes to slightly melt brown sugar. Let cool slightly, then turn into pie shell. Streusel topping: Combine 1/2 cup flour and 3 tablespoons sugar; mix in 1 tablespoon softened butter with a fork until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle over pie, then top with 1/2 cup toffee pieces Sprinkle streusel topping over filling. Add top crust; vent top. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Cover with foil; bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F; remove foil and bake 45 minutes longer. Makes 8 servings.

MM - You have a special needs child, what are your challenges and how are your other children affected by it?

The first year was really tough. I didn't know very much about the disease at all. We didn't know to what extent Jude had the disease and if he would every sit up, crawl or walk. Also since the disease was so rare information was hard to come by. So I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of Dr.'s and men that had the version of the disease that Jude has. It seems we were at a Dr.'s office at least 3 times per week. Some were very helpful and others not so much. I realized very early on that if I didn't fight for him no one else would. I could put Jude in a padded room and he would still break bones. So whereas I am not signing him up for football anytime soon, I let him be a kid and don't hold him back from much. We have been very lucky in that he has a light case. He can walk and run and jump and cause trouble like other boys his age.

MM - Tell us about your volunteer commitments.

I am very involved with both the PTA at James' school and the Parents Association at Jude's school. I have put on the Fall Carnival for James' school for the past 2 years and am running the fall fundraiser at Jude's school. Last Spring after 8 years with MOMs Club and 6 years on the International board I decided to step down to devote more time to really developing Four and Twenty Blackbirds Catering. I am starting a fundraiser for OI that corresponds to National Pie Die called a Pie for OI. I try to spend as much time helping at the schools as possible. When we decided to go the public school route we just decided the schools are what you put into them. So I do PTA and help out in the classroom and my husband does Dad's club and helps out where he can.

MM - If you could give another mom or expectant mom one piece of advice, what would it be?

Enjoy it! They are only young once so you should cherish every second of it.

MM - Do you have a motto you would like to share with other moms?

I just try to look at every situation as the glass being half full.