denise Leora madre

School has been out for about a week, and I am exhausted! I miss my children like crazy when they go off to school, but when they’re home all day and looking at me as if I were the Activities Director of their personal cruise line, I start counting the days until September. And apologizing to every teacher-friend I have. In all seriousness, the time together has been great. And because they attend a six-week Extended School Year program each summer, I have to make the most of the next few weeks.

Today I celebrate one of my oldest--though she loves to point out that I'm four-and-a-half months older than she is--and dearest friends.  Karlynne, this one's for you! My Original "Home G" and I through the years...

I spend far too much time on social media, Facebook and Pinterest being my favorite hangouts. Though some content leaves me clutching my proverbial pearls and wondering what’s wrong with folks, I learn the most in the comments. (And laugh till I cry at the memes. Seriously, some o' y'all need to quit your day jobs and go into comedy.) And in the comments, I often find the following phrase: “God don’t like ugly.”

Happy Monday, all! I am thrilled to share this space today with my sister-from-another-mister, Jess Molly Brown, to celebrate the release of her debut novel! In  Moms on Missions, when matchmaking mothers try to fix their children's love lives, the results are disastrous, hilarious, and romantic...not necessarily in that order. Jess and I know each other pretty well by now, but there's always room for seven random questions. Here we go! 1. Someone is making a musical of the past year of your life. What's it called and what's the opening number? I think… it would have to be called Too Far-Fetched . The opening number is Are You Sh*tting Me? followed by Tonka Bit Me Seven Times Today . My friends say our household would make entertaining Reality TV. As we have neither money nor fame, that seems highly unlikely. But hey, at least we aren’t boring.

What could be worse than your matchmaking mother trying to set you up? How about discovering she knows exactly what she's doing? This is the problem facing Vince Russo in Jess Molly Brown's hilarious debut novel, Moms on Missions . Vince, an independent visual artist living at Niagara-on-the-lake, has put his dating life on hold to save for art school. But Diana Russo needs grandchildren in her home more than another painting, so she conspires with her friends, the Moms on Missions, to find a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Italian girl to make her dreams for her son come true. The Moms find the perfect girl, Mary diGiordano, and secretly install her in the apartment upstairs from Vince, hoping sparks will fly. And sparks do fly. But not the good kind. First, Mary apparently has some obnoxious drummer named Danny for a roommate whose rude attitude makes Vince want to tear out his hair. When Vince finally meets Mary, his every attempt at kindness is met with major hostility. ...

Oh, how I have longed for this day! Friends and readers, I am thrilled to share the cover for my dear and darling friend Jess Molly Brown's hilarious and heartwarming debut novel, Moms On Missions! The cover tells you all you need to know: The MOMs have Vince and Dani in their sights, so those two better look out! Stay tuned to this blog for information about pre-ordering this fantastic book and for a review after its May 2016 release. Congratulations, Jess!

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I hope the day brought you warmth, laughter, and tangible reminders of the beauty in your life. (And if not, here's a hug from my heart to yours.) Our day was full of exquisite cuisine--special shout out to my Dude for making a grilled BBQ turkey breast that made my mother slap me!--and new memories with old friends and family. It was a miracle, a literal answer to prayer, and I was so blessed to see it happen under our roof. But after everyone left, I was alone with the kitchen (point of fact: my Dude was taking people home; otherwise he would have been there with me.) You can imagine how it looked: slightly crumpled foil pans, half-full cups of juice, huge pots that wouldn't fit in the refrigerator, and a white kitchen floor tattooed with food and footprints. As I formed a plan of attack, I remembered those FB posts and Instagram pics of proud chefs with their culinary creations and wondered how many people are just as excited to fa...