Cake Central

I am so darn glad the kids' birthdays are over. I've baked and decorated 5 cakes in the last 4 weeks (Drew had 2 parties, one with family and one with friends). This year I went a different route with the cakes~no cake pans allowed. So Google was my friend for inspiration and the kids got the following cakes to celebrate their birthdays:

Drew's theme was PIRATE of course. Thanks to Doug for decorating this!

The girls' party was PRINCESS themed (not Disney) so I created crowns for them


Meg's party was HEART themed. She helped decorate

So it was nothing extravagant this year. The cakes were relatively easy to make and decorate, I didn't spend a ton of money or lose my mind with a thousand different frosting colors to tint. The cakes are all the same~homemade marble cake that is so delicious (thank you Better Homes and Gardens cookbook). Now I just have 10 more months to come up with the next cake idea.

Nine

Dear Meg~

Nine years ago yesterday you made me a mama. In nine years we've gone from this
to this
You are a smart, caring girl. Your love of your cats, books, and the color yellow are legendary. You've grown from loving Barbie dolls to American Girl dolls, from Teletubbies to Harry Potter, from Twinkle Twinkle to anything Taylor Swift. Your room has gone from Pooh Bear to a collage of Hannah Montana and Bruins hockey and fairy pictures you've created.

Some days I don't know where the time has gone, because sometimes I still see you as this when you are clearly this young lady


You'll always be my baby, my first born, no matter how old you get. I'll always be here for you, whether for hugs, kisses, homework help, piano lessons or even boy trouble. I love snuggling with you at night and reading to you, even though I know that pretty soon you're going to want to read by yourself in your room for hours on end. And even though we have our differences, we really are so much alike that you'll be amazed when when you realize it.

I hope this next year brings you lots of happiness and that you remember that I love you bunches and bunches.

Love

Mama

Three

Dear Annie~

I can't believe you turned three on Saturday. THREE! You've been telling people for a couple of months now that you'd be "free" on your next birthday, and you happily showed them 3 fingers. You're such a big girl now. You sleep in a toddler bed, you're working on potty training, you love vegetables but could care less about meat, and you give the best hugs known to man. You didn't like Mr. The Grinch (your words) but loved his doggy. You're my quiet observer, taking it all in with your giant brown eyes. I can't wait to see what this next year brings for you. I love you to the moon and back.

Love, Mama

January 16, 2007

January 16, 2008

January 16, 2009
January 16, 2010

Dear Izzie~

Three years old. You've changed so much in three years. You were a skinny wisp of a thing when you were born, and while you're still petite, you have a big voice and a big heart. Your love of lambs knows no bounds. I'm constantly amazed at your ability to put together puzzles without batting an eye. Your favorite Christmas song is The Little Drummer Boy (aka "Izzie's Lamby Song") and you sing all the time for us. You remind me of Boo in Monsters, Inc. when she was singing in the bathroom. Like your brother, you go from the minute you get up until the minute you go to sleep snoring at night. I can't wait to see how you grow this year. I love you to pieces.

Love, Mama

January 16, 2007

January 16, 2008

January 16, 2009

January 16, 2010

The Dilemma

I have a dilemma and I'm asking for some advice, because quite honestly, I have no idea what to do.

Meg's 9th birthday is 3 weeks from tomorrow. This is the year I promised another kid party (every other year to save my sanity), and we've been throwing around ideas. We've come up with one that would work~have some friends over to watch a movie and make their own pizzas. Nothing too jazzy, but still fun for everyone and not too expensive for my rather tight purse strings.

But the issue is my child. My beautiful, smart child isn't very good with friends, especially at parties. She has had a meltdown at every single kid party she's ever had. It's rather easy to pass that off when your kid is 5, and maybe even 7. But 9. Nine is an age where kids start to talk at school, if they haven't already. I dread putting her into a situation which could cause embarrassment for her. We don't even have her friends over except one because she cannot handle the situation and ends up alienating her friends.

I wouldn't at all be concerned if she hadn't had a full on meltdown during Drew's family birthday party last week. Her behavior was so incredibly embarrassing for all of us, most especially for herself. The five of us are quite used to her attention-getting meltdowns, to the point that it didn't even phase Drew and he went about his business. My poor sister-in-law (who is a 4th grade teacher) ended up spending a lot of time dealing with Meg, but really no to avail. Meg did manage to behave well enough at Drew's kid party last week, and we praised her for that.

I love my child with all my heart, and I want to do things for her that make her happy. She wants this birthday party. I would love for her to have her friends here and for her to have a good time with them. Is it wrong of me to question whether she could handle herself? I've been down this road too many times with her and I'm at the point where I think that I need to save her from herself. Talking to her is almost a wasted effort. She gets defensive, cries, and doesn't listen. Round and round we go.

So dear friends. Help. Give me some advice. Should I have the party and let her deal with the consequences of her actions if she melts down, or should I just pull the plug?

Where exactly did the time go?

Dear Meg,

Today is your 8th birthday. I cannot believe that you're 8 years old already. Your birth can't have been 8 years ago; it was just yesterday that you opted to wait until your due date to make your appearance. To this day you despise being late.

I know we have our issues. It's not surprising given that you are so much like me. You love to read and I'm so happy that we share that trait. You're stubborn too; I'd like to blame Dad for that but I'm pretty sure that's my doing as well. I'm happy that you got Dad's love of sports though. Maybe in a couple of years I can teach you to play the piano, or you can take up the flute, just like me.

Don't always be so hard on yourself. Remember, all we ask is that you try your best at things. That does NOT mean be perfect. It just means quality work, or trying your hardest when you're out skating. When we give advice, take it. It doesn't always mean that we're criticizing. Sometimes we actually want to be helpful in order to make you happy.

So baby girl, enjoy your hockey scrimmage tonight. Tomorrow we'll celebrate with cake and presents. Know that we love you so very, very much.

Love, Mama

I bake my cake and eat it too

I like to bake and decorate cakes. I'm no Martha Stewart by any means, but I'm loving baking cakes for the kids' birthdays. I did NOT bake the cake for Meg's first birthday and got a tongue lashing from my sister-in-law because of it. But look at the gorgeous cake she got for that party:

Yep, I'm not that good. I buy my cake pans thru Wilton and I love them. It's a labor of love let me tell you. So, Elmo was the first cake we made that we decorated ourselves. I have this photo from Drew's 2nd birthday (Meg's 2nd birthday was before my love of the digital camera):
The red is a tough color to get right. Trust me.

This is the first cake I made sans pan for Drew's first birthday. Not my best work, but like I said, I'm no Martha:

For Meg's 3rd birthday, we went with Cinderella, but again, that was before my love of the digital camera so if you REALLY want to see it, I can scan it and post it another time. However, for her 4th birthday, I caved and ordered a cake from the local grocery store with Ariel on it. Drew was one month old people. It was a gorgeous cake. For her 5th birthday, which was a little girlie fairy party, I made a cake with a design I stole from the mittens she was wearing that year:
For Drew's 3rd birthday, I went on a limb and made Bob the Builder. It took me 45 minutes just to tint the 7 frosting colors, and about 2 hours to decorate it. But it was AWESOME:

Meg's 6th and 7th birthday cakes were fun to make. For her 6th I made Hello Kitty from a template I Googled, and her 7th is this great flower pan that will last a long time and I can make so many different ways:



Annie and Izzie got their first cakes last year. Their party was a massive event, combined with a surprise 70th birthday party for my mother-in-law. The color schemes I used reflected how we dressed them at the time:
This weekend I tackled another cake for Drew's birthday. I made Spiderman. Spiderman had me cursing and threatening not to finish decorating him. The red didn't work right; it was too pinky. Did I mention I do all my decorating with frosting shoved into plastic bags? Yep. I'm insane. But, Spiderman rocked the house yesterday:
Since I have 3 more cakes to make in the next month, I made a little trip to Williams Sonoma today and purchased their cake decorating set, complete with a funky plunger tube thingy for the frosting and ten metal tips. Because guess what I'm making in 2 1/2 weeks? Elmo. Oh, he's easy after making him twice before. I'm also making Abby Cadabby. You know, the cute little pink and purple fairy from Sesame Street? I promise pictures when she's done. I'm also making Meg a butterfly or a fairy with the butterfly pan I just bought.

So there you have it. All the cakes I've baked in the last 8 years. It's fun, even if it causes me to swear like a sailor and throw bags of frosting in the sink.

Happy Birthday Drew

To Drew on his 4th birthday~

I'm not quite sure how it happened that you're 4 years old today. It seems like just yesterday you were this little baby and now you're a big 4 year old boy who is going to start hockey in a week. You're my snuggle puppy. You love cars, your teddy bear, books, dogs and your Daddy. You're definitely testing your limits (and our patience) as you try to find your way in a house full of girls, but we love you so very much.

So happy birthday buddy. Enjoy your Spiderman cake. Mama loves you.

xoxo

Born at 5:23 am, 7lbs 3 oz

They say it's my birthday!

I'm officially 36! I've had a really good weekend. I went for a pedicure with my friend Julie yesterday morning and my goodness I don't know why I wait a year between appointments! Must. Go. More. Often. After an afternoon of lounging around due to thunderstorms, I baked and cleaned, so that we could have a little family gathering today. My parents and in-laws came for brunch and it was yummy! My kids and husband got me a thistle feeder and seed for the backyard, and an IPod adapter for my car. Woohoo! I'm so tired of listening to the one good station around here. Now I just need to get more music on the IPod, as it dumped a bunch once trying to sync it to the computer. My in-laws got me some lovely serving spoons and forks, as there are never enough to go around when you need them. And my parents gave me a little monetary treat to spend on myself (clothes, more pedicures, coffee!). Meg and Drew made me cards that I just love, and I even got an arrangement of gerber daisies from Doug on Friday. Oh, and cake. Of course I had cake and not one I had to make myself! Really, it was just a lovely way to spend my birthday.

And because I love the mail so much, Auntie Nettie sent along a couple of gift packages for me. Hooray for the mail lady (yes, we have a mail lady) coming to my house twice in one week! She sent me a little Nancy Drew quote book ( I LOVE Nancy Drew) and a Mom Mood Magnet for the fridge. But she saved the best for last with something straight from this. I never knew that muffin top pans existed, but thanks to her I am set for life! Thank goodness Auntie Nettie and I read some of the same blogs. MWAH Auntie Nettie (oh and I got your voicemails but I was out galavanting with my family at the softball closing ceremonies!)!!!

So in all it's been a great weekend and I wish it wasn't ending. But, since the kids were up at 6 for the day, I'm tired and feeling my age (hahaha!) and will be heading to bed sooner rather than later.

6 days and counting

I will be 36 in 6 days. As I've mentioned before, I don't mind getting older. I've had gray hair for many, many years (I found my first gray on Valentine's Day, 1999). I've been a mom for 7 1/2 years. The birthdays are more exciting to the kids. I am sure I'll have to make a cake, and invite some family to come celebrate, because according to Meg, if it's your birthday, you MUST have a party. It's so funny how kids see things. Birthdays are something to be celebrated, not dreaded. Doug tells me I'm on the downside to 40, often. I don't mind that either though. I'm not sure how my own mom feels about me turning 40, but she has a few more years to wrap her head around it. I don't have a list of things that I feel I should "accomplish" before I turn 40. I wonder if I should? I've done quite a bit in the last 35 years. I learned to ride a bike. I learned to play the flute and pretended to play the piano. I tortured spent a great many hours with my brother. I learned to stop butting heads with my parents (for the most part). I got married. I had kids. And more kids. I learned to read. I learned to type. I learned to drive (sorry Mom, those were horrible hours in the Kmart parking lot!). I learned to live on my own. I learned how to cook. I learned that coming home isn't always a bad thing to do. I haven't learned patience yet, so maybe I should put that on a "to do by the time I'm 40 list". Any suggestions for my list?