Ten years ago for my eldest son’s first birthday, I decorated my first cake – and I am not talking about whipping out a can of Betty Crocker icing and slathering it on some baked chocolatey goodness. Rather, I am talking about making my own Buttercream icing, separating it out into multiple bowls, coloring each bowl of icing just the right shade of necessary pigment, and then using a cake decorating set to bring to life to the various cartoon characters beloved by my children, and requested by them for their special day. A good friend introduced me to this whole process for her son’s first birthday and I thought – “how hard can it be to decorate one of these cakes?” Boy was I overly full of my super mommy skills. While I did manage to pull off a stellar Lightening McQueen cake for my son’s first birthday, it took me about 5 hours to do so and the aftermath of destruction in my kitchen was beyond words. Yet the squeals of delight when he saw his cake made the whole painful process well worth it.
Fast forward to today and these special request birthday cakes have become tradition. From Elmo, to Spongebob, to Cookie Monster and many other characters in-between; every birthday gets a one of a kind mommy made cake decorated with love and a lot of sugar. And there is no better feeling then the accolades of appreciation from my children once I have finished and they get to see their masterpiece. Thankfully I have perfected my process and what started out as a grueling endeavor has turned into a mini labor of love rooted in a timeless tradition.
What Motherhood Has Taught Me.... 
August 16, 2015 at 3:23 am
First, that cake is completely and utterly AWESOME! Talk about supermom skills! Second, as an adult whose mom use to do things like that, I can tell you that your children will remember those cakes forever. As they years go by, it won’t matter so much what design went on the cake as the love that went into creating them. The kitchen may end up looking like a disaster area, but it’s a physical demonstration of love that will speak to them loud and clear for the rest of their lives. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 16, 2015 at 3:31 am
Thank you for the compliment and the reaffirmation of what drives me to dive into these projects – that it’s not so much the cake design but the love that went into creating it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 16, 2015 at 4:18 am
It’s true, I had cheer bear and Ernie when I was a kid. There was also a jab a the hut for one of my cousins, Bert, a smurf, Oscar the Grouch…I remember all of them.
LikeLike