Sweets for the sweet

This is the kind of "sponge" cake you were thinking right?! What 6-year-old boy would want anything but a yellow sponge that wears clothes? It's a big deal to me to make my kids birthday cakes. No bakery, no store-bought, no, never. One of my psychological hang-ups is the need to bake and decorate all child b-day cakes myself. I hope some day my children can look back at their b-day cakes and see all the mommy love that went into cake creations that were admittedly far from perfect. To begin I always have a birthday cake consultation with the soon-to-be star of the day about interests and dream birthday celebrations. This latest interview resulted in my first character cake and don't think I didn't ask "Are you sure you want Sponge Bob? Really, really sure??? 100%??" I'm not a big fan of duplicating characters or promoting TV watching, but this year I caved. Maybe it had to do with Brendan coming off a 5-day flu bug. Regardless he got his wish. Hopefully I can avoid making another Nickelodeon cake for the youngest in two months.

I have taken a few cake decorating classes to learn some tricks and get just a bit better than before. Having the right tools makes a big difference. And if you crave vibrant colors like I do you have to use gel paste to color the icing.

These are for the classmates. Since I'm behind for Cara's birthday, I'm settling up both birthdays by sending sugar cookies to school tomorrow with both Cara and Brendan. I made myself do something simple—bright and happy birthday colors with lots of colored sprinkles. Only when I snapped this picture did I notice how the Nancy Thomas studio prints resting on the counter had inspired my cookies. How obvious.

Happy 6th birthday Brendan...you're the sweetest boy I know.

XX00X Love, Mom