Tomorrow is Livia’s golden birthday—seven on May 7th! We baked, frosted and decorated funfetti cupcakes to deliver to her kindergarten classroom today. Based on the hovering, exclaiming crowd of children surrounding Liv this morning, I’d say the cupcakes will be a success. Oh my goodness, the cuteness I encounter every morning in the kindergarten wing kills me. Those kids are adorable.
Yesterday, amidst a small group discussion about finding contentment in Christ—no matter where you are in life—the topic of blog competition/comparison was brought up. It’s so easy to look at people’s websites and imagine each one tells the entirety of that blogger’s life. You begin to wonder why your life doesn’t seem as wonderful as theirs. Just so you’re never tempted to think that of me, I’ve got evidence of the mess of cupcake-making with my child.
Here’s the end result: a charming cupcake.
Let’s dig a little deeper and imagine what went into making that cupcake. It’s the end of the day and the birthday girl is dead-set on baking with mommy. Mommy wants a drink and a recliner. Alas, the duo whips up a boxed mix, cools the little cakes, then tints a batch of frosting. The tint, notorious for staining *everything* it touches, does that just. Opened by six-year-old fingers, it stains the countertop, her fingers and face, and her clothes. Mommy tries to be cool, takes a few deep breaths and hands her daughter the sprinkles. A few quick swipes of frosting and it’s sprinkle time. Incidentally, sprinkles are the pinnacle of awesomeness to a six-year-old and she proceeds to POUR the little beads all over the counter. Whoops, she says, didn’t know it was open! Replay the last few sentences 24 times and you have a good picture of the final moments of our night.
There might have been more sprinkles on the counter and floor than on the cupcakes.
Jeremy still feels them under his toes this morning.
Finally, the scene of the crime. My kitchen looks just like this right now, 14 hours later. Minus the cupcakes, which are being admired in an elementary school near you.
7 Comments
happygirl May 6, 2011 9:18 AM
I love golden birthdays. Mine was on May 8th, when I was eight. haha Cupcakes look delicious and the drink and recliner sound GREAT.
Lindsey May 6, 2011 9:20 AM
Hooray for golden birthdays! I still remember mine with distinction :) I need to take more pictures of the carnage in my kitchen whenever I bake–it is a MESS. Props to you on not baking the cupcakes after Liv went to bed (so what I would want to do) since cooking with kids is uh, not the Norman Rockwell picture some people think it is. And hey, isn’t this why you have a dog? To lick up all those sprinkles? I will readily admit that I clean the floor less than I should because I know anything spilt will be “cleaned up” for me.
Kerri May 6, 2011 10:02 AM
What a gyp. My golden birthday was when I was one. In consequence, I have never made a big deal of my own children’s golden birthdays, just because. I know this makes me sound petty. And lazy. Probably because I am.
My favorite sentence of this post: “Mommy wants a drink and a recliner.” Make mine a G&T, please.
Jen May 6, 2011 10:12 AM
Love seeing the application of our contentment talk. Thanks for showing us the s*** behind the kleenex box. :)
I am still a bit jealous, though. There is something about the eager desire of little ones to help and the extra work they create that is so endearing to me. Especially now that mine are so big.
Finally, I didn’t know what a golden birthday was until Debbie R.’s mother turned 77 on 7/7/2007, and was featured in the paper!
Karen P May 6, 2011 10:36 AM
All I can say is for a person who is trying to avoid “the sugar”, those are some darn good looking cupcakes.
MBradley May 6, 2011 1:09 PM
So my complaint is that even with such a mess, your photography still manages to make it look picturesque. Ah, the decadence! Hope someone saved a cupcake or two for Mommy as a reward for all that hard work!
Bryonie May 6, 2011 6:54 PM
Love these! Beautiful work!