Birthday Cake

Well, as usual, it has been a busy few days. Yesterday was the main cause as it was child #3's 7th birthday. Monday evening was therefore dedicated to birthday preparation. Having previously purchased a bike (and my bank manager was already stood with her arms folded, stern faced, shaking her head in disapproval at the cost of that!) I then had that familiar motherly panic of 'but he won't have anything to unwrap...he will be upset... etc etc.' Inevitably I returned shortly with 3 cheap, but none the less brilliant, wrap-able gifts. 


By 10pm balloons and birthday banners strewed the living room ready for the morning. If you can't fuss about birthdays when you are seven, when can you? Child #2 (whilst blowing up a few balloons) commented 'This is ace...he will love it...you never did this for me!" I sighed, before explaining that I DID do stuff like this for her but she just doesn't remember! If only I had kept this blog then to prove it. Maybe I can hunt down some photos instead?


Whilst all this was going on child #1 was lovingly and skilfully preparing a birthday cake, in the shape of a football. Doesn't that sound idyllic? She announced this plan earlier in the day and, with a slight raised eyebrow, I went along with it and purchased the necessary ingredients. True to her word she began baking at 9pm (I was a little concerned by this point that I would be the one baking) and stage one was relatively successful. 

Then she began the icing. This is where the cursing, growling and minor screaming started and that idyllic scene I described before went out the window! "Its sticking to the worktop!!!...it won't work....I can't do it!!!" I poured a glass of wine (for me), and calmly showed her how to roll the icing out and then remove it from the worktop to place it on the cake. Tranquillity was partially restored again...until she started on the black 'pentagons' (which I pointed out were in fact hexagons). I had retired to a room at the front of the house (out of earshot) with said glass of wine by this point and assumed all was going well. I was interrupted by child #2 reporting 'Mum...I think you better go and help again...its not good!!' The scene I arrived to was a worktop smothered in a black/grey sloppy mess, a rolling pin in a similar state and child #1 with black hands, face, clothes, shoes and hair. I did try to remain straight faced but failed miserably only to be told "MUM!!...this ISN'T funny - LOOK!!!!'  With a little re-engineering we finished the cake together and all was calm again, maybe not edible, but calm. And then She cleaned up the mess...wonders will never cease!

And the finished product...





I will reserve judgement until I have tasted this one! 

Oblivious to all of this chaos, child #3 had a fab birthday, and loved his cake. We went out for the day to the local 'Ice Cream Farm'. Its a great day out...cow milking, play areas, gift shops and, of course, Ice cream! There are just so many different flavours but between us we managed to test out the Baileys, Lemon Meringue, Mango and Passion Fruit and Rhubarb and Custard ones. Delicious! (If you are now desperate to try these for yourself then here is the link http://www.cheshirefarmicecream.co.uk/.)


So that's it for birthdays in our house until after Christmas, no doubt my children will soon be counting the days for that event! 


Here are some birthday pictures..