Trials and Tribulations of a Birthday Cake...

Who would have thought that making a birthday cake would be in short, such a comedy of errors! My four year old daughter, Fiona, turned four yesterday. She originally wanted a fairytopia birthday cake. So we made the fairytopia invitations, and decided on a fairy like craft project for her party and all was good. The school secretary at Fiona's preschool even loaned me a cake mold so I could make her a doll cake. WELL... thirty six hours before her party (a day and a half!) she decides, with all of her heart of course, that she wants (and has to have!) a Mickey Mouse birthday cake. So, it is the night before her party and I need to make the fairy cake a mouse cake! Let me preface all of this with the fact that although I may be a crafty person, a pastry chef I am not! I did the best that I could and by 2:00 a.m. the cake was finally done. I was quite worried about the fact that Mickey was pink and not the traditional brown and red (I only bought pastel food coloring!). I tossed and turned all night hoping that it looked enough like Mickey Mouse to please her on her birthday. I guess the saying "don't sweat the small stuff" is really true here; the cake was perfect for her. She didn't care that her Mickey cake was pink and white instead of red and brown, or that his ears were actually cookies and not cake at all. The look on her face when she saw it, and hearing her exclaim "it's a pink Mickey, he's great!" was enough to make my whole year. I wish sometimes that I could look at the world like she does: in wonder and aah of everything. Their lives are so simple in that the smallest things make the best impressions on them. Like eating popcorn on the floor with their daddy, or sitting on the front porch swing to watch the birds at the bird feeder, or even the greatness of a pink Mickey Mouse cake! I wish everyone a wondrous and aah filled day! Cassie