The Things We Do For Our Kids

So I had a wedding cake to do for Katie Peterson from our church and her wedding was last Saturday. As I was prepping for it a few days earlier my son says to me "Oh Mum, by the way, I told my teachers that you would make a cake for our class Christmas Party!" As sighs went off quietly in my head I calmly said to him "Ok, and what day is that for Zachary?" "Next Wednesday" he says.

So really, no big deal. I'll whip up a rectangular cake, toss some icing on it and call 'er done.

No chance.

This is how the conversation went two days later, while I am in the middle of completing a 3-tiered wedding cake for 160 people:

Z: "Mum, what have you got planned for my class cake?"
Me: "Ummm..... planned?"
Z: "Yeah, is it going to be a 2 tiered or 3 tiered fondant cake ?"

WHOA! Back up the grocery truck! We are talking about a class of grade 5 students and two teachers here, who are probably so run off of their feet they would eat ANYthing as long as they didn't have to prepare it themselves !!!!

Me: "Ummm.... well Zachary, it's going to be a ONE-TIERED cake with no fondant in sight. Plus, children don't like fondant."
Z:"Seriously???? Coz I don't want it to be a lame cake."

Insert thought - so apparently, every other cake I have ever made if not for a wedding, baby shower, engagement party etc., has fallen under the 'lame' category. To my son, who has probably seen more cherry blossoms than any 10 year old boy would wish to see, it appears that any 'normal' cake (you know, the ones we ALL make.....) is 'lame'.

Me: "Oh really? And what exactly were you expecting on this NON-LAME cake of yours?"
Z: "Well not too much, just Santa in the sleigh being pulled by his reindeer."

Right. Not happening!

Me: "I'll give you a snowman and 3 trees and that's it."
Zachary: "Alright then."

Then after the fact I remembered something.... when I was young my parents were always having people over for dinner. It involved us three children having an earlier supper, and my Mum working away in the kitchen to prepare their friends a meal at which time us 3 kids would disappear to play in our rooms together and stay out of the way. Then one week my parents told us they were having friends over again (which had been happening a lot at this time) and explained that the same routine would ensue. Well, as a treat they had actually prepared the meal for US! The fondue set which was usually only brought out for the special guests, was intended for us kids - WE were the special guests! And then I thought that this cake was kind of like that; Zachary watches me do all of these special cakes for other people and I thought, you know what? He is as special as any one of them.... (More so - he's mine !) So the snowman and trees were not 'iced on' but were made with the 3-D dimensions and love that only a mother can give. And a little extra effort was taken to make sure that the snow looked just right and that the holly he requested made it into all 3 corners.

I hope I take more time in the future not to be so busy for people around me, that I don't notice the little things that make my children's eyes light up.

Footnote: the fondant trees and snowman? Apparently eaten by the entire class in little chunks.
And finally yesterday when unpacking his backpack....

"Zachary - why didn't you eat any of your lunch?" "I was too busy serving people cake....."

:)