29 October 2009

Nat's 4½th Birthday

It's not Nat's birthday.

But he's 4½ and he has noticed that last year at kindy, he didn't have a party for his 3rd birthday (because he hadn't started attending yet) and this year at kindy, he didn't have a party for his 4th birthday (because we hadn't moved here yet.)

So he's been ripped off.

The kindy teacher and I have decided to celebrate his 4½th birthday (say it out loud: fourandahalfth) sometime soon. The teacher is very flexible - she says I can just bring some little cakes along one morning and say, "We're doing it" and it will happen at morning tea.

That's easy.

I've even made 24 little cupcakes and frozen them, and so the icing doesn't come to grief during the car trip I've packed up icing sugar, bowls, a knife for spreading, food colouring to make different colours and sprinkles to make them magical (you know kids think sprinkles make the world turn around) and a giant tray to put them on.

That's easy too.

Getting it all to kindy one morning when we're not late and haven't forgotten anything like Nat's LUNCH or SHOES and icing the 24 little cakes before morning tea (so they don't get all mushed up in the car because I forget they're there and take a corner too fast) while Joseph lies on his back on a rug and screams his lungs out because I'm doing stupid culinary things instead of cuddling him and people start thinking I'm a bad Mum...

Not so easy.

Alternatively: icing them all at home and driving really slowly to kindy so they don't get mushed up and roll around on their giant tray and when I get to kindy wonder how I am going to get:
• a 4½ year old (+ bag, +hat, +lunchbox, +morning tea box, +waterbottle +on-the-spot sunscreening as per my written agreement) into kindy,
• a 2½ year old (+multiple tantrums) into kindy,
• a baby (+screaming, +wriggling) into kindy, and
• a giant tray of 24 cupcakes (+icing, +sprinkles) into kindy
...when really each one of those listed above could do with their own individual run into kindy with the obvious drawback of parents walking by the car during my 60-second dashes into kindy wondering why the remaining children have been abandoned (for all they know, abandoned for EVER) by a heartless mother who should be reported to the police...

Also not that easy.

Well, when I play it out in my mind, that's how it would go down. I'd end up in jail.

Now if I had my Magic Wand (the Photoshop Wand I mentioned a few days ago) I'd whip up the same cakes I made for Nat's real birthday in March.

Cos back then, I had my ACT TOGETHER!

10 comments:

♥ Boomer ♥ said...

That is just so cute!!!!

Heather said...

One suggestion for cupcake transport: put the cupcakes back into the muffin pan that you baked them in (you know, the one that looks like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B00008W70J/sr=1-1/qid=1256816060/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=284507&s=kitchen&qid=1256816060&sr=1-1 ) and that way they at least can't roll around, and you only have to worry about keeping one or two trays still for the ride.


On a related note, Kiddo announced to us at dinner the other night that she had invited her entire class plus several children from the other first grade classes with whom she plays at recess to her six and a halfth birthday party next month. At Chuck E. Cheese's (which, if you don't have such a place Down Under, is something you should google whilst thanking your luckiest of stars that there's no such thing in your town). And apparently all the kids are coming. Well, one kid said he wouldn't go to CEC but Kiddo pressed him for the *why* and found out it was because he doesn't like the pizza there. (Kid's got taste in that case, because Chuck E.'s pizza is truly awful.) She assured him that her mom would make him a sandwich instead, so now he's coming too.

We had to break the news to Kiddo that she only gets ONE birthday party per year, and that is for a WHOLE birthday, not half, and that will happen in MAY.

:P We're such party poopers.

Allegro ma non troppo said...

How about something like Ice Magic? You squeeze it out of a bottle and it hardens? Well, I've never tried it, but the ads look great. You could set the cupcakes out on the tray and criss-cross them with chocolate drizzle.

Or you could find a bakery which delivers...

CraftyMummy said...

All of that speaks to me... I hear you and totally know the feelings. Thanks so much for sharing your blog with me. It has made me smile and/or giggle every day since;-)

Femina said...

Crazy Sister - Ice Magic only works on ice cream or frozen/cold things. She would have to put the cupcakes in the freezer to make it set. Trust me, I know - I speak as a Recovering Ice Magic Addict... who once, in a hormonally-charged food frenzy, once squeezed Ice Magic onto a bowl of custard and stuck it in the freezer for ten minutes to make it set. Yep, choc chip vanilla custard.

Tracy P. said...

1. I STILL think sprinkles make the world go around.
2. I would totally go with you and help you carry everything. And sprinkle sprinkles.
3. I still want one of those wands.
4. If you lived where I live, you would be buying them in boxes at the store, because you can't take homemade stuff to school. There's a house for sale in my neighborhood...
5. I know you'll get it figured out just fine. If it's sweet and has sprinkles, it's all good.

The Accidental Housewife said...

Tell the 4.5 yo to carry all his own stuff, or he won't get any cupcakes. If necessary, attach gear to said kid with occy straps.
Bribe the 2.5 yo with sprinkles to alleviate tantrums. If this fails, use occy straps to secure to older brother.
Stick the baby in a carrier, and leave him in there the whole time. Baby carrier can probably be made with occy straps. Carry in cakes. Ice cakes. Eat a cake (you know you'll want one by now). Beat a hasty exit, remembering to detach middle child from elder child before leaving. Eat another cupcake. Easy!

CynthiaK said...

Oh, this is so timely! Just tonight at the dinner table Max was inquiring why he did not get a "real" birthday party back in September when he turned four but all of his friends are getting parties and when can he have his?

My response ("for your fifth birthday next year, we'll have a great party for you and your friends") elicited this - "and I'm five next week!"

Yeah.

And, for the record, you are a good mom for even attempting all of this half birthday stuff to make your little man happy.

Oh, one more thing: cupcakes always taste good, even if they've been flipped over in the tin and bashed around. :)

Swift Jan said...

Does it have to be cupcakes? I just made a square cake for kindy, it fitted nicely in a tupperware container & was easy to transport! It of course had sprinkles on top :)

Sassy Britches said...

Can you just say kindy one more time? Because it makes me giggle.