Well, the day she had been waiting for all year finally arrived May "fourfh." I made the mistake of telling her that her birthday was almost here around the beginning of April, so I spent the rest of April and the beginning of May answering endless questions of "how many more days until it's my birthday." A few days before the "big day" she asked again..."how many more days until my birthday." Excitedly I replied "just two more days...not today, not tomorrow, but next day." With a loud sigh of disappointment she said, "but Mommy that's a long time and I've been waiting all year for my birthday!" (Haven't we all!)
I really tried my best to have a simple, low-key birthday party for her, but the OCD "event planner" in me just can't seem to abide by the old adage K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid). We decided to have the party up at our neighborhood pool...that part was easy, but then came the cake. I've always ordered cakes and was on track to do the same this year. Ella had been eyeing the princess or castle cakes for months. So, we went to the store to pick it out and of course she picked the most expensive option, the castle cake. I'm not sure if it was the $50 price tag for the cake that would be devoured by 4-year-olds who could care less or the fact that I can't seem to abide by the K.I.S.S. principle that made me do it. Anyway, as we're checking out I spotted the Betty Crocker Birthday Parties magazine. I scanned it and found the most adorable flip flop cake that looked "so easy." Ella really liked it and decided she wanted the flip flops instead of the castle, which surprised me.
So, I decided to give it a try! No big deal, right? No big deal if all of the ingredients are available. The flip flop straps called for Green Apple Fruit by the Foot. Didn't seem like a hard thing to find, wrong! After buying about 20 boxes of Fruit by the Foot from 5 different stores, I decided to scrap the idea and go for fondant at Michaels. Needless to say, I think I spent more on the "homemade cake" than I would have it I had ordered the "expensive" castle cake.
To top it all off, I had planned on making the cake during Ella and Isaac's naps. Ella was so excited on Friday that she couldn't see straight, so after about 50 min. of coming out of her room ever 5 min. and asking questions, I ended up telling her she didn't have to take a nap. Then all hell broke loose! She started crying about something and I then I heard Isaac wake up. I began to lose it and my poor sister was here to witness the cake making chaos! It ended up turning out cute (thanks to help from my sis) and Ella liked it, but now I'm in cake making therapy, so I'm not sure that it was worth it.
Happy Birthday, Sweetheart! I hope you enjoyed your cake, because I'm not sure I'll be making one next year.
Seriously though, it's not about the cake it's about Ella and I feel so blessed to be her Mommy. She's an amazing little girl with so much enthusiasm, intensity, and a love for life. You are a precious gift!
