Sunday, May 29, 2011

It's My Party

I always get a little anxious when it's time to plan the girls' birthdays. Treading that fine line between what they want and what we can manage. Anna's 6th birthday is the perfect example. She wanted a massive party, at a park, with everyone from her preschool to be invited. Except she also goes to Kindergarten, but she didn't want to invite any of her Kindergarten classmates. I suppose she's known her preschool buddies longer, but for a start, that was odd. Also, several key players that she wanted to invite had already had their birthdays earlier in the year without Anna. I think she's happily oblivious to this, but I'm not. I hurt for her. Then we had an issue with her wanting two key guests, her best friends, but they both had conflicts on the weekends either side of her birthday. It was turning in to a logistical nightmare, and I was starting to hyperventilate.

We ended up compromising, and thought small and early. We bumped her party up by a week so everyone could come. We invited three of her closest hang-out friends. We're doing a sleepover tonight and they are currently having mani-pedis at a local salon for the bargain price of $13 a child. That's in my price range (although, being the anxious sort I'm now wondering if $13 in Korean-American is actually $30....).

Meanwhile I am busy crafting another fabulously bad homemade cake (why do they never come out of the pan in one piece for me??!!), decorating the house and enjoying some quiet while Lucy naps. We have pizza, games, and a movie for tonight's entertainment. After their manicure/pedicures, LK is taking them to the Polo Club to see the horses and have 'tea' on the main veranda. A packed program - hopefully they all crash out by 10pm!!

I think Anna is happy with her economy-sized party. I suspect the main reason she wanted an Annapalooza party was to score huge numbers of presents. I think she'll have much more fun having girl time with her best friends. It's hard when they get older and they spend all year crafting the perfect party in their head. After we hijacked her giant park-party she wasn't going to leave anything to chance, so when I said I'd be making her cake this afternoon - she went so far as to dash off a quick drawing, so I could bake one to her specifications.

In case it's not perfectly clear, she wanted blue icing, strawberries around the edge, and the black blob 'represents something amazing in the middle'. *Sigh*

This is what I came up with. It's uncanny isn't it?? If uncanny means a culinary horror.




I really hope I don't have to eat any.

9 comments:

Nicola said...

I'll have some! Looks delicious to me. but then you haven't seen my efforts on the cake making front. Actually you might be fooled by photos of my efforts into thinking they are edible. Maybe this is the case with this cake too? In that case, if we truly are as bad as each other, I think I might pass...leave more to sugar the kids up with so they don't fall asleep until at least midnight, right??!!

Kristin said...

The cake is very cute. Also, I can't believe that 6 year olds have sleepovers! I have a 4 year old and we aren't even really at the stage of leaving him at a play date yet (although hopefully that comes soon), so I can't imagine a sleepover. I hope Anna has a wonderful birthday!

Sugarplum's Mom said...

Happy Birthday Anna! It sounds like she had a wonderful time.

Looks like the cake came out great! I have found my greatest success with de-panning cake to be the use of Pam for baking. I don't flour the pans anymore, the pam for baking has some flour in it. I also leave them in the pans for about 10 minutes when I first take them out of the oven and then turn them out.

Jane said...

Wow - you are indeed skilled at interpreting a 6 year olds directions. Bet Anna loved it!

Rachel said...

I think your cake looks delightful. I think the 6 in the middle definitely qualifies as something amazing.

The single best way to de-pan cake in one piece is to butter the pan with cold butter and line the bottom with parchment paper. Cooking spray, warm butter and flour can all get soaked into the batter, especially when the weather is warm. As long as you remember to peel off the parchment paper before you ice the cake, it will turn out perfect. Heck even if you leave the paper on it will look beautiful (no need to crumb coat!) it will just be hard to slice...or chew.

'Cross the Pond said...

I think it looks pretty good! I'll have a slice, please ship to London. Loved the post. My daughter is turning 4 this weekend and we're having a fairy tea party with a balloon lady and face painting at a tea shop in Hampstead with her six best friends. But I am attempting her cake solo this weekend - a pink fairy cake, whatever that might be. Hope the party/sleepover went well!

Erica said...

The cake is very cute! Sounds like she had a wonderful time.

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