Cake Walk Cuties

It is so very hard for me to believe my lil boy is going to be starting elementary school next year. It was only yesterday that he looked like this, and I was a crying heap of a mess with milk-engorged leaky boobs and a floppy postpartum tummy wondering what the f*ck I was doing. Newborn-baby-time was the craziest time. Now, he is almost FIVE, which pains me so deeply, watching bittersweetly as his legs elongate further every day, feeling so proud of the sweet, thoughtful and wild boy he’s become, yet so heartsick with yearning. His new school is just a few blocks away in our own neighborhood, which makes me happy. They hosted their annual school carnival so I volunteered to make two cakes for the cake walk!! I figured I knew I would be donating cakes in the future so may as well start now! Plus, we would attend the carnival too just to get Teddy excited about his school, and get him used to the walk! So I made these two cake walk cuties: ruffly edges, sprinkles, bright colours, and vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream.

The carnival was a blur of games, bouncy castles, cotton candy buckets, hot dogs and tables full of cakes donated by parents – they had over 100 cakes for the cake walk! We had two little red tickets left to blow at the carnival before we had to get home for bedtime – wild man Teddy had already been burning the candle at both ends running around, bouncing, playing games and having a blast. I kind of sensed that entering the cake walk at this final hour was probably creeping into meltdown territory, and before I could explain to Teddy about the cake walk – i.e., that only one person wins a cake… he had already presented his tickets and ran off to stand on a number while Bruno Mars kicked in. The walk was on. The adult boogying began. The kids danced like no one was watching. The music stopped. The number was drawn… and it was not ours!! When T realized he didn’t win I immediately saw his little face and body crumble into a million disappointments and the tears began to pour out with a big, overtired wail of sadness…

Thank God for the bucket of cotton candy, his eyelashes blinking with tears and a look of sheer sadness on his face as he emotional-ate blue sugared fluff until a stained blue moustache appeared. And, now apparently for his upcoming 5th birthday we are having a “cake walk theme” whereby “you can make all the cakes, mommy!” Hmmm…. PS I can’t believe it’s already Summer with a capital S. We’ll be celebrating Christmas again before you know it. xo Lyndsay