Zane is Two

Well, it's official..my first born little baby is NOT a baby anymore. He is quite the toddler, but I wouldn't go as far to say he's the "terrible" two (yet!). Sean finally came home from training in Vegas just in time for the festivities. The birthday theme was a no-brainer due to Zane's obsession of bananas; plus we call him our little monkey! I am not what I would call the domestic type, but becoming a mom, you feel as though you have to compete with all those truly domesticated moms out there that are always baking something neat or planning the best "get-togethers." Sooooo, I decided that I would make the "Monkey" cake for the party. Me..the "I'd rather do ten loads of laundry than cook" girl is going to bake the cake. My Type A personality doesn't allow me to do things with mediocracy, so a few trips to Michael's was needed to educate myself. I am always in awe of those cakes I see other moms manage to whip out; how hard can it be, right? After purchasing the entire aisle of the baking section in Michael's, I was ready for the "trial-run" cake. Yes, I had to make it twice in case it was a total failure and I had to resort to plan B. Plan B was ordering a cake from the old reliable, Wal-Mart! I must say, after 6 hours of mixing, baking, cooling, coloring icing and learning to use the icing decorating tips, the Monkey Cake was complete! My kitchen was a disaster area, but I thought the cake looked pretty good and tasted yummy! I didn't find out until too late that you can freeze your cakes until party time..the children at Playgroup got to sample the "trial-run" cake. It seems like a lot of work for such a small thing, but looking back, I'm glad I made it twice because the second time was much quicker and I had more confidence. I have to admit, I actually enjoyed myself once it was all said and done. Zane had a blast at the party despite the cold, rainy weather. Sean and I were stressed to the max trying to make things run smoothly, but a friend of ours reminded me later: "Don't you know that birthday parties are always stressful for the parents? What matters is that your child had fun." She was so right!