Whopper Cake (or Big Pile of Pooh)

Buddy Boy was Star of the Week this week. Yeah, wow! OK, not so wow. Every kid gets to be Star of the Week. All this really means is a lot of extra work for Mommy (aka: me). Monday he was to bring photos of his friends, family and favorite things with the class. Friday, a special friend could come to school with him to share a favorite story and a yummy, nut free, non-candy, over-processed, over-preserved, individually wrapped treat with the class.

Last Friday he brought home the empty photo album. He was actually given the option of filling it with pictures or making a poster. Of course my kid chose the poster. OF COURSE…because he’s my kid and he’s inherited the “do everything the hard creative way” gene. The poster was his idea, but it was my project. I was up until 2 AM Sunday night working on it. His poster rocks…of course.

For his story, Buddy Boy chose Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson. It’s a really cute book about a Granddad who makes a whoppin’ big cake for Grandma’s birthday. It has a recipe in the back, so I had the brilliant idea to make the cake in the classroom with the students for the treat. I was shocked when the administration gave the OK – as long as I brought unopened ingredients to work with. (You know, so I wouldn’t poison the kiddos…because I might do such a thing.)

OK, before I get too snarky, let me give you a little background.

** (optional reading - skip this part if you’re in a hurry to check off all those other blogs on your reader list.) **

• Buddy Boy’s school is a faith-based school.
• I was raised in a very fundamental religious environment, and attended parochial school from grade 1 through college.
• At one point, I seriously considered entering the seminary. (OK, maybe not that seriously, but I did considered it.)
• I no longer practice my religion.
• The Man is a lapsed Catholic.
• We have not tackled the subject of God with our kids…yet.
• In general, our part of Texas is populated by very conservative, devout people. God is ever-present in our community.
• I do not have a problem with God.
• I have a HUGE problem with dogma.
• I asked questions about the role of doctrine in the classroom before enrolling Buddy Boy in this school.
• I was told one thing, experienced another, and spent the first couple of months trying desperately to convince people that while I am religionless, I am NOT a High Priestess of the Prince of Darkness.

** (resume reading here) **

So, back to today. I went to school with my boy. I brought unopened packages of all the ingredients for our cake. I brought aprons and spoons for all the kiddos. I premeasured and made certain that every child had a part to play in the making of the Whopper Cake. It was fun.  I baked the cake in the kitchen of the fellowship hall while the kiddos were learning, playing, and doing whatever pre-k'ers do at school.

Now I've got to tell ya, there are people in this world who will eat whatever comes out of my kitchen. I wouldn’t say I’ve got mad skills, but people like my cookin'. And desserts are my specialty. Need proof? Here’s proof:

Buddy Boy's NASCAR cake - and yes, the cars were sinking in a sea of dark chocolate.  What can I say?  It was 95 degrees that day.  It was still a heckuva cake.

Hello Kitty CakePops for Ladybug's last birthday - so sweet they rotted teeth on contact, but they were too too cute. (Bakerella gets the credit for sharing the idea and how-tos.  She's amazing, you should check her out!)

And then here’s the Whopper Cake…or as I refer to it, The Pile of Pooh. Dig in!

Don’t ask. I have no idea what happened to this cake. Maybe it was the Devil getting back at me for declining the High Priestess position. I dunno.  What I do know is that I’ve got the sweetest kid in the world. When I asked Buddy Boy what he thought of the cake he said, “It was GREAT!” When I asked him if his friends liked it he said, “Oh, they LOVED it!” When I asked him if it was a mess he said, “Yes Mommy, it was a WHOPPER mess! But I don’t want your feelings to be hurt. It was really good!” And then I cried a little…and ate some pooh…and you know, he was right. It was pretty good – even it if did look like pooh.

Happy Friday everybody.  I hope you had a whopper of a day (and not in a pooh way.)

It's Follow Friday - play along.