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Saturday, September 5, 2009

Hanging Up the Cape.

You might know this about me: I am an overachiever. I wasn't in high school - I was far too awesome to be bothered with schoolwork (or to even show up, for that matter) - but as I got older and matured a little bit, I found that I absolutely thrive on having too much to do and too little time to do it.

I've always embraced the SuperMom persona, because it makes my brain feel better. Running around like a headless chicken keeps the anxiety away. It isn't at all unusual to find me writing up a parenting article for some online publication, while simultaneously making something for dinner, vacuuming the living room, calling the salon to make haircut appointments, changing a diaper, brushing someone's hair, and listening to a podcast of This American Life.

This SuperMom always makes fancy cakes for the kids' birthdays. I spend hours sometimes, decorating the cake to look exactly like whatever the birthday girl (or boy) picked out. Sometimes I use three or four cake mixes, even though only eight or ten people will be eating it, just to make the cake look perfect. I make fondant and twenty or thirty icing colors, of need be. I spare nothing to make my kids' cakes memorable.

But this birthday is different. Today, I did the the unthinkable.

I purchased The Babe's cake.

I spent fifteen dollars on a quarter sheet cake at Meijer, just so I could have an extra hour to wrap gifts. (Yeah, it takes an hour to wrap four gifts in this house, because the Birthday Boy can't keep his spying self out of the bedroom. He's starting young.) I was pleasantly surprised with the cake - it doesn't look horrible at all. I guess I spend too much time here, and was expecting something atrocious. I doubt the cake will taste as delicious as the ones I make, especially since they use that funky commercial frosting full of shortening. But it looks alright, and I'm sure The Babe will love it.

Don't worry, I'll be back multitasking like a maniac on Monday. But this weekend, SuperMom's on break. I'm hanging up my cape - for now.

2 comments:

Lisa said...

Girl, he won't remember or care what kind of cake he had for his first birthday! No big deal.

For Iry's 1st birthday I made an all natural carrot cake from scratch with cream cheese and smooshed banana frosting. For her second birthday my aunt made her real strawberry shortcake. For Piper's first birthday we just had frozen yogurt and for Piper's second birthday the grocery store made her a Dora cake out of cupcakes and globs of frosting, and everybody was happy. It happens to all kids eventually.

I think you've got other things to do, lol.

Caz said...

You go girl... you deserve a break from supermomhood! He'll never notice the cake and it will be delicious and eaten and you will be less stressed for it.

Happy birthday little one :)