The day started with a dead car battery...not a good sign! But thanks to Patrick's dad - we have this bomb portable battery charger - a day saver! Got me to KP to swim, got me home from KP, got the kids to school...but could I chance it when mom would be home alone and Patrick was at work clear across town....probably NOT! That made a "plan B" necessary - the cake I planned to make required a quick trip to the grocery. Off to Pinterest...
To search for chocolate cake recipes...that required only stuff I already have in the house! And since I'm on here and I love Pinterest...the perfect buttercream and some ideas/examples of how to decorate a pig cake (with only stuff I have in the house!)
Success! Let the baking begin...
How 'bout that? A one bowl, delightful, made-from-scratch chocolate cake! You can almost tell from the color that it's going to be good!
While they cool - dig out the hidden present and wrap it (with only the paper and ribbon we have in the house!)
Then it was time to recharge my battery, make a quick list of "still to do" things and go pick up the kids from school...first Peyton, then a trip to pick up gluten-free cupcakes for Raegan, pick up Murph, pick up Raegan, drop off the girls and head to Sprouts for a gluten-free pizza...
Who knew there were so many choices when it comes to gluten-free pizza...so a quick photo text to Raegan, a decision and we're headed home to show Peyton her cake!
Not bad considering I didn't shop for anything - I made a cupcake for the nose, used marshmallows for the eyes and nostrils (what a gross word to use for something you eat!) and chocolate chips for the eyeballs. The ears - those were my most creative idea...I took the top of the cake that I cut off to level it out, the top of the cupcake I didn't need and mixed it with extra frosting (that I could've eaten!) and made "cakeball ears" that I put in the freezer, then frosted. They were delicious according to Peyton and Alexis!
Having an entire day off to prepare for something like this seemed like an eternity "back in the day" when I was lucky to leave work by 4:30 to be stuck in traffic and drag home in full panic attack mode by 5:45. I guess it's like the purse thing...the bigger the purse, the more crap you'll carry. The more time you have, the more time you'll use.
Anyway, we had a table at Double Dave's pizza at 6:00 and jumping at Altitude was from 7:00pm - 10:00pm. Plenty of time??? Nope! Alexis called - could we pick her up? Of course! Patrick called - running late at work and would meet us at DD's. Hmmmmm????....how on Earth am I going to get 4 kids, presents, a gluten-free pizza, gluten-free cupcakes, a cake carrier, mom, her walker and me to DD's in the Kia??? Sorry Murph! You're going to have to wait for Daddy and come in the Taurus after. I think he was relieved! 3 girls, my mom and me in full-on birthday anxiety mode in one car. NO PROBLEM, I'D LOVE TO WAIT FOR DADDY!
From there on - everything went beautifully - good pizza, good fountain drinks, really good cake (I recommend the one-bowl decadent chocolate cake and Martha Stewart's perfect buttercream frosting!) Patrick and Murph showed up very soon after, Mom did NOT have an anxiety attack - I think she actually enjoyed her venture out for a change. She had no idea it was Peyton's birthday - but those kind of things are becoming less and less weird.
Good friends make everything fun - love it when the girls are just getting along being girls!
Make-your-own lip balm, lotions, crafts, bracelets, bands and finally, a RAINBOW LOOM!
I would love to post pictures of the girls at Altitude, but after I ran Murph and Mom home, got her set up for bed-time, got him all his instructions, got mom her pills and put away the birthday paraphenalia, I left my phone at home plugged in to the charger. I am not one of those people lost without my phone, but I would have loved to capture the pure joy of girls jumping, flipping, running, playing tag, laughing and just being friends.
It was a great day. It's so hard for me to believe my baby is 12. When I close my eyes I can still see her perfect fingers and toes and smell her perfect Johnson's Baby Wash smell and feel her cheek on mine. I am thankful every day for her - especially for the fact that she isn't growing up too fast. She still likes to play imagination games, she loves her stuffies, she's still snuggly, she still needs us and values our opinions and works to make us proud. I know she is growing up - I know she giggles more about boys now, she is totally tech-savvy, she is fearless, she is more independent, she is thinking things through and forming her own opinions and deciding who she wants to be. I pray that we avoid that teenage daughter/mother angst, but it won't surprise me and I will do whatever it takes to make sure it's not a permanent thing.
I love you Peyton Peanut Potter Teeter Totter Murphy. I can already tell that you are going to be one awesome 12-year-old!
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