One girl, two cakes. And I put frosting all over Barbie.
Citrus has been counting down the days until her fourth birthday since she turned three. Last year we went to a local carousel in Maryland and invited a few friends from preschool and elsewhere. But in Singapore — at least our corner of Singapore — kids have their birthday party at school. [Click on the Barbie for a photo gallery.]
This was a shock. At the military Child Development Centers you cannot enter the buildings with any food. Not even a can of soda. There are mug shots of kids on the walls that list their allergies. In comparison, food is welcome at our daughter’s preschool in Singapore. Most days she comes out of school munching on someone else’s snacks. She was overjoyed when I put a baggie of carrots in her backpack and told me she was going to tell her friend that she did not need his Oreos because she had carrots!
The downside to birthdays at school is that parents do not expect to be invited to a party at your house. After all, that would be TWO birthday parties. But that’s their culture, not mine, so I made a cake for her class and was instructed to bring 20 goodie bags for the children. For class, I tried to draw Ariel from The Little Mermaid. It came out pretty well using only star tips for decorating once I transferred the picture outline with piping gel.
For our home, I tried using the Wonder Mold for the first time to make a princess cake. It was really a Barbie but our daughter thinks she is a princess. To me, it looks a little like a girl popping out of a giant Easter egg, but now I know what I need to do next time to make the dress look more realistic. Overall I am proud of how this turned out considering a) I discovered I did not have all the decorating tips needed and b) it was about 9 p.m. the night before the party when I realized that I was supposed to make about 200 flowers out of Royal icing. With a borrowed KitchenAid mixer that was leaking motor oil.
Elysia, meanwhile, ran a frantic production line of pizzas for about ten children. She made the dough a few nights in advance and we put out rolling pins and toppings. Top it off with pin-the-tail on the bunny (requested for a second year in a row by Citrus) and a pinata and . . . we were done.
The party ended at 1 p.m. and the three of us passed out from 2:00 until 5:30 p.m.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks like a fab birthday! Two princess cakes? What more could any girl want?! I suppose the countdown to five has already begun
.
How are you going to top THAT next year!??!
Happy Birthday, Citrus! I wish I could be there. What flavor were your cakes?
This is when you know you’re firmly ensconced in parenthood:
“The party ended at 1 p.m. and the three of us passed out from 2:00 until 5:30 p.m.”
In the old days, it would have been:
“The party ended at 1 a.m. the afterparty was from 2:00 until 5:30 a.m., and we passed out until 2:00 p.m.”