Happy 7th Birthday Abigail!
Yesterday was Abigail's 7th birthday. It was a big day involving sweet treats, gifts, parties and lots of little girls running around our house screaming!
The day started by taking treats to school. This is always tricky because the sweets have to be store bought. I've found a grocery store that carries cupcakes from Freed's Bakery which are peanut/tree nut safe. However, due to a conflict, we had to bring our treat at morning snack. Abigail wanted doughnuts. Well, as already posted, neither Krispy Kreme nor Dunkin Doughnuts are safe. I was stumped at what to bring, but finally remembered the "Sweet 16" powdered doughnuts.
After school, Abigail got her first American Girl Doll. I'm glad she's not too "old" for dolls yet. We invited 6 of her friends over for a pajama party. They each came in their PJ's and brought their doll and pillow. I put down a bunch of quilts and pillows on the floor, made a canopy of streamers, pink, of course, and had hoped that they would hang out, have a fashion show with their dolls, watch a movie, do a craft, eat some pizza and cake, and so forth. Boy, was I wrong! Seven girls, aged 6 and 7...whew..they were way too hyped up to "hang out". It was crazy! And, quite frankly, I was glad when the party ended, and everyone went home.
As usual, I made her birthday cake, and as usual, didn't finish it until about an hour before the party started. Having a peanut allergy means that stopping by a local grocery store and purchasing a cake is not an option. Nor is ordering a cake from most specialty bakeries. Luckily, my mom used to decorate cakes so I have her expertise and a lot of her old cake supplies at my disposal. Given the pajama party theme, I made "sleeping bag" cakes for each of the girls and a larger cake for the family. I couldn't bear to buy a boxed mix after all our new eating changes so I made a scratch chocolate cake using organic ingredients. It was the first time using the recipe, and it tasted great, but it was a disaster trying to get the cakes out of the pans. They all stuck, and I had to "glue" them back together with frosting. Every year as I struggle to make the perfect cake, I think...why? I don't think that Abigail is old enough to appreciate the work that goes into her cakes. Every year I'm wishing I could just order a cake and be done with it. But then I think that even if she wasn't allergic to peanuts, I'd still want to make her cake. Maybe one day, I'll have the opportunity to make that choice!So, darling Abigail, Happy Birthday! I love you!
