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March is a big month in house. Sort of. My husband and I have birthdays March 1 and March 15, respectively. It was only about 5 years ago when our birthdays became not-such-a-big-deal to us, and I never thought that would happen. It’s not that either of us dreads the upcoming birthday–it’s just not as important as it used to be. I guess it’s something that happens as we get older and priorities shift, especially when you have a young family.

However, we have a preschooler and a toddler in the house and birthdays ARE a big deal. So if Daddy and Mommy have a birthday, it HAS to be celebrated! We need cake, balloons, and decorations for heaven’s sake! (Well, maybe not the decorations if we can convince our preschooler they aren’t necessary. But our toddler celebrated his birthday 2 weeks ago, so there are plenty of decorations to pull back out.)

Because I decided to be a “good mother” and took a couple cake decorating classes when my daughter turned one, I am destined to make cakes for every birthday that occurs in this house–even if I don’t want to! With Daddy’s birthday looming, it’s time for all of us to get involved in a little cake baking and decorating. And this year I have plenty of help in the kitchen.

Sunday’s “schedule” was delayed when it came time to prep Daddy’s cake. (Who makes a schedule with little ones anyway???) After everyone FINALLY ate their supper, the kids and I settled in with our task. There was plenty of “help” to be found in the kitchen. These days the kids are not content to each stand on a separate stool–no way, one might miss getting to do something the other did. So after lots of pouring, stirring, fingers-in-the-bowl, tantrums, and tattling, the cake was put in the oven. The kids went off for baths and Daddy prepped them for bed while I then set out to decorate a not-so-professional looking cake.

Monday morning was spent answering Child #1’s constant question of “When are we having Daddy’s party?” and trying to keep Child #2 from dragging a stool out and swiping more frosting off the cake. Finally a nap was taken, Daddy’s farm business was taken care of, a few presents were wrapped, and dinner was eaten. It was time for a PARTY! And of course it was more about the kids than the actual Birthday Boy, but that didn’t matter. We got to sing, we got to laugh, and we got to eat some cake! We celebrated and had a little fun. We remembered what it was like to be an age where birthdays were full of excitement. But for the most part we just enjoyed seeing this celebration through the eyes of our children.

When your next birthday rolls around, embrace it and celebrate your time here in this world–but most importantly EAT SOME CAKE!

About the author: Jill Kimle

Jill is a farm wife from the Kenesaw area with two BUSY children under the age of 5. She will admit to being in her upper 30's, and if you ask her specific age, she won't shy away from telling it. ("My kids will look at me in ten years and think I'm pretty old!")