And now the post you've all been waiting for...maybe.
Way back in February Smunch's school had an auction. I don't have much I could offer to an auction, but I figured I could make someone a birthday cake. So I auctioned my services as a cake decorator, saying that I would work with the winner to create the cake they wanted. The winning bid was $60, but I hadn't heard from the family. I admit I secretly hoped they'd forgotten.
A few weeks ago the mom finally called. She told me they were planning to surprise their soon-to-be 10-year-old with a trip to Disneyland and they wanted to tell him about the surprise with a cake. She asked me to make a cake resembling the famed Space Mountain ride at the park.
It was a little daunting. Not only had I been asked to make something relatively complicated, but I've never actually made a cake for anyone but family before. Sure, lots of people have
seen the cakes I've made, but if I blew it, it wouldn't have been that big a deal...although I have a way of stressing out about these things, so it probably would have been a big deal regardless.
I consulted a few people about this cake, trying to figure out just how to make such a thing. I got some good ideas, but in the end, I mostly winged it. I started out slowly. I made a circular cake for the bottom and tried making the "cone" using a cake baked in a mixing bowl. It didn't seem big enough. I doubled the recipe and tried again. I had to carve the curvy pieces off to make an effective cone, but it turned out O.K. Here are the two pieces I started with, with their "crumb coating" (which serves just to hold the cake crumbs in) of icing.
Yes. There's a hole in the middle of the cone cake. I put a jam jar in the middle to act as a heat rod and cook the center. Still, I wasn't convinced that it really cooked properly. It was a lot of cake. But it looked O.K., so I went with it.
I left them like this for a day and started back in the next day with icing the rest of the bottom piece, then putting a circular support and "rim" around the top of it, using fondant-covered cardboard supported by dowels.
I was pretty happy with how this was looking, but the next step was a lot dicier. I somehow had to get the questionably baked cone centered on top of the fondant disc. I slid a couple of spatulas under it. Fortunately, I was so happy with the bottom, that I didn't actually dissolve into tears with this result.
Instead, I went to the store and bought more cake mix. I made another round cake with the idea that I could use it in combination with the too-small cake I'd originally cooked in the bowl to make a similar cone. Of course, I hadn't counted on the round cake being the exact same diameter as the bottom of my small bowl cake. So, it was essentially useless and I decided (thankfully) to just go with my original, smaller bowl cake. Only this time, because the one that fell apart had also been sort of lopsided, I cut the cake in quarters, bought myself a protractor (yes, really) and made sure each quadrant was cut at the same angle. Then I filled the hole with cake from my unnecessary cake round, put it on top and frosted it over.
It looked like a weird mushroom, but at least I had hope for it this time around.
I also used my "extra" cake to make the angled top layer to the building. It was just a tiny little layer, but oh-so-important for the look of the thing. I had to do this part twice too because I blew it the first time an cut it out wrong. The kids didn't mind when they got to eat it as a treat the next day.
Next, I had to do something to create the distinguishing "ribs" around the outside of the top two layers. So, I cut long pieces of fondant that I could stick in the icing to get just the right look. And I cut a donut-shaped piece for the top so that it would look properly slanted.
Not too bad, but still mushroomy.
The next morning, I somehow convinced Mam to play Play-Doh with me. I gave her the purple stuff and got to work on the spires with my fondant. She caught onto this, of course, but once I got out the toothpicks, she sat happily making spiky purple creatures for about an hour while I perfected my Space Mountain spires.
Taking a little artistic license, because you can't actually see the doors to Space Mountain, I copied the door design which I'd decided to display more prominently on the outside, in fondant-covered cardboard with some colored icing for writing and outlining.
I know. The writing isn't very well centered. I decided the "client" would forgive me based on the sheer beauty of the rest of the cake...or something.
I had all of this done by Thursday afternoon and I struggled and struggled to make something that would work for the spire on the top of the building. I wasn't happy with my final creation, but it worked and it stood up.
From a distance, it doesn't even look too bad.
In the grand finale of decorating this thing, I brushed the whole thing with silver decorating "dust". I liked how it made the whole thing sparkle just a little, but it also made it look a little like I'd gotten it dirty. If I had to do it over, I'd probably leave it white.
I piped on a border to each layer, which improved the look a lot. My final decision came with how to get the writing on this cake. It seemed wrong to write a big "Happy Birthday" right on the building itself when I'd worked so hard on it. So I settled for writing on the cake board. It looked nice. I'm never going to think one of my creations is perfect, but I was pretty happy with this...my first attempt at making a great birthday cake for someone else!
The family I made this for lives only a few blocks away, but I was sweaty and nervous for the entire way there.
It was a huge, huge relief to drop the thing off and leave it there in one piece...knowing that within hours my sugary little masterpiece would be nothing but crumbs and a few bits of icing...
As room mom for Smunch's class, I wanted to make something fun and festive, but fairly healthy, as a snack for their Halloween party later this week. I made these last week as a practice run. These were so easy and so cute. Who can resist a herd of creepy cheese and chow mein noodle bugs?
So far, he's liking it. So far, I'm not so sure I like it and it sounds like a lot more work than I'd anticipated. Fortunately, of this year's 11 Tiger Cub Scouts, Smunch already knew 9 of them either from class or from one sports team or another. I think he's comfortable there.
On the other hand, the light is changing, which means there's some beautiful light for pictures, but no longer enough to bleach the color out of our roses.
I know what you're thinking. "Gee, thanks. I so needed a photo of your closet!" But see, when we bought our house, we bought our first walk-in closet. Only we haven't been able to "walk-in" this closet for probably a year or so now. So much crap everywhere. But I threw out a big bag of stuff, donated a couple of bags of clothes and reorganized. I'm ridiculously happy every time I walk into the closet. Really.
We also bought this really lousy pantry with our house. It's really poorly designed. It's hard to find stuff. Hard to get things out. The shelves can be knocked off without too much effort. It still doesn't look strictly "neat", but it's so much better than it was a week ago. Ah, the things one can do with a life of leisure. Now off to do more laundry!
Unlike most of the classes at Mam's school, her "Innovative" class gets to go on a few field trips this year. Of course, it's a preschool, so that means that a whole bunch of parents have to go...to drive and herd cats. Last week, they went to a local working farm.
got to check for eggs and feed the chickens
and got to scratch the back of a very appreciative pig.
Although this trip messed with our daily schedule, since it was in the morning and Mam's class is usually in the afternoon, it was tons of fun. Who knew?
After last week's monumental cake effort, I wasn't really planning to make any more cakes anytime soon. But then my mom called. And no, she didn't ask me to make a cake. She'd never do such a thing, although asking me to pick her up at the airport any ol' time is fair game. But I asked her what we were going to do for my dad's birthday. She wasn't sure, but she told me she'd found a great deal on cake mix and was going to make him a carrot cake.
Then came the tricky part of trying to guide five six-year-olds through dicing apples up with fairly blunt knives.
Each of them got to cut up apples, measure, pour sprinkle. Admittedly, I finished the cutting butter into the dry mixture part. The kids were pretty pleased with the finished product, although Smunch doesn't look strictly pleased. And, uh, I don't know what's going on with those two on the left. For a couple of six-year-olds it looks a little racy, don't you think?
Of course, they all looked very, very pleased when a few of the parents returned from cooking these apple crisps at home. Their teacher brought ice cream and even Mam got to enjoy some...
It was a little daunting. Not only had I been asked to make something relatively complicated, but I've never actually made a cake for anyone but family before. Sure, lots of people have seen the cakes I've made, but if I blew it, it wouldn't have been that big a deal...although I have a way of stressing out about these things, so it probably would have been a big deal regardless.
Yes. There's a hole in the middle of the cone cake. I put a jam jar in the middle to act as a heat rod and cook the center. Still, I wasn't convinced that it really cooked properly. It was a lot of cake. But it looked O.K., so I went with it. 
I was pretty happy with how this was looking, but the next step was a lot dicier. I somehow had to get the questionably baked cone centered on top of the fondant disc. I slid a couple of spatulas under it. Fortunately, I was so happy with the bottom, that I didn't actually dissolve into tears with this result.
Instead, I went to the store and bought more cake mix. I made another round cake with the idea that I could use it in combination with the too-small cake I'd originally cooked in the bowl to make a similar cone. Of course, I hadn't counted on the round cake being the exact same diameter as the bottom of my small bowl cake. So, it was essentially useless and I decided (thankfully) to just go with my original, smaller bowl cake. Only this time, because the one that fell apart had also been sort of lopsided, I cut the cake in quarters, bought myself a protractor (yes, really) and made sure each quadrant was cut at the same angle. Then I filled the hole with cake from my unnecessary cake round, put it on top and frosted it over.
It looked like a weird mushroom, but at least I had hope for it this time around. 
Not too bad, but still mushroomy.
Taking a little artistic license, because you can't actually see the doors to Space Mountain, I copied the door design which I'd decided to display more prominently on the outside, in fondant-covered cardboard with some colored icing for writing and outlining.
I know. The writing isn't very well centered. I decided the "client" would forgive me based on the sheer beauty of the rest of the cake...or something.
From a distance, it doesn't even look too bad.
I piped on a border to each layer, which improved the look a lot. My final decision came with how to get the writing on this cake. It seemed wrong to write a big "Happy Birthday" right on the building itself when I'd worked so hard on it. So I settled for writing on the cake board. It looked nice. I'm never going to think one of my creations is perfect, but I was pretty happy with this...my first attempt at making a great birthday cake for someone else!
The family I made this for lives only a few blocks away, but I was sweaty and nervous for the entire way there.
It was a huge, huge relief to drop the thing off and leave it there in one piece...knowing that within hours my sugary little masterpiece would be nothing but crumbs and a few bits of icing...
Here's Mam with her partner, Aeryn. How cool is that spelling? Of course, she'll be spelling it a lot, so hopefully she thinks it's cool too.
I wonder how much the janitorial staff likes it when the tour guides ask all the kids to feel the cold freezer doors with their grubby little fingers.
Mam enjoyed the dairy section where so many of her favorite foods reside. 
The kids got a demonstration of the box crusher in the back and the freight elevator. The guy in the seafood area even let them all touch one of the live lobsters.
The kids got lots of treats on the way. Mam ate three (three!) mini sausages. Are you kidding? That's meat, you know! They got grapes in the produce department, cheese in the deli department and brownies at the bakery. I can't say I get really excited about the grocery story, but it was fun to see the kids all excited about it.
And Smunch's opinion of said vantage point.
A beautiful day at the ballpark. Jealous.
I admit to going back to the mommymobile for an extra sweater. I was cold. But I'll bashfully admit I also stuck the key in the ignition and turned on the radio just to make sure the Giants had won. So we had a fun day and met Smunch and Daddy for pizza on the way home. 
Nothing says Autumn at the Ryder household quite like our collection of garden spiders with their magnificent webs stretched between trees, bushes and posts all around the house.
Every now and then, I'll mention that Smunch has some behavior issues. They're hard to pinpoint and hard to describe in a way that doesn't make him sound like every other six-and-a-half-year-old on the planet, but I get the sense he's a little "different". I still can't describe it, but it was painfully evident a couple of weeks ago during his soccer game. He was totally out of it. He'd kick the ball, then turn around and run the other direction. He didn't pay any attention to whether he was offense or defense. He wandered around the field talking to himself. I don't have any expectations that my kid is going to be a soccer super star, but it's really hard to watch him be that clueless...especially knowing just how much he *loves* both playing and watching sports.
So, on Daddy's birthday, the family went out and practiced soccer at the school. We could give him a little more direction and let him know where he was going wrong. Mam had several sportsgirlship-based meltdowns, but we all still had a fun time.
I'm curious to see what tomorrow and his next soccer game brings...
About a week and a half ago, I had my first opportunity to go to Smunch's school and volunteer with his first grade class. I love doing this. Smunch's little face lights up the moment he sees me and that might be worth it all by itself, but I also love getting to know the other kids. I like knowing what kind of people and what kind of students his friends are. To date, he seems to like the quieter, brighter boys the best. I'm fine with that. There are plenty of troublemakers in his class. Some of them would be fine as friends too. Others, I'd rather he didn't want to hang out with. But so far, I like his taste in other kids, so that makes me feel good about how he's doing. Unlike that first week, he's happy at school now. He likes his teacher. He's made a new friend or two.
Then, at the next station, they picked out a "wishing star", put it inside the bear and sealed it up via zipper and velcro.
Then they had the "wish fairy" (a first grade teacher who retired last year) solidify that wish.
Each student had their picture taken with their new bear, had it blow dried (supposedly to make it fluffier, although I couldn't tell the difference), choose a bow for the neck or the head and pick a name, which I wrote in my best calligraphic handwriting on a birth certificate for them. Smunch named his bear Jeffrey, after his grandpa.
