The September Cake

Like I had planned in my September goals, I wanted to make an imprint of the Little Man's hand and foot. So I mixed up the plaster mix and then let it sit on the counter for a bit, figuring I would wait until just before bath time so he could wash it off right away. Well, I didn't realize the stuff hardens so quickly, so when I went back to it, it was hard as a rock. So I just had a flat round piece of plaster. I'll have to buy another kit soon and be faster this time!

 Here it is! 

What a souvenir! 

For the cake, I asked him what he wanted on it. He said blue icing with the word "September" on it, and a train track and a train and London Bridge and and and....I told him I was not a professional cake decorator and the detail he was requesting was becoming wedding cake worthy. I can only do so much. 

Hubby drew the train tracks and stuck a train on it. I wrote September as best I could. We used the same vegan gluten free cake and icing recipes from last year. 

This year's Train-September cake, exactly as ordered

We went to his class for his party and he was so happy. He said, "mommy and daddy, you are the best!" and I almost died of cute. Sometimes it's the little things you do that matter so much. Things as simple as writing "September" on a birthday cake.

Annual Birthday Party Planning

It seems that now the Little Man is getting older, I'm having more fun planning out his birthday parties. It was also part of my September goals to get this all sorted out ahead of time!

Shhhh, don't tell him anything....

This year we got a Thomas Train piñata. I still have to buy the treats to put in it.

Recently, he informed me that birthdays are like Easter, therefore we need to hide presents and eggs all over the house for him to find. This is a great idea! I get more use out of all those silly plastic eggs I bought.

Last year, I made this Angry Birds cake (recipe included for you crafty types), but this year I think I will use the same recipe and make a Thomas face to go with his piñata.

Also, I've already sorted the party out with his teacher. Last year, some other parents made cakes and just had the celebration at school. This is SO SMART! All his friends are there and no mess for me to clean up! Aside from me taking the day off work, it's cheaper than hosting a party. So I just need to bring the cake and pinata and it's done! Can't wait!

Birthday Party Cake

Me and the Little Man

The Little Man had his little Autistic Birthday Party this weekend. With the exception of a younger sibling of one of the kids and my friend's kid, it was all autistic boys. Which went pretty much as I expected - worse than herding cats! lol


One kid could have climbed the ceilings; he never actually stopped moving. Another one ran around a bit and then threw up. (Kudos to the staff and the daddies for the prompt clean up.)
The Little Man did not eat his cake (until today, in peace), he just blew out the candles and then went to play by himself somewhere (it was at a party gym).

BUUUUT, while we had some tears, anxiety and pouts, no one had a full meltdown. Success! And I had no mess to clean up afterwards!

Would I go there again? Maybe yes, maybe no. It might have been better to just let the kids go wild. The entertainer, bless her heart, seemed to think it would be possible to get these kids to listen and follow instructions. My son does, but he is a stickler for rules. If you show him how to do something one way once, he will do it that exact way every single time after that, no exceptions. He is detail oriented, methodical and rigid, just like his mother. He will probably loosen up with age, like I did to some extent, but it does come in handy doing certain types of work/jobs, so it's not all bad. It's interesting to watch though.

The big thing everyone wants though is the recipe for the cake, which was nut free, gluten free and vegan so that EVERYONE could eat it. Whew!

la pièce de résistance!

So here it is:

Vegan Brownie Recipe
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups flour (or gluten free flour blend)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1/4 vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything with a fork until blended. Pour into a greased pan. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes.

Vegan Buttercream Icing
(This recipe came from The Kitchen Magpie)
1 cup vegan margarine (Becel makes one. I used Earth Balance coconut spread though)
3 tsp vanilla
4 cups icing sugar
1-3 tsp rice milk (I did not need it)

Use a mixer to beat margarine until fluffy. Slowly add vanilla and icing sugar. Check for consistency. If you need to add milk, do just a bit at a time.
Place in fridge until you are ready to decorate.