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May 6, 2010 | 15 Comments

Mother’s Day Cupcakes

Mother's Day Cupcakes

In the spirit of full disclosure, these were actually made for my husband’s office. It’s his birthday today (yay he’s older than me again) and he needed to take in treats. So I hit two birds with one stone. I decided to create Mother’s Day cupcakes and make them with my little man. Kids love to help cook and bake and my main tips for a peaceful experience are: expect a mess, don’t worry about perfection and eat a healthy lunch before making them so when the sugar hits their belly it’s not as dramatic! We had fun writing out the letters and making shapes with the candy.

  1. Gather your materials. You will need your favorite cupcake mix and icing or recipes. Also, to make the flowers and letter designs, find some rope licorice, and pink round candies.  Mother's Day Cupcakes
  2. Mix your cake – I have no pictures of this because I had everything laid out in bowls, the oil, water, and eggs and my son was so helpful he through them all in. I usually pre-crack the eggs into a bowl and let him dump them in when I am making something that egg shells are hard to fish out of.
  3. Bake and cool your cupcakes.
  4. While they cool, tear the rope licorice apart into single strands.Mother's Day Cupcakes
  5. Cut into smaller pieces that you can make into petals Mother's Day Cupcakes
  6. When cupcakes are cool, ice them.
  7. Make letters to spell out MOM on one cupcake each or..  put it on a single cupcake.Mother's Day Cupcakes
  8. Make petals ( it’s easier to make them before adding it to the icing ) by pressing the ends tightly together.Mother's Day Cupcakes
  9. Add to the cupcake Mother's Day Cupcakes
  10. Add a candy middle.Mother's Day Cupcakes

Have fun however you make them. Oh and a tip that worked great for us this time. If you have a mini cupcake pan, put a few spoonfuls in that. Then, let your child have a little cupcake before decorating the larger ones.  This totally satisfied my son and made me feel better about how much sugar he consumed.  I also had a mini one (ok 2)and was able to leave the big ones alone!

Mama Books That Make Me Cry

Here are my top 3 books that require kleenex:

A mama for owen

A Mama for Owen by Marion Dane Bauer makes me cry every time I read it, and not just because I am pregnant. It’s a true story about a baby Hippo who lost his mama in the Tsunami, as so many other babies, both creature and human, did. The story is one about friendship, about adoption,and about love. See Owen the little Hippo finds Mzee a big old giant tortoise. Even though they are different species, and Mzee is a boy, Owen treats him like his mama.

 

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch is perhaps the classic tear-jerking picture book. I read this for years and years to children and had no problem getting choked up. It never bothered me, but then I gave birth and I can’t read it without sobbing. The premise is simple, a mom sings this simple song to her son as he grows “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as you’re living, my baby you’ll be.” until she can’t sing it anymore and it’s his turn. For days after I read this, I tear up as I lay my son in bed. * Edited to add that many readers have commented that they do not like this book at all! What do you think? Leave a comment and tell us!


Hair for Mama by Kelly A. Tinkham is beautiful. The story is about a little boy who is desperate to find some hair for his mama who has lost hers to chemotherapy. Marcus wants mama to be in the family photo but she doesn’t want to be the way she looks. His mission comes to a climax when he shaves off all his own hair, hoping to give it to his mama. When the barber sweeps it up with the other hair on the floor, Marcus is heartbroken and goes home in tears.

I was sobbing reading this. I knew it was a story about a mom having cancer but the way the author wrote it, it was magical. The complex emotions this little boy felt for his mom and she for him, jumped off the page and you can’t help but cry. I wasn’t sad. I was touched by the love and desire to fix his mom and make everything better, and his parents’ tenderness to his feelings. Truly, I can’t recommend this book more highly. I should note that this is not a book for toddlers. I would probably wait until a child is 4-5 before reading them this gem.

Filed Under: Baking with Toddlers, Cupcakes, Flower, Food Activities, Mother's Day | 15 Comments

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15 Comments

  1. Jennifer says

    May 6, 2010 at 5:11 am

    I love that your husband had to take treats in for his birthday! You’re never too old for treats! LOL!

    The cupcakes look YUMMY!
    .-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Five Project Challenge Update and Giveaway #6 =-.

    to Jennifer" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jennifer'>reply to this comment
    • admin says

      May 6, 2010 at 12:51 pm

      Pretty much every treat you see on NTFFC gets sent in with him the next day. I think it’s cute too, apparently none of the other very serious banker types minded the mother’s day theme 😉

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  2. Melanie says

    May 6, 2010 at 8:55 am

    I had to laugh about your edited comment on Love You Forever–I am one who doesn’t like it at all! 🙂 I think it was something about the mom driving across town and letting herself in to hold a grown son that was borderline creepy for me. I do think the idea of her love coming full cycle is very true and heartwarming, though!

    Your cupcakes turned out very cute. 🙂
    .-= Melanie´s last blog ..Winner! =-.

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  3. Rebecca says

    May 6, 2010 at 10:56 am

    Mmm!
    .-= Rebecca´s last blog ..Easy Tissue Paper Flowers =-.

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  4. Sharon says

    May 6, 2010 at 11:23 am

    I also cried the first time I read “Love You Forever” after my daughter was born and overall I love this book. At the same time, I also dislike the concept of the mom babying the adult son. I have a feeling that each person’s reaction to this will be highly dependent on how they feel about their MIL. 😉

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    • admin says

      May 6, 2010 at 12:50 pm

      That is hilarious because it’s true I bet it does have a little to do with your MIL, my husband is fiercely independent so I would never have to worry about my MIL climbing in a window 😉

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  5. Rachel says

    May 6, 2010 at 11:57 am

    So cute! I love the flowers!
    .-= Rachel´s last blog ..Sock Mopping: Exercise and Clean at the Same Time =-.

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  6. nikki says

    May 6, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    I like Love You Forever. Sure the mom driving across town is a little odd, not something I’d do even with two sons 😉 . But it’s the theme that is so sweet and now my 3y/o says “I’ll grow and grow and grow until I’m a TEENager” with the emphasis just like the tone in which I read. It’s sweet and it’s refreshing to have a good mommy-SON book. It can be tough to find stuff (songs/books) about parent-son relationships, seems like everything is for little girls.

    I have a picture book that always makes me cry – _When Jessie Came Across the Sea_ . I tear every time. The book follows a young girl who has the opportunity to move to America. A story of hard-work, familial love and a little romance too… a special favorite of mine. http://www.amazon.com/When-Jessie-Came-Across-Sea/dp/076361274X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273192798&sr=8-1

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  7. Jessie says

    May 6, 2010 at 5:57 pm

    I just wanted to say I love your site and I love that you Love You Forever on that list. My mom bought that for me when I turned 18 and I kept it with me for over ten years. Now, I always tear up when I read it to my son because I can relate to the mom’s part more and more….

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  8. Brenna says

    May 6, 2010 at 6:33 pm

    Love the cupcake idea! What are the pink candies?

    I am not a fan at all of I Love You Forever. I think it’s just a little creepy, although I can appreciate the sentiment. 🙂
    .-= Brenna´s last blog ..The chemicals we expose our children to… =-.

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  9. greedygrace says

    May 6, 2010 at 9:04 pm

    We have Love You Forever. I cry every time I read it!
    .-= greedygrace´s last blog ..Confession Wednesday: I HATE being called "old lady" =-.

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  10. Cindy says

    May 7, 2010 at 4:08 am

    I cry every time I read Love You Forever! I’m crying just thinking about it!

    to Cindy" aria-label='reply to this comment to Cindy'>reply to this comment
  11. Destiny says

    May 8, 2010 at 7:34 pm

    Love you Forever is a favorite of mine and I do have to agree that it never made me cry until I became a Mom. Yes, it would be a little creepy holding a grown man but it is still a great story. Age doesn’t change your love! I came across another book called Mars needs Moms! by Berkeley Breathed and I choke up every time I read it. Those two are the only ones that make me cry while reading them to my kids.

    to Destiny" aria-label='reply to this comment to Destiny'>reply to this comment
  12. Michelle says

    October 11, 2010 at 8:50 am

    I think “Love You Forever” is adorable. The mom driving across town is just a metaphor to say that you are never too old to be a mother anymore. Moms always love their kids, even when they’re grown up and out of the house.

    to Michelle" aria-label='reply to this comment to Michelle'>reply to this comment
  13. Jennifer says

    January 19, 2011 at 2:59 pm

    “Love You Forever” was read to me as a kindergartener, about 20 years ago, give or take. I loved it then. It was my favorite book. And when I found out I was pregnant that is the first book I asked my parents to find for me in our old boxes. My son, almost 4 loves it too. And yes, I cried the first time I read it to him as a tiny infant. The people commenting about it being creepy that she goes to her grown son’s house, I can understand, but it is completely missing the innocent love theme in the book. It is not meant to be creepy. It is meant to show a mother’s unchanging love for her baby.

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