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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake and cool your cupcakes.
- While they cool, tear the rope licorice apart into single strands.
- Cut into smaller pieces that you can make into petals
- When cupcakes are cool, ice them.
- Make letters to spell out MOM on one cupcake each or.. put it on a single cupcake.
- Make petals ( it’s easier to make them before adding it to the icing ) by pressing the ends tightly together.
- Add to the cupcake
- Add a candy middle.
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
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
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.
Jennifer says
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 =-.
admin says
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 😉
Melanie says
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. 🙂
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Rebecca says
Mmm!
.-= Rebecca´s last blog ..Easy Tissue Paper Flowers =-.
Sharon says
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. 😉
admin says
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 😉
Rachel says
So cute! I love the flowers!
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Sock Mopping: Exercise and Clean at the Same Time =-.
nikki says
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
Jessie says
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….
Brenna says
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… =-.
greedygrace says
We have Love You Forever. I cry every time I read it!
.-= greedygrace´s last blog ..Confession Wednesday: I HATE being called "old lady" =-.
Cindy says
I cry every time I read Love You Forever! I’m crying just thinking about it!
Destiny says
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.
Michelle says
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.
Jennifer says
“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.