I would like anything from a good bakery. My birthday sometimes falls on Thanksgiving and mostly just before or after. I have had my share of supermarket turkey shaped cakes and cakes with pilgrims. I used to ask for ice cream cakes as a kid because they at least had ice cream and usually weren't awful.....The worst was when I was 16. I wanted something grown up and beautiful. My sister talked my boyfriend and my parents into going to a amusement/arcade park for a surprise. The place was a castle themed park called Camelot. All the kids at my school called it "scam-a-lot" I was horrified. When the girl brought out the cake badly frosted and with day glow icing clowns and balloons I asked them to get it boxed and we went home to have ice cream instead. At least none of my friends saw it all. No I am not stealing this from the show Golden Girls. This actually happened to me! I had another cake disaster for my graduation. My sis and I got the freshest ingredients and made a cake from a cake bible cookbook from the library. I had spent a week prior making frosting roses for this masterpiece had saving them in the freezer. We made the cake and tasted the trimmed off parts it was fantastic! The next day we frosted it and that evening when the family tried it it was so dry no one wanted to eat it. After that I always ordered a cake from the European bakery I love in Pasadena. The other cake fail I was involved in was my cousin's wedding. She knew I could do frosting flowers well so she asked me to come over and decorate her wedding cake. She wanted me to use this lavender icing she made. I decorated the whole thing and we set it by the window. After an hour into the reception, the purple icing in the sunlight faded to blue and was melting a little. My part of the family was out drinking and laughing on the grass. My cousin's husband's family was inside being shocked at the drinking going on outside. The cake suddenly started to lean and lucky her husband's brother was sitting close by and grabbed for it. The top 2 tiers were saved but the lower ones crashed. She didn't put in any supports inside. But, great sport that she is, she just laughed and served her husband's family the upper layers and our family the toppled ones. We didn't mind a bit. She's a great gal and can laugh through anything. One of the weddings I can say I really enjoyed. Sliding color changing cake and all. Please no one get a bright colored cake for a birthday. At my granddad's 90th, my aunt ordered a NASA themed cake with dark blue icing. My Grandad worked in the space program after being in the air force during WWII. Everybody had a dark blue tongue and blue teeth. All these old people with blue lips and teeth! I love a simple cake with almond extract and some fresh ripe strawberries or peaches and whipped cream. I had a fantastic cake once made with 4 different pastel fruit flavored layers and also a very good Black Forest cake by a Belgian pastry chef who used to have a bakery in my city but has now retired. I'm too wary to try a special cake again but I love to make pies and decorate cupcakes with fresh flowers.

Could I have a flower or two? I love fondant icing. I've heard it's really hard to work with (which is why those cakes cost an arm and a leg). My daughter's wedding cake had fondant icing and fondant azaleas twining down it. It was beautiful and tasted even better, but it cost more than her gown. People are still talking about that cake 16 years later. She should do it professionally for a year or two--then she could retire--haha! And if she needs a taste tester, I'm available.

I'm in year 5 of dealing with a BM that would do a lot of what you describe. She thought she could decide everything that happened in our house during the time HER daughter was there because everything we did when her daughter was there, affected her daughter. Since you are in a relatively new situation & it most likely will only get worse... unless she finds a new purpose, my suggestion is to remove yourself as much as you can from the entire situation. Do not attend exchanges & do not take any phone calls, including "emergency" calls. What kind of emergency would there be that you might get a call? If the kids are with you & DH, then anything she needs can go to DH's phone/voice mail. If the kids are with her, then she can just as easily leave a message on DH's phone if he can't answer it. I'm assuming the only reason she would call your phone is if DH doesn't answer his & you are together. If you are not together, calling you does nothing to get any message to DH... unless you have a secret number to call him and/or want to play middleman. But really, there is no reason for you to be involved in the exchanges or phone calls. If he wasn't with you (or anyone), he would have to handle this on his own.... so let him. Take your kids to the park, get your nails done, take a bubble bath & watch a movie.... but leave it all up to him. Trust me, not seeing her or talking to her will help a lot. And tell your DH to only tell you important things regarding the kids... like if they are in a school play, etc. Ask him to not share her rants about you and your kids unless it's something HE is concerned about. HER concerns, rational or not, he should discuss with her. If HE thinks they are irrational, why get you worked up by telling you? That creates unnecessary drama. It's very sad when someone uses their child to get attention or maintain a connection or involvement, but they do and there's NOTHING you can do about it. It is THEIR child they are hurting and the best thing you can do, for you and for the child, is to remove yourself as much as possible & let his/her parents sort it out. Unless you have done something to warrant her treatment of you, then it wouldn't matter WHO he is dating/married to, it is not personal toward you. It is HER problem.

This post has had more replies than all others I have ever posted, added together, and many more than average. Guess we all like cake! Flamey, thank you! senior gal, I'm right here in your shadow; always enjoy your stories. mamagoose, I got my first computer a little before Spike (Bless his heart!) began the KT, and was one of the first 3 or 4 to jump right in. sherwoodva, based on your screen name I would guess you are only about 2 hours away from the shops. I think posting a business addy is a no/no. Thanks to JoAnn Fla, for telling me how to post a picture!! Thanks, folks.