Happy birthday, Mr. Tvini!
Yesterday was my husband’s birthday, and it was a good one.
I went with my daughter last week to pick out some pajamas for my husband, which she had decided he needed since he doesn’t have any. This was remarkable because it’s the first time she’s picked something remotely appropriate out that HE might want, as opposed to, say, play-dough. So of course she made a beeline for the most freaking expensive set of pajamas on the floor. I pointed out some other nice ones, but when she stuck to her guns and said that only these would do, I gritted my teeth and sprang for them. Looking for pics just now, I saw similar but not identical items on eBay for half the price. Le sigh.
Gotta say, though, the Perry Ellis pajamas are incredibly soft, fit great, and my husband looks fabulous in them. I guess my girl knows quality when she sees it.
On his birthday, I sent Emily in to ask what kind of cake he wanted. I knew he wanted carrot cake, it’s his favorite. I make it every year, grating six cups of carrots and mixing colors into the cream cheese frosting so that I can pipe little carrots around the edges and write “Happy Birthday” on it. I could hear the conversation, which went like this:
“Daddy, what kind of cake do you want?”
“Well, I really like carrot cake, but I know that takes a long time to make. I also like chocolate cake…”
“Yes! Let’s do that.”
“Okay, go tell your mother.”
“Daddy says he wants chocolate cake. He doesn’t like carrot cake.”
That, ladies and gents, is a good husband and father. He knew I had a lot of in-game stuff going on, although I was perfectly willing to let it go for his birthday. And he knew Emily didn’t like carrot cake. So it was all about the other people in his life. What a guy!
So Emily and I went to the store to get some cake mix and frosting. She helped make the cake. I couldn’t find my big pans, so the cake layers turned out a little less wide and more tall. Because she’s a very eager little girl, we didn’t let the cake cool as completely as we might. I slapped some frosting on there, which didn’t set up as well as I’d like. So we quickly did the candles and I cut the cake.
As I turned back from serving the cake, I saw the layers separating and sliding away. It was like Pangaea breaking up. Me: “Little help? Little help? Little help??” My husband helped, but saw that there was no stopping the sliding of the cake from the plate. So he turned into MacGyver. He jammed two chopsticks into the two largest cakey continental shelves. The third shelf is shoved under the top two in an effort to shore them up.
I nearly died laughing. Many jokes ensued about how we should get some kind of lever and pulley system to make it work. Then the cake split along a fault line and started sliding again, so we had to add a third chopstick. This time, we contemplated using flying buttresses to shore it up. Then it started to move again and the hubby shouted, “The substrate’s unstable! Shore it up!” and we had to add a fourth chopstick.
So now, the Sputnik cake is in our fridge, which has solidified the frosting nicely. I still ain’t taking out the chopsticks, though, lest we have another mudslide.
This is easily the worst-looking cake I’ve ever made, but as my mother would say, “It’ll taste the same.”
We spent the evening lounging in our pajamas and watching our new DVDs of season 3 of Arrested Development. Good times, good times.
He doesn’t read this blog, but I’ll say it anyway – happy birthday, sweetie!
Oi, that’s still better than my worst cake. I have a good friend that loves Angel Food cake. I decide to make him one from scratch. It… it just wouldn’t become a CAKE. It was like cooking primordial ooze.
Fortunately, he is also a good person like your husband, and mentioned that he liked lemon cake as well. I went to the store, bought a lemon cake mix, dressed it up, and everyone was happy.
Oi, that’s still better than my worst cake. I have a good friend that loves Angel Food cake. I decide to make him one from scratch. It… it just wouldn’t become a CAKE. It was like cooking primordial ooze.
Fortunately, he is also a good person like your husband, and mentioned that he liked lemon cake as well. I went to the store, bought a lemon cake mix, dressed it up, and everyone was happy.
Your husband sounds like a lovely person! Happy birthday to him 🙂
Your husband sounds like a lovely person! Happy birthday to him 🙂
Aww, happy birthday to your hubby! That cake isn’t as bad as the time my roommate decided to substitute milk for eggs. It was our other roommate’s birthday, and D called me at work to ask a question about eggs. By the time I called him back to say I’d buy eggs on the way home, he said “never mind, I worked around it.” That cake never turned solid, just went from warm goo to burnt goo. He dumped the semi-burnt goo onto a plate and poured frosting on top. Man, I wish I had pictures of that.
Aww, happy birthday to your hubby! That cake isn’t as bad as the time my roommate decided to substitute milk for eggs. It was our other roommate’s birthday, and D called me at work to ask a question about eggs. By the time I called him back to say I’d buy eggs on the way home, he said “never mind, I worked around it.” That cake never turned solid, just went from warm goo to burnt goo. He dumped the semi-burnt goo onto a plate and poured frosting on top. Man, I wish I had pictures of that.
Ooh- just like Chocolate Lava Cake but different! Yay geographic disasters! Or something.
Happy Birthday Mr T! (vini)
Ooh- just like Chocolate Lava Cake but different! Yay geographic disasters! Or something.
Happy Birthday Mr T! (vini)
Awww! I always love reading your family stories!
Awww! I always love reading your family stories!
Those PJs look super-comfy. Emily has exquisite taste.
And what a great cake! I’ve always found that little disasters like that, when they’re dealt with with humor, are the best memories. We made cookie bars once from a mix and didn’t cook them long enough. I was wary about it because of the “undercooked eggs” factor, so they were Salmonella Bars. Yummeh!
I hope Mr. Tvini had a great birthday. But it sounds like he did.
Those PJs look super-comfy. Emily has exquisite taste.
And what a great cake! I’ve always found that little disasters like that, when they’re dealt with with humor, are the best memories. We made cookie bars once from a mix and didn’t cook them long enough. I was wary about it because of the “undercooked eggs” factor, so they were Salmonella Bars. Yummeh!
I hope Mr. Tvini had a great birthday. But it sounds like he did.
I was reading along, thinking, “Awwwww!” Right up until the substrate remark. Then I spit coffee across my desk and my screen and laughed till I nearly choked. I’ll be thinking about this all day. Thank you!
Oh, and the Sputnik picture is to die for!
I was reading along, thinking, “Awwwww!” Right up until the substrate remark. Then I spit coffee across my desk and my screen and laughed till I nearly choked. I’ll be thinking about this all day. Thank you!
Oh, and the Sputnik picture is to die for!
ahahahah
Seriously dude, you can’t make me laugh like that at work…my coworkers think I’m choking on something.
ahahahah
Seriously dude, you can’t make me laugh like that at work…my coworkers think I’m choking on something.