What I Learned Baking with my Daughter!

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I worried about labor. How it was going to be. If they would have 10 fingers and toes. When I found out my second child was a girl, I immediately panicked. I thought "oh no, a girl. Will she like me? Will I be a good role model? Will I overcome my mother's way of doing things?"

I don't know why I worried. I always heard that mothers are their daughters best friend but it was more than that to me. I wanted to be that perfect mom who always had it together and was involved in creating special moments for my son and daughter. My daughter is now 3 and never more than 3 steps away from me. We do everything together from shopping to painting and cleaning. What I learned over time, is that they just want to be with us and it doesn't matter what we are doing. The time we spend is what is important.

My daughter enjoys cooking with me. It helps me by having her eat things she wouldn't normally eat If I just sat them on a plate for her. Her favorite, of course, is desserts. We bake cookies, cupcakes, cakes and other traditional things whenever I get the moment. This past weekend we made a purple vanilla donut cake which is one of her favorites. Now normally, I am a from scratch type of gal, but when its something to bond with my kids, I learned it doesn't have to be perfect.

As moms and women, we put so much effort into being perfect that we forget it is about being present. The secret to my cake, as cheesy as it sounds, is love! When I bake with my kids on the fly, we usually do it on the weekend, in between lunch and dinner to keep them occupied. This means I grab a quick boxed cake recipe and a couple frosting tubs. The key to ANY baking item is to FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS COMPLETELY. That is literally it. My mother, although a great cook and can cook for the masses, cannot bake for this simple reason.

Here are a few tips for keeping the kiddos entertained on a weekend with something easy and sweet!

1. Buy any local boxed cake mix. I chose the Pillsbury brand vanilla moist cake as well as the Pillsbury Cake Frosting but the Dollar store brand is great too. It is cheap and serves the purpose since it won't be a perfect cake. Grab candies, chocolates or whatever is easy to throw on there as decor for the cake/cupcakes.

2. Have your kids create a random holiday or special reason to add meaning to what you are doing. Keep it simple like "Cuz its the Weekend Cake" or perhaps you had a busy week and need a "mommy and me masterpiece" to bake. Anything as long as the kids have fun and you follow the directions.

3. Keep Them INVOLVED! If they are schoolers, have them try to read the instructions. Perhaps they can crack eggs, set the timer or whip the frosting etc. Smaller kids can have fun assisting in mixing, naming/counting items. The point is to make them feel like they are doing it WITH you.

4. While they wait, give them a "job" like listening for the timer, adding food coloring to the frosting to make it "theirs" or even set out the table for dinner and get ahead of the evening!

5. Once the cake has cooled and it is ready to be frosted, let THEM go crazy! Remember, it is not your cake. There is no pressure for it to look a certain way. This is why it is so much fun. Kids can go crazy with the colors, candies, writing or whatever they feel. They feel proud and feel confident that they can use their hands to create something yummy and artistic!

I have had purple cakes, cakes with just sprinkles and candy and desserts that look nothing like what they are intended to but the piece of mind I get is priceless. While they decorate, I get to clean up, wash dishes, prep dinner and half watch a good show on tv. They get excited to eat their creation, therefore, are eager for dinner and that is WIN-WIN!

I will be posting my actual "softer than a cloud" vanilla cake recipe from scratch in the "What Is Cooking?" segment. Stay tuned for that and subscribe to be the first to find out about our new posts!

Let me know how you get through a Saturday afternoon at home with the kiddos in the comments below & don't forget to share with friends & family!`