Domestically challenged
Yesterday, my mom and sister put on their ‘Martha Stewart’ hats. They threw a little birthday lunch in honor of my son’s and niece’s birthdays; both turn nine this month.
My mom made homemade chicken noodle soup, which I also enjoy making once the cooler weather sets in. She, however, made the noodles for the soup from scratch! She also baked muffins and cider donuts from scratch. Wow.
My sister came with her 13 month old in tow and a gorgeous chocolate birthday cake she baked, from scratch of course, decorated with mini M&Ms. She used to have her own baking/cake business. At some point during the lunch, she took out the pouch of animal finger puppets she sewed by hand, for her son to play with. She is truly domestically gifted.
Before my sis had a child of her own, she made an unbelievable birthday cake each year for her nieces and nephews (my boys included, of course). I took photos of every single one over the years, as some of them blew me away. One year, she made a three-dimensional train cake for our little train-lover. Photos of our family’s faces were somehow superimposed onto the cake; it looked like the birthday boy was the conductor and his brother, dad and mom (me) were passengers. This is just one of my sister’s many baked creations that have made my jaw drop.
She also sewed each and every Halloween costume for her nieces and nephews over the years. The green dragon costume she created for my middle son was unbelievable, with an extremely long tail spiked with scales. We received compliments each and every year about our boys hand sewn costumes.
Now, I’m not totally inept; I’m crafty, you could say. I created a Crabby Patty for a Sponge Bob costume one year, made from Styrofoam balls, pieces of felt, an exacto knife and my handy-dandy hot glue gun.
My Crabby Patty, however, pales in comparison to my mom’s and sister’s domestic accomplishments. This Halloween, I will be creative about costume ideas and get out my glue gun if I need to but I won’t be sewing up any award-winning homemade costumes.
I can’t wait to see the costume my sister will make for her son’s first Halloween (last Halloween, he was only one month old, so that didn’t count). His ‘down on the farm’ – themed first birthday cake was unbelievable.
Will your kids be wearing homemade or store-bought costumes this Halloween Do your homemade cakes look like they came from a bakery, like my sister’s I hope I’m not the only domestically-challenged mom on the planet!
Lis Garrett says...
Every woman is gifted in her own right, and I bet you have a few talents to the envy of both your mom and sister.
I’ve given up making my kids’ costumes from hand, because I simply do not have the time anymore. Ditto with the birthday cakes. Although I think crafty people love to create because it’s something they truly enjoy, I sometimes wonder if they don’t secretly do it to “one-up” everyone else. Of course I say that only because I’m completely un-crafty! LOL!
Lis Garretts last blog post..My Baby
Science-mom says...
You’re not the only one. It’s worse on my part because it’s my MIL who’s good in baking and sewing and anything else in home crafts. You should her quilts – they’re masterpieces. At 5, my boys have already 2 each and she’s started on the 3rd one…