Pre-Birthday Birthday

I bought $a-hundred-and-something -$ worth of junk food and candy that will be fit for a slumber party full of 9 and 10-year-olds. 

'Cause I love my almost-10-year-old. 

The party is tonight.  (her birthday isn't till thursday, but unreasonable circumstances that surround her "next" weekend deem this the most-bestest-appropriate-day for celebration)

Did I tell you all about how Claire had me believing that she was 10-going-on-11? 
Yes....for like, the last couple of weeks.
Now I ask you....what sort of mother forgets the actual age of her kid? 

Let me answer that for you:  That would be me.....this sort of mama. 

Luckily, I am really good at math (not) and it dawned on me that she was born in 2000, and this is 2010 and so her math isn't quite adding up right. 
....which she knew darn well, and loved every single second of my two-week-long brain fart. 


So...these pics are of my fantabulous culinary skillz: 

This first one is my practice with all of the decorating frosting.

And this last plate is just the plain old cupcakes with plain old frosting and sprinkles to cover up the little artsy stuff I tried to do but failed miserably at.

So you know what this means, right?

I'm totally gonna eat the "practice" cupcake.
And maybe decide I should "practice" some more.
And eat those mistakes as well. 

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Since I made mention of my great-brain-skills that lean towards the mathematical(not), allow me to fill you in on a fact that I am drawn to and horrified by at the same time:

There are 2925 beads in this jar......

The significance?

That is the exact number of days till this soon-to-be-10-year-old turns 18.

Drawn to this because it seems like alot.
Horrified because it doesn't take a mathematical genius to figure that more than half of her days at home with mama are gone.
Drawn again....to make sure that every day matters.