Let’s play a game.
Pick two (or more) superheroes or fictional characters. Choose the first as someone who inspires you to be better, and the second as someone who most closely reflects who you are right now.
For me, the person I aspire to be is Wonder Woman: kind and gentle, yet strong, fierce and relentlessly focused. She seems to operate on little sleep while still managing to do what must be done.
However, looking at my frizzy hair and dark circles under the eyes, Beetlejuice seems like a more accurate match for my appearance some mornings.
And then there is Darth Vader — I joke around the house, playfully growling “Emily, I am your mother,” offering threats that are always just for show.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
I kept repeating that in my head as I stared at myself in the mirror the morning of Emily’s seventh birthday party. After last year’s elaborate celebration, I promised myself I’d do something much simpler this time.
So this year I organized a sleepover.
The theme was Equestria Girls with Rainbow Dash as the centerpiece. I got so swept up in Emily’s excitement that I ended up planning and running every detail: activities, a dance party, the sleep layout and the movie schedule.
I even set up a sweets table with eleven types of candy and chocolate, three kinds of cookies, plus the birthday cake — all in rainbow colors.
I mean, what could be easier than feeding seven one-year girls sugar and keeping them overnight…?
Truth be told, fighting crime at night in a tiny skirt and knee-high boots sounds easier than corralling a group of exhausted, sugar-fueled children.
If you doubt me, ask any superhero why so many don’t have kids — the logistics alone would stop most capes in their tracks.
Still, I’m proud to say I survived the sleepover. The girls did, too.
Stephen King — if you’re looking for your next bestseller, consider a suburban mom’s sleepover from hell.
Rainbow Dash Striped Cake and Fondant Cut-Out
- Crumb coat the cake with white buttercream and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Divide the remaining buttercream and color each portion as desired. Place colors into piping bags and pipe stripes around the cake, covering a third of the height with each color.
- Pipe remaining buttercream onto the top of the cake and smooth with a small spatula.
- Use a metal scraper to smooth the sides and blend the colors together.
- Finish with your choice of decorative accents.
Fondant Cutout
- Roll out light blue fondant to about 1/4″ thickness and place the printed template beneath it.
- Using a fondant knife, cut out the main head shape following the template.
- Repeat for the rest of the face and hair pieces.
- Optionally place each cutout on the paper template to check your progress.
- Brush edible glue onto each piece and attach the facial features, leaving the eyes aside at first.
- Lightly draw facial lines with a pencil, then glue the eyes into place.
- With a thin brush, trace the drawn lines using royal blue edible color and add eyelashes with black color.
The technique is flexible — you can adapt it to create many different characters. Here’s another cake I made using the same approach.
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