A cupcake for Rooster

It's that time of the year again. School is ending, and there are approximately seventeen bazillion parties taking place. Once again, I find myself trying to figure out what needs to be baked and sent in for each kidlet's class. Some years I have to make more than others. With three kidlets in three different classes, someone always needs something. This year is fairly calm, all things considered. Horse's class needed ice cream sundae toppings sent in and Pig Jr. only had to supply napkins. Neither required baking, to my immense relief.  Even with just Rooster's class requiring baking, there is still far too much to be done for me to try and complete.

Then again, I am struggling with issues that I would hope most classroom parents would not need to address. First of all, since we are trying to sell the house, we had to box up a number of items to put them in storage. We have to make our tiny house look larger than it is. This presents a challenge when it comes time to cook or bake. Where is my mixing bowl? Why did I box up the extra measuring cups and spoons? What on earth possessed me to pack up all of my cookbooks thinking they took up too much space? Did I really think that buying a smaller container of oatmeal was a good idea when I can either let a child have cereal one day or I can bake the required cookie recipe, but not both? Whose bright idea was it to leave the rolling pin that I never use but to pack up almost all of my spatulas? None of this is insurmountable, but it really tends to wear on a person after a while.

Secondly, the only dishwasher we have in this house is me. Not only does this not bode well for eventually selling the house, since I refuse to stay with it once it sells, but it also makes baking with minimal utensils a bit of a challenge, too. It complicates the whole "keep the house immaculate" shtick that the Realtors seem to think is possible, even with three kidlets strewing their chaos everywhere. Dishwashers should be lovely appliances that exist solely for the purpose of shoving dirty dishes so they do not clutter the counters or sink. If they clean up your messes for you, so much the better. My dishwasher is surly and not amused after having to maintain a pristine environment while baking two batches of cookies and some cupcakes.

Finally, our family has the added bonus of having severe food allergies. Rooster cannot physically stomach a number of foods, with dairy presenting the most severe GI reaction. This means that everything she is going to come in contact with must be made from scratch using ingredients that have been researched for possible cross-contamination with the problem foods. Her allergist sent a letter in to the school to let them know she is not allowed to eat one single thing unless I send it in with her that day. For end of the year parties, this means that I have to bake multiple items that are comparable to whatever her class is being served. To further complicate manners, she had been complaining of a bellyache a few weeks ago, and her doctor wanted us to take her completely off of additional foods so we could try and isolate whatever triggered her gut's reaction. All of the recipes we had relied on to be safe for her belly now have to be tweaked.

So for right now, I am frazzled, stressed, overwhelmed, and pulling my hair out while trying to complete this Herculean task of baking for Rooster's classroom party. But when I see my child able to partake of the coolest cupcake in the classroom, with her favorite frosting color and sprinkles chosen just for her, it will be absolutely worth the hassle.