M’s theme for her birthday party was cupcakes. Each time she would explain this to someone, she’d declare “The theme of my party is. . . Cupcakes!” with high drama and a sort of jazz-hand flourish. She was inspired by the plates and napkins at Target right now, which made life easy. And last year we’d done “Water Fun,” which we figured we’d do again, at least a bit. The cupcake theme gave us another obvious activity: decorating their own cupcakes. Plus this meant that I didn’t have to bake an overachieving cake!

I impulse-bought this Betty Crocker 11-piece Decorating Kit at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, and I was absolutely glad that I did. I already had a couple of frosting-bag style dispensers for decorating, and a cute pink plunger-style frosting dispenser, but these little bottles with red caps worked better than all of them. I’m sorry, but no matter how many times you tell a kid to squeeze from the top of one of those bags, frosting always ends up all over their hands. And the pink plunger thing kept coming apart. The Betty Crocker pieces stayed together, and 3 of the 4 dispensers had little accordion folds that made squeezing easy. They weren’t perfect–the kids had a tough time using the last bit of frosting–but they were excellent compared to the other pieces that we had. And they went in the dishwasher! Well worth the ten bucks, honestly.

I also found some McCormick Neon food coloring, which made purples, pinks, and turquoise a little easier. Usually I avoid food coloring, but I just had to embrace it for the day. The mini-marshmallows were popular, too.

Decorating Supplies

I thought that the girls would try to make lovely little roses and designs, but they seemed to go for quantity more than anything. I picked this example because it had fewer sprinkles than the others:

More, apparently, is more.

Each girl made two cupcakes, and we’ve still got cupcakes at our house. But it was so fun that I’m tempted to do it on a rainy day with just my kids. Maybe after the first couple of frosting mountains we’ll start getting artistic.

Okay! I got it. I was having trouble. In fact, it’s still not the prettiest weekly listings post ever, and the fonts may or may not be wacko. But I’m just giving up and sending it out there.

Perhaps you were wondering if I’d tell you more about M’s birthday party? Perhaps you thought that I would have some sort of touching tribute to fathers everywhere? Maybe you’re thinking that you’re going to have to withhold payment because the service I’ve been providing lately has been so colossally crappy?

Well, I’m sorry. It was just sort of an insane weekend, and then when my technical stuff wasn’t working, I had a mini-stress implosion. And now it”s been a bad morning. J was having another awful, grumpy morning, and M forgot her snack.  I looked at some family photos in which I fully expected to look cute, but the documentary evidence once again shows that I weigh more than I think I do. Why, right now, I have no idea where my car keys are. I know that I used them to drive home yesterday, so they must be around here somewhere, but one can only wander around the house searching before the hyperventilating begins.

So I took a break and found that my computer issues had miraculously resolved themselves. I’m hoping that this signals the beginning of a turn-around for the day. Anyone have additions for the week? Also, if you were meaning to email me about an upcoming event, please do so now because I’ll be doing the next few listings posts ahead of time. And anyone feel like writing a post? You can be anonymous if you want! Anyone? Anyone. . . ? Tuesday at noon is the deadline that I’d set.

All Week:

• The Tri-City Valleycats are playing each night at 7 pm from Thursday the 23^rd to Tuesday the 28^th.

Monday, June 20^th:

• The Colonie Town Band is playing at 7 pm at Colonie Library.

Tuesday, June 21^st:

• Bowtie Cinemas in Schenectady is showing MegaMind , for free today and tomorrow. Doors open at 9:30 am, movies are at 10 am.
• Go on a Scavenger Hunt at 10:30 am at Moreau Lake .
• At 11 am, preschoolers to 6-year-olds can enjoy Trail Tales at the New York State Museum.
• Kids ages 3 to 8 can Hop into Summer at 6:30 pm at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.
• Skeeter Creek is playing at 6:30 pm at Cook Park.

Wednesday, June 22^nd:

• Mr. Beau the Clown is performing at 9 am at Duanesburg Elementary School in a Schenectady Library event that’s free, drop-in, and all-age appropriate.
• Bowtie Cinemas in Schenectady is showing MegaMind, for free today. Doors open at 9:30 am, movies are at 10 am.
• Just show up for a Garden Workshop at 10:30 am at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.
• Take a Moreau Bike Ride from 11 am to 12:30 pm.
• Kids ages 3 and up can get The Dirt on Dirt at the Children’s Museum of Science & Technology at 3:30 pm. Pre-registration is required, $2/non-member.
• At 3:30 pm it’s Cooking Around the World at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga. Pre-register; for ages 5 and up, and it’s $10/person.
• Rockin’ on the River kicks off in Troy with Aquanett playing 80s music from 5-8 pm.
• The Children’s Guide is holding a School’s Out Party tonight at 6 pm at Afrim’s in Latham. There will be a petting zoo, a giant Wii, and lots of food. $3/child.
• At 7 pm, it’s the first concert of the season at Freedom Park in Scotia–it’s “power pop.”

Thursday, June 23^rd:

• Go on a Potter Point Hike at 10 am at Moreau Lake.
• It’s free Jazz on Jay in Schenectady at noon.
• From 2-3:30 pm, it’s Silent Library for kids grades 6 and up at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• Barney’s performing live at the Palace Theatre in Albany at 3 & 6:30 pm.
• Martha Reeves and the Vandellas are playing Alive at 5 in Albany.
• Ballston’s Wiswall Park Concert series starts tonight at 6 pm with Ra Ra Riot and Sirsy.
• At 7 pm there’s a swing music concert at Freedom Park in Scotia.
• The Guilderland Town Band is performing a Young People’s Concert at 7:30 pm in Tawasentha Park.

Friday, June 24^th:

• Preschoolers can have Colorful Fun at 10:30 am at the Children’s Museum of Science & Technology. Pre-register; it’s $2/non-member.
• It’s Troy Night Out from 5-9 pm.
• From 5:30-6:30 pm, there’s a Children’s Yoga Class at Soluna Yoga in Niskayuna.
• Go on a Star Watch at Grafton Lakes State Park at 9 pm.
• The Old Songs Festival kicks off at the Altamont Fairground.