I take my hat off to you

I found out how hard it is to decorate cakes with small children around.

Had to babysit my 3 year old grandson and do decorating on the same day and he drove me crazy

Boy, I don't know how you do it

Sending each and everyone of you a standing ovation!!!!

I have a 3 1/2 year old son, whom I work around. Believe me, I'm very appreciative to Diego, Little Einstiens, and Tom and Jerry

I've got a 5 & 3 yr. old boys and one little boy on the way next month. Let me tell you, I've seen lots of late night info-mercials!

I am with you Tat - I have an 8 year old, a 6 year old and a 4 year old and must thank Dora and Spongebob and Jimmy Neutron and the list goes on!! LOL!!

I have two boys, 3 & 4 and sometimes....well.....lol

They're usually pretty good. But, when they get bored, that's another story. That's what favorite movies are for and coloring, etc., I guess. They want to watch me and that's the hardest thing to deal with because they're constantly moving about and asking 100 questions, but I wouldnt' know what to do without them.

He loves Spongebob but the Spongeman failed to keep his attention

I have a 5 & 2 year old. Yes they can be a challage. Especially since one can't have eggs!!! But I make do. I usually bake during the day and decorate at night after they have gone to bed.

Thanks for the Hats off!!! I really needed that!!!

We have a vsmile and it comes in pretty handy!!!

Yes, it is difficult to create/decorate with little ones. I have a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old. I have to convince them that they will get cake as soon as I am done. So I have to make extras when I am working on a cake for a client. And yes, thank goodness for Disney movies!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do the same thing, bake during the day and decorate at night, or if I my girls happen to take a good nap at the same time ( very rare!)

I have a2 1/2 year old and a 1 1/2 year old. Both girls. My 2 1/2 year old is very active and constantly talks. Wants to do everything with me, and loves cake decorating. When I am working with fondant I give her a hunk with a small rolling pin and a couple cookie cutters. She loves it and thinks she's helping mommy! Then of course she gets to eat whatever she makes.

However I am a big friend of De-De-De-Dora and Diego! Don't know what I would do without them. Rainy days are the worst. At least I can let them play outside on nice sunny days!

I have an 11 month old who runs our house. I would have to say thank heavens for a great husband who stays home with our son while I am at work and who doesn't mind keeping him occupied while I work on my hobby.

well I only have a two yr old, but I only bake & decorate at night after he goes to bed!!!! makes for some REALLY LONG LATE nights though!! I've had to cut back b/c I NEED sleep!!! it isn't bad when I'm only doing 2 cakes per week, but recently Ive been getting 3-4 orders per week and well.....only going on 2 hrs of sleep for 3 weeks is difficult!!! so i've cut back to only take 2 cake orders per week now!! and it is so much better!!!

i've tried working around him during the day....and was just too much hassle and I would get very irritated b/c I'd have to constantly start and stop. wasn't worth it!!!

Thanks for the hats off!

I am a stay-at-home, home-schooling mom...I have three girls; 7-1/2, 6, and 4. I try to get my cakes baked while they are doing their sit-down work or are playing outside (I can see them from the kitchen window!). Sometimes, if time is not critical, I let them help a bit (measuring the pans to find the ones I need, counting out the eggs, getting the ingredients out, etc.). I try to have my icing made up during the day, also, then start building and decorating around 9 after they are all settled.

It really helps when my husband is home, because he can keep them occupied, but he is only here every-other weekend (he's an OTR truck driver).

Tina

I have a 20 month old son who is usually pretty good and can entertain himself, but it does take me 2-3 times as long to complete a cake when he is awake.
I am thankful for Sesame Street which I have Tivo'd and can pull up at a moment's notice.

Give him some goldfish crackers and his Elmo and he can sit there for a good 45 minutes!

First KUDOs to all the care givers out there.
I taught my grand daughters to count making cakes. It is a challenge, I have been watching them since birth. Both their Mommies work and Nana has them 5 days a week. They are now 5 & 6. Both are pretty good at decorating. They make alot of cookies. I also took care of my parents while I was trying to decorate. What a chore but one I wouldn't have missed.

I, too, applaud all those with small children! I was working on my one and only castle cake when my granddaughter arrived. It was her cake and she wanted to help! She got into everything, kept eating the MMF, dunking chunks of it into the water, well, just about anything you can think of she did! Cartoons never work at Nana's house. I finally threw my hands in the air and said, "okay, it's done" although I had planned to do a lot more detail work. Oh well, I just LOVE her to death and she loved her castle.

So...to all of you with small children CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP ...

My baby girl is 15 mths and thinks she runs the house! She's been RUNNING since she was 8mths. HELP!! I don't think she knows how to walk Thank heavens for the Grandmothers who lend a hand or two.

I have 3 girls, 4 1/2, 3 1/2 and 2. It's just been since this past fall, that I really got into cake decorating and it is a challenge to get things done! I definitely do most of the decorating at night. But, I can usually get cakes baked or icing made during the day. My youngest is a "junk food junkie" though and always comes to the counter with her finger extended saying "I want bite."

I usually get up extra early in the mornig and do my decorating. I bake the night before, and so it works out usually. I have a 5 year old, 3 1/2 year old and a 20 month old. And i babysit my neice, so if i do it when their awake, well you can imagine how frustrating that can be. They want to eat my icing all the time, so i have to promise them some leftover icing. Yes, thank goodness for Dora, and Spiderman, and sometimes long naps.

Oh....Oh .....I agree. I have a 19mth old and run a small day care out of my home ages 6mths to 2 yrs. I also bake the night before and decorate oh about 4 or 5 in the am. I hate it when the kids arrive and I haven't finished. I am always sneeking in the kitchen at nap times.

Forgot to add...yup gotta LOVE Dora!

I have 2 1/2 year old triplets!! One is a cookie monster! I have to hide all of my decorating and baking materials from her or she will beg for a cookie or a peice of cake and one peice is never enough. My other little girl takes off with my tools. I will vaccum and hear a loud crunch. That would be the missing tip #352.

I'm with all of ya'll too! I have a 4 1/2 year old boy (who is finishing up his first year homeschooling), a 3 1/2 year old boy and an 18 month little girl. The little one is probably the hardest, but she's getting much better. The 3 year old can usually be bought with the promise of some icing when mama is finished...and they are usually held over by cake scraps.....picture Boo from Monsters, Inc. being fed cheerios by Sully....that's my little Mikaela!

thanks for the encouragment. I have recently decided it is not worth being stressed out all day trying to get an order done, so I am just making cakes for family and close close friends! I have three girls 5,3,and2. I have recently started homeschooling the five year old, and especially since my "cake disaster" (castle cake gone bad) I am just kind of taking a break for now.

well all ya'll with little ones, just remember, they don't stay small long. back in the day i had, let's see here... a ten year old, and 7,6,5 year olds, and twin 2 yr olds and last but not least my little one. They are all almost grown up now and sometimes miss the "good ol' days" when one didn't have to worry bout who was bringin who home boy friends, girl friends and the associated drama (sheesh). The oldest is 23 and the youngest is now 13 (will be 14 in april) so ladies don't worry they won't be like this forever.

chaptlps,

Both of my sons are grown, 26 and 21 and I can't get rid of'em so don't worry, you'll never lose them

I have 1 granddaughter and three grandsons...love them to death but boy am I glad they aren't mine 24/7

I congratulate all of you!!!!

Hi, I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old and I have finally got a routine that works for me. I used to decorate at night, but was getting too tired staying up til midnight or worse every time.Now we get up in the morning, head to a playground for 1-2 hours and run them ragged! Then after a quick lunch, my 2 year old goes to sleep for around 2 hours and I decorate then. My 4 year old does drawing, watches tv and checks on me from time to time ( when I cut a shape, I leave little balls of excess icing on the bench for him and he grabs them and leaves the cake alone). They are learning a lot from the exposure, the other day I was getting set up and my 2 year old told me to "go get the flour" so hopefully they will enjoy baking one day too!!
Keira

keira...that's funny...mine are starting to pick it up too...."mama, is that fondant?" out of the 3 year old. Luckily, daddy doesn't mind if the boys are interested in decorating cakes!

Ha Ha! My 2 1/2 year old and I had to have a talk about the difference between play dough and fondant. I always let her play with a small lump of fondant when I am working with it. She has her own roller and I let her use my cutters. And of course she nibbles as she goes and when she gets bored ends up eating the fondant. Well we were a t her friends house for a play date and they decided to get out play dough. Well needless to say, first thing she did was eat it. She got the funniest face, like this isn't good fondant mommy! The other mom didn't really get what was going on. It was pretty funny!