How do you find the time to do cakes? I have two boys, 22 months and 4 months. And they take all my time. I barely am able to keep the house clean by working on it after they go to bed. My husband works between 48-56 hours every week occasionally up to 80 as he has done this week! I need to do a cake for next Thursday and I need a game plan!!!

Two tiered with BC and Fondant accents.

Bake when they're napping. Freeze what you can. Make things in advance when they go to bed. Pray.
I have three kids myself, and I find myself baking and decorating in the middle of the night. I feel your pain.
Good luck!

I feel your pain! All I can say is you have to skip sleep or cleaning so, its up to you which is more important. My boys are getting older but, I still do my cakes in the wee hours of the night because my 6 yr old always wants to "help" (sticking his fingers in smooth BC )

I wish I had some miracle advise for you but this is what it boils down to. Good Luck on your cake I will say a prayer for ya

ok say it with me now..... "WHILE THEY ARE SLEEEEEEEEEEPING."

mine are little and two years apart, and boys...
best of luck to you...just prepare to sacrifice your sleep!

i have a 4 year old son, a 3 year old daughter and an 8 month old daughter. 1st. you have to take a deep breath and realize that when a cake is due, you need to realx on some of the other stuff that has to get done. second, break it up into as many parts as possible. bake 1 day, fill and cover the next and decorate that day or the next depending on your time. when all else fails, learn to be nocturnal like me seriously, i so don't sleep anymore. i make all my fondant decorations in front of my tv in the wee hours of the morning.

Clean the house????
seriously, I do as much as I can after they go to bed. sometimes during naps but I have 3 (6, 2, & 9 mos.) they play a lot in their play room, and I fence off the kitchen and talk to them all the time, take quick breaks to dance around and act silly, then back to the kitchen. People ask me how long it takes me to do a cake... I can't really tell them because I can't count all the minutes. best of luck to you!

Maybe do the fondant accents early and put aside..I got no reason to give advice, I have a 5 year old and 3 year old. And my 5 year old is completely dependent on me..I finally had to say okay the house can go a little and as long as I do one load of laundry a day I don't get buried in it. I haven't been doing cakes for money but thinking on it or cookies, I have a part time cooks job for a church but they are dropping the program after this month and giving me the axe so to speak so gotta do somthing..like now I should be sleeping but I'm on here...always curse myself at 7 am when one of the boys gets up early oh please let them sleep till 9 am..sorry got way of course..venting and no adults to talk to..hubby on nights right now

I agree with all the pp. For me the best game plan is to have set days for everything, since basically every week I have 2-3 cakes at least. So I do all my baking one day, make all my buttercream the next, fillings, and then begin to assemble my cakes and decorate. I also have lots of things put up special for when I have to decorate when my DD is up, and she watches too much Blues Clues! HTH!

I've got four girls ages 9,5,4 and 2. It' tough. Especially when they all sit up on the stools wanting to help with everything. When it's a customer's cake.......that's a big no no. I really do stay up late decorating and have finally learned to do all the stuff I can in advance. It's makes a big difference on the day of decoration to have everything ready to go. Plan-plan-plan ahead is the best advice I can give.

Also, the only household cleaning that gets done on decorating day is washing of the dishes and maybe a load of laundry (Big Maybe). Oh yeah and vacuuming and sweeping.......because that gets done at least 3 times daily with all these kiddos running around. I can't wait until they get older and I can put them to work.........Ha.

I've only got one 3-y-o but it doesn't hurt that I am already a terrible housekeeper LOL so when I neglect my "responsibilities" while she sleeps and work on a cake instead, well it's hardly any different from any other day . I am fortunate in that she still naps during the day so for me it's: daytime nap=bake/cook; nighttime sleep: fondant fun. For sure freezing, if appropriate, is involved. Every now and then if time is short then Sesame Street swoops in to save the day; comes in handy as a "special emergency" tool since I never have the TV on otherwise.

I don't care how much time your kids take up (or perhaps rather: BECAUSE they take up your every breathing moment): we all need some sort of mental break or outlet! So as much as I love and desperately need sleep, sometimes a cake will win. And I get so much joy out of doing it (mind you I only do like 4 cakes a year) that it's worth every second of lost sleep.

Now the real question is: how on earth do you get any caking done when you are addicted to CC??!!

that's a good question! I truly am addicted! it's one in the morning here and my eyes are drooping but still can't shut off the computer!! But DH is still not home from work. I can't sleep without him anyway!

ribbitfroggie~~~ My son also watches way too much Blues Clues also but that is all he watches, and he learns alot of new words from it too! I record the ones that come on when he isn't up so I have backup so I can cook. My 4 month old is at that age when he won't occupy himself and wants to be held and played with at all times.

No rest for the weary!!

Yes oh yes, I've asked this too. I actually don't do near as much decorating as I would like to, because I like my kids better than cake.(right?) But I think there is a happy medium, when I have a cake that is important my mom will take the kids for like 5 hours. I was shocked to learn that it doesn't take 2 days to decorate a cake if the kids are elsewhere. But for me it's just a hobby, you may feel differently. Though I don't spend a lot of time on it, I think it's important to have a grown up hobby, so don't get me wrong.
There's my 2 cents. Good luck to you and your family!

Thanks This is my hobby. I have spent too long staying at home on the weekends watching the kids because I had nothing to do while DH went out hunting fishing or otherwise. I decided to take back some me time!!

my kids are 21 months and 4 months. I bake when they go to bed. mY daughter is terrified of my KA so she screams if I do it with her around anyway. I decorate in the mornnings when Dh is around. he helped make the kids, so he needs to do his bit and give me a break!!!!

I do it for a hobby at the moment, it gives me time away to not talk, wipe a face or change a nappy!!

Babysitter!
When I'm doing a cake for money, I treat it like my job and hire a sitter. DH is the best-priced sitter , but I'll pay the oldest to watch the other two, she's 15, the others are 8 and 3, or my mom takes them swimming in the backyard while I'm "working."
Even when I'm not making a cake for money, I like to have a sitter, unless I'm in a teaching mood, then I'll bake the kids cupcakes to ice and decorate themselves while I do mine.
Decorating cakes is my "me" time. It helps me unwind from the stress of work and life in general.
My husband would never let me send the kids with him golfing, so I don't expect them underfoot when I'm baking/decorating!

I only do cakes for a hobby and occasional paids, but it is just me or when you have a deadline, that seems to be the day your child is super needy? I have a one year old and sometimes he will sit in his highchair and watch me work, but most of the time I have to work at night when he is sleeping. Hubby works 24 hr shifts so he is gone alot but when he is here he does all of the cleaning.(I am lucky!) He knows decorating cakes is "me time" and thats important. I have also learned that if my son has to watch a movie or a couple of Mickey Mouse shows for an hour, that doesnt mean I am neglecting him. Oh, and a whole lot of patience helps too!!

I have 8yr old DS and a 4 yr. old DD. When I am on cake mode, they know it's time to stay out of the kitchen. My DH works 45-65 hr per week and sometimes works at night, so lets say I have a lot of kid time. When I am being paid for a cake, which by the way only had 2. My DH when he is home makes sure the kids are busy. They are old enough to know that the cakes are my job ( just started). So they are my advertisement. The cakes have to look good. When I don't have a customer, I usually do them at night after they go to sleep. Theres nothing like have no interuptions when decorating.

I have three boys and a husband and plus I work full time sometimes many many hours,so I know what your saying!!! I bake my cakes at night a few days before they are due andI put my crumb coat on it and put them in the freezer.I make my decorations about a week inadvance. I always make extras that way I can keep them for maybe a next cake.I always make my buttercream about 2 days before and keep it in the refrig.So that way when I have to do a cake I just pull it out of the freezer and pull my B/C out and let it get room temp. and then put it together it's takes no time.


Hope I helped you!!!
Stacy

My kids are 4, 5, and 6 and they ALWAYS want to help me. Sometimes it is very irritating to me because there are six little hands trying to open and touch everything and I end up having to raise my voice over their noise and say, "STOP!" "DON'T TOUCH!" Then I give them a specific job, like opening the box of cake mix, or counting the eggs on the back of the boxes and adding them together to tell me how many I need to use. We are learning fractions now all because of cake baking! Can you believe it?

I have hired a sitter, set them in front of the tv all day, Sent them to a neighbors house, Made an older sibling play with them, waited up late. etc. there is never one answer and even though I might have a lot of time without the kids, something always goes wrong anyway. So i just have to wait but I am actually not caring for the hobby to much anymore, but I am sure the bug will come back.

It's a challenge, isn't it?

I had a big baby shower to bake for this weekend - two tiered cake with handmade dress form topper, 24 cupcakes with pink and blue gumpaste discs and royal initials and 24 bib cookies with MMF and royal flowers and initials. I was really nervous about it, but then I sat down and broke it down into a checklist of manageable tasks. When I saw all the things I could do ahead of time, it made it a lot easier.

All my gumpaste work was done a week ahead of time. Same with the royal. MMF was made three days ahead. Same with the cookies. Cakes, icings and fillings were made the day before.

Everything did not go as smoothly as hoped (literally, the icing wouldn't smooth!) BUT it was not terribly stressful and my friend loved everything.

It can be done if you break it down into small tasks. And it doesn't hurt to set limits with your kids about what is/isn't ok. Mine know not to touch anything cake - they're 4 and 18 months. They get my attention all day long and often several times at night, too. They know that Mommy needs her time to do what interests her, too.

Christy

I have a 19 month daughter, and she also gets very needy when I am making cakes. It is almost as if she knows that I am trying to do something else and all of a sudden she must have my complete attention. I try to drop her off for a day at grandma's, if possible. Otherwise, I try to get as much done during nap times or :gasp: I park her in front of her favorite tv show. I do make it a point to stop periodically and play with her (as long as I am not running behind on my cake) a couple times throughout the day.

I also have a roomba vacuum cleaner and the scooba mopper... so house cleaning can get done while I am sleeping with my robot staff... it works really great! Now, If they only made one that would wash and fold laundry!!

Spongebob is my babysitter.

cassi_g16,

OK HERE IS MY GAME PLAN. I HAVE A 4 YR OLD BOY AND A 9 YR OLD GIRL. WHEN THE BABIES ARE SLEEPING/NAPPING BAKE THE CAKES DO ERRANS IN THE MORNING IF POSSIBLE ALWAYS BAKE AT NIGHT BECAUSE THE LIGHT IS CHEAPER. SO I RUN ERRANS IN THE AM CLEAN IN BETWEEN AND AT NIGHT TIME BAKE AND DO LAUNDRY.

IS CALLED BEING A SUPER MOM GIRL WE DO EVERYTHING WE ARE THE DEFINITION OF MULTITASKING THEY SHOULD HAVE THE PICS OF ALL US MOMS ON THE DICTIONARY ONLY GOD GIVE US THE STRENG.
'
I WILL DEFINALLY KEEP YOU IN MY PRAYERS AS I DO EVERY MOM ON CC. I HAD ONES A WEDDING CAKE DUE AND THANK THE HEAVENS I ALWAYS BAKE XTRAS WELL MY 4 YRS OLD DESIDED THAT WE WANTED TO DECORATE AND BROKE OFF THE TOP TIER WHEN IT WAS DUE 45MIN
ALL I WASNTED TO DO IS SO WITH THAT SAID STARTED TO PLAY BARNEY TAPES OVER AND OVER AGAIN. LOL

GOOD LUCK TO YOU.

You will adapt as they get older, when mine were really little, I did only basic birthday and baby shower cakes, but now that they are older, I can do the bigger cakes..........did I mention the 7 kids? OK, three off them are step children........19, 16 and 12, and mine are 11, 10, 8 and 6. I work 50 hours a week, volunteer softball coach, sing at mass every Sunday morning, and help my dad farm when he needs it (and my husband says that I volunteer my time too much ) And I don't do a ton of cakes.......Anyway.......when I get a big order like the last one (for 400), I bake ahead and froze, then use every little extra minute to mix up icing and make any decorations needed.........it's easy to plan, but very hard to organize, as all of us mothers know Even with kids as old as mine, I had to take about 5 hours out of my icing routine the day before my last cake (which I took off work to do), to handle a serious kid situation with step sibling/sibling issues.........ah the boredom of my life I stayed up until 5am to finish it........things always come up, it's just how you handle them when they do. Mine like to be around when I am decorating, and especially my 16 yo step daughter (her mother doesn't cook or bake)....her and my two daughters helped me set up the big cake, and they loved every minute of being part of something like that- and they were tremendous help too! Now, I know, the little ones can't help, but I used to keep mine occupied by making a cupcake or two with leftover batter, giving them a tiny bit of icing ( enough that I would not be concerned if they ate it all).......a spatula and decorating bag (with a useless tip), and told them to make a little cake too.........keeping them occupied is the key, and some kids will keep really busy if they think they are helping you! Otherwise, like everyone else said, the laundry, housework, etc has to be sacrificed...........if you enjoy it, you will find the time without killing yourself!