Homemade

Everyone is blessed with talents.

Mine aren't in the kitchen.

Sure, I like to say I can make a good pie - and once in a while I get daring and try to make something else - like fudge that won't harden.

But my mom and sister have a talent. They can make birthday cakes.

(Yes, they have plenty of other talents - For instance, Lori makes great chocolate chip cookies and enchiladas and chocolate angel food cake.)

Mom has always been crafty. She made all my Halloween costumes. And, when I was little, my mom always made my birthday cakes.

It didn't seem to matter what I requested. Snoopy, Garfield, Smurfs, Batman, George Brett. She made it.

She and my sister, Lori, still do this for my kids. And I appreciate it.

My kids have requested some tough cakes, too - from Snoopy to Cat and the Hat and even a "Three Little Pigs" Cake complete with a house of sticks and house of straw.

Here's the latest - which, according to my sister, was one of the simplest. Jordie, for her fourth birthday, wanted a "Frozen" cake.

Mom took cardboard to make the ice mountains. She ordered the figures. She always makes a great red velvet cake.

Here's Jordie's cake from last year - they made it look like her favorite Hello Kitty.

Could I do this? Well, maybe sort of - but I'm sure my tracings would cause a bigger ear or the coloring would look like a giant glob.

Here's Brett and Kaci's birthday cakes from their eighth birthday in March. Mom somehow made the basketball out of cake for Kaci, who says basketball is her favorite sport. Meanwhile, Brett wanted the Batman cake.