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A Surprise, That Was a Piece of Cake!

July 25, 2012 By Laura 12 Comments

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Our biggest girl, Alexis, had a birthday on July 5th.  She turned 15! There is so much I could tell you, about how special this girl is. Especially given her age. But I’ll save that brag for another time.  For now, I’ll just share 2 things that I want to say about her turning 15:  1) The teen-years horror stories I have been repeatedly been told to expect?  They haven’t hit yet.  2) In many ways, she seems so much older, than just 15. And not just because she is way taller and bigger than her Mama.

Her birthday held one tradition that all of her others have . . . . . .

02_birthday-pancakes
She had her ‘birthday number pancakes’.  Except she had them in the afternoon, instead of breakfast.  And then quite honestly, the rest of the day went quickly downhill from there. Complete with tears.  From ME; not Alexis.  Because I felt so bad, her day was going all kinds of wrong. The car even broke down on the way to bowling, which was something she wanted to do with her family on her birthday. It’s a little thing, to go bowling, but it’s what she wanted. (And hey, I’m all for beating the pants off anyone, any day! I don’t even care if it’s your birthday!)  So after Michael tried fixing the car for an hour or so, and he made a phone call to have his auto-place friends bring him a part, the kids and I ended up walking in the horrific heat and humidity, for a mile or so, to our nearest home base; our church!  At least it was cool and peaceful inside. And really, I was needing to feel near to God, by then. I was so sad, about the awful memories we were making, for our girl’s 15th birthday.  So we hung out with Jesus, until Michael came to get us.

 I then demanded a re-do-birthday for Alexis for 2 days later, on Saturday.

THAT day went MUCH better.

03_

(Isn’t she beautiful? Her braces are coming off soon, and I can’t wait to take her real 15-year birthday photos.)

I was excited for re-birthday, because I knew I had a surprise, that was going to knock her flip-flops off!

You see, weeks earlier, I had shown her this cake online, that I had seen on Facebook, that a friend had made, and then I started seeing all over Pinterest.  I thought of Alexis the second I first saw it, because it was made with her 2 very favorite candies: M&M’s, and KitKats. When I showed her, she was like, “Oh-my-GOSH! I wish I could have th-aaaaat!“

But never in a million years would she EVER expect to have one for her birthday cake, nor would she even agree to have one. And do you know why? Because her little brother has a severe peanut allergy, and she doesn’t believe either of those candies to be peanut-safe-enough.  She’s become a real self-taught-expert, on products and companies, and their manufacturing practices. Now, none of the kids eat much candy at all. Not only because not much of it is safe, but because we try to make as healthy choices with what we eat, as we can. But, treats are allowed now and then.  Still, Alexis is adamant about not taking chances, and is a real advocate for protecting her brother.  I’ll tell you more about that in a moment but first, I have to show you these photos:

She knew a cake was coming, but just look at the surprise on her face when she IT . . . . . .

04_

She was SO SURPRISED.  She LIT UP when she saw it – brighter than the birthday candle on her cake.  She went on, and on, and just could not get over, that I had made that cake for her, that she only dreamed of.  My face hurt from smiling so much, watching her with this cake, the whole time.

She was concerned of course having her little brother there at the table with her. Or even having the cake in the house!  But really, we took the necessary precautions, all the way. To start, the candies are not made with any peanut products. But they are just manufactured with peanut products.  So there is no way, we would ever let Shane, our peanut-allergy-boy, have any of it.  But . . . . . cake itself was just the inner circle of the cake . . . . . . about 4 inches in diameter.  We kept the ring, and frosted that separately, for the rest of us.

So this cake really was her very own individual cake.  Decorated with the M&M’s, and KitKats.

005_
(I wish, that her wish, comes true.)

So let me tell you just how much of an advocate she has always been for her brother.
Aside from being an expert about what brands are safe and which aren’t, and aside from the sacrifices of her favorite things she has made for her brother, she did something else when she was only 10 years old, that I think, was pretty impressive.
With Plain M&M’s always having been her favorite candy since she was a little girl, she felt strongly that everyone should be able to enjoy them too. When we discovered (when he was 1 year old) that our little boy had such a severe peanut allergy Alexis soon realized that there were billions of people all over the world with the same common allergy, who would not be safe eating even Plain M&M’s, because the Mars Company manufactured both peanut M&M’s, as well as the plain ones, on the same machinery.  And at the very least, in the same factory. There is such risk of contamination. And in fact, the chance that peanut fragments, or even a peanut M&M, could be in a Plain M&M bag. It’s happened.

006_kit-kat-m-and-m_cake

This mix of manufacturing the 2 together,  really upset her, for chocolate lovers all over the world. For a long time. So when she was 10-years old, she decided to do something about it.  She wrote a petition-letter to the Mars Corporation.  In it, she introduced herself with her name and age, and then wrote them the story of her brother.  She then went on to urge them to please consider manufacturing their peanut M&M’s, and all peanut products, in a separate facility.  She even explained, in her own words, how she believed their profit was probably suffering, due to the billions of peanut-allergy-people, who could not purchase and eat their plain M&M’s.  And so creating a separate facility to keep plain M&M’s safe, would increase their sales.
And then . . . . . . she approached people she knew everywhere she could, and explained to them what she was doing.  She told them why she was writing the Mars Corporation, and she collected over 60 signatures!  People happily signed it, and were always asking her if she heard back yet. They agreed with her mission, and supported her, after she had educated them on the manufacturing situation.

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She addressed an envelope herself too, and mailed her petition-letter to the Mars Corporation.  She fully expected to hear back from them, and was hopeful they would see that she had a great idea, and that they would indeed make the changes needed, to bring billions of peanut-allergy sufferers the joy, of being able to eat plain M&M’s, safely. And frankly, so did I.  She checked the mail every day, and kept asking for a long time, if there was any mail for her, from the Mars Corporation.

But she never did hear from them. At all.

I was really sad for her, and really as disappointed with the Mars Corporation, as she was.  As her mother, it broke my heart to see nothing come of her determined and brave efforts . But that aside, you’d think that they would have been considerate enough to at least reply.  Especially upon receiving such a heartfelt letter, complete with signatures she advocated for herself, from a 10 year old little girl!  You know? It’s just kind of….heartless.  Not to mention, unprofessional, in my opinion.

But nothing. Still. And as you know . . . . . .

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She’s  15 now!

Still no word, from the Mars Corporation.

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So now, you may understand what a big deal this cake was. It really knocked her flip-flops off, just as I thought it would.  She loved every single bite. She said so, most ever single bite.

And I had to remind her not to talk, with food in her mouth. 😉

010_kit-kat-m-and-m-cake She ate a good-sized piece herself every day.

Over the course of the week, she did share some with her father.  I declined. But it was nice of her to offer.

And although I am sure the cake was enough to make her completely content, we did give her another gift . . . . . .

011 Which was just what she wanted. (Because she told me, when I pressed her about what she’d like for her birthday.)  Which I know is really not for her, but for us. See, she figured we’d feel like we got her a birthday present, by getting her this Dick’s Sporting Goods Gift Card. But it’s so she can buy her own sport gear and attire she’ll need this year herself, instead of us having to buy it for her.  Because she always wants to pay for her own things, knowing we’re strapped sometimes. She can’t fool us. ; )

Or maybe we’re fooling her, since we bought the card. Hmmmm.

Not sure who won that mind game, come to think of it.

Her trio-siblings also had their own surprises for her, including a pack of sports cards from her sister.  Which, actually had a sports card in it that is worth some money! That surprised everyone, since O bought the pack at the Dollar Tree Store!

All-in-all, or should I say after-all, she did have a Happy Birthday.

012 She had her cake, and ate it too.  And that was something, she never thought she’d do.
Now if you’d like to sound off below, about how disappointed you are in the powers that be, at the Mars Corporation too, go right ahead! I sure won’t stop you.  Cursing is even allowed this time.

(Just kidding about that last part. The kids like to read the blog too, and we must be a good example! ; )

Oh who am I kidding. They live with me have heard those words before. ; )



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Filed Under: Baking, Celebrations, Recipes, The Big Picture, Traditions Tagged With: birthday-cake, birthday-cake-decorating-idea, Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, kit-kat-candy, m&m-kitkat-cake, m&ms-candy, mars-corporation, peanut allergies

Comments

  1. 1
    Kristen Soth says:
    November 13, 2013 at 12:13 pm

    Is there a recipe for the small yellow kit kat cake?
    Thanks!

    Reply
  2. 0
    Alexis says:
    November 29, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    Can I have more cake? 😀

    Reply
  3. -1
    Barb says:
    November 14, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    We did not know that my husband is allergic to peanuts until one night after my husband, children and I went to bed, he sat up and had a hard time getting any air in his lungs I had to blow air in his mouth until he was able. Now we have to check labels and see where the product is made before we buy anything. I know for sure that if they would manufacture peanut products in another building we would be buying more from them. You have such a loving family and daughter that would do that for her brother. blessings to you all.

    Reply
    • -1.1
      Laura says:
      November 15, 2012 at 1:04 pm

      Hi Barb! I am so intrigued with your story. So your husband did not realize he was allergic to peanut(s) products until well into his adulthood? So it was an allergy that developed later on? I have learned that with serious food allergies, the reaction is always MUCH worse with each previous contamination. Did the scary incident make you realize there were previous incidents? Did he go to the hospital that night? The happenings sound so frightening.
      Yes, we are avid label checkers too! Thank you for stopping by, and sharing your story. I do hope you come by again, and share more! Thank you for the kind words.

      Reply
      • …
        Barb says:
        November 15, 2012 at 3:26 pm

        No we did not go to the hospital like most men I don’t need to go I’m fine but he did see his doctor the next day. I had him read the story of your daughter and he said I wonder if the Hershey Company would do something like that for thier business just a thought.

        Reply
        • …
          Laura says:
          November 15, 2012 at 3:57 pm

          Hi again Barb – Well your hubby needs to be careful with that call. With his life at stake and all, yes? ; )
          The Hershey Company is pretty great. Their plain chocolate Kisses are safe! Because they DO manufacture their peanut and tree nut products in another factory. So that’s good. We’re not completely deprived of chocolate. We don’t eat a lot of candy anyway. But M&M’s were a favorite, and it’s a shame that the Mars Corp., aren’t considering changes yet. BUT….we have much to be grateful for. It’s tiny complaint, in the grand scheme of life I suppose! (Now, if we couldn’t have chocolate at all, you might hear me make a much louder fuss about it! ; )

          Reply
  4. -2
    Michelle says:
    July 26, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    Wonderful post! Happy birthday to a beautiful girl, inside and out! (I’m really surprised too that she didn’t at least get a generic form letter!)

    Reply
    • -2.1
      Laura @ House Of Joyful Noise says:
      July 28, 2012 at 1:10 pm

      Thanks Michelle. ; ) That post was a ‘mouthful’ though, huh? LOL
      But exactly. Even a generic letter from the Mars Corp., would have been nice. She wouldn’t have known the difference. But frankly…..I agree with her proposal……I DO think there is enough peanut allergy people int he world, that it would benefit them to have separate manufacturing facilities. Because we all go by what the ingredients and allergy warnings on the packaging says. But, c’est la vie.

      Reply
  5. -3
    Julie Merilatt says:
    July 26, 2012 at 9:06 am

    She’s SO pretty and I’m thrilled you could make her day so special…

    Reply
    • -3.1
      Laura says:
      July 26, 2012 at 11:45 am

      Thank you so much, Julie!
      Happy to see you here again! : )

      Reply
  6. -4
    Paula says:
    July 26, 2012 at 8:30 am

    HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! I would totally eat that cake – my favorite candies too! I think that was very bad PR on the part of Mars. When my oldest daughter was 6 (she’s now 29) she wrote a letter to the group Def Leppard. She couldn’t write very well, so she dictated to me. She also tape recorded a song she made up about them. We sent it off, and I started to prepare her for the reality that she would never get a response. Several weeks later she got a huge box in the mail, filled with autographed pictures, t-shirts, and a tape recording from them. She still has those cherished items, we’ve been to every concert whenever they are within driving distance, and they will always be our favorite band.

    Reply
    • -4.1
      Laura says:
      July 26, 2012 at 11:44 am

      PAULA!! You are like the shifting wind in my life, Girl! Can we just hug for a sec, before we chat? (((Paula & Laura))). I’ve missed you!!
      How COOL, that Def Leppard responded to your daughter, in a BIG way! See?…THAT’S what I’m talking about! I really admire that. They really went above and beyond there, and that is just AWESOME! Then you look at the Mars Corp., and really, Alexis’ inquiry was something they should have responded to as professional daily procedure in corporation/consumers relations, and it was addressing a legitimate nation-wide health concern, regarding their product manufacturing. But maybe even more so because it was kid. I was not impressed, with their 100% disregard. Of course….we haven’t gone so far as to boycott their chocolate or anything. I mean….we’re disappointed, but we’re not that strong, or crazy. LOL Anyhoo….I was SO INTO Def Leppard my first year in art school. I especially remember listening to them on the Greyhound bus 25 years ago, traveling between home and school in Boston, some weekends. On my ‘walkman’. (<

      Reply

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