Sesame Street Massacre

Other titles considered for this blog were:
1. Our first failure
2. Death of a Beloved Character
3. Bye Bye Elmo
4. No cake for Roman
5. Elmo's Suicide

As you can plainly read, this blog is not necessarily a happy one. We have made many cakes over the last 2 years and we have had success on all of them. Not to say that all were perfect but we have always been able to find solutions when things didn't work out right.
After having an argument with my brother, he decided a bit hastily to move Roman's first birthday party from my house to his mother in law's house. That was fine since that was his decision but I was still going to bring the cake.
The theme for the party was Sesame Street and Roman's favorite character is Elmo. Casey did not give me specific instructions on how she wanted the cake to look, simply that she wanted chocolate and cookies and cream filling. I wanted to do something special and surprise them so I decided to do a 3-D Elmo.
Marcia and I usually have meetings to discuss difficult cakes like this one but since I had had family in town and wasn't in the best of moods in regards to having a small timeline for the cake and now having to make sure it would transport well, we didn't have our usual meeting and this is where the trouble began.
The second thing was that I was busy and so I procrastinated making the cake and starting the assembly process. This was our second mistake. Well, mainly mine since I made the call of when we were going to start the cake.
We began the cake Friday night, July 12 and worked diligently through the night. We got the body carved, assembled and the "fur" piped on. All that was left was the head. At this point it was around 3 AM. I had bought a Styrofoam ball to use for the head - incidentally the same type of Styrofoam I had used for the disco ball on my own 30th birthday cake.
We began putting the head together and it became clear that the Rice Kripies treats we were using for the cheeks weren't sticking to the Styrofoam as well as we thought they should. The face started sliding off and it wasn't working.
I decided we needed to try something else and so we stripped the head of what we had done so far and I made another crucial mistake. I told Marcia to rinse the Styrofoam off. You see, the Styrofoam was very porous and that is why things weren't sticking with the materials we were using. Had I been thinking more clearly, I would have realized that. Rinsing it off only got more moisture into the ball which had disastrous results later.
We began assembling the head again this time using fondant for the cheeks and applying a lot of piping gel (which we were using to stick it onto the Styrofoam). We got the head completed, onto the body and the cake was done! We were so excited. I took pictures of the perfect Elmo and we started to clean up. By this time it was after 9 AM and we had not gone to bed yet. I was a bit concerned about the portability of the cake but I thought it might make it.About 30 minutes later, I walked into the dining room where we had put him to be while we cleaned up and I gasped. The whole left side of his face had fallen off. When I inspected the damage, I realized that all the moisture that had collected in the foam plus the piping gel, had made a gooey mess that instead of acting like glue, just got heavy and the face slid off. I began to panic and my sleep-deprived mind began whirling as I searched for yet another solution to this mess.I decided I had to use cake for the head. At this point, Marcia had a lot to do and I told her to just go home. She began to get ready to go and then decided to stay by my side until the end. What she didn't know is that it would be a very bitter end.
We started baking a round cake for the head. We didn't have much time as my mom was coming to pick up Jasmine and the cake at 1:30 PM. As soon as the cake came out of the oven it went into the fridge to cool.
The minute I decided the cake was cool enough, we went to work furiously to get it done. Well, we knew that the head was now going to be heavier so we tried to add some support for it. Apparently, we didn't add enough, because when we put the head on and began to pipe on the red fur, the head slowly started pressing into the body and crushing it. There was nothing we could do at this point. It was now 1:20 PM and my mom would be there any minute. I knew that even if we could get the cake done, it would never make it to the party and I couldn't send it like that.I decided to drive to Safeway and get a cake so that he would at least have one at the party. I took Lorne's car because I was parked in by Marcia. Lorne asked if I wanted him to go with me since he knew I was frustrated and tired. I thought I was fine so told him not to worry and I left. When I got to the store, I was frustrated to find that the selection of cake there wasn't good. Big surprise - that is why i do what I do! I chose one and exasperated, left the store. As I pulled out of my parking space, I couldn't see that the car parked next to me had a metal bumper that was almost at a 90 degree angle. I drove into the bumper and put a gash in the side of Lorne's car. I was distraught - I got out of the car and fell to the asphalt and sobbed. I was pretty hysterical and this nice man tried to comfort me and and say it was OK. He didn't understand that it was the last drop in my already full bucket.
I don't know how I got home in one piece. I was terrified that Lorne would ream me out for putting a gouge in his pristine vehicle or get mad at me. I don't know why I was so scared, I should have known he would be understanding and supportive. I barely made it to the door with the large sheet cake in my hand and I crashed through the door calling for Lorne. He came running (who wouldn't, given my state) and took the cake, hugged me and listened while I tried to explain through chocking sobs what had just taken place.
Of course he was great and understanding and had me sit down and tried to comfort me. Poor Marica looked exhausted and sad and Jasmine looked around at everyone and knew something was wrong. She immediately came over to me and hugged me and said, "It will be OK Mommy, I will sing you some music to make you feel better." She sang to me and hugged me tight and I cried more for my heart was full from the love of this little spirit that was truly a gift from God. She just said over and over, "I love you Mommy, it's alright, don't cry, it's OK, people make mistakes." That little girl of mine is amazing.
When my mom got there, she made me pull myself together and said that it was not the end of the world (she was right, it wasn't) and that I had already used up the allotted time for crying (that would be 30 minutes for those who don't know) and that I should relax, take a shower and go to the party when I was ready. I couldn't see how I could pull myself together to attend a party, but I gave it a go.

Here is the list of things I learned that day (you have to know when you go through a trial like that, there are lessons to be learned).
1. My Heavenly Father loves me - after everyone left, I asked Lorne to give me a blessing and it was the most powerful blessing I have ever received, strengthening my knowledge that my talents are blessings from Him and that He is aware of my sorrows and all that I do.
2. My Husband loves me - he was wonderful through the whole thing, supportive, helpful, loving, and everything you would want from a husband on a bad day.
3. My little girl loves me - That sweet little spirit comforting me is something I will never forget and which when I think about it brings tears to my eyes.
4. My mom is one tough cookie, and she loves me - She knows how to put things into perspective and brush herself on and keep going.
5. Marcia is one of the most incredible friends and business partners one could ask for - she stayed by my side until the bitter end and was on the lifeboat with me. It was most touching that she stayed and did even though we weren't getting paid and she had lots of other more important things to do.
6. How to and not to make an Elmo cake - I know where my mistakes were and if asked to do this again, I am confident we could get it to work next time.
7. Failure keeps you humble - This could happen to anyone, no matter how good you are and how talented. I needed a dose of humble pie.

I am sure I could make an even longer list but these are the most important things I learned that day. After I took a shower and got ready to leave, I saw that Elmo had had it as well. Here is what I saw when I went into the dining room to take one last look before I went to the party...