So, I won't quit my day job, but this met a 4-year-old's aesthetic requirements for a "Mater and Lightning McQueen birthday cake" while also avoiding the dreaded "at least a day old and dried out bakery cake because your kid's birthday is on Christmas." I ordered the cars online and Googled "Mater cake" and "McQueen cake" for ideas on how to decorate. There were some quite elaborate designs, well beyond my limited skills. When I read in the description, "It took four hours, but it was totally worth it to see my son's face..." I knew I was on the wrong track. But I did like one person's idea of using crushed Oreos to make a road.

I remembered too late that the last time I used my cake decorating tips (e.g. Daniel's birthday, last January!) I gave up on trying to get the left over decorating icing out of the writing tip and threw it away thinking, "It's way easier to just buy a new one." Yeah. If you remember. Oh well. John unearthed in the baking cabinet an unopened tube of writing gel and it lasted just long enough (it started sputtering on the "d" in Ed, hence no "ward.")
John helped me unscrew all the Oreos and he simply could not let all that luscious cream filling go to waste. He piled it high into a super-quadruple-stuffed-steroid-Oreo, which he admirably saved for Edward to eat as his afternoon snack. I do have a spectacular photo of John with said cookie, however, and would be willing to share for the right price.

All, in all, a successful, if exhausting birthday extravaganza (complete with homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner, as requested by the birthday boy.) Now, we have to summon all of our reserve energy to power through the weekend.