The Most Amazing No-Bake Birthday Cake

How does this failure of a mom celebrate her favorite son's birthday? With the most amazing no-bake birthday cake!

Happy 12th Birthday to my remarkable little dude. There is definitely something special between a mother and her son. It's a different kind of bond. Just like the love is different between your parents and your partner, your partner and your child, one child from another. My daughter Tori is definitely one of my best friends, but Leonard? I want to gobble him up.

Leonard's birthday usually lands within the first couple of days of school. It's not bad for him now because he's young enough that the teachers make a big deal about it. But I have been failing him. When your kid's birthday is at the end of summer, and your kid is young enough that they don't really hang out with their school friends all summer, it's really hard to pull a birthday party together. He is never sure about a guest list. I have a hard time tracking down families. So we came to the decision a few years ago that he could have a theme party later in the school year. For his birthday, just later. One year it was a Halloween theme. One year we took a bunch of kids to Dave & Buster's on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (they had the day off, and it gave parents a chance to get ready for the holiday). But most of the time I forget to plan anything and he gets the short end of the stick. So much for our special bond.

This year, Leonard is involved in so many activities he didn't have a hard time coming up with a guest list, so we had a picnic at a park and played games - kids vs. adults. It was a blast. But the main attraction was the cake.

A few weeks ago, when Leonard started getting excited about his party, he found a photo of a cake online and jokingly asked if I could make it. Honestly, it was so simple. Store-bought cake with a bunch of junk food on it. Every boy's dream!

It's back to school time! And with it comes so much stress and so many expenses! (This list will help you save money.) Check out these school lunch hacks your kids will love, and you'll love to make!

I've learned to compartmentalize my issues so I tackle just one at a time. It helps me from becoming overwhelmed. Helps. And I can use all the help I can get. (Like these great items every mom needs for back to school!)

One thing that used to really give me anxiety is packing my kids' lunch. When my daughter was in kindergarten, she wouldn't eat a sandwich. (I mean, really? No peanut butter and jelly, no turkey and cheese, not even grilled cheese!) That was a challenge I tackled, and feel I won. Both she and my son were known for their fun little "bento box" lunches that included kabobs and deconstructed sandwiches.

Thank GOD for the internet. I was on every mom blog, Instagram, and TikTok I could find to figure out how to be creative with healthy foods for the kids. Okay, relatively healthy foods. They are kids. My goal was to get a fruit and or vegetable in them at lunch. I knew the carbohydrates and proteins would be a little easier.

But here's the thing. You know as well as I do that eating healthy foods that are fun and enticing to kids can be easy if you're willing to pay an arm and a leg for them. It's a real shame that junk food is so much more accessible and more cost-effective than real food. But our kids have enough hurdles to overcome, especially at the beginning of the school year. So, let's take this one for them.

And getting creative with your kids' school lunches doesn't have to take up all your time and energy, either. Don't reinvent the wheel. There are others who came before you (who somehow have time to create snazzy social media posts) who really want to help. Use their ideas and let's do what's best for our kids.

I will take every tip I can on being more organized in order to tick my chores off quicker. I love this hack in organizing school lunches and snacks!

Why make a new lunch every. single. day. when you can make a week's worth in one shot?! And, omg, Hawaiian Rolls are so delish!

Grilled cheese sandwiches have to be the perfect food. And what makes them even better is when you cut them into strips and pop them in a thermos for lunch!

I don't think you can ever be too organized. This hack, however, looks like too much work for me. But it might work for you!

Another great hack for making multiple sandwiches at the same time. And these fit perfectly back in the bread bag. YAY!

My mama used to do this for me. I would eat Spaghetti-Os for lunch pretty often in my little Thermos. She had it down. Thanks, Mama!

This hack is tried and true. But if your kids are anything like mine, they'll eat the Uncrustable in the lunch box, and maybe the apple, but certainly not all of that fruit. I'd add a Tastykake (and I'm okay if you judge me for that. I'm just being realistic.)

This is absolutely my kids' favorite lunch. Putting food on a skewer makes it fun to eat! The kabobs I make are similar to this, but I put everything on the same skewer using cubes of meat and cheese alternating them with fruit, and I put a brownie chunk in the middle, so they (in theory) have to eat the good stuff to get to dessert.

Kids love fun food, which is why the kabobs are such a hit. My son is a glutton for Lunchables which make lunching super quick and easy. But they're also expensive for what you get. And, let's face it, they're not very good for your kid. So, make your own! If you don't have fancy boxes like these, just do what I do and use silicone (reusable) cupcake liners.

My kids could eat Ramen until they turn into noodles. This is a great trick to make it for them for school lunch. I like to add frozen peas (my son won't eat them, but my daughter does) and shredded carrots.

Does your child ever eat their food while it's still hot? No! Kids procrastinate and never seem to complain that their food got cold. So why not give your kid the food they love for dinner, at the temperature they end up eating it at anyway?