We're working on the Feb/Mar 2010 issue = Birthday Party Guide!

For those of us busy moms with no time to make cakes, I stumbled upon the greatest bakery EVER in Albany. She made a cake that looked exactly like this one (I took her the photo) and it was amazing! Check out Sweet Things Bakery for their cakes, cupcakes and lunch.

In the meantime, need more ideas from you to finish up the cake section for the magazine. A while back we asked MOM Blog readers, "Do you make your own birthday cakes?" Here's what some of them had to say. Add your own note in the comments section below.

raeann--I used to make my own b-day cakes. Now Dairy Queen makes them for me. She rocks!
madisynlynae0--YES! My hubby and I make them together. The biggest hit so far has been our castle cakes. My daughter requests this every year. So far we've done it twice!
momofEs--Yes I do, I figure it's my one time a year to make something special and different, especially now that my oldest can give me input. I like being creative.
alhelms-- Yes, my favorite is cupcakes made into a cake! (last year it was a big flower) Easy to hand out and fun to frost with my daughter. (and to eat of course!!)
Scrappincannon-- Half the time I make them and about half I buy them! Costco, Basket and Robbins, or New Morning Bakery.
Krista-- I do!    In fact, my son is turning two next week and is totally into trains. I got a train cake mold (the one from Willams Sonoma, have you seen it?) and can't wait to make it!
cnhrogers-- I have done both~
elizabeth-- Sometimes depending on how much time I have. I often add toys to the top of home made or store bought cakes.
vanderwal-- Of course, can't decide a favorite between a train with 10 cars or the pile of "dirt" with bugs, etc. crawling on it!!!
oddbirdd-- My twin girls are only 10 weeks old so no cake for them yet! My mom always made our cakes growing up and I plan to make b-day cakes for my girls too!
madisynlynae01-- I guess I should say I have made the cakes and I have bought them too. Making them every year would be giving me too much credit.
lzbthj-- Ice cream cakes are the only way to go.
Kassie-- I have tried and failed at many cakes. They all look better in my head than in reality. My youngest turns three on Sunday, and Costco will do the baking.
laninamialegria-- Not always but when I make them I try to do my own creations with m & m's, little kisses, white chocolate figures or lollipops.
adc397-- My mom has a great recipe for an ice cream cake that my son just loves!
lynnbos-- the latest for me is doing the Cold Stone Creamery cakes! Like them better than DQ…or i sometimes go with homemade Cupcakes(with cherries in the middle of course)
hosersgirl-- Yes I do make my own birthday cakes, sometimes my cake making mom makes them for us, and my sister has even made a cake for our family birthday parties….this last party we had it at the bowling alley and I made bowling pin cupcakes and bowling ball cupcakes….much fun!!
sabrina-- I usually make the birthday cake myself.
dhoover-- I have made birthday cakes since I was 9 years old, I am now 50. I just have always liked making cakes.
kimberlr-- I have 10 kids and 1 grandson. We have nearly one birthday a month so sometimes I will make them, sometimes my mother will make them, sometimes my 2nd & 3rd oldest will make cakes….but lately most often it seems that we have been SOOO busy with sports that we have just been buying them from Costco and adding out own special touches to them! We also do those nice little cupcake cakes from Wal-Mart. They are adorable! My answer would be a bit of both depending on how busy with sports, etc., we are!
Tammy-- My kids love homemade cupcakes. Brownies are also a big hit. I enjoy baking for them and with them so it is always a treat.
Kristal-- Are you kidding me? What Mom has that kind of time? I don't! Although I do seem to have the hour or so to get in the car, go to the store, reserve the right cupcake/cakes, drive home, go back to the store on the birthday party day to pick up the cupcakes/cake, drive home, etc….LOL…PERHAPS I do have the time… Although, it doesn't help that I am not very creative, either!
MaryWebb-- I make them sometimes, or Dairy Queen makes them. We really like those ice cream cakes. This year my 14 year old son wanted a homemade cake…so that's what we had!! :o)
jbrobidart-- When my oldest was very young I would buy the Wilton character cake pans like bunnies, Big Bird and the very favorite was a bear pan that was sitting upright and you baked the cake upside down in the oven. Then, you would take the pan off (it was in two peices and it had clamps to hold it together while baking) and sit it up and decorate it. If you were having a baby shower, you could cut the ears off and decorate the face and skin color like a baby. We loved that cake pan!! I did this until my youngest of four was born and I didn't have time to cook a cake. Walmart Bakereis are wonderful things!!

MOM Magazine reader Karen Mockler recently started her almost-3-year-old son, Shane, in Lil' Kickers at Corvallis Sports Park. According to Karen, Shane just ran and ran, and had an absolute blast. Karen also added,"The coach was awesome! And I really was impressed by the way the class was set up. He incorporated a lot of learning through very creative ways."

Looking for something to do with your child this winter? The Corvallis Sports Park Winter 2 session starts February 2nd-6th. Parents can sign up anytime before that for kids ages 18 months - 12 years old. Classes are open enrollment and the session is only 9 weeks long for parents' convenience. Learn more here!

Many babies, parents, and siblings were on hand at the Second Annual McKenzie Willamette Medical Center's Tiny Toes Celebration this past weekend. I had the privilege of being invited to the event to help celebrate all the babies born at McKenzie Willamette during 2009.

A highlight of the day's festivities included a weigh-in of all the 2009 babies, with McKenzie Willamette donating money to the March of Dimes based upon the total weight of the babies. While some babies were more reluctant than others to be weighed, a sizable donation was still able to be made to March of Dimes.

One mom's story that struck me was she said that not only had her baby been born at McKenzie Willamette Hospital in 2009, but that both her and her husband had been born there as well! It's wonderful that McKenzie Willamette has been at the heart of Springfield/Eugene for many years and will continue to do so.

Personally, I loved seeing all the babies (I even got to hold some!) and brand new parents. It took me back to when my boys (now 4 and 6) were infants. My, how time flies. It's true what they say:

McKenzie Willamette - a Great Place to be Born!

(Photo Courtesy of Jessica Coleman Photography.)

Over the holiday break, my kids spent 4 days at Winter Camp at The Little Gym. They LOVED it….for 3 hours they ran and jumped and played their little hearts out. And that is when it occurred to me: my kids require a good amount of exercise every day. They don't need it, they require it. If we don't do some sort of physical activity, by 5:00 p.m. they are literally bouncing off the walls or clothes-lining each other in a game of Race Car Touch. In the summertime, we could just go out in the backyard, for a bike ride, for a walk, etc. But now that it's winter, I really need to start planning a physical activity portion of the day.  This time of year it's too rainy, dark or cold to go outside - so what do you to get your kids exercise on a regular basis?

Here's Alex doing one of my exercise videos. I started doing it with both of them, and they LOVE it. Alex asks often (several times a day) for me to put on the video so we can exercise.