Happy Birthday, Mom!

At sixty-something Millie woke up one day to an empty house that had once been filled with needy children and a water-thirsty husband. After years of cooking three-squares a day she can finally eat ice cream for dinner and cake for dessert…alone. This is the story of one lady who managed to raise eight kids, served Sunbeam bread to dinner guests and ultimately landed a job at a restaurant so she would never have to cook a meal again. Millie has sliced, diced, chopped, grilled, fried and sautéed her way out of her kitchen and into the dining rooms of her children -- an evolution any tired mom would appreciate.

Happy birthday, Mom. My dream for you today is that you get your fill of cake, cookies, pie, Krispy Kremes, chocolates, candies, sugary breakfast cereals, salads that contain jell-o and cool whip and any other sugary substance you love to nosh on! Since food is obviously something I enjoy, I must thank the person that fed me first and that has fed me the most. Thank you for all the home cooked meals. Thanks for all the time it took you to prepare them each and every night while jousting teenagers, wrangling toddlers and fetching Dad a glass of ice water. Thank you for the love that you showed me by making sure I was well fed. Thank you for my sweet tooth. I especially want to thank you for not forcing me to eat things I didn't like and for not making me "clean" my whole plate. I believe it is for this reason alone that I managed to make it this far in life without an eating disorder. Thank you for making Sara and Lorie do the dishes and sweep the kitchen floor.

While cooking all those meals I think what you inevitably taught me was an appreciation of family. The memories of sitting at the dinner table are ones I will treasure forever and it is because of you and your hard work that I have them at all. If I am able to provide the same for my family I will be proud. You should be proud too!

In honor of Mom's 67th birthday I will provide one of her favorite cake recipes. This recipe originally came from Sara, but Mom has taken it over. It is sweeeeeet and tasty!

Sara's Pina Colada Cake that Mom Loves

1. Bake on box yellow cake mix as directed in a 10x13 pan.

2. Mix the following and pour over hot cake:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can cream of coconut

3. Let cake cool completely (this part is hard to do)

Frosting: Mix 1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix and one 20 oz. can crushed pineapple with juice. After blended, fold in one 12 oz. carton cool whip.

Refrigerate and than eat until coma is induced.