I asked Chris last week "What kind of cake do you want for your birthday?"  He said "Oh, we can do a cake the weekend after my birthday because I'll be gone anyway."

Simple enough.  No cake.  I tried, but no cake.

Because the boy refuses to let anything be "simple enough", I should have known better and just overruled Chris on the "No Cake".  Since Chris is gone I drove the kids in to school/work alone yesterday.  I told Will it was Daddy's birthday.  He said "What kind of cake are we having?"  I told him we weren't having a cake.  He said "Don't you love him?"  

I explained love wasn't the issue - his Daddy simply did not want to worry about a cake on his birthday, but we would have cake over the weekend.  He would still get a cake, just not on his actual birthday.

A sigh came from the backseat.  "It's just not the same..." 

I explained again that love had nothing to do with it.  I offered the cake, the cake was given a rain check. 

"You should still have made a cake.  It is a birthday, you know."

I dropped him off at school, thankful the Birthday Cake = Love debate was over.  Unfortunately, he hadn't forgotten when I picked him up after school. 

"Did you buy Daddy a cake?"  No.  No I didn't.  I didn't buy a cake.  I didn't make a cake.  I will make a cake this weekend, like Daddy wanted.

"Everyone needs a birthday cake or it's just not a good birthday."  He's looking very critical at me through the rearview mirror.  "You should make a cake if you love him."  I told him I DID love Daddy and that's why I was SUBMITTING to his wishes for his CAKE on the WEEKEND!  He gave me the Whatever-Helps-You-Sleep-At-Night look and turned his attention to the other cars on the highway.

Chris comes home.  I tell him I'm going to make him Birthday Muffins.  We had muffin mix, just no cake mix, but if I baked something the boy would leave me alone about the cake.

"I don't want muffins.  We can have those this weekend."  Chris says. 

"You're GETTING muffins TONIGHT because it's your BIRTHDAY and I LOVE you and there's no cake mix in this house and so you get BIRTHDAY MUFFINS!  That's IT!"

Chris, unaware of the birthday no-bake controversy, walked to a safe location away from the kitchen in front of the TV.  Wilson monitored my muffin making.

"I sure am glad it's Daddy's birthday.  Muffins are more special than cakes."  He said.