Easy Bake Oven Retro Tupperware Party

You should have guessed by now that I'd have a life lesson in my tupperware and easy bake oven. Here are pictures from our latest retro party. I love that the kids were good about taking turns pouring the ingredients into the little bowl, stirring the cake mix, and even shared time and space peeking through the window to watch the cake bake. We made brownies that I thought 'flopped'- they were gooey and sugary. But, when I put a small scoop on top of the kids' bowls of icecream, they all thought it was the best brownie topping ever! I realized that it's not about how the miniature dessert turns out, but about the time spent creating and being together.
Of course I've got a story behind that easy bake oven...it goes back to a time before I ever had any kids. I had made Chip promise me and swear over and over that he agreed to never having kids- that he could be happy in life without them, for me- when he proposed to me. It was my biggest concern when he popped the question to me one night in June 1994. I was at a point in my life where I had decided I never EVER wanted kids...they just didn't 'fit' into the future and dreams I had for myself in my head. I had loved kids and babies when I was young. I was one of the most sought after babysitters in my church and neighborhood. I worked at the YMCA in the nursery department (for my first 'real' job). At age 5 I had even mentioned I wanted 100 kids when I got married and grew up...my concern was how I would get them all dressed and to church on time. =)
But, after years of waiting tables and seeing kids and families at their very worst, I decided kids were not for me. End of story. Besides, I had spent a lot of time, money and energy in school, and upon graduation I decided kids would make a career and all the 'luxuries of life' too complicated, and I wasn't in the mood to change my life for someone else.
Little did I know that God had other plans for my life. I was in for a life-altering change...one that turned my life upside-down in a very good way. But try telling me that when I'm in the midst of selfishness. I happened to find out that I was pregnant on the morning of the day Chip and I had plans to fly to Chicago for our first annivesary. Uh, huh. I typed that right. We were celebrating our first wedding annivesary with a three day weekend in Chicago. We were going to take in the city and just enjoy our time together.
Imagine Chip's disgust at me when I had a terrible attitude from the ticket counter to the wait before boarding the aircraft, and finally at my sarcasm toward the guy who plopped down next to me. [Side note: This flight was a choose-your-own-seat flight, and there were several open seats on this flight. This guy literally 'fell' into his seat and stuffed his carry-on under the seat in front of him and basically spread out and imposed on my space! Bad idea!!] So, as Chip began to lecture me about being rude and having a lousy attitude when we were about to head out on the most fun weekend we'd had in a long time, well, I lost it. I started sobbing. I am SO NOT the kind of person to cry in public, so Chip knew something was up. Even after being married only one year- he picked up on that right away. =)
I had told myself I wouldn't tell Chip about being pregnant until sometime well into our weekend...or maybe even on the flight home. But the minute my tears began to flow, I knew I had to tell him, or he would be snapping at me all weekend. I remember being scared to death of telling him my news. Which, looking back on it, makes me sort of laugh. I was the one who had issues with the idea of having kids- not him. But still, I remember being scared to tell him, so between my sobs, I choked out the words as whispers in his ear. When he finally had it sink in and he realized he had heard me correctly at least three times, he pushed me back at arms length and smiled the biggest grin I think I have ever seen from him. He was stunned. He was happy, and I think relieved to know that I had a valid excuse for my less-than-stellar attitude on the flight and to the guy sitting next to me. But suddenly his expression changed, and I think he recognized my tears were those of fear and even a bit of disgust. The plans I had made him promise to me just about two years earlier were falling through. He knew I was feeling anything but joy inside.
He spent the rest of the flight calming me, reassuring me, and trying not to smile every time he knew I was looking at him- although he was bursting with happiness inside. I was sad at myself for feeling like I was stealing his joy at that time. When we finally landed (that 52 minute flight from Minneapolis to Chicago felt like forever) and went to collect our bags, I got the best hug I had ever had in my life from Chip...he wrapped himself around me and it was a moment I will never forget. Despite my mixed-up, messed up, hormonal feelings, I felt myself melting in his arms and telling myself, "If this was going to happen to me, at least it is happening with Chip". I knew he was going to be the one person I could count on to get me through this pregnancy and make sense of our future for all of us.
That's the long story behind how I got my 'Mrs. Field's Easy Bake Oven'. For Christmas that year, when I was about 6 months pregnant and still not thrilled with the idea of having a baby change my life, Chip gave me a big box and said it was a gift to help change my mind about how I was feeling about a baby. (We didn't know what we were having.) I opened up my easy bake oven and Chip said, "See? You're just gonna have to focus on all the great things having a kid will bring to your life...you'll get to bake with a toy oven". I thought it was so sweet. He knew I loved stuff like this, and so he took the opportunity to show me a glimpse of my future- one that showed me a glimpse of happiness and fun that was lacking in the pictures I was playing in my mind at that time.
Flash forward a two years, and I pulled out the little oven and baked up some goodies with the joy of my life, Teagan. Baking that first pan of brownies were an experience that thrilled my soul. For real...I'm not kidding! I can't believe me, the queen of taking pictures, didn't take photos of Teagan and her pan of brownies that day. We must have been having too much fun. It wasn't something we did often, but enough for me to remember how much fun we had together. Then Brock was born and he got in on the baking when he got a bit older. He always loved the cake the best.
I pulled it out after Teagan had died, and Wyndham was big enough to peer through the window and kick her feet while I held her up to the window. I was careful not to let her touch it though, because the little viewing window had smudges and fingerprints on it. Those prints were Teagan's.
This past weekend when I popped in the pan of brownies, the kids pulled the little chairs up next to the oven and were yelling with excitement who got to peek inside first. Brock was first and as he looked inside I told him, "I'm never going to wipe the window clean because those are Teagan's fingerprints." His eyes got so big and he took a close look at the window. When his sisters got too close, he would say, "Don't touch the window, those are Teagan's prints!" I let him know that it's okay if the window gets smudged or bumped...peeking in is the most fun part of baking in an Easy Bake. I wasn't about to ruin the fun. And really, the window isn't that smudged. I personally like it that way.
I am reminded that my life took another path- one that I wouldn't have chosen- at least not when I was young and first married. I have learned that sometimes what I think is best for me really isn't even close. I have been given blessings and joy in life...sometimes totally undeserved and not even close to where I would have looked for them. I have learned that it is true, God knows what is best for each of us, even if it means walking down a bumpy, narrow path, that we would never have chosen to journey down on our own.
I am thankful today, for the journey, for the hurts, for the disappointments that turned to blessings in disguise, and for the lessons in life that come packaged up in boxes- like Easy Bake Ovens.