Last night I lost Isabella in a Michaels craft store.

It wasn’t like that one time when I lost her in a Target—when I saw my entire life flash before my eyes in the few seconds she was out of my sight. No. This was different. There was panic, sure, and that weird barfy feeling in the pit of my stomach. But, it was different. Even though my kid is loud and feisty and can be incredibly nerve-grating and I was absolutely certain that no one was going to want to snatch her, and even though we were the only crazy people who were out in the rain at 7:30pm at an arts and crafts store, I panicked, just a bit.

Okay, maybe kind of a lot. 

But, this time it was different.

Because I knew exactly where she was. 

Fondant. Icing bags. Gum paste. Cake stamps. Candy molds. Tips. Fluted pans. Edible glitter. Food coloring.

Of course she was there.

Because my kid, Isabella, she’s an interesting one. Sure, she enjoys riding her bike and playing with melty beads and Barbies and Full House and iCarly and going to the park. But, there is nothing in this world that my child likes more than Buddy Valastro.

Yes.

This Buddy.

She is a baker snob it seems—she refuses to even give Duff Goldman a chance. “He can’t possibly be as good as MY Buddy,” she says. It’s not even funny. She will not even sit through an episode of Ace of Cakes—she doesn’t want any part of it.

She watches episode after episode of this show, sometimes while wearing her apron. She has DVDs. She has episodes DVRd. She googled youtube clips. She knows the entire Cake Boss family. She knows what the cake decorating tools do. She knows the terms. Hoboken, New Jersey is an ideal family vacation destination for her.

She talks about the bakery she will have when she’s all grown up, and all of the cakes she will make.

She has already decided on a Barbie mermaid cake for her 7th birthday—that she wants to make ALL ON HER OWN.

No joke.

My kid wants to be a professional cake decorator. She wants to be Betty Crocker and, obviously, to her, Betty is a dear friend.

So, of course, that’s where I found her.

Drooling in the cake decorating aisle.

Researching.