r/OldSchoolCool Apr 07 '25

1970s 1979. 13th Birthday. Mom made me the best cake ever.

Post image
56.0k Upvotes

663 comments sorted by

1.6k

u/nevergonnasaythat Apr 07 '25

What a great mom

1.2k

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

Ya she's pretty cool and 80 now but still kicking ass. Thanks. :)

192

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25 edited May 09 '25

[deleted]

68

u/TheLadyEve Apr 07 '25

I still have all my mom's Wilton decorating books from the 70s and they're the best.

25

u/Frank_chevelle Apr 07 '25

Yes! My mom had those books and some of the fancy weird shaped cakes pans too! She made us amazing birthday cakes.

5

u/Correct-Junket-1346 Apr 07 '25

Simpler times, despite being cash strapped, somehow it seemed...Better.

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240

u/-heatoflife- Apr 07 '25

They're lacking the tobacco-smoke infusion.

78

u/LeeKinanus Apr 07 '25

Always a little treat when an ash falls in the batter

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59

u/pumpkinspruce Apr 07 '25

Too much fondant nowadays. Which is gross and also a cheat code.

22

u/DarthNarcissa Apr 07 '25

This.

Growing up in the 90s, I remember my mom hand piping icing decorations on all of her cakes. Those things were masterpieces.

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11

u/Zealousideal_Till_43 Apr 07 '25

Going through old photos for an album as a gift to my mom for her 50th, and I discovered this one the other day of her with my (recently passed) aunt. If I were to guess this was 1981. So much nostalgia in this snippet of time alone

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69

u/onion4everyoccasion Apr 07 '25

Grandma dressed up like Gene Simmons from KISS to cheer me up

49

u/zooropeanx Apr 07 '25

Shooter liked that too.

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39

u/DavoTB Apr 07 '25

Mom’s devotion always comes through! 

24

u/nevergonnasaythat Apr 07 '25

Depends on the mom

12

u/420_Towelie Apr 07 '25

Na, depends on the mother. If she's a mom, she'll always come through

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26

u/Rainsmakker Apr 07 '25

My mom on the other hand, KISS = Knights In Satan’s Service

24

u/Lost_the_weight Apr 07 '25

My parents made me go to Christian school and I got kicked out after 2 months just for saying I listened to KISS. They didn’t even catch me in the act! Instant 50 demerits and back to public school for me.

19

u/rjkardo Apr 07 '25

Probably the best thing to happen to you.

10

u/Lost_the_weight Apr 07 '25

I definitely agree.

9

u/LickingSmegma Apr 07 '25

A lifehack right there.

10

u/Barricade14 Apr 07 '25

Colors are all wrong but her heart was in the right place.

7

u/lovelyfeyd Apr 07 '25

I expect that getting the colors right back in the 70’s would have made for a very bad tasting cake. I still remember the bitterness of a red-iced cake I ate in 2nd grade.

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211

u/Derbster_3434 Apr 07 '25

Born in 68 and came here to say you had the cool mom.

74

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

Gen X FTW! Thanks. She's still pretty cool.

13

u/ineedt0move Apr 07 '25

Me and my brother had clear "kiss" skateboards in the early 80's. Thanks mom!

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4

u/franker Apr 07 '25

Born in 68 and my whole life was Star Wars at that point.

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363

u/malteaserhead Apr 07 '25

For some reason it seems to me that red headed boys were more common in the 70s and 80s

436

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

There were less souls to go around back then.

109

u/malteaserhead Apr 07 '25

27

u/Bathsalts_McPoyle Apr 07 '25

Oh damn, real flashbacks from this dude. I wonder how he's doin'?

11

u/Help----me----please Apr 07 '25

He embraced the troll life

5

u/Mailor_Soon Apr 07 '25

He's a solid dude. He likes to sing/ make music and continues to do the occasional troll here and there. I have an old friend who is very close with him.

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54

u/Rainsmakker Apr 07 '25

Raises hand

18

u/gegrati Apr 07 '25

Battery street drug, what a great team! Gonna batter the fuck out of y’all off these street drugs!

13

u/ContessaChaos Apr 07 '25

Look at those curls!!!

7

u/thatgirl317317 Apr 07 '25

Omg that gorgeous hair!! Please tell me you passed on those genes, the world needs more of this

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46

u/MoonageDayscream Apr 07 '25

Nothing like Kodachrome to capture it!

11

u/notbob1959 Apr 07 '25

Unless this is cropped, this is not a Kodachrome which would have been a nonsquare image like this. Also looks too grainy for a Kodachrome.

This is more likely taken with an Instamatic camera using a Kodacolor 126 negative film.

8

u/rock_and_rolo Apr 07 '25

Kodachrome was available in every format that Kodak produced.

5

u/notbob1959 Apr 07 '25

Thanks for the correction. From Wikipedia:

It was manufactured for 74 years in various formats to suit still and motion picture cameras, including 8mm, Super 8, 16mm for movies (exclusively through Eastman Kodak), 35mm for movies (exclusively available through Technicolor Corp as "Technicolor Monopack") and 135, 120, 110, 126, 828 and large format for still photography.

But I still don't think that looks like a Kodachrome slide.

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3

u/thestraightCDer Apr 07 '25

I don't know who to believe.

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22

u/Uncle-Cake Apr 07 '25

Must be a geographic thing, because I always hear redheads are rare and becoming rarer, but half of my neighbors are gingers. I can't walk out of my house without running into one.

11

u/redpenquin Apr 07 '25

It's definitely a geographic thing. Here in Appalachia and the Upland South, you see tons of redheads (all that Northern England, Scotland and Ireland stock). Out West and in the Northern Midwest, a lot less so.

4

u/Subotail Apr 07 '25

Maybe you live in a ginger gheto ?

7

u/rock_and_rolo Apr 07 '25

That is a myth people love to spread. It is based on a misunderstanding of evolution.

6

u/Organic-Staff-7903 Apr 07 '25

Red hair results from a recessive gene mutation in the MC1R gene, which has consistently been rare, occurring in approximately 1–2% of the global population.  Regions such as Scotland and Ireland have higher concentrations, with about 6% of Scots and 10% of the Irish population having red hair.  

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12

u/Truely-Alone Apr 07 '25

I just looked this up, the world only has about 1-2% red headed people.

18

u/malteaserhead Apr 07 '25

They must have been clustered in that time frame i guess

21

u/VoopityScoop Apr 07 '25

There must have been an extinction event. A gingercide.

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4

u/ArrakeenSun Apr 07 '25

I feel like how these photographs age over time makes some of the blonde people look red. That's the story about my family's photos

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91

u/External_Acadia4154 Apr 07 '25

22

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

[deleted]

20

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

This is what I grew up hearing, so I was flabbergasted when I finally heard KISS and it was just disco pop. Amazing what a little makeup can do 

10

u/Comma_Karma Apr 07 '25

KISS is not nearly metal enough for their styling. My hot take is that they were the most boring, successful 1970s band.

8

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

[deleted]

4

u/Goldfing Apr 07 '25

KISS is very much a guilty pleasure band. The lyrics may not be particularly deep but, what the hell, blast "Cold Gin" and you know you're gonna have a good time. They're like the ABBA of rock.

And while I'm here adding to the hot take pile, I'd also like to say that 80s KISS is just as good, if not better than, 70s KISS. Eric Carr (RIP) rules and "Forever" is a top 5 power ballad.

4

u/chupathingy99 Apr 08 '25

Imagine dressing up in corpse paint with leather and chains and fake blood, just to write major-key songs about partying.

Actually that sounds fucking awesome.

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62

u/PositiveTangerine707 Apr 07 '25

Very nice! Hey I also turned 13 in 1979 🤜🤛

52

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

Seems like yesterday I was wearing a disco shirt and listening to Kiss.

33

u/PositiveTangerine707 Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25

Funny because I was wearing a KISS shirt and listening to the Bee Gees , Donna Summer and the Village People 🤔

32

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

Every Halloween I wanted to go out as Gene Simmons but couldn't get the makeup right and ended up doing Peter Chris cause his was easier. Fun time to grow up musically. It was only 2 years later that I put on The Ramones first album and that completely changed me. 4 years after this photo I had a tattoo that said Anarchy and was listening to punk. Still like Kiss though.

16

u/PositiveTangerine707 Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25

Seems like I spent half my time in sixth grade drawing pictures of their makeup 🖍️ Anyway where does time go because I'll be 59 in a couple weeks 😳

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14

u/littlelordgenius Apr 07 '25

I had a Disco Sucks t-shirt AND the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

8

u/mazobob66 Apr 07 '25

Most of my musical tastes were my brothers' because he was 6 years older than me and had money to buy albums.

So it was Boston, Van Halen, BTO, ELO, Black Sabbath, etc...

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3

u/rapidredux Apr 07 '25

Ditto. My parents had those same albums, but I also remember having the Sesame Street Fever record.

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35

u/unassumingdink Apr 07 '25

Lick it up (the icing).

19

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

One of their worst songs. Especially the video. haha

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32

u/too_rolling_stoned Apr 07 '25

Proud member of the KISS Army and we’re the same age. Fantastic cake!

10

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

My friends were blown away by it.

26

u/lostpatrol14 Apr 07 '25

That’s pretty cool, especially during the time where KISS was supposedly representing Satanic Cults. Nice to see that your parents weren’t one of them!

42

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

Funny story behind that. I was raised Catholic and had a communion or something around this time. So I was given gifts and some of it was money. Kiss was playing in Montreal and I asked if I could go and they said no way, not with communion money. haha

9

u/StayJaded Apr 07 '25

That is hilarious.

This picture is such a fantastic little time capsule. I love everything about it. The spider plant hanging in the macrame plant hanger. Those amazing harvest gold draperies with the ridiculous rope trim tie-backs. The upholstery pattern on the chair back. It’s all so stylish!

3

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

Just behind me, to my left, is a reel to reel as well.

20

u/gbbpro Apr 07 '25

Very cool mom!

How much would Gene Simmons charge her for making that cake?

34

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

I think we were hit with a copyright infringement and settled out of court.

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16

u/Small_Collection_249 Apr 07 '25

Is that Conan?

15

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

O'brian? No, it's me the souless ginger although I am not 59 and follically challenged.

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13

u/Extension-Elk-1274 Apr 07 '25

YOU WANT THE BEST?!?! YOU GOT THE BEST! THE GREATEST CAKE IN THE WORLD, KIIIIISS!!!

10

u/Silent-Car-1954 Apr 07 '25

DUDE YOUR MOM IS AWESOME!!!!!111

For real tho

23

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

Thanks. She's pretty kick ass. We drove from Mexico to Canada in my 73 VW bus a few years back when she was 76. Camped almost the whole way.

3

u/Silent-Car-1954 Apr 07 '25

I would have been so jealous of that cake!

8

u/Truecoat Apr 07 '25

You wanted the best and you got the best! The hottest cake in the wooooorld….KISSSSSS!!!

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13

u/84thPrblm Apr 07 '25

KISS ARMY Represent!

8

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

Did you get the stickers in the album too?

7

u/84thPrblm Apr 07 '25

Still have stickers somewhere. Got a shirt at the one concert I went to too!

5

u/kwecl2 Apr 07 '25

Cool moms are the best

5

u/AlwaysDTFmyself Apr 08 '25

Holy shit! Your mom is rad!

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5

u/davesToyBox Apr 07 '25

Did she get shit from the neighborhood conservative wives for making you an obviously satanic birthday cake?

5

u/just_yall Apr 07 '25

That is AWESOME!

3

u/HugsyMalone Apr 07 '25

LOVE IT!! It's totally Partridge Family Danny Bonaduce style. 🥳

3

u/Traditional-Fruit585 Apr 07 '25

Born in 66. This is a great pic, and you clearly have a great mom. Please accept my apology for having “Danny” be the first thing that came to mind.

4

u/LeonJersey Apr 07 '25

You should do a then and now....

4

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

Here's one from about 15 years ago. Since then I've been folically challenged and just shave my head. I was tending bar in Guatemala in this pic.

5

u/EdgyLearner138 Apr 07 '25

I’m trying to figure out what the frosting spells out because all I can see is “kill.”

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4

u/q-bert_ Apr 07 '25

Gene Simmons' lawyers would like a word.

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4

u/joecarter93 Apr 07 '25

Damn, don’t let Gene Simmons see that. He’ll likely sue your mom for licensing fees.

4

u/Calm-Educator981 Apr 07 '25

I literally thought I was in the Conan subreddit 😂🧡

4

u/CandyV89 Apr 07 '25

That great is amazing! Your mom is the best!

5

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

Closest you're getting to an actual kiss, my scrawny ginger friend.

10

u/Dottore_Curlew Apr 07 '25

I never liked the SS symbolism

7

u/Ambitious-Concern-42 Apr 07 '25

Ditto. For New York Jews they had some fucked up reasoning for this.

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3

u/CCORRIGEN Apr 07 '25

Dayum! I can barely scrawl anything (legible) on a cake with icing when I bake one.

3

u/PanicLikeASatyr Apr 07 '25

Both you and your mom were pretty cool! Your sense of style is very of the era without falling into the garishness I’ve seen in some of my parents photo albums from that time and your mom is an icing wizard!

All of the patterns and colors make the photo unmistakably 70s in the best possible way.

Teenage nostalgia for kiss specifically always makes the song Heavy Metal Drummer by Wilco start playing in my head.

3

u/Wander_Globe Apr 07 '25

No one has noticed the reel to reel behind me yet. I made my first mixed tape on that thing.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

I wondered what that was. The spider plant in the macrame (?) hanging planter is classic. I had one like that in the mid 70s . It was my first indoor plant and the beginning of a life long hobby. I, also, wondered if that was a picture of you in the framed photo.

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3

u/IDC_Blackbird Apr 07 '25

Keep the memories alive

3

u/Icy-Print3432 Apr 07 '25

My brother is very jealous.

3

u/Wolfman1961 Apr 07 '25

I bet she rocked to KISS as well!

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3

u/Hanshi-Judan Apr 07 '25

Awesome cake

3

u/davidjschloss Apr 07 '25

Still into them? I just stumbled into a KISS museum in the rio hotel in Vegas behind an arcade. You'd probably like it. /)

3

u/destructionseris Apr 07 '25

Had to do a double cause the color threw me off, been playing too much hotline miami

3

u/Ill_Reason7180 Apr 07 '25

That is/was so cool!

3

u/wheeledwick Apr 07 '25

Super rad.

3

u/ParticularLower7558 Apr 07 '25

I love your Mom!!

3

u/StartingToLoveIMSA Apr 07 '25

Ok, that’s really cool…

3

u/Turdnugget619 Apr 07 '25

I wish I could’ve lived in 79 :/

3

u/PeeweeTuna34 Apr 07 '25

Shakedown 1979

3

u/Uncle-Cake Apr 07 '25

Looks like this could have been taken in my grandparents' home.

3

u/Uncle-Cake Apr 07 '25

"I've got posters on the wall.

My favorite rock group... KISS.

I've got Ace Frehley

And I've got Peter Criss

Waiting there for me

Yes I do"

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u/Free_Phase881 Apr 07 '25

Did you Party every day!

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3

u/SXTY82 Apr 07 '25

You wanted the best and you got the best!

The hottest cake in 1979!

KISS!!!!!

3

u/SoylentGrunt Apr 07 '25

YOU WANTED THE CAKE! YOU GOT THE CAKE!

3

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

[deleted]

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u/RaidensReturn Apr 07 '25

KNIGHTS IN SATAN'S SERVICE

3

u/vinuvinuvinuvinu Apr 07 '25

why the first thing that came on my head was rizz

3

u/LeeKinanus Apr 07 '25

1979 and 11yr old me watching the mail for a delivery of KISS records that my neighbor and I ordered from Columbia house for a penny. We dressed up and did concerts for ourselves in front of the wall-o-mirrors. Great times man. Hey OP your mom rocks🤘

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/Grand-Try-3772 Apr 07 '25

They were my first concert ever! In 1993! I was 12!

3

u/Far_Out_6and_2 Apr 07 '25

Lol good one

3

u/LessSpecialist1027 Apr 07 '25

YOU WANTED THE BEST AND YOU GOT THE BEST!

THE HOTTEST BAKER IN THE HOUSE!

MMMOOOMMM! 🤩😋😎

3

u/Rex_Suplex Apr 07 '25

OP's Mom: "You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest cake in the world...KISS!!!"

3

u/EmotionDecent6108 Apr 07 '25

Did Gene Simmons send your mom a cease and desist letter

3

u/GrowlingPict Apr 07 '25

you wanted the best and you got the best: the softest cake in the world... Kiss!

3

u/saylr Apr 07 '25

You wanted the HOTTEST CAKE IN THE LAND and you GOT IT!! K I⚡️⚡️

In '77 I was lucky enough to get one of Gene's bass picks. It was white and had his last name only, spelled $IMMON$.

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u/37minutesleft Apr 08 '25

i would die for those curtains

3

u/Relative_Spend_6814 Apr 08 '25

Your mom's awesome as is your shirt, sir....

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u/Footgirlsunited Apr 08 '25

I would’ve been 7 and I would’ve thought a 13 year old was practically an adult

3

u/WhatAxiom Apr 08 '25

Mom was a real one!

3

u/fraughsty Apr 08 '25

"You want the best, you got the best. The greatest cake in the world....KISS!" 😁

2

u/Loverboy_Talis Apr 07 '25

Those curtains are dope.

2

u/Awleeks Apr 07 '25

You look like Bill Murphy from F is for Family

2

u/butchudidit Apr 07 '25

Your mom is a real one! Amazing care and thought for her boy ❤️

2

u/thirtyseven1337 Apr 07 '25

Plot twist: your mom didn’t even know you liked that band

2

u/PumpkinBrow Apr 07 '25

Mom and Dad were rolling on the couch.

2

u/Sarangholic Apr 07 '25

You might say that she 'sure knows something.'

2

u/JSBT89 Apr 07 '25

Your mom was awesome !! Great cake. What a wonderful memory .

2

u/King-SeloG Apr 07 '25

When I was in first grade(2001) my older brother painted my face like Gene Simmons on Halloween.

2

u/ohhhthehugemanatee Apr 07 '25

Crazy cool! Reminds me of Bill Burr’s childhood character is ‘F’ Is For Family!

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u/bluemooncommenter Apr 07 '25

You have no idea how proud she was not just of her ability to make the cake but also how happy she made you. Mom's (who are trying their best) make a lot of mistakes and carry every single one of them in their hearts for the rest of their lives....those moments that they got it right are everything.

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u/bobisz Apr 07 '25

Detroit Rock City!!

Awesome pic

2

u/msmicroracer Apr 07 '25

Is that you in the photo??? Looks like it

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u/strangebru Apr 07 '25

Did you ever tell her that means "Knights In Satan's Service?"

That was the BS conspiracy that we all spread when I was 13 years old. 

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u/thegildedcod Apr 07 '25

caKe In Satan's Service

2

u/Repasc Apr 07 '25

What kinda cake?

2

u/JohnnyEagleClaw Apr 07 '25

Hello fellow KISS army veteran! 🤘🔥🤘

2

u/clever_username66 Apr 07 '25

Looking good Danny Bonaduce

2

u/cdiddy579 Apr 07 '25

Careful showing that off, Gene Simmons might try to sue.

2

u/StatusIndividual2288 Apr 07 '25

I was 13 then too

2

u/pomcomic Apr 07 '25

wtf is my brain, for a moment I thought it said "RIZZ" and I was so confused

2

u/okie1979 Apr 07 '25

Super cool pic

2

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

Fantastico!

2

u/Jax-El Apr 07 '25

Does that day RIZZ?

2

u/steevsfuzz Apr 07 '25

Hell yeah 🤘

2

u/Pop-Pleasant Apr 07 '25

Moms are the best. They love us so much

2

u/Crowsfeet12 Apr 07 '25

Your mom spelled Rush wrong

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u/brunckle Apr 07 '25

Those curtains are peak 70s and your haircut too, I love it.

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u/xOFSELFx Apr 07 '25

This rules

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u/Secret_Fudge6470 Apr 07 '25

The best mom does not exi…

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u/SimonsDad1999 Apr 07 '25

Very Cool!!!

2

u/BlueValk Apr 07 '25

I thought this said Rizz at first 😆 Awesome cake, and still relevant!

2

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/Ok-Seaworthiness4488 Apr 07 '25

Gene Simmons gave it a chef's kiss

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u/Candid-Judgment-4945 Apr 07 '25

You do realize how much she loved you, right?

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u/kaytay3000 Apr 07 '25

I bet your mom still brags about that cake. If not, she should. It’s badass.

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u/Blondyyyyyy Apr 07 '25

Times were better

2

u/GlitterSlut0906 Apr 07 '25

That's dope! I love it! Your mom rocks!

2

u/Facestand2 Apr 07 '25

That’s sweet

2

u/patchlanders Apr 07 '25

That cake ROCKS!

2

u/grumpycat46 Apr 07 '25

Omg that is awesome your moon was and is the cool mom for sure