Don't flame me for this, but I have entirely embraced the idea
that the best part of special occasions once you have kids is
how excited the little people get. Even if that special occasion
is Daddy's Birthday. That is how my husband ended up with
Williams-Sonoma's Star Wars toothpicks in his birthday cupcakes.
It works, too. I think his favorite part of the day yesterday
was my kids running out to his car when he got home from work so
they could drag him inside to examine their handy work.  The
cupcakes themselves, from Always with Butter, were selected with
my husband's taste preferences in mind.  Look out, Han!  Since
baking with kids requires all my attention, I assembled the
ingredients and took a picture so you could see the whole recipe
at a glance.  1. The small white bowl contains the first step.
You mix 1/4 cup buttermilk with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.  2.
The second step is in the saucepan. You mix 1 stick butter with
1/4 cup cocoa powder and put it over low heat to melt the
butter. Mix thoroughly