I was 10 years old the first time I tried my hand at decorating a cake, and I was instantly hooked. I've never been artistic with a paintbrush or pen, but give me a pastry bag, and magic happens. Fast-forward about 30 years, add in three kids and 33 kids' birthday parties between them, and I've learned a few tricks for creating bakery-quality cakes on a busy-mom schedule.

These birthday cake ideas and decorating tips yield showstopping results with very little skill required, and I'll even share with you my shortcut trick for turning a boxed cake mix into a bakery-worthy birthday cake recipe.

Of course, there are times when even a shortcut cake masterpiece is out of reach, so be sure to check out our ready-in-an-instant mug cake recipes and find more parent-tested meals in our Guide to Easy Recipes for Kids.

A visit to the family-friendly New York Botanical Garden is a treat in any season, but a trip now means not only close encounters with the garden's living collection but also the larger-than-life art of Yayoi Kusama.

Kusama: Cosmic Nature opened at the garden last weekend and runs through Halloween. Read on to learn more about the exhibit and why it's worth a visit—or two—before fall.

Editor's note: As of April 21, 2021, the opening day has again been delayed. Organizers hope the attractions will open sometime during summer 2021. The Sea Life Aquarium at the American Dream entertainment complex in New Jersey has set its grand opening date for Tuesday, May 4, 2021. With a "city under the sea theme," its interactive exhibits showcase more than 3,000 sea creatures from jellyfish to sharks. Opening alongside the attraction is a Legoland Discovery Center. Both were slated for spring 2020 openings but saw their debuts pushed back by the pandemic.

The first Sea Life to open in the Northeast, the New Jersey aquarium joins nine other locations across the U.S., including aquariums in San Antonio, Texas, Orlando, Florida, and Carlsbad, California.