PERRYSBURG — Raynae Sicotte’s Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes are kid tested and mother approved.
Logan, 4, is a picky eater, but drops his toy train and comes running into the family’s Perrysburg
kitchen when offered a bite of the dessert.
And the cupcake really has an “adult” taste, not super sweet and heavy with its packed pumpkin and cream
cheese frosting.
But it also has a cake-y taste that will appeal to anyone, no matter what the age.
“They’re moist and it’s something different than pumpkin pie,” said Sicotte’s husband, Jon.
Raynae Sicotte found the recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. It was an immediate hit with family and
friends.
“I’m always looking for new recipes to bake and try.”
When she was first married and moving up the career ladder, she wasn’t much interested in cooking. But
before Logan’s birth, a nesting instinct settled in and never left.
“When I was pregnant with Logan, I used to watch the Food Channel like crazy.”
She also remembers picking up a Food Network Magazine — a welcome distraction — just after Logan was born
and was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Toledo Hospital.
Concerns with Logan’s birth started at week 29 when an ultrasound showed the umbilical cord was wrapped
around his neck — four times.
There wasn’t much that could be done; the baby was too small to be delivered. Sicotte was put on bed
rest.
“Amazingly, he unwound all four times,” she said.
But the worries weren’t over. Sicotte had to have a stress test and ultrasound every Friday for the next
six weeks.
“It was horrible stress and anxiety,” she said, adding that Jon got her a fetal monitor for reassurance
whenever she needed it.
In the 35th week, the cord had wrapped again, three times around Logan’s neck.
When he was born, five weeks early, Logan was also breech.
He spent five weeks in the NICU.
Logan is so active and inquisitive, it’s hard to believe the precarious way he entered the world. Sicotte
prefers to look ahead, with some laughter.
“We tell him he’s never allowed to jump rope, because you were so terrible at it early on.”
Her son may be a picky eater, but husband, Jon, is not. The couple is constantly trying new menus.
“I get bored easily with food,” Sicotte said.
She’s not afraid to substitute ingredients if they don’t appeal to her palate.
“If it has stuff I don’t necessarily like, I do tinker with it.”
The Sicottes are crazy busy, raising Logan and working full time — plus.
Raynae is a computer technician for CMC Group Inc. in Bowling Green, and sells Mary Kay products.
“I’m a computer geek during the day but I don’t do it at night,” she said. “And I love to work with
people, that’s the best part of what I do.”
Jon writes for the online publication Brewer, which is about all things beer. He works from home, but
keeps a tight schedule with Logan’s care during the day.
Raynae grew up in Michigan, getting her bachelor’s degree from Northern Michigan University in Marquette,
then her master’s at Saginaw Valley State University.
She said the couple did the “Midwest tour” after marrying, living in Michigan, then Lafayette, Indiana,
for two years, before settling in Perrysburg.
Their unusual home, a ranch, open log-cabin style, was a must-have as soon as the Sicottes laid eyes on
it five years ago. The financing took months of finagling because there really aren’t any other homes in
the area to compare it to, for appraisal and insurance purposes.
“I still come up to the home sometimes and can’t believe it’s our home,” Raynae said.