DAY 94 : ZENE'S UNMEASURABLE LOVE CAKE...

And so every year, as the days to Zene's birthday draws closer..
I wonder what I'm going to do ..
Little girls are special..
Older ones too..
And they always need to be treated that way ..
(So I keep drilling this in Zeke's head)

So this year, it was decided that we are not having a birthday party, but we are going to take a few really close friends out to this little piece of paradise that we all love in Mumbai..

And so I was sitting absolutely carefree in the knowledge that, I'm sorted , seven kids is not going to be difficult it's a piece of cake..

So on the 29th , while I decided to cycle around..
I go downstairs and get accosted by a bunch of little girls and boys , telling me how they are not in town for "the party" on the 2nd...as they are all going on holidays..
So I look at Zene and say," What Party Zene?"...
And she looks me straight in the eye with a smile saying, " my birthday party mama,you told me to invite my friends" ..
So I'm looking at this little sea of party eager faces , and me being me..
Made a few very quick calculations in my head ..

And in a matter of a few seconds..
I was having a birthday party the next day..
Now how to get invites , what should  I do and how to organise it over night..

So while , I'm thinking this , I remembered at the back of my head that my friend Jaya's kids will also not be there..
Mini leaves with her  kids too..
Zene's best friend Neoma is not there ..
Her building best friend is leaving..
So then if I do a birthday for her later , the ones she loves and the ones that love her , will not be there..
And frankly , she knew that, because that afternoon, she gave me a long list of friends I had to invite ..
I just did not know that they were already invited..

So I have left from cycling, to buying invites..
And by 9.30pm have hand delivered most of them, called and got all my confirmations, by 10.30pm..
Gosh..why am I so impulsive...
But I love it, it mostly turns out fantastic..
So I'm going with mostly..

The plan was, we all do lunch , we watch "The Croods" again..
And thanks to Freyan from Fox , it was done..
And that's that..
I had gone over various plans with Mini and Jaya..
And like they always know, at the end I do what I want..

I don't have a cake..
I don't know what to do now..
So I open my baking cabinet , praying that I have ingredients for at least a cake...
Time now11.30pm..
I'm actually exhausted..

Flour, eggs, butter, baking powder, sugar, peanut butter,chocolate, milk maid all there...

I went to sleep, tired but happy..
Tomorrow is going to be a long day..

I woke up at 6...
Put some fantastic music on..
(I now know how to buy music from ITunes, so I'm fully "buy-happy")
And then got down to making a cake ..
I'm sorry I cannot give you a perfect  recipe, because I put it all together in some proportion of some sort but was not all measured accurately...
I put milk in and milk powder too..
It makes the cake a little fluffy..
This is my "Love cake" ..
Its like when you love someone, you don't really decide how much you must love them,  you just do, in unmeasurable proportions..

UNMEASURABLE LOVE CAKE
INGREDIENTS

Flour -200 gm
Butter- 250 gmDemarara sugar- 250 gm
Eggs- 250 gm
Milk powder- a few tablespoons
Peanut butter- a few table spoons
Milk- at the end so that the batter was easy and cake consistency..
Chocolate-200 gms and some more
Cocoa powder- A few table spoons
Milk maid - A good pour
Baking powder - 2 tsp...


I mixed and sieved all the dry ingredients together..
I then beat the butter, with the peanut butter..
Added the sugar..
Then beat in the melted chocolate, I know I added some more, but no clue how much..

Then I folded in the dry ingredients with a spatula, adjusted the consistency with milk and poured it out into two cake tins and baked them for 25 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees...
So far all good..
My kitchen is getting moved, so my home is a mess..
So frankly this early morning baking, with the freedom to put what I want in the hope that it turns out well, was blissful..

I then had to cool it and decorate it....

So amidst a whole lot of morning craziness,
I iced the cake..
I made a chocolate ganache and decorated it with "little hearts " biscuits that I iced petals on..
So Zene's cake had chocolate, hearts , flowers and stars..
Everything that  she loves..

By 11.40 my ZZ's , the birthday cake and a few of the kids from my building , were off to meet the rest of the gang..
I met the motley crew of smiling faces all 19 of them ..
We then ordered lunch, played in the play area, whizzing cars, some giddy looking giant wheel thingy and a few screams and chaotic hour later..

We all sat for lunch..
I realise that I like kids..
It's like summer camp..
I say yes to what is allowed..
No to all the demands for "aerated drinks" ..
The ranks had a good time ..
I felt bad for the others lunching,or the ones who were trying to have a romantic lunch ..
Ha ha ha ...
Thank god a few of the kids mums joined me and a dad..

We then all went for "Croods"..
I love that film..
"follow the light" ..
Such a simple line , yet completely loaded..

We then all met the" Belt" from the film...
Thank you Freyan...

We were pop-corned out...
By 5.30 pm , all I could think of is a cold slim glass of a bubbly, somewhere on a beautiful beach..enjoying the sunset...

Ha ha ha...
But I'm very very creative with my imagination, that way..
So I did a lot more after reaching that beach in my head..
But in reality , I came back with a whole lot of smiling faces, and we were done ...

And like a good girl, since I needed to rest..
I went shopping with my friend Sambo..
Gosh shopping is really relaxing ha ha ha ....

Late that night after I put the kids to bed and my day was done..
I sat with a piece of "Zene's Love cake"

Zene's Unmeasurable Love Cake..

I was just thinking of my Zene..
I'm happy that she knows who her friends are, and very clear about who she wanted at her birthday..
She knew her core few..
And they needed to be there..

That's what life is all about..
In this party we live in, we may dance in a room full of people we know, but we truly look into the eyes of just a few..

And as I looked at her ..
6 years old..
A heart full of gold..
A smile that just captures my soul..
And eyes that are really naughty to behold..
She loves too much ..
Already that I can see..
And stands up for her family..
It's a girl thing , I think..
What ever may happen in life..
I just want her to have love in abundance..
The kind that is kind..
The kind that keeps her safe in its embrace..
The kind that lights up her eyes..
And beams the brightest smile..
The kind that will catch her even before she falls..
The kind that will only make her cry tears of joy..
I want all my share of happiness to go to her..
She should never have any fear..
She should always say what she feels, without hurting a soul..
Keep her word ..
I want her to live with a heart that is free..
There is so much time more to go ..but blessings is all that I ask for everyday..
Keep both my kids safe in mind, body , heart and soul...
That's all that matters to me at the end of the day..

Girls are special..
When boys do understand that one day..
This world of ours will be a nicer place to stay...

And so Zene turned a year older..
And I today I took her to my yoga class..
It's a different joy..
Taking a little part of you , with a yoga mat, to a place you find peace..
( Zeke was not interested..
Boys..)
She loved the class and my Yoga Guru Eefa loved her(but then Eefa is a very loving soul), she did everything with ease, while the rest of us panted and sweated..

It was a good day..
The month of May is always good, it always brings clarity..
Maybe because it's the holidays..
I don't know..
Maybe because it's Zene's birthday month, I really don't know..

All I learnt from Zene, this birthday..
Is that everyone of us have a few core people that we love..
And if they are not part of our life, more in the joyous moments..
Those moments don't feel as fun or joyous..
There will be a void..
There will be a little emptiness..
Missing someone is about that moment you are doing something, and you wish they were right there next to you..
Yup...

So like Zene..
Make those moments happen..
Make the people that really count..know that they really count..
All and everything else does not matter..

Yes her Birthday is on the 2nd of May...
But I don't think dates matter..
If your heart is happy , its your birthday everyday...
It just knows feelings...
And that's that..

So "Happy Birthday " my darling Zene-pooie..
May you have have something beautiful to smile about and may you always be surrounded by love ...
With lotsa love from your Mama, who is stuffing her face with your    'UNMEASURABLE LOVE CAKE" ..

And to everyone who is part of my life directly or indirectly..
Lotsa love from me to you ..
Only from "Maria's Kitchen" ...

DAY 78 : I CAN HAVE MY CAKE AND EAT IT TOO..

And so after running in the rain and stuff like that, I decided to join Crossfit ..
Why ?
Because I went for two sessions in the holidays at a bizarre hour of 6am..and loved it ...
Why 6 am in the holidays???
 I can hear you think ...

Painted by my cub Zeke..

Well I really don't know, what I was thinking ..
Oh wait! I was not thinking ...

So after stopping all exercise in the holidays ..
And indulging myself completely...
My body really started craving some kind of crazy exercise...
(it has crazy thoughts sometimes)..
And so after indulging in early morning running in the rain..
I finally joined Crossfit again in July...
And bonus, my friend Mini also works out there..
And it's always more fun hanging with her..

And so every morning after dropping my cubs to school...
 I head straight to this mad crazy place, filled with everyone who just loves the rush, and the pain of a kick-ass work out , and all come back for more ...

And no it's not like a normal gym , with shiny mirrors every where , and everyone checking themselves out..
Here you get so destroyed that you do not even want to look into a mirror..
It's basic and fantastic...
Straight to the point ...
And that's exactly how I like it ...

Well it's now two whole weeks and frankly , I think I'm kind of getting fully addicted..
Cross fit is just an awesome place to work out ..
And Dipesh is truly inspirational...

All the trainers there Jehangir, Mihir, Mrinav, Akash, Karan are just so dedicated and push you to do more than you think is possible...
And are always around, so there is no chance of an injury due to incorrect form, or if you are a beginner and have never exercised...
 I have never been to a place so sorted...

I'm the worst candidate in a gym..
I'm an outdoor person and a yoga person...
Hanging with dumbells is just, not what I do ...

I don't know what to do with them , frankly ...
And even if I was told..
I just do not remember...

The last time I really enjoyed working out was with my trainer Vilayat, who used to do functional training with me...
All kinds of crazy things ...
He is simply out of this world...but I lost him to cricket ..
He is a cricket coach, and the most gentle soul you could meet...
Who would make sure I did my routine in his very silent persuasive way, and would ignore my "excuse face"...

But Crossfit is Vilayat on steroids ...
Here we all work out in a group and do all kinds of everything, from pull ups, push ups, jumping on boxes, carrying weights, doing some crazy stuff with them, burpies and other technical terms I have never ever heard...and then at the end of an hour ...

Lakshya ..destroyed...

We all just lie there on the floor..
Destroyed  , glowing and happy ..
And totter off very slowly to a day , that is always fantastic...
Because of the crazy amount of happy hormones kicked in...

And so most days after I'm completely destroyed ...
I go back and cook something healthy ...

And so a few days ago , Dipesh made me taste a lovely concoction of a fruit smoothie, that I promptly went back made and drank up greedily...
And then after another work out..
He made me taste brownies, that were healthy....
Maybe I always look hungry...that's why most people are always offering me food...
Oh and the fact that I suffer from low BP...
(And thought that I'm going to pass out one day after my work-out ...)

And so I asked Dipesh what all went into that brownie....
And decided to make a healthy cake to share with the  batch I workout with, after our Friday the 13th work out...

I do not have the proper recipe..
Because I was just putting stuff together , tasting the batter and the consistency, and adjusting it ..
But I can tell you all the ingredients I used ...

INGREDIENTS

Dates

Figs

Apricots

Prunes

Raisins

Cocoa powder

Eggs- 3

A fresh coconut scraped...

Coconut water

Apple-1

Courgette-1

Carrot-1

Almond flour

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Bicarbonate of soda - 1tsp

Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp

A handful of walnuts, coarse lay chopped ...

Oats...

METHOD..

Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees.

In an electric mixer, blend all the dried fruit , with the eggs , honey and vegetable oil ..

When it is blended ,add the cocoa powder and taste it, adjust more sweetness in terms of dates and prunes, or more chocolate , with the cocoa powder..

Grate the apple, courgette and carrot and keep aside ..

Mix the almond flour with the baking powder and soda bicarbonate and keep aside ..

Pour the puréed contents of the mixer , into the grated fruit and vegetables..

Add the dried mix of flour to it ..

Mix well..

As this was done without measurements ..

I tasted the raw batter and adjusted the sweetness, and the consistency with coconut water ...

I added the hand broken walnuts last ..

I then weighed and divided the batter into half ..

Into one I added a hand-full of oats.

But you have to see that you do not over add as the consistency may go all wrong ...

Bake the cakes for 30 minutes, or till a tooth-pick inserted in the center of the cake , comes out clean...

I made two cakes..
One without oats - this was very very soft
One with oats - this was soft but had a bite ...

I'm really ecstatic..
This cake has no butter, no sugar and no flour ...
I don't know if I can make it healthier than this ...
They came out soft and did not have a very heavy chocolate aroma ...( which I'm going to sort out the next time)

I CAN HAVE MY CAKE AND EAT IT TOO...

But it was yummy and not in a healthy way...
You know what I mean, everyone thinks that if something is healthy , it cannot be tasty and vice-versa...
I thought that the cake was nice, and really light and moist ,but I would have liked it sweeter...

I gave some to Arshad , while he was trying to exercise ..because I wanted an opinion..
I sent some to Mini's ....

And took some to the gym, for our Friday the 13th Workout ...
And frankly was not so dead today ...
Maybe it was easier today..
Because Dipesh was feeling generous and wanted us to have a relaxed weekend ..
Ha ha ha ..

Dipesh...

Well he works out like a beast and pushes everyone too...
And he is such a lovely gentle soul...
Who causes us all a lot of pain , but " sweet pain"...

Well I shared the healthy cake with all...
And the consensus was "it's good ! is it really healthy?"
Its nice to see a bunch of health conscious guys and girls dig into cake, with no guilt at all...

I follow Kabir, if he stops, then I know its enough.

I'm definitely going to be making this more often...
I cannot believe I actually made a cake , from scratch, with no real recipe to follow ..
I just followed my instinct and my taste buds..
Well I think I want to make this slightly sweeter..
And also have a little more chocolate feel to it...

But I think it's a start, I don't think I'm going to stop cooking what I do cook,but will add a whole lot of healthy options also...
I'm really liking this way of life...
Vegetarian, fishitarian and paleotarian...
(who sometimes cheats with red meat, who to me is like the dark handsome guy in soppy fictional love stories..ha ha .)

And at the end of the day..
It's respecting your body...
And that is as important as respecting yourself and others...

No I'm not striving to be size zero or skinny...
But I definitely want to be a very healthy and fit me...
So that I can still climb trees with my cubs and go up a mountain, swim in the deep blue..

Good health is not a legacy...
It's something we earn, if we respect our life...

And frankly I'm extremely happy and really hope I continue this ...
Err I even have funky glitter silver Vibram shoes ..

These shoes are meant for "cross-fit"ing

That I can't wear anywhere else, so I better go to cross-fit  ..
Ha ha ha ...

And now "I can have my cake and eat it too" ...
Is that not the coolest ...
How many of you can do that ...



So I cut  some banana and some mangoes, and arranged it onto this very healthy yummy brownie-cake, and poured some organic honey onto it...

So here's presenting my concoction of , " I can have my cake and eat it too" ...
Fresh and made without a recipe...
Filled with dried and fresh fruits and full of healthy goodness , for the ones who are nuts about being healthy and fit ..
Only from " Maria's Kitchen"...

Day 71 - ZENE ZOE'S 5TH BIRTHDAY...

And as usual , this year too, Zene cut more  cakes than my little Zeke ever does..
She cut 4 cakes again..
One in school..
One for her birthday party, that we had for her for the first time, (as in May there is really no one to have a party with..)
The cake I made for her , which had pink bows and blue flowers..

A small group of monkeys that I love

A layer of marzipan, butter-cream icing and chocolate ganache..

It had to be filled with flowers..

The birthday girl, through the loops..

Had to put daisies..happy flowers..

And the fresh mango cake that we always have for her birthday at Waterstones, that is simply , out of this world...

And so this year, was wondering what to make for her birthday and as she is not completely into chocolate , I decided to bake a simple sponge that was not too chocolaty..
I tried this for the first time...



INGREDIENTS..
115 gm-Chocolate
1/2 cup-double cream ( I used the Amul tetra-pack)
1/2 cup- Milk
1 tbsp- Vanilla essence
115 gm- Butter
175 gm- Castor sugar
3- Eggs
225gm - Flour
1tsp- Baking powder

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees, and grease and line two 8 inch round tins with silicon or parchment paper..
In a small bowl, sift the flour, the baking powder,and keep aside... 

Melt the chocolate with the cream on a double boiler,over a low flame , stirring until smooth..
Then take it off the flame and stir in the milk and vanilla essence, and set aside to cool...

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar for about 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy...
Add the eggs , one at a time , beating after every addition...

Alternatively add the flour and the chocolate mixture to the egg and sugar mix..Until just blended..

Divide the mix into the two tins, and bake for 30 minutes or till the cake springs back if you press it in the center.. or if you insert a tooth pick in the center, it comes out clean...
Cool the cakes in the tins for 10 minutes and then, take them out and leave to cool on a wire rack..

It is always better if you can cool both the cakes and then keep it in the fridge over night...
It is easier to slice them..

Slice both the cakes in the center..
Stack them over one another, filling each layer with a filling of your choice..
I use Almond marzipan in one layer...
The second layer had butter cream icing..
And the third layer had chocolate ganache..



And once this was done ..
I was then wondering what to do as part of the decoration..
Well I knew it had to be as pretty and dainty as my little monkey "Zene"...
And so this is the first cake I decorated in the middle of doing my Sugar-craft and fondant course..
And it was great fun...
Zeke kept her away from the kitchen, while I made flowers and mixed colours and formed ribbons , and piped leaves...
Zene would keep coming to the kitchen on the pretext of water or just generally...
And Zeke would keep chasing her away..
Or then we would make her shut her eyes and drink her water that she kept coming for...
After some time...
I decided that I need to have a glass of wine..
So I poured myself some really nice Pinot Noir..
And left it near me.....
Till I finished the cake..
Once it was done, I looked at it, and frankly could not really believe that I could create something so beautiful...
I was very happy with what I created, really happy...
The cake looked happy and pretty and so beautiful , like my Zene...

On Zene's birthday, that is 2nd May, we all went to our favorite , Dakshinayan, with Zene's friends and my friends and , grandma and grand pa..
Stuffed our selves with "Gun-powder idli's , rasam-rice, Bissebille bhat, Dosas, vadas and when we were all too full to move...

We got Zene's birthday cake out, cut it and ate it...
It was soft and had a nice mix of different flavours...
The marzipan , butter-cream and chocolate, along with the lightly flavoured chocolate sponge, was a very delicate taste...
It was very much like my Zene actually...very lovely on the outside and completely surprising and full of flavour on the inside...
Well what can I say, she does take after her "Mama"....ha ha ha 

We then proceeded to our little piece of paradise...
Where we swam and chatted and had a mad time..
Arshad took pictures of the kids under water, and they went crazy, making funny faces...
Sambo and Jaya chatted about "Life" and its funny happenings...
And I slept under the shade of a coconut tree...happy and satiated and drunk on life...
(but missed Mini, Vivaan, Sairah, Sandy, Kichie, Shaheen, Arsalan and Ayatal...It did not feel quite the same without everyone...)

But Zene's birthday is always full of magic...
Just like her..
Everything turns out very special, where she is concerned...
Even the way she was born..was like straight out of a film scene...
Unreal..
Will share that a little later..

As for Zene, she is just a little munchiken , who is into princess stuff and considers herself one too...Have no clue, where she got that from..
She says whats on her mind..
Throws tantrums...
And when she cries , she breaks your heart...
And when she hugs, they are the tightest hugs ever...
She is a feisty, naughty little bundle of contradictions...
She is learning to swim, and would not take out her swimming goggles, even when they were completely fogged up..ha ha ha
It was really funny, she kept walking around with them...
And Jaya, Sambo and me would keep asking her to take it off..
But sorry , its now a much needed fashion accessory, and was not coming off, however fogged up they were...
She is more than, all I could ever ask for..
And gave me the tightest kiss, because she had such a great time...
We cut one more cake, the fresh cream , with fresh mangoes...
Oh my God...Now I really want the recipe of the sponge, the cream mix and everything...
It was to die for...

My little Zene, She is 5 today, and to me she will always be my little angel..
Cannot believe this, but I wanted another boy after Zeke...
Well I thank God for not listening to me, I ask for really silly stuff sometimes...
Thank God, he filters all my requests...

And I got this little bundle of squashable love...
She says the right things and wraps us all around her little finger...
And she has a smile , that can sell sand to the Sheik's in Dubai ha ha ha ...
She is all and everything...
And all I want for her, is that she is kept safe , in mind, body ,heart and soul...
And pray that her smile is always filled with happiness ..
And she never loses that naught spark in her beautiful brown eyes..

I LOVE YOU MY ZENE ZOE POOIEE....

DAY 34 : SAIRAH KABIR AND HER DORA PRINCESS YUMMY CAKE

And so after a mad and crazy holiday with my family and Mini and her family , we finally back in Bombay and getting ready for little Sairah's birthday, we'll after a lot of pulling and tugging I'm baking a Dora doll cake for Sairah who is turning 2..little S looks like a little pixie, little gossamer like hair , brown eyes and a petite structure , but she can pack a punch , bully her brother and yell as loud as Zene , guess that why they both get along.....
Well frankly after Mini got our little Dora doll home, now was the time to bake her skirt and decorate it, so i googled and came up with lotsa help, i loooove google...
Any way , i realised that our little Dora was no little waif like chica, she came from a family that ate wholesome meals like us and so she is well fed and healthy and that's what girls should be like.... well looked after and healthy...So i had to 1st search for a mould for a nice skirt so i put together my beautiful bunt and another dish that i actually bake my chicken in and now it looked right .....
Then bought myself a new bucket and proceeded to make the biggest cake i have ever baked , my help looked at me like ,"she is nuts", but frankly they now used to my funny ways....So here's what i did

Maida: 200 gm
Cocoa : 30 gm
Baking powder :1tsp
Soda bicarbonate : 1/2 tsp
1 Tin nestle condensed milk
Butter: 100 gm
Castor sugar :30 gm
milk or water :3/4 cup
Vanilla essence 1tsp

And so i sieved the dry ingredients twice together, so that you trap some air..
In a bowl beat the butter and the sugar, then add the condensed milk and beat it really well for about 7 minutes,add the milk or water ( i added water so that the sponge gets even lighter) and added 3/4 cup , then added the maida bit by bit , till it all looks like a lovely gooey chocolaty pool , adjust the water if you feel the batter is too stiff..

Of course i made this cake into 5 times the amount in a little blue tub, i then transferred it into my bunt and my huge tray and baked it for 1 hour 10 minutes at 180 degrees...

I then took it out of my oven and left it to cool all night, in the morning as i rushed for my Spanish class , i left it to further chill in my fridge...

After i got back from class i first made my frosting..

1 cup amul butter
1 cup nutralite
8 cups icing sugar
6tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat the amul butter and nutralite till it gets light and fluffy, then add the icing sugar bit by bit and also the milk, till it becomes a lovely consistency..
I also melted a kg of dark chocolate..
I then taped my little Dora up, and cello-taped her up so that she does not get spoilt, in fact i made a new dress and sleeves with ribbon , so that Dora does not need a bath , post Sairah's 2nd Birthday party ha ha ha
I cut each cake into 3 layers and put chocolate and frosting, one after the other in succession, so its a 6 layer cake with as much frosting and gooey chocolate...
Dora went into the centre , i then covered her cake evenly with frosting, and but her back in the fridge, felt quite bad as she looked into my big brown eyes with her big brown eyes, as saying "not in the fridge please" ...
Got her out in half an hour , divided my frosting , into white , yellow and mauve and went ahead and made her a pretty skirt....
Then called Mini to take take her home, just could not keep her because Zeke and Zene were constantly trying to pull out frosting with their cute little fingers...
Now if the kids like it, then all the effort is completely worth it.....

We'll the kids loved her and the adults too , so it was time we'll spent , only thing is she was cake enough for 3 more parties, but that's OK , we all love cake , so that's what we living on till she gets over....
So here is my 1st ever attempt at making a "Dora Princess Cake" beautiful and yummy for my little feisty Sairah Kabir , with all my love , straight from Maria's Kitchen.....

THE SWEET REMAINS OF THE DAY

Just made this with the remains of a birthday cake i was making for someone very sweet and thought i should share it, its easy and the recipe will be up in a day with the cake i made...
So for now enjoy.....

DAY 33 :HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL ZEKE

Today was a day unlike any other, i knew even while i was just about waking up that it would be a wonderful day, i woke up and went to just look at my Zeke , who was still fast asleep, he turned 6 years old today, my baby , my little boy....

He is just my little light..

Yup he is absolutely naughty , only loves Hindi music ,does funny weird dances and mostly fights with me, loves his sister Zene , but trips her if he gets a chance to and loves his Dada like only he can.....

He wakes up talking no matter what time it is , and still sucks his thumb while sleeping...

Remember holding him in my arms when he was born like it happened yesterday, he was a chonky, pink baby, blowing bubbles and showing us his middle finger, not intentionally of course , but its what we all remember....

Mini, Ritambhara, Kichie ,Sambo and Amit all waiting outside my delivery room waiting for him to be born , and Arshad giving all of them full commentary on whats happening , and Amit , getting me chocolate because i wanted to have chocolate while on my delivery table ha ha ha that's how Zeke came into the world ha ha ha

And so today, i just got into my kitchen and made tons of stuff, made his Clown birthday cake, jam rolls, red velvet muffins, pasta and baby burgers....

Had Mini, Jaya, Kichie and Shamim over, and Vivaan , Gia, Sairah and Burzin , Zene served us all Green tea in her toy tea-set, the boys ran around and i actually jumped a bit on the kiddies pogo stick , its great fun...

We ate , laughed and planned our holidays and did some harmless boy-bashing ha ha ha....while Arshad listened patiently to all our nonsense and clicked photos....

I could not have asked for anything better...

A day like this always helps me reiterate a simple fact, "ALL THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE NOT THINGS"

To Zeke, the little man in my life , who i love more than everything in the world, may God always Bless him and always keep him safe in mind, body ,heart and soul....

'Happy Birthday My Lil Shooting Star"

P.S. :Will put up all the recipes as soon as i get time.....G'night n God bless