Evolution of the Birthday Cake

I am one of those mom's that, while I hate to admit it, judges other mom's for not making their children's birthday cakes. What kind of parent BUYS a cake from the local grocer?? It's negligence. The worst part of this is that I HATE decorating cakes. It is pure torture. I put myself through the ringer emotionally for not living up to these standards. Below are all of Ruby's underwhelming birthday cakes. However, this year, I think I finally did it, I think I came closer to the unrealistic standards I have set for myself.

First Birthday- I wouldn't eat this cake. It just doesn't look very tasty. And, if I remember right, there were a LOT of leftovers!

Second Birthday- Just coming out of my morning sickness coma, I was very proud of this underwhelming cake. I like it a lot more now, but at the time I just kept patting myself on the back for getting a cake on the table.

Third Birthday- too lazy to even make the frosting, at least she had a good time blowing out the candles!

Fourth birthday- SUCCESS!! I am pretty proud of this cake. Sure, I wanted to put more details on it, but ran out of time. This cake, despite its simplicity and imperfection, is my crowning glory. What do I do next year? Can I safely order from the bakery now??

1-2-3-FOUR!

Our baby turned four, she is so beautiful, sweet (and sassy), funny, talkative, friendly, playful, imaginative, creative, artistic, lively, attentive, (and I could go on and on).

Her favorite color is: pink
Her favorite DANCING songs are: Boom Boom Pow (Black Eyed Peas), Main Street USA (Disneyland Paris CD), Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky)
Her favorite SINGING songs are: Baa Baa Black Sheep (which she taught to Gavin who sings it, despite being unable to speak) and Do Re Mi Fa So
Her favorite movies: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast (her ballet performance version),
Her favorite characters are: Dora, Cinderella, Aurora, and Tasha (from Backyardigans)
She is learning days of the week and always asks "What is tomorrow after tomorrow?" instead of "What is the day after tomorrow?" and will ask you this over and over until you get to Saturday and she says, "And DADDY STAYS HOME!"
Her best friends are: Belle and Sophie, Imandi, Ruqaiyah, and Lindiwe (Lindi)
Her favorite foods are: strawberries and rotti
Her favorite things to do are: ballet, preschool, and swimming or going to the beach
Her favorite toy is: still Kiki
Her favorite blanket: still the Eiffel Tower blanket
Favorite Books:

Sporty Spice

Here's Ruby, having just hit a 75-yard 8-iron shot onto the green during golf day at pre-school.

When is your Platinum Day of Love?

Kandy

In August, we drove up to Kandy for an overnight trip to watch the annual Esala Perahera. The Esala Perahera is a festival celebrating the Sacred Relic of the Tooth. Buddah's tooth, to be precise. Originally, the tooth was private property of the Kandyan kings, but finally, a benevolent king saw it only proper to allow the masses one opportunity each year to worship the sacred relic. That opportunity became what is now a two to three hour long procession, filled with elephants (so very many elephants), kandyan dancers (they are actually much cooler to watch dancing in the streets than we first saw them on stage), whip dancers, fire dancers, and those dancers who place hooks in their backs-- and many, many more. Although the perahera is a Buddhist festival, there are numerous hindu undertones throughout, making this perahera uniquely Sri Lankan.

My pictures are proof that I need to take photography lessons and get an SLR, but when the subject matter is this full of life and vibrant colors, you can't help but capture a couple that show it, if even just a little.

Bring on the elephants, there were over 100 in the parade. After a while, I realized I didn't need to capture each one:

Ruby's Masterpiece

I heart Rishi

Most of you know how miserable I was when we first moved to Sri Lanka. After a rough start to the year, I just wanted to stay in America with friends and the familiarity of home. We arrived in Colombo just as their 30-year civil war came to a close. Of course, for a political science nerd like me, it was an ideal time to be here, and Nate came home every night with fascinating stories. But, he came home late every night-- really late. And he was the one coming home with fascinating stories, whereas I was creating makeshift child safety gates with some combination of china cabinets and sleeper sofas or hauling two kids and their car seats in and out of taxis (and on one occasion pushing the taxi in the monsoon rains, but that is another story). So in addition to acclimating myself to the inferno climate and the new culture, our family dynamic was undergoing a huge change. It was a lot all at once for me, a lot to be going through when feeling truly alone. It was a hard time for me.

One night, Nate ran to the local video store to pick up a movie for us to watch. He ended up buying one the store owner recommended, a Bollywood flick. I really believe watching this film was the turning point for me. There was so much to love: the colors, the costumes, the pop culture and the dancing. There were still several nights (usually Mondays) when I would cry and wonder what kind of life we had signed up for, but for the most part I was starting to find things I could love about living in this far away place.



This movie is a Who's Who of Bollywood. An Ocean's 11 perhaps-- everyone who is anyone in Indian cinema is in this movie. If you are into pop culture, you may be interested to know that the older man (Sexy Sam) is Amitabh Bachnan, the most famous man in India (according to Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire), the younger man dancing (Rishi) is his son in real life and happens to be married to the actress Aishwarya Rai (famous to American's thanks to the Bollywood's version of a Jane Austen novel, Bride and Prejudice--check out that movie's dance scene here).

Most importantly however is Shahrukh Khan. He is the first man you saw in the clip above, talking to the woman. He is the most visible celebrity in South Asia. He is on soda commercials, cable tv commercials, and Tag Heuer ads. If a movie was popular in India in the last five years, he was in it. You can't turn on the tv without knowing Shahrukh Khan. Which is why his detention for questioning at Newark Airport this last August caused a huge uproar throughout India. It would be like Brad Pitt being detained for two hours in Delhi because the Indian government was worried he posed a potential terrorist threat. To make matters worse, Khan (a muslim) was in the US to promote his newest film "My Name is Khan"-- which is about racial profiling of Muslims post September 11.

And that ends today's session of "Do you know your Bollywood Stars?"