Kavin's 4th Birthday

Hi Friends,
Hope all of you are doing very well. I'm sorry that I'm unable to keep up my word of resuming blogging soon. Meanwhile " THANKS" to all my dear blogger friends and readers who continue to visit my blog and leave encouraging comments. I really feel so bad that I'm unable to respond to all of your comments. But I hope you will understand.

Lots have been going on in the past month. Kavin's Birthday, my b'day, My in-laws arrival and getting adjusted to all the changes. Phew... I'm glad that it's all over now. Anyway, I just wanted to share some pictures of our special days with you.

Ok guys. I can hear you saying ... enough of talking. Where's food? Well, I have many posts in my draft but I choose Egg Curry to post today.

This is a simple and flavourful gravy. If you wish you can use replace eggs with chicken. It tastes great with dosa, pulav rice, biryani or rotis. Pardon me for the bad presentation. No time to garnish or clean the sides of the plate



Ingredients:

Eggs- 5
Onion- 1 (medium)
garlic- 3 pods
ginger- 1"
green chilli - 1
corriander leaves- small fistful
curry leaves- few
mint leaves- 5 or 6
Tomato- 1 (big)
turmeric- 1/4 tsp
sambar powder- 1/4 tsp
Some curry powder- 1/2 tsp (I used sakthi chicken masala for an added flavour)
cloves- 2
pattai (cinnamon stick) - 1"
jeera seeds- 1 tsp
fennel seeds - 1 tsp
salt- as required

Procedure:
Boil eggs and peel off the shell. Cut them in halves and set aside. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a kadai and fry the onions, ginger, garlic, chilli, corrinader leaves, curry leaves and mint until the onion turns into a pale brown color and becomes soft. Finally add the tomatoes and saute until completely mashed. Switch off the gas and allow it to cool. Grind it all to a smooth paste.

Heat one tbsp of oil in a kadai and fry cloves and cinnamon stick. Next add the ground paste , turmeric , sambhar powder and curry powder. Add required salt. After 5 mins add the cumin-fennel powder and a cup or more of water. Bring to a nice boil.

Slip in the eggs slowly and carefully mix well . Test for seasonings and switch off the gas until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Finally add some corriander leaves and mix.



I'm signing off with this. Will be back with my next post soon. Once again I'm sorry for not replying to all your comments. From my next post onwards I'll be responding back only to queries. But I gladly welcome your suggestions. Thanks again for understanding. Take care and have a great Day!!!!

Blogging Break!!!

Hi Friends,

I'm taking a break from blogging until the new year as my kid has no school until then. I'm sorry that I couldn't reply to your comments nor visit your blogs. I shall catch up with you all soon. I should have posted this message earlier but I fell sick. So, please bear with me guys.

Anyway,

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2008!

A dark day in our life in the year 2006

Warning: This is a long health related post. Just wanted to share a chapter of my life with all of you.

Yes...The day after Thanks Giving when all the people are busy shopping and still enjoying the holidays we had a very dark day during our 2006 ThanksGiving. This is b'coz Kavin was diagonized with something called the KAWASAKI disease. Funny name uh? Yes, we thought so too when the ER doctor told us the name not knowing the seriousness behind it.

Inshort, this an acquired heart disease that affects young childeren who are less than 5 years of age and rarely above 5. You can read more about it here and here.

Kavin's story goes like this. On 17th November 2006 he woke up normal just like any other day. He had his flu shot appointment and so we went to his pediatrician around 11 am. By 12pm we met 'B' in a restaurant and had lunch. Kavin dosen't eat anyway, so we kept him busy with some crayons. He was a little fussy though, so we packed our lunches half way through and I drove him back home.

Within minutes of reaching home, he threw up and started to shiver. I panicked. Then I gave him tylenol and put him to bed. I found that he developed fever. At that time, I thought it was a side effect of the flu shot. But as the clocked ticked away, his temperature kept on rising and rising. By 5pm he was burning and had a temperature of 104 degress. I didn't wanted to keep him in home any longer. So, we took him to the emergency by 6pm. All through the way he kept throwing up and his head was drooping down. Finally we got to see the doctor only by 10pm. (You know how the ER's function in US). They asked us to give him the same tylenol and motrin alternatively and sent us home.

The next day we met Kavin's pediatrician but he didn't find anything either. All through the day, his temperature would be 102 deg under the effect of motrin. When the medicine effect wares off ,it would go back to 104 . Back again in the evening his temperature shot up high and we rushed back to the ER.

After a long wait, we got to see that day's doctor. I was really not at all happy with the way he reacted to our concerns. He spent exactly a minute listening to our complaints, didn't examine Kavin (not even looked at him) and scoffed at me for telling my concerns as he thought I was exaggerating. Again we went home to continue the tylenol and Motrin.

Again we made a trip to the Pediatrician the next day. On this day, Kavin developed cracks on his lips and his toungue was coated with white substance and his eyes were blood-red. Still, his pediatrician said that it is a viral fever as his eyes were red. He also prescribed an eye drops and Nystatin for the toungue. Again we went home with no answers.

Fourth day also no improvements. Already, Kavin has feeding difficulties. He dosen't drink milk or juice also. It was so tough to watch him live with water alone. All long we knew something was wrong but we were helpless. My parents are doctors in India and my sis is doing her final year medicine. My dad became suspicious about Kavin's condition on this day. He prescribed some medicines too. But I was afraid to give it as I would have to answer Kavin's pediatrician if something went wrong.

Fifth day also continued with high fevers of 103. Kavin was humming weakly a lullaby that I used to sing to him daily. He tried to look into my eyes and said "boo boo". Oh My God! It was the worst moment. My hubby and me burst into tears and cried out aloud with Kavin in my lap. My Dad asked us to do a blood test. So, we went to the pediatrician to ask for it. He disagreed on that and he suggested to take a x-ray alone to check if it was Pnemonia. We went to the lab and got the result as negative. Again we went to see the doctor with the lab results. My hubby asked for the blood test again but the doctor said that he is very sure that it is a viral fever and that it takes 10 days to go away.

Day 6. A day before ThanksGiving. We cancelled our dinner program in our friends place and stayed home hoping to see some improvements today atleast. But nothing much changed. Back again we went to the ER and asked them to admit Kavin as we afraid to keep him home. But they didn't so as he was not dehydrated. I did tell them that he was drinking only water and very little pedialite (just 4 ounces a day). We had to give him through a medicine despenser as he dosen't like pedialite. Still, we were kiced like a ball back to our house.

Day7. It was Thanksgiving and while the world was happy celebrating it we were still in the dark not knowing what would happen next. My dad was angry with me as I did not follow his medicines. But he warned me that this was terribly wrong and a blood test was a must. He suggested to give a steroid that is banned in US but still used in India. I was scared to try it. Didn't want to complicate anything. So, I just told my dad that I gave the medicine but I didn't. No improvements. It's been 6 days since Kavin walked.

Day 8. We woke up after sleepless nights. Again my dad insisted on the blood tests and we talked to the Pediatrician and he basically washed off his hands. He said that he has done all that he knows and said that we could go to the ER again if we want and take a blood test for our satisfaction as our pediatrician's office was closed on that day. I was frustrated with the ER at this point. I didn't want to go there at all. But my hubby said that we go there again to do the blood tests atleast. Back again we went waited for 3 hours. The ER was packed with people as it was a holiday season.

In the waiting room, when my hubby took Kavin to the restroom he noticed that he was walking wobbly. He hardly took 2 steps then he sat down. B's eyes were watery. I consoled him and measured Kavin's temperature. This time the meter showed no reading. Just "HIGH". I was scared to death. I went to the reception and yelled at them for taking such a long time. Then the nurse came and checked Kavin. They took him in right away. Within half an hour we saw the doctor and told him the entire story. He was so patient and listened to us carefully. He then did a blood test and came back with the results that it could be "KAWASAKI".

After this the treatment started in a jet speed. kavin was admitted on the spot and was getting ready to be seen by the main doctor. 'B' rushed home to get a few things for our hospital stay. Kavin was given drips and had so many wires on his body. After 20 mins, his body started to shiver badly. I tried to hug him but his body was shaking so hard that his bed was also shaking. The nurse rushed in and changed the doses and he setteled down slowly. He was give IVIG (immunoglobin -an antibodies extract from human blood).

Day 9. Kavin woke up with no fever. His eyes came back to normal. He smiled and responded to us. He became aware that he was sick and that he was in the hospital to recover. We had a sigh of relief that didn't last for long. The doctor came in and gave us a sheet about this disease. We were shocked to read thru that. Then an echo was performed on Kavin and it was found that his coronary artery has enlarged and that he was in risk level 2. Phone calls were going back and forth to India and my dad was trying to find out the underlying complications and try to to do the best possible.

Day 10. We were released from the hospital and was asked to do a follow-up visit after a week with a cardiologist. Kavi was on baby aspirin for one full month. We met the cardiologist a week later and discussed the possible problems. He said that we have to wait for 1 full month to see how Kavin's body is recovering in the post kawasaki phase. His platelettes counts was more than double of what it had to be. The doctor also warned that if the platelet count continue to be this high ,he is in a risk for cancer.

This was too much for us. We walked in dark hoping to find some light at the end. This incident really changed us a lot. We started to appreciate Kavin more and his other difficulties did not matter anymore. We just wanted him to be alive atleast. In the end, after one full month of waiting time, the doctor did his echo and said that he has miraculously escaped and that his coronary artery has come back to normal and that he has crossed the danger line. Kavin is still kept on watch for the next 3 to 5 years . But we hope he will do fine in the coming years.

From my experiences, I strongly feel that our family would not have undergone this only if the doctors were more responsible in the first place. All that the ER doctors want us to do is spend some time in the patient’s room and hope that they can pass the patient off to the next doctor coming on shift or keep the patient alive for them to be seen by their regular doctor the next day. Anyway, it's we as parents who have to fight for our children. Always trust your gut feeling and struggle as much as you can.

Keep an eye for these Symptoms:

1. persistent fever that is higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius), and lasts for at least 5 days.
2.severe redness in the eyes
3.a rash on the child's stomach, chest, and genitals
4.red, dry, cracked lips
5.swollen tongue with a white coating and big red bumps
sore, irritated throat
6.swollen palms of the hands and soles of the feet with a purple-red color
7.swollen lymph nodes
8. Peeling of skin under the nails (For kavin it happened after his relase from the hospital

If you see any of these symptoms in your child, Please Please do not hesitate to do a blood test and check for Platelet count. Don't worry if the doctors turn deaf to your words. You got to be persistant. In our case, we could have escaped this if the kawasaki disease would have been detected atleast two days before.

I'm sorry for a long one. Hope I didn't bore you. This is just to keep you all aware about this killer disease. Coming to an end, he is a pic of my son taken recently. You can see what food blogging has done to him. He has seen me taking pics of food many times and one day I saw him doing this. So I grabbed my camera quick and took a shot. He even got a little tikes kitchen set for ThanksGiving!

This ThanksGiving was a good one. We went to a big church were our friends invited us for a lunch. There was a huge crowd from different countries. People from different places sang their National anthem on stage. And guess who sang our India's national anthem?

It was KAVIN. He sang the full song song so clearly and won a huge applause. Too bad that I didn't take a camera. My friend said that the church would have taken it and if he gets it he would send it to me. So, I'm still waiting for that. Anyhow, we were so proud of him. Exactly one year has made a huge difference in our lives.

Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it.

Happy Deepavali 2007!!!

(image from flickr.com)

Hello my dear bloggers friends and visitors,

Wish you all a very Happy, Prosperous and Safe Diwali.

Hope you all have a great time bursting crakers, eating sweets and enjoying your favorite TV programs. See you all soon with the goodies I prepared for Diwali. Bye.

-kribha.

My Kitchen Disaster

Asha had tagged me for "Nightmare in the Kitchen" meme. This was originally started by Lakshmi of "The Yum Blog". It all started when she baked her "Warm Walnut Brownie Pudding". You can check the links at the end of the post to read all the stories.

Any cook will have their moment of nightmare in the kitchen at some point of time. Ofcourse, nobody is perfect and we all learn from our mistakes. If I start to write about mine this one post wouldn't be enough. So, I'm going to write about what my hubby did recently.

The day was Oct 23rd 2007. Everything went well until 6pm evening. Suddenly the power went off for 10 mins. One of my greatest fears is DARKNESS. Really, I'm not kidding. After sometime the power came. In a few mins, I heard talking sounds and walked in that direction to find what it was. The sound was coming from my bedroom upstairs. When I walked up the stairs I noticed that the TV was ON(It was Off before the power went out).

I was shocked to see my dark bedroom glowing like a haunted house. So, I ran outside my house along with my son and asked my hubby to drive fast and come home. Also, I locked the house and drove to the nearby gas station and waited for 'B' to come. Atlast he came and took us home. First he went into the house and made sure everything was ok and then we went in.
After this scary evening 'B' offered to cook some tandoori chicken for me as I was still not ok. So I cooked some food for my son alone and went to feed him. After some time, when it was time to take out the chicken from the oven...the nightmare started.

'B' dabbed some butter on the top of the chicken and put it under the broiler moving the rack from the center to the top-most level.Within minutes, we saw smoke. When we opened the oven we saw that the chicken and the marinade drippings had caught fire. I screamed and did not know what to do. 'B' took out the tray and ran to the deck. I asked him to throw it down. But he put off the fire somehow and he even managed to save the chicken ( a few bits got stuck to the foil paper though). Finally he dressed it up beautifully and presented to me as though nothing had happened. Here are some pics of the end product.

Look at the picture closely. This was taken before eating the chicken. But half was already gone as it got stuck to the foil and turned black..

Here are the links to some of the nightmares that have been blogged so far. Prepare to have an aching stomach after reading their posts.

Lakshmi's
Asha's
Sirisha's
Siri's

Also,I would like to tag....
Sia, Sharmi and Rak's. Hope you all have fun dears.

Wanna take one last look of the chicken again? Here it is.....Enjoy!!!

Few food pics from my India Trip

As many of you know, I was on a break from june to august as I had to attend my SIL's wedding. After coming back I wanted to post some pics but I couldn't do it. So, here are some.


My second SIL with her groom and two girls on the sides are my first SIL's kids.

Virundhu in my first SIL's place for the newly wed. The items are Chicken Biryani, onion raitha, Era varuval, vangiram fish fry, boiled egg and chicken roast.

Desserts are fruit salad (banana, jack fruit, mangoes and nagapazham) and rasamalai.

Pictures was taken in yercaud. The sour mangoes with spicy chilli powder mix is a perfect one for the cold days. This is the

American sweet corn that is grilled on charcoals and served with lemon and a spice mix.

Look closely. It's not just two monkeys. There are three of 'em. The left one is a mommy hugging the little one.

A big plate full of figs / Athi pazham. When I saw a fig dessert in viji's blog I wished this picture would become real so that I could grab some and try it. I absolutely love figs.

Last but not least is my all time favorite Panju mittai/ cotton candy. I don't like the ones we get in US. It just dosen't taste the same. I ate 3 of them in a row. YUM YUM.

That's all guys. Just wanted to share them with you. Have a nice weekend!!!

Vinayakar Chathurthi 2007

Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi is the auspicious day when Lord Ganesha was born. It is on this day when the supreme god of wisdom and good fortune bestows his presence on earth. Ganesh Chaturthi falls between August 20 and September 15 and this festival lasts for ten days.
On this day, idols of Lord Ganesha are decorated elaborately inside homes or outside for people to view and offer their prayers. Coconut, jaggery, modakas, and red flowers are offered. Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda and Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted. Here are some of Lord Ganesha`s favourite delicacies that you could offer him on this day.
(Information courtesy: Sify.com)

Although we celebrate Chathurthi every year, there is one year that is so close to my heart. That year is 2003. The reason behind that is.....around that time we were trying for a baby. So, every festival was celebrated with tons and tons of requests to all the gods and especially to my favorite - Pillayar/Ganesha.

I wanted to do something like rangoli for that chathurthi but I finally ended up doing this. The outline was drawn by my hubby and we both did the rest together. It started like a fun way to kill time, but we were very happy with the end result. We kept on chatting until 2 am that we did not realise the hours flying by. After a week's time I confirmed with my gynac about my pregnancy. So that is the unforgettable Chathurthi for us so far.

This year I had too many things going on the same day of the festival. Our city festival, Kavin's gym class, friend's coming over for dinner, pooja decorations and cooking. Phew!!! Anyway, I could start my work only after 4pm. I managed to do all the work except the Kozhukattais. Finally, my hubby pitched in and he did the kozhukattais. Everything was completed by 5.45pm and we did pooja by 6pm. Although, I made pongal, sundal and idllis for neivedhyam I could not take any pictures.

Anyway, here is the recipe for the Sweet kozhukattais that I....sorry my hubby made.

Ingredients:
Riceflour-1 cup
Coconut grated -2cups
Jaggery- ½ cup
Cardomom powder- ½ tsp
Salt – a pinch
Oil- 4 tsp

Procedure:
Bring 2 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add a pinch of salt and 2 tsp oil to the water. Add this to the riceflour and mix well till it gets a dough consistency.When it is cooled add some oil to that and knead it into a soft dough.Make small balls out of this. Now for the filling melt jaggery with a tsp of water. Then add coconut and cardomom powder in a pan and heat it. Remove from heat and allow it to cool. After sometime oil your palms and make small rice flour balls. press the rice flour ball in the middle and make a cup . keep the coconut ball inside this and close it. The final shape should be like a modhak. Steam this for 5 to 8 mins . Remove and cool it.

Urad dal kozhukattais:

Ingredients:
Urad dal - 1/2 cup
green chillies - 1 no (finely chopped)
curry leaves - 1 twig(finely chopped)
Oil - 1 table spoon
Hing - 1/4 teaspoon
salt to taste
mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Procedure:
Wash and soak urad dal for 1/2 hour. Drain well and grind coarsely adding salt and hing adding 2 tablespoons water. Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds ,curry leaves, green chillies and the ground urad dal. Cook on a low flame stirring well for 5 minutes. Switch off gas. The filling is ready. For the outer cover, flatten the rice balls like a small plate. Place a small amount of filling in the middle. Fold over and seal the edges. Steam them for 5 to 8 mins and serve.

I'm sorry guys that I did not take the step by step pictures. Just didn't find time at all. Will try to update this post some other time.
I wish to send this to Latha Narasimhan of " The Yum blog" for her Festival cooking series. Thank You Latha ma for hosting this.

My Wedding Anniversary

I had promised my fellow bloggers about my anniversary post. So, here it is.
Where shall I begin???

Ok, we met in June 1998 at a computer institute. Actually, all my friends had joined in another institute while my mom compelled me to join this particular one only, as it was on the way to her work place. I went into that institute thinking of all the possible reasons to get out of it. At that time, there was restricted lab hours in some institute. So, I picked that as a reason and asked my counsellor if they follow that rule.

All of a sudden, I heard a voice and a person who was facing the other side turn to me and say that they have unlimited lab hours. Yes, it was my hubby. At that time, I was so pissed and thought who is this nut to spoil all my plans. He was the pricipal of that center and he spoke to my mom in such a way that I was enrolled then and there. (This is what they call as fate I guess!!!).

Months later we proposed. Our parents came to know about it. "B" & me had to convince them. It took a little effort though. Finally they agreed and we got married on Sep 10th 2000.
I wish to mention an incident that took place during our wedding. When the time came to tie the knot, "B" was not sure what to do. He held the 'thali' (mangal sutra) in his hand and was blinking. People started putting flowers and rice on us to give their blessings. Still, "B" was wondering if that was the right time. I gave him a short lecture about tying thalis and asked him to do it soon. I even bent my head twice or thirce asking him to tie the knot. All my relatives made fun of me that "B" was having second thoughts about getting married to me and that I forced him. Atlast, my 'tubelight' hubby tied the knot.

After that, I came to US the next month and started my life here. Seven years has passed by. Do you want to know how we are now???We are getting along ok. Happy and contended. So much has changed. We don't have the same prefernces anymore. We differ in almost everything. He is a perfectionist and I'm careless to the core.(opposite poles attract :)) ) I hate it when he gives me long lectures( the gift of marrying my pricipal) and catches me red handed for gobbling up all the chocolates and ice cream. He never apologises for his mistakes. Everytime he would talk in such a way that I would feel guilty that I did something wrong even though it would have been his mistake.

Anyway, in the end I'll be the one who compromises as I cannot be without talking to him for more than an hour. That's b'coz afterall ,he is the one who chiseles me as well as shieldes me in all my difficult times. By this I don't mean to say that he should be my hubby in my next birth also. All I wish is ... to be with him in my next birth also only if we get our roles switched. (so that I can be the dominant one).

As our anniversary was on monday we celebrated on sep 9th as well as it was our reception day. Here is the menu: Vegetable biryani, shrimp saute, fish fry, onion raitha and carrot kosambari.
On sep 10th we were supposed to go to temple. But as "B" was late we went straight for dinner at Ippolitis. We had Garlic rolls, garden salad,Grilled chicken & spinach cannelloni and chicken& shrimp cavatelli. For dessert we had ice cream at home.Here are the pictures.

Finally I'll end my post with our family picture which shows the gift of our marriage......yes, it's KAVIN.

Once again guys...I'm not a great writer, infact a lousy one. I'm really sorry guys if that was too much info. I'm not a good editor...did not know where to cut. Just wrote whatever I felt. So, please bear with me for pouring out everything. BYE BYE!!!

Varalakshmi Viratham

Varalakshmi Viratham is an important festival celebrated in South India. You can read about this in detail here .

I have been celebrating this festival since my childhood. I grew up in my grandma's house. So, I have seen my aunt doing this every year. When I moved with my parents I continued doing it although my mom does not do it. Even after my marriage, my MIL encouraged me to do it although she has never done it before. Many of my friends said that I should not do it as my MIL does not have the practice of doing this pooja. But I disagreed on that. According to me, it's not wrong to do any pooja just b'coz it is not a tradition. I enjoy doing it and here I am doing it for the past 12 years.

Every year it used to be so grand I would call lots of my friends and celebrate it in a big way. But this year it was simple. Just did a payasam and sundal and offered it along with some fruits. I forgot to take pictures of the fruit tray and the thamboolam. Anyway, here are some pictures of my pooja.

Missing all of you!!!

Hi Friends,
Sorry for my long silence. We reached safely and had a nice time at the wedding. Time is going so fast that I'm grabbing every moment I can to enjoy my time to the fullest. I will be back on sep 7th. I'm missing everybody very much. I did take time to go through all of your recent posts, but I couldn't post a comment. Please bear with me. I will join you guys soon. Until then, Have a nice time!!!

Kavin's 3rd Birthday!!!

Hi Friends,
Nice to be back. Atlast, my big day is over. Yes, my son's birthday which was on April 28th 2007. We had a backyard party with slides,moonwalks and swings. The kids absolutely enjoyed it. Kavin is usually scared to go on slides. But to my amazement he slid down perfectly fine following the other kids. We had around 80 friends (60 adults, 20 kids).

We had the catering from Swapna restaurant. The items were: Appetizers: veg pakora, mysore bonda, chilli chicken,chicken-65,mint chutney and tomato chutney.
Main Course: Veg Biryani,Chicken Biryani, Raitha,Malai kofta, Paneer pasandha,Butter chicken ,Rogan josh and Naan.
Desserts: Rasmalai , fruit salad in mango custard and B'day cake ofcourse.Sorry Guys, I do not have a picture of the buffet table. It's all in the video.


For those of you guys who have not seen me...Here is my picture in the slideshow. The pink fatty girl. Oh no! I'm showing the world in what a bad shape I am. Ok guys, consider this picture as my "BEFORE" picture. Someday when I lose weight I'll post my "AFTER" picture.

Oh...I forgot to mention, we had 3 new guests whom we never knew before. Yes, three baby swallows. They flew right in when we opened the door for the first few guests. Many friends took turns in swooshing them away. But they were determined not to leave. Finally they were the last to leave around 10.30pm.You can check them out sitting on the doors in the slideshow.

I also have to add this....I could not get the picture of all my friends in the slideshow. Most of them were not taken in my camera. Will update it when I get all of 'em.

Break!!!

Dear friends,
I'm taking a short break from blogging as I'm in the process of planning a birthday party for my son Kavin which is on April 28th. Will resume blogging on May 5th.Until then, take care. Will miss you guys.....

Turning Older!!! Another B'day!!!

Yes, It was my birthday yesterday and my hubby suprised me with cake and flowers. As my son is also April born, my birthday is not intresting anymore. Still, I enjoyed this one as my son is now old enough to sing the b'day song, blow candles and cut cake. Here is another reason ,When my hubby got this cake there was no one in the store to write on it. Few others did not get the cake because they could not get the wordings on the cake. So my hubby asked permission from the worker there and got the icing bag(I forgot the name of it) and wrote it himself. The people standing next to him gave him so many oooo's and ahhhh's and followed the same. Although the writing is bad I'm happy that he did it for me. The day ended with a heavy dinner at Carraba's Italian restaurant with my friends.