Daddy Herschel's 61st Birthday

My stepfather turned 61 years old last weekend. We decided to make him a surprise birthday celebration in advance. The little boy had a sleep over with his woewoe and woewa (lolo and lola is Filipino for grandpa and grandma, but when Nath was younger he couldn't pronounce it right, sounded like woewoe and woewa), so we knew for sure that they were coming that day to bring him home.

This is the birthday card I made him. I used the digital scrapbooking kit from Kristal Kreations. You can click here to check out her site. This is the same kit I used to make my Father's Day Freebie.

Claire made a drawing of him, but unfortunately I didn't get to take a picture of it. Yes, me, the family paparazzi, forgot to take a picture of something. Still kicking myself about that, by the way.

My sixteen-year-old daughter Bea made this chocolate cake from scratch. 

You want to know how I made the number 61 on the cake? First, I printed out the number, making sure it's the right size for the cake. Then I stapled a piece of wax paper on top of it. And then I melted some white chocolate, spooned it into a ziploc bag, snipped off a corner and piped it onto the wax paper. I tried my best  to follow the shape of the number 61, then topped it off with sprinkles. When I was satisfied with it, I put it into the freezer for a few minutes until the white chocolate is set.

The thing is, I went a little crazy with the birthday candles. And you know how when you have a lot of candles to light, it kind of takes you forever to finish lighting them all? Yeah, that's when the white chocolate started to melt. Yep, our number 61 turned all weird and melty. Oh well, at least we had a good laugh about it. Makes it more memorable, don't you think?

Red, White & Blue Oreo Cupcake Bites

The 4th of July is just around the corner, so I decided to make some red, white and blue Oreo cupcake bites. I love Bakerella - what's not to love, right? -  she makes the cutest cake pops and cupcake bites.  Her Oreo Truffles are a favorite in our house. My 16-year-old daughter likes making them for her friends on their birthdays. 

Bakerella made a tutorial on how to make cupcake bites a while back, these are very similar to the cupcake pops, except they're not on sticks. And since my kids prefer the Oreo Truffles, that's what I used for these cupcake bites. If you want to see Bakerella's Cupcake Bites tutorial click here. 

I followed her directions for making Oreo truffles. You can click here to see it. But after rolling them into balls and putting them in the freezer to let them set, I then proceeded to follow her Cupcake Bites instructions. But since I didn't have the candy mold that she used, I had to improvise. I'll show you how I did it.

First, I placed mini baking cups in the mini muffin pan.

Then I melted my chocolate according to the instructions on the wrapper. I got them from Walmart.

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I spooned the melted chocolate into the baking cup, and then I immediately pressed an Oreo ball onto it.

I then put the entire mini muffin pan into the freezer for a few minutes to let the chocolate set. Then I peeled off  the baking cups from the chocolate and this is what it looked like.

I melted my other Almond Bark, same brand as the chocolate, except it's white. Then I dipped the top of the cupcake bite into the melted white chocolate, placed a red or blue M&M candy on top, decorated with sprinkles and I'm done! Cute and yummy, just the way I like it!

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I linked this post to these wonderful parties:

1840 Farm : From the Farm Blog Hop  |  Alderberry Hill : Make The Scene Monday  |  Angels Homestead : Saturday Spotlight  |  Anyonita Nibbles : Tasty Tuesdays  |  A Peek Into My Paradise : T.G.I.F. Link Party  |  Be Betsy : Brag About It Tuesday Link Party  |  Call Me PMC : Saturday Dishes  |  Create With Joy : Inspire Me Monday  |  Domesblissity : Thriving on Thursdays  |  Ducks 'n a Row : Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop  |  Frugal Foodie Mama : Marvelous Mondays  |  I Should Be Mopping The Floor : Mop It Up Monday  |  Living Better Together : TGIF Link Party  |  Love Bakes Good Cakes : All My Bloggy Friends  |  Memories by the Mile : Tuesday Trivia and Link Party  |  Mommifried : Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party  |  My Turn (for us) : Freedom Fridays  |  Piggy In Polka Dots : Party In Polka Dots  |  PinkWhen : DIY Sunday Showcase  |  Rae Gun Ramblings : What We Wore, Read, and Make Link Party  |  Rain on a Tin Roof : Give Me The Goods Monday  |  She's Crafty : Summer Linky Party  |  Simply Designing : Simply Create Link Party  |  Sincerely, Paula : NO RULES Weekend Blog Party  |  The NY Melrose Family : Whimsy Wednesdays  |  The Pin Junkie : Friday Link Party  |  The Thriftiness Miss : Weekend Wonders  |  The Wonderfing Brain : My Favorite Posts SHOW OFF Weekend Blog Party  |  Thirty Handmade Days : Pity Party  |  Titi Crafty : Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party  |  Who Needs A Cape : Super Sunday Party

Father's Day 2013

Father's Day is the perfect time to show the fathers in our lives how much they're appreciated. I hope all of you had fun celebrating this day. I know we did! 

We started our day with a breakfast made by the girls. Pandesal with bacon and eggs. Yum!

They also gave him their handmade gifts so he can enjoy reading them while eating his breakfast. Bea drew this character from the Candy Crush game. Yup, my husband plays Candy Crush.

This one's from Nath, he insisted on making these "coupons" for tatay by himself. It says "You are the best tatay in the world. --- massage your back, rub your feet, pluck your white hair, massage your head."

We invited my parents, and my stepson and his family to come over and spend the afternoon with us. We were just hanging out, eating pizza, while the kids played in the backyard.

My stepfather loved the gifts that we gave him, a 6-pack  of  IBC Diet Root Beer and a 1 liter bottle of Dad's Root Beer. We went to several stores to find Dad's Root Beer, we finally found this one at K-Mart.

I also made this fun tag for my stepson. Nothing says Father's Day like your own personalized beer, don't you think? 

When it was time to go home, the grandkids didn't want to go, so we decided it's best if they stay a little bit longer. Which then led to an unexpected sleepover. They didn't bring their pajamas but they didn't mind wearing their Uncle Nath's clothes. They had so much fun making s'mores in the backyard.

And that concludes our Father's Day celebration. How about you? I'd love to hear what you did for Father's Day.

I linked this post to these wonderful parties:
Alderberry Hill : Make The Scene Monday  |  A to Zebra Celebrations : Link Party Tuesday  |  A Peek Into My Paradise :  T.G.I.F. Link Party  |  BeBetsy : Brag About It Link and Hop  |  Carrie This home : Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop  |  Create With Joy : Inspire Me Monday  |  Domesblissity : Thriving On Thursdays  |  I Should Be Mopping The Floor : Mop It Up Monday  |  Life With The Crust Off : Two Girls and a Party  |  Love Bakes Good Cakes : All My Bloggy Friends  |  Memories By The Mile : Tuesday Trivia and Link Party  |  Natasha In Oz : Say G'day Saturday Linky Party  |  Piggy In Polka Dots : Party In Polka Dots  |  Rain on a Tin Roof : Give Me The Goods Monday  |  The NY Melrose Family : Whimsy Wednesdays  |  The Pin Junkie : Friday Link Party  |  This Gal Cooks : Marvelous Mondays  |  Titi Crafty : Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party  |  VMG206 : Brag About It

Brownie Candy Cups

I have been craving chocolate and peanut butter lately. And there's only one thing that can satisfy that craving - brownies with Reese's peanut butter cups! I found this recipe on Duncan Hines a few years ago and the kids and I love it! I even made it for a church bake sale and it went fast.

The recipe calls for Duncan Hines Double Fudge Decadent Brownie Mix but it wasn't available at the commissary today, so I used this one instead.

And instead of using a muffin pan, I opted to use these aluminum baking cups. 

I placed them all on a baking sheet. That way, I got to bake more of them all at the same time.

There is nothing fancy about this treat, but it's guaranteed to satisfy anyone looking for a chocolate and peanut butter fix. Enjoy!

Brownie Candy Cups

1 package Duncan Hines Double Fudge Decadent Brownie Mix

1 large egg

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

30 miniature peanut butter cup candies, unwrapped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper baking cups in muffin pans.
2. Combine brownie mix, fudge packet from mix, eggs, water and oil in a large bowl. Stir with spoon until well blended, about 50 strokes. Place 2 level measuring tablespoons batter in each paper liner.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Push 1 peanut butter cup candy into center of each cupcake until even with surface of brownie. Bake 5 to 7 minutes. Remove to cooling racks. Cool completely.

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I linked this post to these wonderful parties:

Angels Homestead : Saturday Spotlight  |  Anyonita Nibbles : Tasty Tuesdays  |  A Peek Into My Paradise : T.G.I.F. Link Party  |  Carrie This Home : Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop  |  Domesblissity : Thriving on Thursdays  |  Living Better Together : TGIF Link Party  |  Love Bakes Good Cakes : All My Bloggy Friends  |  Natasha In Oz : Say G'day Saturday  |  Piggy In Polka Dots : Party In Polka Dots  |  The NY Melrose Family : Whimsy Wednesdays  |  The Pin Junkie : Friday Link Party  |  Thirty Handmade Days : My Pity Party  |  Titi Crafty : Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party  |  VMG206 : Brag About It

Nath's End of the Year Teacher Gifts

Tomorrow is the last day of school for the 3 kids. The girls have been busy with their final exams and the little boy has been pretty busy as well. They had several events at school and he's been having so much fun.

I would like to share with you the gifts we're giving his teachers. I know it doesn't look fancy but I think using the picture I took of him with his teacher, and his own handwriting makes this gift special.

Something sweet and something practical - a nice combo don't you think?

Were also giving Kit Kat bars to the volunteers in their classroom. Inexpensive, I know, but it's the thought that counts, right?

The kids are all excited about the summer break. We don't really have anything planned, but I'm guessing were going to be regulars at the pool and the beach. What about you? Any vacation plans you'd like to share?

I linked this post to these wonderful parties:
Angels Homestead : Saturday Spotlight  |  Domesblissity : Thriving on Thursdays  |  Natasha In Oz : Say G'day Saturday Linky Party  |  Piggy In Polka Dots : Party In Polka Dots  |  Thirty Handmade Days : My Pity Party  |  Titi Crafty : Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party