The First Ever Bulalo Cake.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, BULALO MISMO!
I say this calls for a crazy-ass birthday cake.  Of course, Midnight Snacks rose to the occasion once a-gaaain!

Insane cow and corn detail.

Ridiculously realistic meat and marrow.

Wooden chopping board you can eat.  Mad!

Since I'm never going to beat my husband in the cooking arena, I decided to go left field.  I will just surprise him with a cake in the image and likeness of his little business' most popular fare --a Bulalo Cake!  The thought of it is so mind-boggling, I just had to run with it!
So Miro, Kenji, and I sat down to brainstorm on the design.  Think, think, think.  Eureka.  And there you have it --our badass cow mascot marinating in the jacuzzi of soupy love.  Midnight Snacks got our crazy idea to the dot!  It's hard to believe it's cake.  But it is!  Delightfully moist carrot cake! :)

The Bulalo Bosses love it to bits!

And the innocent cake givers are just way too pleased.  We got our cake and we got to eat it, too.
Thanks again, Midnight Snacks!

PS.  To know how to score the cool, cottony Bulalo Mismo anniversary shirts you see here, check out Bulalibreng T-shirt here.

Family Project Weekend: DIY Bouncy Ball!

See this?  It's Jupiter.  It bounces.  And we made it. :)

Family Project Weekend came in a bit early because of this snazzy little science project we got from FullyBooked:  Weird Science's Bouncy Ball Factory!  It holds so much promise! :P

Actually, it holds two halves of a plastic orb and 4 packets of colored crystallized powder.  You gotta admit, how all these can possibly become a ball that bounces is intriguing.

Step 1:  We snapped the two halves of the plastic orb to form a vessel of sorts.  The ball-shaped thingy has a funnel on top and tiny, pinpoint holes all around its body.  For what is a mysteryyyy...

Step 2:  FUN!  We poured the crystallized powder in.  A word of warning to OC moms, this is gonna be messy.

Step 3:  We mixed in the colors to form a Jupiteresque pattern for our future ball.  Because planets bounce in our world. Uh-huh.  A little shake gave us a more compact sphere.

Step 4:  Then we submerged our powder-filled orb in water.  We let it stand in that little pool for 3 minutes.  Your container doesn't have to be microwave-safe, of course.  Lol!

Step 5:  We pulled it out and --here's the tough part-- waited for the crystals in the orb to harden.  That's like 5 minutes of hard time for my impatient little scientists.  Painful, painful hard time. 

Step 6:  5 minutes up, we cracked the orb open!

Step 7:  Well, well, well, look who's turned into a ball!
But ...will it bounce?

I think my boys can vouch for that.

Yup, Adora-BALL. :P
Weird Science's Bouncy Ball Factory is available at FullyBooked for Php245.00.  Great hands-on science project you can do with your kids this weekend!  You'll have to explain to them how water hardens crystals though, and how that leads to bouncing.  That's all part of Creative Parenting.  Hehe... good luck!

Yexel's Toy Museum: The Big Picture

SURPRISE, SURPRISE!
We actually have a toy museum!  In fact, it's a museum so awesome, my boys (husband included) were geeking out about it days after we went there.  The place just brims of epic proportions.
Don't believe me?  Then prepare for an overload of photographic evidence!!!

Yexel's Toy Museum is a 3-storey child's Dream Come True and an adult's trip to Nostalgia Land --all in lifesize 3D!  It comes with free-standing works of art.

Set-ups that allow you to sit and be part of the toy scenario.

Movie toys that are larger than life.  Definitely a hundred times larger than your average Happy Meal freebie.

Classic toys that take you back to an altered past where you can hobnob with your favorite film, TV show, and video game characters.

Replicas that are hell authentic!  Uber awesome craftsmanship!  Most of which are encased in protective glass.

And, for the easily overwhelmed by big things, gazillions of miniatures.  Sorry, still overwhelming. :P

But what really floors you is this... the Piece de Resistance!

Optimus Prime in actual size!  What.  The.  Fudge.
The room that encases the gargantuan Autobot is filled with the alien robot's deep, dramatic voice delivering his famous closing spiel in the first movie, blasting away in mega speakers.  Talk about ambiance!

*Photo nabbed from Yexel's Toy Museum's FB page

Now, you know me --I don't just take our kids to any random place for kicks.  I always make sure they get something out of it.  A lesson, or an inspiration.  Yexel's Toy Museum serves that on a Lego platter.  Yexel isn't just a young man who collects toys for display.  He MAKES toys, too!  A lot of which are the lifesized ones in the museum.  How's that for inspiration?

For P300 a pop, you'll never get a toy-filled experience this huge anywhere.
Yexel's Toy Museum, quietly tucked away at Pilar Village in Las Pinas City, is open to the public Saturdays and Sundays, from 10am to 8pm.  Go big and be there!

DIY I Heart You!

Ah, Heart Month...

While some people are scrambling to choose from the millions of Valentines e-cards online --and a few possibly still rummaging through the cards section of National Bookstore --we decided to make our own.  No surprises there.  Our family is big on personalizing presents. :)

For example...

For Ate Aikee, we came up with a card cut out in the shape of a heart.  It's all in the realm of the expected until we started sticking dozens of Band Aids on the thing.  Now WHY would we do that?!!  That's because the key to personalizing a card is knowing the recipient's background, what she loves doing, and what she stands for.  Ate Aikee is a nurse, an incredibly loving one at that. 

So this card with the ultra cheesy message 'You fixed my broken heart' inside is just perfect.  It hits home, and it tugs on some major heart strings. :)  And, it's obviously way too easy to make.

Hope this inspired you to make your own Valentine cards.  Remember, nothing says love more than something you personally made with your own hands and heart.