Are there Any Novel Egg Hunt Ideas?

There isn't really too much you can write about an Egg Hunt that everyone doesn't already know. The premise is simple and straightforward - fill plastic eggs with toys and candy, hide them, and let the kids loose to find them.

I looked for ways to vary the process, even searching multiple blogs and websites. The funniest I found had an adult in an Easter Bunny costume getting out of a helicopter. Let's just say that isn't within my budget. Friends offered great suggestions like filling eggs with clues to find a large prize or personalizing eggs with significant events from the guests' lives over the past year. I'm not close friends with everyone we invited so that one might prove tricky. In the end, I decided to stick with the basics. As they say, "why mess with success?"

When I sent out the invitation I was careful to call it an EGG HUNT rather than an Easter Egg Hunt. My brother's family is Jewish and my parents always held a "robin's egg hunt" for his kids so they could have the fun of the hunt without the religious overtones. Since some of our friends are Jewish and Hindu I was hoping they wouldn't think it was a Christian conversion scheme (since I'm not a practicing anything.) I just want to see the kids run around like mad things, fill them up with sugar and send them home hyper.

I know that some people may object to my genericizing the event, however I am not holding it on Easter or even on a Sunday. Having done a little research it appears that there may be pagan origins to the tradition of hunting for eggs in the spring. Also, hard boiled eggs are traditionally part of the Jewish Passover celebration so who am I to say that egg hunts should be limited to little Christian kids? I certainly don't limit my children's friends to only little Christians.

Now, how many plastic eggs do you need for 26 kids? I purchased almost 600. That's roughly 23 eggs per child. How long do you think it will take them all to be a found? A friend commented, " Every Easter egg hunt I've ever been to has lasted about 90 seconds...'" I know things that last less than 90 seconds and are worth doing! (C'mon folks, think....)

We felt that it was important for us to provide the filled eggs as they were the focal point of the party. Filling 600 plastic eggs isn't exactly cheap - figure about 5-10 cents an egg and do the math. Someone suggested that I use the spare change I found around the house to fill the eggs instead of candy. I realized that a better idea would be to use the change to pay for the candy! I came up with almost $20 in change -more than enough to fill the eggs.

Knowing that the kids will all immediately plop down on the grass and eat whatever candy they find in the eggs I assumed that I didn't have to provide much more in the way of food or at least desserts.  Instead of a meal we'll offer drinks and light snacks. Friends generously offered to bring treats to share. 

Not your average party...the Divorce Party

Divorce Party

I'm in NO WAY celebrating divorce. Personally, I have been happily married for well over 2 decades. However, I acknowledge that in some relationships divorce is the best solution for everyone involved.

I recently decided to throw a divorce party for a friend; not to trash her ex or focus on the past, but to help her transition into her new life and to celebrate her independence. Her friends all wanted to show their love and support, knowing that this was a difficult period in her life.

We didn't give her wedding shower-type gifts. Having been separated for more than a year she had already replaced the items she'd left with her ex - wine glasses, toaster oven, etc.

No, we did not give her tacky or trashy gifts - although a few gag gifts were included in the fun. I gave her a copy of The Paperbag Princess, a children's book with a very strong female protagonist. In the story "a prince is kidnapped by a dangerous dragon, and the dragon's breath burns up all the clothes in the palace. The princess who loves the prince can only find a paper bag to wear when she goes to rescue her love. Cleverly tricking the dragon, she enters the cave where the prince, still beautifully dressed, is held captive. Is true love rewarded? No! He at once complains she's "a disaster" badly dressed, dirty and all messed up. She replies that he is a fine and handsome prince--but completely useless. "And, in the end, they didn't marry." I think that marriage is wonderful - but it isn't always the happy ending. The story always continues...

Decorations weren't black or maudlin. There were no voodoo dolls. This wasn't a party about burying the past, but about embracing the future. We used silly cocktail napkins with phrases like "let's party - the prince can wait" and I Dream of Jeannie themed "I don't do the master thing any more".

We served plenty of wine and a cake with the words "Just Divorced" (chocolate, naturally).  The point we wanted to make is that we all supported her as she moved forward.  She had fun and hopefully it helped during a rough time.

This may have prove that I will use any excuse to throw a party...

The Stuff Kids Lose

I love this time of year. The winter is coming to an end, the flowers are starting to bloom and there is so much to look forward to!

First we get to pick summer camps and plan vacations. Danielle is already signed up for a day camp at Out of The Box Art Studio. She'll need to bring a painting shirt or smock and her lunch box every day.

I'm not sure whether Amanda will be going to summer school or camp this year, but either way she is likely to be spending time with people who don't know her well. I'm not going to risk a repeat of last year when she was sent to the wrong school and no one knew who she was.With a nonverbal, autistic child labelling every item is a necessity. I even have one on Amanda's IPad. 

In addition to camps, next year Danielle will be attending a school that requires she wear a uniform. I'm thrilled because it means no more early morning battles or weird outfits (today she wore a striped dress with striped tights!) It also means that a lost coat is probably really lost. You can't exactly call the school and say, "Ours is the navy fleece jacket with the monogram" when that's what everyone has to wear.

So - naturally that means we need labels. I never have to think twice about where to buy my girls' labels. I'm a Mabel's Labels BuzzMama because they are really the best labels I've ever tried. They stick to anything and everything. With summer fast approaching  its time to order more.  They have a camp combo that comes in great colors with cute camping icons like a campfire or a canoe.

I love the color choices and fun icons. My favorites are the dolphin and the flower. However, Danielle has already chosen her icon - a tiara! How typical of her- the more glamour, the better. I think I'll order Danielle a Basic Combo Kit that comes with metal bag tags as well as stickers for her shoes.  And for Amanda, a set of skinny minis with a heart since her name means "beloved".


Disclaimer: As a Mabel’s Labels Buzzmama I'm acting as a volunteer ambassador spreading the word about products and company. I may receive free products in exchange for my involvement in the program.

The Make Over Take Over

Redoing just one room of your house is apparently impossible. Once you finish that room the one next to it looks shabby, old, dated.... voila! you end up with the make over take over.

Having finished the dining room remodel in a week for under $200 I was on a mission. I explored designs for bathrooms, bedrooms, family rooms, kitchens...  Even keeping our old kitchen cabinets new granite counters and appliances would cost at least $10,000- ouch! I decided to tackle the another room first.

Our TV room is a sunny yellow that I actually like despite its not being trendy. My biggest dilemma in the TV room is a problem I also face in the kitchen and living room - laminate cabinets and counter tops. Yuck. Dated, old and ugly all rolled into one. I never understood why the original owners went to the effort and expense of having built-ins made and then cheaped out halfway through. However, I can't exactly rip out the built in bookcases without a sledge hammer and a big commitment to doing something else in the space.

Since painting over the wallpaper worked so well in the dining room I decide to be bold and paint the laminate countertops in the TV room. Rustoleum sells a countertop refinishing kit for about $250. A good deal if I was planning on repainting all of the kitchen countertops, but a bit expensive for the two small sections in the TV room.

My method was inexpensive and quick, but probably won't work in a heavy use area such as a kitchen or bathroom. I read a lot of other blogs on how to paint countertops and decided that I was much too lazy for most methods. Giani makes a countertop paint kit designed to simulate granite. The results on the website are spectacular. However, I didn't want a countertop look - I wanted the look of a built-in bookcase.

I ultimately purchased a less expensive Rustoleum product, Countertop Coating, which promised to be "washable, moisture and chemical resistant against common household items. No primer needed for laminate surfaces!"  I honestly think the nice man in the video who said,"Trust me, you can do this stuff" is what ultimately sold me on this product. I had less than 20 square feet to paint. Even with the recommended two coats, a single quart would be enough. And, better yet, the manufacturer does not recommend a finish coat of polyurethane. Two coats and in theory I'd be done! It costs less than $20 and is tintable. While the lightest shade it comes in is Ivory, Tom at Home Depot reduced the tint by 75% and I ended up with a close match to the white paint on the wood bookshelves.

First I cleaned the surfaces, wiped them down with rubbing alcohol and gave them a quick sanding, then wiped with alcohol again. Then I taped around the edges - it took 10 minutes all together.

"BEFORE"

I bravely applied the first coat. It took about 15 minutes to paint the two small sections. By then the house smelled like someone had spilled about a gallon of nail polish remover! Time to open the doors and the windows - in early March. Brr! Why didn't I think of this last week when the weather was an unseasonable 70 degrees?

First coat - not feelin' the love yet...

I waited two hours and then applied a second coat. The key to getting a good finish is to use a very good quality roller intended for smooth surfaces. While I was waiting I posted the "before" picture on Facebook. I got a mixed review of the project. Some friends cheered me on, some thought I was plain crazy - others warned me that the stuff was toxic. Oops! Too late to turn back if it is.

The Rustoleum web site estimated that the labor would take 2 hours. Without the drying time I did my small areas in about half of that.

Am I ever going to remember to wear gloves?!?

Next I replaced the boring black drawer pulls with inexpensive brushed nickel ones. I selected an oval pull for the drawers and simple round knobs for the cabinet doors - another big change for roughly $15. Having read many, many design blogs and researched a number of web sites over the past weeks one snippet of style advice stuck with me. It was simply,"when choosing metals, chose any color BUT brass!" I replaced the dated brass ceiling fixture with a new brushed nickel fixture (2 for $17.99 at Lowe's).

Original drawer pull and knobs

Finally, I decided to try reusing things from other parts of the house since it had worked well in the dining room. First, I swapped the dark area rug for a lighter one that had been stored in the basement. The darker rug will probably end up under the kitchen table. Next, I switched the table lamps with ones from our bedroom.

The total make over took two days (including shopping) and cost less than $50. The other piece of salient design advice that I read was, "Remember, that anything you chose today will look as dated in 30 years as your Grandmother's 1970 avocado green refrigerator does now." Funny - and too true!

My Dining Room Make Over

I am NOT a do it yourself-er by choice. I am a do it yourself-er out of financial necessity. I can't see paying $400 a wall to have a professional paint when I can buy a gallon of paint for less than $35 and have $1565 left over to do something else with.

Note to self: Wear gloves.

That said, I am seriously one of the world's WORST painters. I not only get paint on myself but on any adjacent surface whether its been taped, covered with a drop cloth or wrapped in paper. The paint can and will seep under or through any attempts to protect other items in the room. Still, since I apparently can't paint a straight line I cover and tape. Naturally, that means that when I remove the covers and tape I have missed large spots of the wall that needed paint.

Which leads me to go in and retouch. Which means that I get paint on the adjacent surfaces...which means touch up paint of another color...which means I get that color on the wall.... That $1600 quote looks so much more reasonable after I spend nearly a week painting and repainting and in the end, frankly, it looks like my 5 year old painted it. (Which, in truth, she probably did because I figured "why not?")

My dining room has a white chair rail. Above the chair rail is red wallpaper covered with (of all things) palm trees. Below the rail is an odd shade of Army green. Not my taste.  I do like the hardwood floors. It also has one feature that I love - a gold faux finished ceiling. Really cool and unusual. The room originally had a brass chandelier that we replaced years ago with more contemporary lighting, but I never dared tackle the ugly wallpaper and dark paint. 

Until last weekend when I saw this photo. I wanted that room!

Having never repaired or repainted Amanda's room after removing her wallpaper border 6 months ago I decided to commit the ultimate crime of home ownership and paint over the wallpaper. Go ahead, cringe. I know it was wrong, but it was quick  and it made me so happy.

A gallon of oil based Kilz - two coats to cover the wallpaper;  a gallon of Lowes' allen+roth Natural paint and about a week's work equals happiness! The hardest part was painting over the fake wainscotting. Brushes left streaks. Regular rollers created drips. Kevin finally discovered a set of small Whizz rollers designed for painting cabinets that painted all of the indentations and corners of the trim beautifully. Too bad I didn't have them for the first coat...

We removed the plantation shutters to bring more natural light into the dark room. The look is not identical to the first photo. The paint is a little lighter. The goal was to bring the space to a more neutral, contemporary palette.  I didn't substitute new ceiling lights or furniture, but worked with what we had. To finish it off I moved things from other rooms, bought a $70 lamp and some inexpensive artwork from Target. It is not a professional job. There are drips, smears and missing patches. However, the total cost of my makeover including accessories was less than $200.

Now - what can I do with the rest of the money that I saved by doing it myself?