Tie-Dye Easter Eggs

As much as I love vinegar, I hate the combined smell of vinegar and hard boiled eggs. Growing up we used vinegar to color our Easter eggs... I'm still slightly traumatized. Here's a fast, easy and non-smelly way to dress up your eggs.

What you need:

• hard boiled eggs
• coffee filters
• food coloring
• aluminum foil

What you do:
Place the coffee filter on top of the aluminum foil. Put a few drops of food coloring in random spots on the coffee filter. Get creative!

Place a damp egg in the center of the filter.

Wrap the layers of filter and foil around the egg. Gently squeeze the foil around the egg.

Unwrap the egg.

 Happy Easter!

Keep Refrigerated (or they will stink like gross)

Pita Chips

A few months ago my friend, Bread Lady, taught me how to make tabouli. She also shared her secret to making the best pita chips. I love the pita bread at Phoenicia, an awesome Middle Eastern deli and bakery in Austin.

What you need:

• pita pocket bread, white or wheat
• olive oil
• salt, to taste

What you do:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut pita bread into wedges.

Separate the two layers of pita.








Place separated pita wedges, inside of the pita is facing up, on a baking sheet.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and brush each pita wedge to distribute the oil.

Sprinkle pita chips with salt.

Bake until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Watch the pita chips closely!

Ahhh... golden brown pita chips.

Enjoy with your favorite hummus, baba ghanoush, guacamole, salsa, dip or whatever makes your pita happy.

Thanks again Bread Lady!

Homemade Detangler

Parenting confession: Trouble goes to bed with wet hair just about every night. He hasn't gotten pneumonia or anything... yet. Though he does wake up with 'Hagrid Joined Flock of Seagulls Hair' which looks like this...

As you can imagine it takes more than just a brush to calm his Hagrid hair. I used to buy kids detangling spray but I'm not a fan of the weird and sickly sweet flavors they offer like Awesome Apple, Sweet Pear, Watermelon Smile and Strawberry Sensation. So I started making detangler which consisted of water and a small amount of conditioner.

What you need:

• 10 ounces warm water
• 2 tablespoons conditioner
• spray bottle

What you do:
Combine warm water and conditioner in a spray bottle. I'm using an empty detangler spray bottle. Shake it up.

 Now spray that crazy morning Hagrid hair away. Feel free to adjust the amount of conditioner as needed.

Trouble's Tame Mane

The Lorax

Children across the country will be celebrating Read Across America Day. It also just so happens to be the birthday of Dr.Seuss and... the new film The Lorax will hit theaters. Coincidence? I think not! I plan on spending the day reading The Lorax in the reading lab at Trouble's school. I'll be reading it about 10 times which means I will most certainly be a rhyming fool by the end of the day. Besides reading, we will be handing out some goodies to help the kiddos connect to the book.

We have brightly colored Truffula Trees.

The Lorax himself will be in attendance if you please.

Swomee-Swans might find a space...

and the Brown Bar-ba-loots will be in their place.

Humming-Fish might just splash around.

And a pile of rocks with UNLESS can be found.

I just couldn't resist rhyming. Sorry! The Swomee-Swans are really chicks cheese crackers found at Target, Brown Bar-ba-loots are chocolate Teddy Grahams and of course the Humming-Fish are goldfish crackers.

The Lorax mustashes are simply taped to pencils.

Happy Birthday Dr.Seuss!!

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothings going to get better. It's not.