Spice up the Hunt

Since the restaurant was open for both lunch and dinner today, Papa Joe went in early this morning and was able to come home around 5PM. This meant that we could have our family Easter Egg Hunt tonight rather than tomorrow. Finding eggs is always fun, but I wanted to put a spin on things, to make it a little more than just running around the yard picking up eggs. This year, and probably many more years to come, our hunt was a photo scavenger hunt. I took 12 photos from around the house and made a 4 x 6 image for every two photos. (See below)

After picking them up at the one hour, I cut them is half and hid them in sequence around the house, leaving one out to start the hunt. Hidden next to each new photo was a filled egg. The fridge photo was the first one. Cam had to take moment to process the directions, and then she was off - dashing down the stairs squealing. From the fridge, to the side table, to the pantry, then upstairs and around some more...so much excitement!!


The last hiding place contained an egg (of course) and a picture of the front of our house. As she ran downstairs to head outside, Papa Joe asked her what she thought would be out there. Thrilled, she said, "An egg and another picture." Instead she found a brand new scooter waiting for her. Off she went, down the driveway. What a great day!

Red Dye 40

Yes, it finally happened. With a two year old, and a home that is almost entirely carpet, the odds are against us. Although the lighting is different, and the carpet is still wet in the photo on the right, this is a accurate representation of the near miracle. I found a great tip online from chris_g, carpet cleaner.

Red Dye Removal (Kool-aid, gatorade, etc.)
-Make a solution of half ammonia, half water
-Preheat an iron
-Saturate the stain with the solution
-Soak a white rag with water until it is dripping wet
-Place the rag over the stain
-Place the iron over the rag (It will sizzle.)
-Hold the iron in position for 20-40 seconds. Make sure not to burn the carpet.
-Reposition to a clean place on the rag and repeat the ironing step if necessary
*This will also work on a stain that had dried in or been there for a long period of time.