To all our friends that are celebrating Passover or Easter, we wish you all Happy Holidays. With Easter in just a few days, it's time to decorate eggs and put together Easter baskets!

With Easter just a few days away, it is time to decorate eggs and put together Easter baskets! Families all have different traditions, and whether your's is sunrise service and brunch, a neighborhood egg hunt, a family day at the beach or all of the above, we hope your celebration is special.

Filling Easter baskets does not have to be costly and can be a fun time to get creative with a theme. For something other than a traditional basket, try a Sand Pail, Purse, Flower Pot, or new Lunch Box. Fun things that you can put in your 'basket', besides those delicious chocolate bunnies, are iTunes gift cards, movie tickets, stickers & temporary tattoos, sunglasses, seeds to plant, hair accessories, a roll of quarters, books, bubbles and more!

Happy Hunting!

The OaksParent.com Team

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Bounce into Spring with the MOMS Club of Thousand Oaks

Come join the MOMS Club of Thousand Oaks as we enjoy an afternoon at the park with our kids with a bounce house, crafts, and snacks for all who attend.

When:  April 13, 2010 from 3:30-5:00 pm

The MOMS Club of Thousand Oaks is a group of moms offering support and encouragement for one another. Our monthly activities include playgroups, outings, Moms Night Out, Holiday celebrations and other activities that provide us with a chance to interact with other moms, get encouragement and support, learn something new, or just have fun. In addition, we perform a number of community service projects each year.

If you would like to attend this event and meet other moms in the Conejo Valley, please e-mail momsclub_thousandoaks@yahoo.com for the location (for safety reasons we do not post this information). You may also visit us at: www.meetup.com/MOMS-Club-Thousand-Oaks. We welcome new members, and the cost to join MOMS Club is only $30 per year.

TIPS FOR DECORATING YOUR EGGS:

If you are using a kit, make sure to boil your eggs and let them cool completely before dyeing.

Liven your eggs up with stickers. Place them on the egg, then dip the egg in dye. Let the egg dry completely before removing the sticker and you will have a fun pattern on your egg. Consider Natural Easter Egg Dye.

Create natural tones --- Combine the dye source with 1/2 Tablespoon of vinegar with some cold water in a saucepan. Add raw eggs (make sure there's enough water to cover the eggs) and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. The longer you simmer, the darker the color will be, but simmer at least 8 minutes so that the eggs cook thoroughly.
Use this color chart to create natural tones:

• Brown - the outer layers of onions, tea or coffee
• Yellow - turmeric or saffron
• Red - cranberries
• Purple - beets, purple onion skin
• Green - spinach
• Blue - blueberries

Create a marbled effect --- Wrap your uncooked eggs in onion skins (white and purple) or spinach. Use white string to secure the wrap and then place the eggs in the foot of an old nylon stocking and tie a knot. Gently boil the stocking and egg in a pot of covered water with 1/2 Tablespoon vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. Leave the eggs in the wrap for awhile, when you unwrap them they will all look different.

Make Easter Bunny Ears - Use food coloring dye or natural dyes to dye eggs in solid colors. Dry with paper towel. For each bunny egg, cut two oval shaped ears from colored paper. Glue the ears to the top of the egg. Add plastic "google" eyes. Use markers to add a small triangle for a nose and some whiskers. Glue on a cotton ball for a tail.