DIY Haunted Mansion

While in Spain this past summer, my daughter discovered a show called Art Attack on the Disney Channel. She loved it so much that she convinced my dad to finally learn to use his DVR so he could tape all the shows for her. They would then watch the shows together and make a craft everyday. We had a couple of projects that they still wanted to make at the end of the summer so I promised we would do them once we got home. This Haunted House was the latest one of those finished projects.

I remembered most of the process from watching the show a couple of months ago, but was very pleased to find the clip from the show on Youtube. If you are interested in making the Haunted Mansion check out the video HERE.

My daughter, who will be six in December, did this mostly on her own. I helped her hold things together when she as doing the paper-mâché but other than that it was completely her project. As you can see the structure is a bit different than the one on the show but this was clearly her interpretation.

She was very proud of her Haunted Mansion and has shown everyone that has come over to our house in the last week. She is currently planning her next paper-mâché project which will be a gingerbread house. I guess my recycling bins will never be the same ;)

Lastly she had her first Girl Scout field trip today! They went to the pumpkin patch and upon her return home she decided to create a centerpiece on our kitchen table. I love this time of the year!

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BlogHer Book Club: How To Be An American Housewife

This book brought back so many memories from the year I spent living in Tokyo that it was hard to put down. In a story inspired by her mother, Margaret Dilloway tells a tale about a Japanese woman (Shoko) who marries an American man and moves to the US. The story begins right before she meets her future husband and follows her life through to her becoming a grandmother. The author does a fantastic job of giving the reader a peak into Japanese customs, that while not mainstream in the US, are very common in the hometown of the protagonist. The second part of the book is written from the American daughter's perspective and thus introduces a whole new set of views on the different rituals and customs coming from someone of blended cultures.

Perhaps my favorite part of the book are little excerpts included at the beginning of each chapter that the author tells us are taken from a book handed to Japanese women when they get married to American men. And my least favorite part was reading about how rude people were to Shoko because her English wasn't perfect and her customs were different. As a fellow expatriate and mom, it hurt my heart to read of others secluding her.

I would recommend this book to moms, expatriates, or anyone wanting to learn about a different culture. I could relate to Shoko on many things but also learned a lot about what life was like for her. I find it fascinating to learn about how others deal with the ordeals life presents them with at a given point in their life. It's like history class made fun!

Please join me at the BlogHer Book Club page HERE for more discussions about this book.

This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Cake Mix Cookies

My daughter started Kindergarten this year :( We have settled into a nice routine that includes some play time when she gets home before it's time to do homework. I usually have a Tupperware full of cut up veggies in the fridge that both kids reach for when they need a snack, but the other day she requested "milk & cookies" as a treat after school. I quickly browsed through a tab in my bookmarks titled "to try" and picked these cake mix cookies.

The recipe couldn't be easier... add two eggs and 1/3 cup of oil to any cake mix and voila, you've got yourself some cookies! Set the oven for 350 and bake for approximately 7-10 minutes depending on how you like your cookies. We pulled ours out at 8 minutes so they would still be a bit 'cakey' in the middle. Add a banana and you've got yourself a great after school snack!

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