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Homemade Halloween Costumes for Girls

After spending the last few years trick-or-treating as a dog, cat, giraffe and monkey, my 5-year-old daughter is finally breaking out of her animal costume rut. This year she’s making a bold statement by trying to scare candy from complete strangers dressed as a man-eating dinosaur (a.k.a. The tyrannical lizard king from the “Land of the Lost”). Don’t let the padded claws fool you; she means business. After looking at the price of the green fleece costume I did consider making my own, but then I remembered that I barely have time to brush my hair in the morning, so … Continue reading →

Tokyo Disneyland Attractions (What’s Unique to the Japanese Park?)

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We spent some time talking about Tokyo Disneyland yesterday and I promised that we would take a look at their unique attractions – after all, you can see the Haunted Mansion, the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain in Anaheim and Orlando. So what does Tokyo Disneyland offer that is unique? Attractive Attractions But there are unique attractions beyond the sojourn into history. In the center of the Tokyo Disneyland is Cinderella’s Castle. The Castle, itself, is located in the center of the park and draw’s the visitor’s eyes. In fact, the castle itself is a symbol of the … Continue reading →

Happy Halloween! Did You Know …

Yes, today is Halloween! It’s a wonderful day and a great deal of fun, but today has historical significance in a great many ways. Be sure to take notes as you keep in mind that on October 31 in history, these events happened: In 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” was first published. In 1517, Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation by nailing a proclamation to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. In 1864, Nevada was admitted to the Union as the 36th state. In 1926, magician, illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini died of … Continue reading →

Halloween in Japan

Happy Halloween! It’s finally here… the day it seems our family (well, at least my daughter) has been anxiously anticipating for months. The house is decorated. The treats are made. The costumes are ready. In just a few hours, ghosts, ghouls, pumpkins and princesses will take to the streets here in the United States, but have you ever wondered what the holiday is like in other parts of the world? In Japan, 2006, marks the first year Halloween will be celebrated throughout the entire the land of the rising sun. Little known two decades ago, Halloween is now becoming a … Continue reading →

Get Set for Holiday Scrapbooking

Have you been to Michaels lately? Step inside and you may wonder what month it is. My local Michaels has two medium-sized displays of Halloween items and right behind them are 10 aisles filled with Christmas merchandise. Nothing like getting a jump start on your holiday scrapbooking. I didn’t have it in me to browse through all of the Christmas-themed supplies; however I did notice that Michaels is having a sale on cardstock. If you are planning to do a lot of scrapping during the holidays, now is the time to stock up on cardstock. Generally, you can purchase cardstock … Continue reading →

Poetry in Motion

Do you often find yourself working harder on gift scrapbooks than ones you plan to keep for yourself? I force myself to be a more creative when crafting memory albums for others. Sadly, that’s why I don’t have many scrapbook layouts featuring personalized poems or detailed journaling blocks. Nine times out of ten, I neglect to take the time to include personal writings in my scrapbooks, even though they don’t require a ton of time or energy to complete. Many scrappers automatically swear off writing their own prose to add to scrapbook page designs. However, these one-of-a-kind verses are often … Continue reading →

Positive Steps to Confront Stereotypes

In recent blogs I talked about anti-immigrant feeling in America today and whether it will have an unintended impact on our adopted children. I was thinking primarily of our Asian and Latino children, but a third-grader from Ethiopia was recently taunted in my neighborhood and told to go back to her country. In some parts of the U.S. the immigrant African population may be larger than the African-American population, so possibly more and more people will assume that African-heritage children are immigrants as well. And some of them are—Haiti and Liberia have been native countries of significant numbers of adopted … Continue reading →

Unleash the Sleuth in You at 5MinuteMystery.com

If you’re a mystery buff or the type who loves playing Clue, have I got a neat new site for you: 5MinuteMystery.com. It’s a place where you can solve a new mystery every day, earn points, and compete against other people in the process. Even better, the content on this site is family-friendly so everyone from little Billy to Aunt Zelda can enjoy solving the mysteries together –or against each other, which makes it even more fun. Getting Started 5MinuteMystery.com is a pay-to-play site, so when you sign up you also have to fork over $19.95. However, that’s for a … Continue reading →

Hello Kitty Says Hello to New Travel Job

Regular readers of this blog know how completely obsessed my young daughter is with Hello Kitty. The popular fictional feline with the oversized face is a staple in our home. From shirts to pens, purses to sheets, pillows, sandals, stickers, sunglasses, hair pins, tote bags, duffels, backpacks, hats and banks, Japan’s No.1 export has invaded every inch of our living space and it looks as though she will be sticking around for a while. Hello Kitty is known for winning over the hearts of girls my daughter’s age, but now her cuteness is being marketed to another sector of the … Continue reading →

Home Week in Review: Oct. 29 – Nov. 4

This week, Mary Ann finished up her great series on common mistakes people make when attempting do-it-yourself home improvement projects, giving us the final two installments number 6 and last but not least 7 Common DIY Mistakes (7). These are recommended reading for anyone with an interest in DIY projects. There are also several other do it yourself and home improvement articles, as well as articles on nearly any other home and garden topic you can think of Home Blog, including holidays and holiday decorating (different writers have contributed over the years, so don’t forget to check out some of … Continue reading →