20 Creative Writing Ideas for Kids of All Ages

20 Creative Writing Ideas for Kids of All Ages

Just because summer is here doesn’t mean the kids need to stop learning!  I wanted to make learning fun this summer so with the help of some friends I put together a list of 20 Creative Writing Ideas for Kids of All Ages.  My kids are all very creative, and...
Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti Pie

Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti Pie

Growing up in the Greater Cincinnati area makes it hard not to love “Cincinnati Style” Chili.  It’s not like your traditional hearty chili recipes, Cincinnati chili has a bit of sweetness to it and it’s perfect atop noodles and smothered with cheese.  We have our local preference on where to...
Sandusky:  Cedar Point and Hotel Breakers

Sandusky: Cedar Point and Hotel Breakers

Recently we made our first visit to Sandusky, Ohio for a long weekend spent at the Hotel Breakers.  While much of my time was spent learning great things at the Bloggy Conference, we also spent many hours exploring Cedar Point (known as the Roller Coaster Capitol of the World) getting...
Rowe Woods Cincinnati Nature Center

Rowe Woods Cincinnati Nature Center

The Rowe Woods Cincinnati Nature Center is one of my favorite places in the Greater Cincinnati area to spend a day in the woods exploring nature.  There are over sixteen miles of trails in Rowe Woods and they meander past a lake, over bridges, along boardwalks, over hills and through the...
Pesto Cream Cheese Dip

Pesto Cream Cheese Dip

You must know by now how much I love easy appetizer recipes.  Well here’s something you might not know about me, I cannot go to a party empty handed.  That’s where all of my easy appetizers come in…I have a collection of easy appetizers that I can throw together in no...
Spend a Day in Hamilton Ohio

Spend a Day in Hamilton Ohio

Edit:  June 2023 – I have come to realize that this post has some outdated information so I have deleted places that have since closed in Hamilton and will endeavor to make a day trip to Hamilton to make some updates this summer!  That being said, there’s still some good...
Our Chicago Vacation

Our Chicago Vacation

For Spring Break 2014 we took the kids on a mini-vacation to Chicago for three nights and four days. We crammed as much fun as we could into those four days and had adventures all over the Windy City. For our next trip, we may even take a trip to...
Five Easy Appetizers

Five Easy Appetizers

I have lots of favorite easy appetizer recipes, because I love making Hors d’oeuvres for any occasion.  Over the Thanksgiving weekend we had five different events going on!  So I had lots of easy appetizers to make.  I put together five of my favorite easy appetizers this weekend and thought...
Our Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes

Our Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes

My slow cooker is my best friend during a busy school week. I really don’t know what I’d do without it. If you don’t have one, I really recommend buying one! You can browse the best ones at somewhere like https://buyersimpact.co.uk/ to see if there are any that take your...
Cheap Date Nights in Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky

Cheap Date Nights in Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky

My husband and I value our date nights.  We have four children, we love said children, but we also cherish our alone time.  Sometimes we will jump at any chance to have a date night.  While we enjoy having nice dinners in swanky restaurants from time to time, we also...
Family Fun in Siesta Key & Sarasota

Family Fun in Siesta Key & Sarasota

Last year we took our family of six to Siesta Key for a long vacation.  We had so much fun exploring Siesta Key and the surrounding area, that I wanted to share my ideas for family fun in Siesta Key with you.  Our focus was mostly on beach lounging, so...
Getting Organized :: Children & Chores

Getting Organized :: Children & Chores

I am a stay at home mother of four children. I hate housework, but I also hate a messy house. It’s a frustrating way to live. And with five other people in this house with me, keeping up with the housework is a never ending task. My husband and I...
Walt Disney World with Kids :: Tips for a Fun Trip

Walt Disney World with Kids :: Tips for a Fun Trip

For Spring Break last year we took the family to Florida and spent three days at Walt Disney World. It was a blast! I was so thankful to have the tips & advice from friends and family before we went…I felt somewhat prepared for the special kind of chaos that...
Our Favorite Homemade Pizza Recipes

Our Favorite Homemade Pizza Recipes

Homemade Pizza with Salad is a favorite dinner around our house. I would venture to say we have homemade pizza on the menu almost every week. Homemade Pizza When Michael and I were first married he would make the dough and I would make the sauce, and we made some...
LEGO Birthday Party

LEGO Birthday Party

Last summer we had a big birthday celebration for all four kids at a local Civic Club. I wanted to find a common theme that they were all interested in, and settled upon a LEGO Birthday Party! They all love their LEGO blocks and especially their Minifigures. When I told...
Thirteen Ways to De-Stress

Thirteen Ways to De-Stress

I have days where I feel stressed & overwhelmed all day. There’s a huge amount of reasons, one is that I’ve just found out that I can get cheaper broadband deals with the help of someone like Usave, but there are many other things that are stressing me out. I’m...
Create Your Own Chihuly Sculpture

Create Your Own Chihuly Sculpture

Our family loves the arts, and we also love creating our own works of art. A few months back I read about a very cool art project for kids on the blog Mary Making and it inspired me to do a similar project with my children. The project was to...
Homemade Spaghetti & Meatballs

Homemade Spaghetti & Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs is a quintessential comfort food, and a favorite at our house.  I found this recipe years and years ago and have tinkered with it over the years until I deemed it perfectly delicious.   This recipe is written for making mass amounts of sauce and meatballs…because I...
Latest entries

Watering the Flowers (and the Children)

Watering…the flowers, the vegetables & the children
Creating an Art Cabinet for Your Children

Creating an Art Cabinet for Your Children

I created an Art Cabinet for our children to keep their art supplies organized and handy at their level. This is one of their favorite spaces in the house. I love it because it is hidden away inside a cabinet in the dining room, at their reach, and easily accessible.  And when they are not...
A Visit to the Cincinnati Art Museum

A Visit to the Cincinnati Art Museum

Last week I took the kids to the Cincinnati Art Museum.  That’s right…four small children at an Art Museum.  I was nervous at first, but felt much better when we arrived and I saw busload after busload of noisy little children entering the museum. I have always thought of the art museum of a quiet,...

Mini Fruit Cobblers

I found this amazing recipe for individual raspberry cobblers on the Pioneer Woman  blog, and I just had to make them!  I love fruit cobbler, it’s a perfect summertime treat with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I decided to make these fruit cobblers for a summertime grill out.  They took no time at...

Water Babies

Spaghetti Carbonara

To celebrate Father’s Day with my Daddio, I had him over to my house for lunch.  While he caught up on current events with the four children, I whipped up a delicious five star meal…in no time at all!  My friend Karen shared this recipe  with me a few weeks back, and I have been...
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Magnet Letter Activity

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Magnet Letter Activity

When I taught preschool I often started out the year with activities revolving around one of my favorite books: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,  written by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, and illustrated by Lois Ehlert.  It’s an adorable alphabet book, with a catchy song to go with it (and have you seen the DVD?!?...

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama: “{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all...
Milkshakes for Lunch!

Milkshakes for Lunch!

So for lunch today I made milkshakes.  True story.  Would you like the recipe?  Milk + Chocolate Syrup + Ice Cream = YUM!  I didn’t even try to pretend it was healthy by throwing in some fruit.  Nope.  Pure chocolatey goodness for lunch.  I did slice an apple and put out a bowl of grapes...

Motorcycle Man

 

Dragons!

found at saigon market in over the rhine for $7.99 (@ findlay market)

Cards by Katie: The Perfect Job

Most of you know that I have another side job besides blogging, but for those who have not heard, I wanted to tell you that I also create & sell note cards and invitations. You can find my creations in the Cards by Katie Etsy Shop. Here are the reasons I love my job as...