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Edit:  June 2023 – I have come to realize that this post has some outdated information so I have deleted places that have since closed in Hamilton and will endeavor to make a day trip to Hamilton to make some updates this summer!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
Cirque du Soleil presents OVO!

Cirque du Soleil presents OVO!

I have been to see several Cirque du Soleil shows over the years, and one of my all time favorites is OVO.  The first time we saw OVO was under a big top tent a few years back.  OVO is coming back to Cincinnati in May.  Not under a big top this time, but at...
Blinkers Tavern in Covington

Blinkers Tavern in Covington

Blinkers Tavern in Covington is one of our go-to places for a nice date night dinner.  Their menu is so diverse that we can find something delicious no matter what we are in the mood for that day. Over the course of our visits through the years we have had seafood, steaks, burgers, appetizers, salads...
Homemade Soft Pretzel Recipe

Homemade Soft Pretzel Recipe

My husband and I both value and cherish the traditions we have created over the years with our children.  One of our family’s favorite traditions is Homemade Soft Pretzel baking each December while we spend the weekend away at a little cabin in the woods. Our homemade soft pretzel recipe came from a cookbook that...
Rainbow Pasta Arts & Crafts

Rainbow Pasta Arts & Crafts

Making Rainbow Pasta is super easy to do, and can provide hours and hours of fun for kids of all ages.  You can use Rainbow Pasta to create art work, string necklaces, and make patterns.  I colored a bunch of noodles for my classroom recently and the kids had so much fun doing all kinds...

The Children’s Theatre presents Tarzan

Tarzan is swinging into town in April!  The Children’s Theatre is bringing this wild man and his crew to the stage at the Taft Theatre starting April 1st.  I have tickets to give away to one lucky reader of the Little Things Blog.  The Children’s Theatre performances are great shows for your children to experience...
Eight Great Things to Do in Mansfield, Ohio

Eight Great Things to Do in Mansfield, Ohio

We have spent some time in Mansfield, Ohio on two different occasions and had so much fun each time!  There are so many fun things to do in Mansfield, from prison tours to carousal rides. We have made it our mission to find fun travel adventures that are close to home.  We like to explore...

Broadway in Cincinnati presents: The Illusionists

We went to an “epic” magic show tonight at the Aronoff Center, called The Illusionists.  I use the word epic because I was with two young gents who used that very word.  I cannot remember the last time I heard my boys laugh harder than they did tonight.  Not only were our minds blown by...
A Bridal Shower at Cooks' Wares

A Bridal Shower at Cooks’ Wares

This weekend I attended the most unique Bridal Shower at Cooks’ Wares in Montgomery.  Cooks’ Wares is a fabulous family owned kitchen wares store that sells anything and everything you could ever need in your kitchen.  They offer cooking classes of all sorts with experts in this field as well as helpful kitchen classes that...
Our Favorite Copycat Chipotle Recipes

Our Favorite Copycat Chipotle Recipes

If we could eat at Chipotle every week we would, but that is just not doable.  So we have scoured the internet to find a collection of Copycat Chipotle recipes that we can make at home.  The chicken burrito and chicken burrito bowl are our favorites, so that is what Michael makes when he creates...
Buttercup Cake House in Covington

Buttercup Cake House in Covington

Buttercup Cake House in Covington is THE place to go if you need delicious, exquisitely decorated baked treats!  Buttercup Cake House makes wedding cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, cookies and more!  You can stop by their shop on Pike Street or find them at various events around town.  I first tried Buttercup’s sweets at an event at...
Museum of Miniature Houses

Museum of Miniature Houses

Just north of Indianapolis is a county jam-packed with interesting small towns and fun attractions for families. Hamilton County has so much going on. We spent just a few short days exploring the area and we only scratched the surface. Carmel, Indiana is a quaint small town located in Hamilton County and it is home...
Easy Cream Cheese Coffee Cake Recipe

Easy Cream Cheese Coffee Cake Recipe

When I am in the mood for a sweet breakfast my favorite thing to eat  is a simple cream cheese coffee cake.  I do not have to run to the bakery to indulge my sweet tooth.  I can create an easy Cream Cheese Coffee Cake in my kitchen, and so can you. You only need...