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Edit:  June 2023 – I have come to realize that this post has some outdated information so I have deleted places that have since closed in Hamilton and will endeavor to make a day trip to Hamilton to make some updates this summer!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...
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Holiday Inn Express & Suites ~ Zanesville North, Ohio

Holiday Inn Express & Suites ~ Zanesville North, Ohio

Spring Break 2016:  We spent a long weekend travelling to three different cities in Ohio finding unique & interesting places to explore and visit.  We stayed in some awesome hotels, ate some great food and saw so many cool things!  I’ll share our trip with you in a series of installments in the coming weeks...

Da Vinci – The Genius at the Cincinnati Museum Center

I had the privilege of getting to see the latest special exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center, Da Vinci – The Genius and I was quite overwhelmed with all of the amazing things this man created in his lifetime.  This exhibit made me feel as if I had stepped into a magical workshop where Da...
LEGO Stationary

LEGO Stationary

Well knock me over with a feather…you can now purchase LEGO Stationary!  If you know me at all you know I’m a huge fan of Snail Mail and crafts for kids, and the kids are OBSESSED with LEGO bricks….so the LEGO Stationary will be a perfect addition to our home.  Maybe these cool writing tools...
Arcade Legacy: Bar Edition

Arcade Legacy: Bar Edition

The kids (and adults) in our family love to play arcade games and pinball, but I’m not willing to break the bank to do so. To be honest with you, I’m not surprised to learn that other people think the same way, my friend included. That’s why he decides to download arcade roms when he...

Maifest 2016

Last weekend we braved the chilly weather to spend a few hours in the Mainstrasse Village of Covington for their annual Maifest festival.  It was worth the shivering to dine on steak tips & funnel cake, drink local brews, ride a few rides, listen to music, hang out with friends and see some cool art...
Coal Creek Smokehouse in Rocky Top, Tennessee

Coal Creek Smokehouse in Rocky Top, Tennessee

I have some rules when we travel, and chief amongst the rules is to try to avoid chain restaurants.  I like to find unique local restaurants to visit for our meal, even when we are just stopping for a lunch during a long drive.  On my recent trip to North Carolina for a ladies weekend...
Tasting Kentucky:  Favorite Recipes from the Bluegrass State

Tasting Kentucky: Favorite Recipes from the Bluegrass State

When I caught wind of the news that Maggie Green was creating a new cookbook called Tasting Kentucky: Favorite Recipes from the Bluegrass State I got pretty excited.  And the more I learned about this cookbook the more excited I got.  I was already a  huge fan of Maggie’s, in fact I even spend time...
Mad Beach Brewing in Florida

Mad Beach Brewing in Florida

When we travel we always like to find a local brewery to visit to try new brews.  In Johns Pass, Florida last summer we didn’t just visit Mad Beach Brewing, it became our hangout while we were on vacation.  During our stay at Madeira Beach last summer the weather forecast was abysmal.  There was rain nearly...
A Tour of The Wilds in Southeast Ohio

A Tour of The Wilds in Southeast Ohio

Spring Break 2016:  We spent a long weekend travelling to three different cities in Ohio finding unique & interesting places to explore and visit.  We stayed in some awesome hotels, ate some great food and saw so many cool things!  I’ll share our trip with you in a series of installments in the coming weeks...
Inspirado at Madison Gallery

Inspirado at Madison Gallery

Dining at Inspirado at Madison Gallery in Covington is a unique culinary and visual experience.  Inspirado is not just your run of the mill restaurant, it is also an art gallery with rotating masterpieces on the walls.  Once you dine there you will want to come back for the delicious food but also to see...

Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK

Cirque du Soleil is in town for just a few days with one of their newest productions, TORUK, the First Flight.  This show is based on James Cameron’s movie Avatar and it is a visually stunning feast for the eyes!  This family friendly performance is amazing….we went on a date night but I know that...
Fun for Everyone at the Great Wolf Lodge

Fun for Everyone at the Great Wolf Lodge

Spring Break 2016:  We spent a long weekend travelling to three different cities in Ohio finding unique & interesting places to explore and visit.  We stayed in some awesome hotels, ate some great food and saw so many cool things!  I’ll share our trip with you in a series of installments in the coming weeks...