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Edit:  June 2023 – I have come to realize that this post has some outdated information so I have deleted places that have since closed in Hamilton and will endeavor to make a day trip to Hamilton to make some updates this summer!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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Disney on Ice presents: Treasure Trove {GIVEAWAY}

Disney on Ice presents: Treasure Trove {GIVEAWAY}

Does your family love Disney characters?  Would you like to see them live in person?  Here’s your chance!  Disney on Ice is coming to town in a few weeks and bringing a whole slew of characters with them to wow you and your family on the ice!  Disney on Ice is presenting Treasure Trove at...
Snyder of Berlin Super Snack Giveaway

Snyder of Berlin Super Snack Giveaway

Have you had the chance to try any of the great  Snacks from Snyder of Berlin?  They offer chips of many flavors, pretzels, popcorn and more.  They also have many Gluten Free snacks!  Recently they sent us a big box full of their snacks to try for ourselves and we had a lot of fun...
Mellow Mushroom Introduces Burgers to the Menu

Mellow Mushroom Introduces Burgers to the Menu

The good folks at Mellow Mushroom have decided to shake things up a little bit on their menu and they are now offering two different burgers in addition to all of the other delicious offerings on the menu.  Michael and I were invited to Mellow Mushroom in West Chester to try out the new burgers...
Planes & A Picnic at the Red Stewart Airfield

Planes & A Picnic at the Red Stewart Airfield

This past weekend we spent a memorable afternoon at the Red Stewart Airfield in Waynesville, Ohio.  Michael’s division at work is invited each year to a family picnic and airshow at the Red Stewart Airfield, and it’s a party like no other.  This year they had a petting zoo and pony rides, inflatables for the...
Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Have you seen the movie Dolphin Tale? It’s a movie inspired by the true story of the dolphin Winter (who also stars in the movie) and it’s based on events that happened at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium! You can visit Winter and all of her friends at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida. This...
Disney's The Little Mermaid JR. {GIVEAWAY}

Disney’s The Little Mermaid JR. {GIVEAWAY}

I feel like we’ve been attending Children’s Theatre productions for so long now that we are bound to see a duplicate, but no…each year the Children’s Theatre comes up with an awesome new lineup.  And this year takes the cake in my humble opinion.  They are opening with one of my all time favorites, Disney’s...
DIY Skeleton Costume Inspiration

DIY Skeleton Costume Inspiration

This year Sam and Max took part in their school play and I had the task of coming up with Skeleton Costumes for them.  I told the drama teacher that I’d find some DIY Skeleton Costumes that would be easy to make.  As soon as the words came out of my mouth I got nervous....
BB Riverboats Craft Beerfest {Giveaway}

BB Riverboats Craft Beerfest {Giveaway}

BB Riverboats has an awesome cruise planned for all the beer enthusiasts out there.  On Saturday, October 24th they will be hosting a Craft Beerfest aboard one of their paddleboats.  During this two hour cruise you can choose from over 60 different beers to sample!  All while taking in the gorgeous views of the Ohio...
Cyrano de Bergerac presented by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

Cyrano de Bergerac presented by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

This past weekend a new play opened up in town, and you will want to check it out before it’s run ends.  Cyrano de Bergerac presented by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is an excellent show, and not just for adults.  I took my ten year old son with me because we are trying to expose...
Old West Festival 2015

Old West Festival 2015

Fall is absolutely my favorite season, and to kick off the Autumn season each year we head to Dodge City, northeast of Cincinnati.  What’s that you say…you have never heard of Dodge City?  It’s a magical place where the Old West Festival takes place each year.  When you walk through the gates you actually walk...
Old Milford Parlor: Coffee & Ice Cream

Old Milford Parlor: Coffee & Ice Cream

Located in the heart of Old Milford, right smack in the middle of Main Street is the most unique coffee shop/ice cream parlor that we’ve ever been to…the Old Milford Parlor.  Decorated with a quirky, unique flair you can’t tell what era you’ve stepped back into, but you’ve definitely stepped back in time when you...
Homework Tip:  Organizing with a Clipboard Case

Homework Tip: Organizing with a Clipboard Case

As much as I try to make homework time as peaceful as I can in our house, there will come times during the year when tears are shed and hair is pulled out. When this happens it’s time to go back to the drawing board and come up with creative ways to make homework time...