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Edit:  June 2023 – I have come to realize that this post has some outdated information so I have deleted places that have since closed in Hamilton and will endeavor to make a day trip to Hamilton to make some updates this summer!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
Menu Plan Monday ~ November 3

Menu Plan Monday ~ November 3

It’s Monday so it’s time for another Menu Plan!  We ate out a few times last week, so my list of recipes for the week is a bit shorter, but there’s some real winners in there.   Also, for your viewing pleasure I’ve put together a list of our favorite Slow Cooker Recipes…check it out!...

Throwback Thursday ~ Henry 2012

 Henry ~ Age 2 Fall 2012, the week he refused to take the Monkey costume off.
The Cincinnati Preservation Association Celebrates 50 Years

The Cincinnati Preservation Association Celebrates 50 Years

Cincinnati has a rich and vibrant history, and her neighborhoods boast many beautiful historic homes.  The Cincinnati Preservation Association has been the champion of historic homes for 50 years.  The CPA is celebrating their 50th Anniversary with a bang this year.  There is a special Cincinnati Preservation Association exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center, and...

Menu Plan Monday ~ October 27

 I actually made some awesome dinners this week…so I have a Menu Plan to share today!  This school year is kicking my butt, and I’m struggling to get a good dinner on the table every night.  Each week I push myself to think of good meals for the fam and to resist the temptation to...
LongHorn Steakhouse Rolls Out Fall Menu Items

LongHorn Steakhouse Rolls Out Fall Menu Items

With the changing of the seasons LongHorn Steakhouse re-vamps their menu.  They offer “Peak Season” and “Chef’s Showcase” menus that feature new menu items that are made using seasonal ingredients and show you how creative their chefs can be in the kitchen.  Last week I was invited to attend a “Fall into Flavor” blogger dinner...
"The Birds" Have Come to Cincinnati

“The Birds” Have Come to Cincinnati

We kicked off the Halloween season last week at the premiere of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company‘s latest and greatest production, “The Birds”.  A nice dinner out and a scary play was an ideal date this time of year.  I have loved Hitchcock’s version of “The Birds” since I was a young lass.  On the weekends...
Sugar n' Spice

Sugar n’ Spice

I love breakfast. So much so that I sometimes wish we lived in the Shire with the Hobbits so that it would be socially acceptable to have second breakfast every day. Lunch is over-rated. I’m all for having two breakfasts a day and then dinner. But I don’t want just any breakfast. I want a...
Fall & Halloween :: Crafts, Recipes, Events, Resources & More

Fall & Halloween :: Crafts, Recipes, Events, Resources & More

It’s my favorite time of year!  I love the cooler temps.  I love Autumn.  I love Halloween.  Here’s a roundup of my most favorite posts having to do with Halloween, Monsters and Pumpkins.  What’s your favorite thing about Fall & Halloween? My Favorite Fall & Halloween Posts :: Mini Pumpkin Pies (and our Halloween Party...

Menu Plan Monday ~ October 13

Last week we the kids had Fall Break, and we had plans to go tent camping at Red River Gorge, but then the forecast of thunderstorms scared us, so we went to a nearby cabin instead.  We still had a lovely Fall Break despite a few bumps!  And we also  had some delicious meals last...
Campfire Dinner:  Meat & Veggie Packets

Campfire Dinner: Meat & Veggie Packets

I feel like my family was stuck in a rut with our camping menu when we take our annual camping trip to Red River Gorge, so I was intrigued when I came upon a recipe for Meat & Veggie Packets from the 100 Days of Real Food blog. I was determined to make this meal...
Cucinova in Kenwood: Fast & Casual Italian Dining {GIVEAWAY}

Cucinova in Kenwood: Fast & Casual Italian Dining {GIVEAWAY}

I told you last week about my visit to Cucinova in Kenwood.  I left the preview night with the feeling that I just have to take my family back to Cucinova to try it out, because I know they are going to love it!  We will be heading there again soon, and I also have...
The Children's Theatre Presents "Beauty & The Beast JR" {GIVEAWAY}

The Children’s Theatre Presents “Beauty & The Beast JR” {GIVEAWAY}

 The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is preparing to begin it’s 90th season and they will be opening up with Disney’s Beauty & The Beast JR.  I cannot tell you how excited my Ella is about going to see this show next week!  We’ve loved all of the Children’s Theatre shows we have seen, but she...