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Edit:  June 2023 – I have come to realize that this post has some outdated information so I have deleted places that have since closed in Hamilton and will endeavor to make a day trip to Hamilton to make some updates this summer!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

Shop Handmade :: Crocheted Hats for Kids

Want to make sure your child keeps their hat on this winter?  Get them a funky hand-made hat!  Our kids don’t want to take their new hats off at all, even when they are inside!  Have no fear…if you don’t have the skills to crochet or knit a hat for your child, there are places...
DIY Origami Butterfly Installation Art

DIY Origami Butterfly Installation Art

My husband and children made an awesome origami butterfly installation on our porch and it was AMAZING!  The idea hatched when we went to Ella’s Art Show at Baker Hunt to see all the amazing creations she has been working on this fall in her class, called Picasso’s Loft.  The class was taught by Chad...

Toffee No-Nut Butter Brownies made with Sneaky Chef No-Nut Butter

I made the EASIEST dessert this weekend to take to my family’s Thanksgiving party, and it was a HUGE hit.  Everyone loved it!  My aunt just emailed me and commented on how surprised she was that I snuck peas into a brownie recipe.  I gave my family a sugary sweet treat, with veggies hidden inside...

Etsy Crafter Spotlight :: Charlene Sevier Jewelry

Etsy Crafter Spotlight :: In an effort to encourage folks to support small businesses, I will be  highlighting various Etsy crafters on the Little Things Blog to introduce you to some of my favorite crafters on my favorite website.  Of course, if you are on Etsy I always recommend stopping by the Cards by Katie...

The Sneaky Chef is Coming to Cincy & NKY :: Review & Giveaway {CLOSED}

Missy Chase Lapine, more commonly known as the “Sneaky Chef” has been wowing families with her cookbooks for years, and now she is selling her veggie-loaded favorite foods at Remke Markets in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky!  Missy is a mother of two and founder of “Sneaky Chef”.  She encourages families to serve their chidlren healthier...

The Grinch at the Aronoff Center

Everyone’s favorite Grinch will be stopping by the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati this week for a limited engagment of the show Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical.  We’re kicking off our holiday season with dinner and a show downtown tomorrow night, I’m counting on it being a very special evening!  I don’t...
Holiday Toy Trains at the Behringer Crawford Museum

Holiday Toy Trains at the Behringer Crawford Museum

Henry and I went to see one of our favorite holiday attractions today, the Holiday Toy Trains at the Behringer Crawford Museum in Devou Park.  While Henry likes watching the trains zoom around and pushing all the interactive buttons on the display, I always like to look for the interesting tidbits in this display… Holiday...

Retrofit Weight Loss Program :: Affiliate Sponsor

I would like to introduce my readers to my newest affiliate sponsor on the Little Things Blog: Retrofit Weight Loss Program.  I haven’t tried Retrofit yet, but am considering signing up in the near future, for now I’m busy “pinning” all of the great (HEALTHY!) recipes they have on their blog.  What I love about...

The Children’s Theatre presents "The Day Before Christmas" {GIVEAWAY}

This GIVEAWAY has now ended!  Congrats to Jenny W. who said: “We cut down a live tree each year. I know my kids will remember this tradition when they are older”  You have 24 hours to email me at Katie(at)Cards-by-Katie(dot)com or another winner will be drawn.  I hope to see some of you at this...

Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Holiday Gift Ideas

The holidays are a stressful time of year, especially those with big families who have lots of people to buy for. That is why so many families are falling into the safety net of personalised gifts whether it be a keyring or a Custom Photo Canvas! All you have to do is send your chosen...
The Games We Play :: The aMAZEing Labyrinth by Ravensburger

The Games We Play :: The aMAZEing Labyrinth by Ravensburger

Our family loves to play games, so when Michael’s aunt offered me a bunch of games that her (now adult) children had enjoyed when they were young of course I said yes!  One of the games was The aMAZEing Labyrinth from Ravensburger Games.  We took it with us camping last month and played it all...
The Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati

The Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati

Tucked away in Latonia, Kentucky is a gem of a museum…a must-see for those who  love trains.  It’s the Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati.  We visited recently and I snapped a few pictures to use in our Christmas cards.  The kids loved exploring the cars, walking the rails and talking to the volunteers who were...