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Edit:  June 2023 – I have come to realize that this post has some outdated information so I have deleted places that have since closed in Hamilton and will endeavor to make a day trip to Hamilton to make some updates this summer!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

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Recipe

Our family loves pasta of all sorts.  We have many favorite recipes, but when I want just a little bit of kick we turn to Buffalo Chicken Pasta.  It is a creamy pasta dish with just the right amount of heat for this mama who does not like it too hot.  The best thing about...
Cirque du Soleil's Corteo is Coming to Cincinnati

Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo is Coming to Cincinnati

Ever since I saw my first Cirque show under the big top on the banks of the Ohio River I have been hooked!  Cirque du Soleil’s CORTEO is coming to Cincinnati next week and I cannot wait.  And the best thing is that it will begin it’s run on my birthday!  What a perfect way...
Brink Brewing Company

Brink Brewing Company

If you find yourself in the College Hill area of Cincinnati you really need to stop by Brink Brewing Company for a craft beer.  Have a pint, or try several of their offerings in a flight of beers.  We stopped by Brink Brewing on a sunny day and spent a few hours on the patio...
A Quick Trip to Brown County, Indiana

A Quick Trip to Brown County, Indiana

We wanted to get away for Spring Break this year, but could not do more than a few days, so I had to find something pretty close to home for a quick trip. Brown County, Indiana was a perfect place for a weekend getaway. There are so many things to do in Brown County Indiana,...

Cincinnati Preservation Association Spring House Tour 2018

Spring is my favorite season, and May is my favorite month.  And the Cincinnati Preservation Association Spring House Tour is one of my favorite springtime traditions!  My dad and I have been attending this tour for several years now, and we have seen some of the most amazing architecture in our area.  We love visiting...

Broadway in Cincinnati Presents: The King & I

Even if you are not familiar with the story of the King and I you would most definitely recognize the music because the songs are timeless classics.  This Rodgers & Hammerstein production is in town for a limited time at the Aronoff Center for the Arts and you are not going to want to miss...
Short Rib Empanada Recipe

Short Rib Empanada Recipe

Recently we discovered a new easy dinner dish in the form of a Baked Short Rib Empanada.  The obsession with the Short Rib Empanada began one evening with leftovers from my Slow Cooker Short Rib Poutine.  Ella had recently made some sweet Guava Paste Empanadas for her Spanish class and they were delicious and got...
“Cincinnati Chili” Pizza Recipe

“Cincinnati Chili” Pizza Recipe

One of our favorite pizzas at home is Cincinnati Chili Pizza.  When Henry was born my cousins brought us several homemade pizzas for dinner and one was an epic Cincinnati Chili Pizza.  It became an instant hit with our family and now we make it on a regular basis. Whenever I make some homemade Cincinnati...
25 Easy Easter Party Recipes

25 Easy Easter Party Recipes

The Easter season is around the corner and I am already thinking about what we should take to all the parties we are going to.   I decided to put together some of my favorite recipes and ended up with a list of 25 Easy Easter Party Recipes.  I have ideas for everything from appetizers to...

Broadway in Cincinnati Presents School of Rock

Last week we were able to spend a night on the town in Cincinnati and see Broadway in Cincinnati’s latest and greatest show, the School of Rock.  This show was fantastic, and the best part about the show was the incredibly talented cast of children.  They could sing, they could act, and they could even...
Golden Dragon Acrobats {GIVEAWAY}

Golden Dragon Acrobats {GIVEAWAY}

From what I have read and heard about the Golden Dragon Acrobats, it sounds like they present a show like no other, and I cannot wait to see them live on stage!  The Golden Dragon Acrobats are bringing their epic acrobatic show to the Aronoff Center for the Arts on March 6th and it will...
Listermann Brewing Company

Listermann Brewing Company

Whether we are at home or out of town we love to find local breweries to visit, and our adventures all started with Listermann Brewing Company.  This was the first brewery we ever visited years ago, and they are one of our favorites.  Listermann Brewing Company is a family owned business that began as a...