An Afternoon with the Budweiser Clydesdales

Yes, it's Easter tomorrow and a joyous event. 

However, here in Cincinnati people are also really looking forward to Monday.  Baseball's Opening Day and the Findlay Market Parade.  My dad called me on Friday morning and asked if I wanted to take a field trip with the kids to the west side.  Apparently there were some special visitors in town for the upcoming parade.  And they happened to be camping out at a family friend's farm.

 

 

As soon as I pulled up the driveway, it was obvious that the Budweiser gang was here!

 

Feel free to hop over and read more about the Budweiser Clydesdales and the traveling hitches. 

 

We were lucky enough to see some of the horses get in a little exercise and training while the sun was out.

 

Then we just hung out for awhile and watched the rest of their typical day.  One man was polishing the harnesses.  A few horses got a bath.  And King, the Budweiser dog, soaked in the sun and took to the belly rubs from Stella and Henry.

 

Here's a picture of their home-away-from-home.  No wonder they love camping out at this farm!  The place was superb.

 

There were also a lot of carriages on site.  Here is a photo with the Budweiser carriage and a Kahn's carriage.

 

And this poor horse?  In a shabby set-up?  Well, he actually lives on the farm.  And was apparently kicked out of his regular digs by the Clydesdales.  I think he was looking for a little sympathy and lovin' from Stella.

 

It was such a fun afternoon.  We really hope that the rain and/or snow holds off on Monday.  We'd love to go downtown and view the parade.

  Anyone regularly attend the Opening Day Parade?   Best place to view it?    

Egg Salad

 

I decided to give this a try since we have TONS of hard boiled eggs for Easter. There are many variations of egg salad online...here's the one I put together:

Eggs
A couple of spoonfuls of Miracle Whip
A few squirts of spicy brown mustard
Fresh diced chives from our backyard
Diced onion

   

Easter Bunny Thumbprint Cards

Do you need a simple Easter craft to do with your kid(s)?

 

If you've been reading Take 10 for the last year, you probably know by now that I love fingerprint or thumbprint crafts. The St. Patrick's Day Clovers, the Fall Tree, and the Reindeer ornaments are just a few things we've put together at home for our holiday decor and gifts.

 

 

This morning we tackled Easter by making thumbprint and pinky-print BUNNIES!  My favorite kids' paint is the Crayola Washable Kids' Paint.  I have two boxes of it in different colors.  It's a good consistency for thumbprints and washes off so easily with a wipe.

 

 

For this project, we I decided to make a 5x7 to frame for decoration and some cards to send to out-of-town relatives.  So we quickly had a bunny-making factory going.  I only worked with one kid at a time.  No way I was going to have 3 paint-coated thumbs in my kitchen at the same time! 

 

Charlotte started in the middle with the pink and stamped all of the bunny heads first.  Then we cleaned up her thumb and got some paint of the side of her pinky finger.  She added ears to each bunny.  I then repeated the same process with Stella in purple and Henry in yellow.  He definitely had less control and more splatter!

 

I let all of the cards sit all morning to completely dry the paint.  Then I completed one of the cards and all of the bunny faces - I used Sharpies for the faces (hot pink and black).  Stella went back and added "Some Bunnies Love You!" to all of the rest and "Happy Easter!" to the insides.  Then they signed their names.  Well, Stella and Charlotte signed their own and Charlotte added Henry's for him next to his scribbles.

 

Now we have to stop at the post office this afternoon and drop them in the mail!

   

LaRosa's - Last Chance for Montgomery Inn Pizza!

 

Last month I was lucky enough to enjoy this LaRosa's spread with a great group of people.  Every month there is a local blogger meeting and LaRosa's graciously hosted us in February. We get together to share best practices, learn from each other and just talk to others who also understand the blogging world.  For a newbie like me, it's well worth my time.  And I've really enjoyed connecting face-to-face with people I normally only "see" online.

 
Although I already LOVE LaRosa's, the food was really great because I go to try some things I might not normally order.  For instance, the Montgomery Inn Pizza.  Two things I love...combined into one.  And it was really good (I had chicken)!  However, it is apparently only around for a limited time and I believe it will be gone again in April.  So ORDER NOW!  This week is your last chance for the Montgomery Inn Pizza.

I also tried the Hawaiian...yum!  And they even offered a couple of gluten free pizzas for a few of those in our group.  Not all LaRosa's locations offers gluten free, but a handful of them have started.  So call around if you need gluten free.

And the Italian Creme Cake?  OMG.  So delicious.  I usually don't order dessert, but the bite-size pieces made it easy to sample.

 

LaRosa's is a popular pizzeria in the Greater Cincinnati area.  There are LaRosa's in almost every part of the city.  However, locals may not realize that the Boudinot location was the first LaRosa's in the 1950's.  The original pizzeria was torn down and the current 15,000 square-foot location was rebuilt in 1996.  It is HUGE.  This table in the very front can easily seat 15-20 guests.

 

And there is a very large bar area.

 

I also saw party rooms with the capability of seating 30-40 people.  By the time we left the restaurant, multiple birthday parties were happening!

 

Definitely the largest LaRosa's I have seen.  Although I've eaten here in the past with some West Side family I never really realized just how large it is!  A great place to get together with larger crowds. 

 

For more information, be sure to check out the LaRosa's website or their Facebook fan page or Twitter or Instagram. They are definitely into connecting with their customers on social media!

  What's your favorite item to order at LaRosa's?   I love Pepperoni, Mushrooms and Pineapple together... on a pizza, in a calzone...   YOU?    

Rotating Toys

 

 

Do your kids have TONS of toys to play with but still come to you saying "I'm bored"??

 

Not long ago I told you why I actually LOVE Play-Doh.  Since I only get it out every 4-6 weeks, it keeps my kids busy for hours. Seriously, HOURS.  And you may also know that I have seasonal toys.

 

Well, I do this with other toys as well.  Sometimes I feel like having everything out at once is a bit overwhelming.  So I keep most things in bins or small containers and stash them out of site for awhile.  Then pull them back out with a SURPRISE!  And the old stuff seems new again and is loved for hours.

 

A couple of other toy tips...

 

Even though my kids unwrap all of their gifts for their birthdays, Christmas, etc. I don't actually get everything out at once.  For example, Charlotte's birthday was about six weeks ago.  And just TODAY I finally opened her last gift - a set of Barbie outfits.  And so they were played with for about 30 minutes.  Now I believe if they had come out of the box on her birthday...they'd still be at the bottom of the Barbie clothes bin unplayed with.  Instead, she was thrilled to see them today and have something "new" to try on and off and on and off that Barbie.

 

And the photo above?  Well, I was lucky to get some a boatload of Littlest Pet Shop (LPS) toys from a friend.  But I got them back in late November.  Right before the holidays.  When we were about to be bombarded with new Christmas toys.  So I hid the box of LPS toys way back in the basement and just waited.  Waited for Christmas to come and go.  Waited for Charlotte's birthday to come and go.  Waited for a drab, yucky, snowy winter spring day. 

 

And then...SURPRISE...out came the box.  The girls were beyond thrilled.  And played for hours today.  However, little do they know that the LPS toys will not stay out forever.  I'll tuck them away once the sun is out consistently and save them for another SURPRISE visit some cold, wet, yucky day late summer or early fall.

 

Downside?  Maybe my kids will be the ones always expecting something new to entertain them?  Who knows.  For now I know that by rotating toys I am able to have the kids entertain themselves much longer.  And they seem to appreciate what they are playing with even more.

 

How do you handle "I'm bored" at your house?

 

Do you rotate toys?

 

 

Crock Pot Chili

 

Andy's Recipe:

 

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 16-oz cans chili beans – undrained
• 2 14.5-oz cans chili style diced tomatoes – undrained
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 1 large white onion - diced
• 2 cloves of garlic (or more/less to taste)
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• Chili powder to taste
• ½ cup water, for thinner chili
• Carroll Shelby’s Chili Mix (in chili aisle in a brown box)

 

You may not need the mix if you have the following ingredients it contains:

· Packet masa flour (add only to thicken if necessary)

· Packet salt

· Packet cayenne pepper (Andy uses entire packet plus some more!)

· Packet of spices (ground chili peppers, masa flour, cumin, oregano, garlic, onion, paprika, and salt)

 

Brown the ground beef with the diced onion, garlic, chili powder, and one diced jalapeno pepper. Put ½ beef mixture in the crock-pot.

 

Pour in one can of the chili beans and one can of tomatoes on top of mixture in crock-pot. Stir. Add the packet of spices from the Chili Mix and stir. Add rest of the beef mixture and cans of beans and tomatoes. Add salt, other jalapeno (sliced), and cayenne pepper to taste and stir.

 

Cook all day on low. Add masa flour at end of day to thicken the chili if necessary, or add water for thinner chili.

 

Serve with crackers, cheese, and sour cream.

Optional - Add macaroni for last hour. For hotter chili, use habanero peppers or more cayenne.

   

Upcoming Local Events

It's the second day of spring = woo-hoo!  It's 29 degrees here and snowing...give me a break!  My flip flops are crying because they really want to be used again.  And I am sick of layering, layering, layering and having to put on a coat.  Enough already!

 

Unfortunately, the weather for the weekend here looks just as bad...if not worse.  And we are really getting cabin fever.  You too?  Here are a few things to do out and about.

 

March 22

Friday night you still have a chance to attend a local Fish Fry.  Pick one you've never been to before and give it a try.  Parents, find one with a beer garden!

 

March 23

Saturday morning there is a Pancake Breakfast at Lakota West to support the band program.  It is from 8-12 and music is provided.  I think we're going to check it out.

 

Blue Manatee also has a few programs happening. There's a Saturday morning story time, a French story time and they will also be at the CAC. Check their calendar for more details.

 

Saturday afternoon you can catch Zak Morgan over in Erlanger at the Kenton County Library for a free Literacy Fair.  Looks fun and he doesn't have many more local shows in the near future.  Stella is still a huge fan and we listen to Case of the Dry Markers constantly.

 

   

All Weekend

There are always fun things to do at the Museum Center. Check out their daily calendar for program times.  And don't forget that the Flight of the Butterflies is currently showing at the Omnimax.

 

Krohn Conservatory is also having its Enchanted Forest Spring Show. Adults: $3.00, Seniors: $2.00, Children: $1.00  There's a $1 off coupon you can download on their website.

 

And here are a couple of things to go ahead and think about for your calendar...

 

March 30

Zoo Easter Celebration

 

Deerfield Township Egg Hunt

 

Monday, April 1

Red's Opening Day Parade!

 

Throughout April

Peanut Butter & Jam Spring Sessions featuring Madcap.  There are different dates and locations.  This is great fun for kids. 

 

What upcoming events are you looking forward to? 

 

What did I miss?  Help me spread the word!

 

Do you want more upcoming event reminders/posts?

 

 

 

New Cincinnati Children's Location

 

Being a parent can sometimes be scary.  Like when your 7-month-old wakes up with a swollen neck and you find yourself at a hospital for over a week and then giving consent to put your baby to sleep for surgery.  Not a fun memory.  However, the staff at Cincinnati Children's made our experience a positive one.  And every visit thereafter has been just as good.  We are lucky to live in a city with such a great hospital...one that is ever expanding.

 

Yesterday I got to take a tour of the new Cincinnati Children's Green Township location.  (Locals, it is located off of the I-74 Rybolt Road exit on Harrison Avenue between Clear Water Place and Filview.  Just past the Dent Schoolhouse and across the street from Kroger.)  A great location with easy access!

 

This 80,000 square-foot location will open on April 29, 2013 and some departments are already scheduling their future appointments at this new location.  A lot of thought and preparation went into planning this building.  A family advisory council gave input on design and features along with other feedback and concerns.  For example, the family bathrooms will have a changing space big enough to change a 12-year-old's diaper if necessary.

 

The basic things to know about this new facility:

• Urgent Care will be located here (Fairfield Urgent Care is closing on 4/26)
• The Harrison location will also close on 4/26
• This new location will benefit everyone by offering many more services such as radiology, labs, audiology, ENT, OT/PT, speech, and psychology
• There will be greeters, kiosks, and digital signage on every floor to help direct you and get you the information you need
• Financial Services will have an office here to meet with families

 

Now some cool things to note...

 

There is conference space that is open to the community!

This MRI takes one week to install and then another week to calibrate.

 

The Sports Therapy area is looking good.  It has artwork respresenting all of the local west-side schools. The lines you see on the floor are a track to practice running.  When finished it will also have turf on part of the floor and a basketball goal.  A great place for athletes to get better!

 

The OT/PT area has a barn-themed room that will include a silo and...a zip line!

 

The hallways in some areas are purposely wide enough for bike riding.

 

There will be a rock wall in the building.

 

Much of the artwork was created by students at local schools and colleges.

 

Audiology already had a lot of bright and very cute artwork finished on their doors and walls.  I loved the Chirp! and Crunch! on this door.

 

Overall, it is a well-designed building that definitely will not resemble a drab nor dreary place.  All of the areas were very open and spacious.  The windows and amount of light in the building were somewhat amazing.  

 

If you are a local parent, chances are that you have also been to one of the many Cincinnati Children's locations...for Urgent Care, therapy, consultation, etc. Hopefully, this new location will help many of you.

 

Want to see more?  Join Cincinnati Children's on Saturday, April 20 from 11-2 for a Community Open House.  There will be self-guided tours available along with many activities for kids.  I believe I heard that there might be a Teddy Bear Clinic!

 

To learn even more about what will be at this specific location, be sure to visit the Cincinnati Children's Green Township website or ask any questions on their Facebook page.

 

And yes...those that know me...that is ME in a TURNER hat!  HA! 

 

 

Charlotte and the Pope

Yesterday I was home during the announcement of the new Pope.  I saw the smoke update on Twitter and turned on the TV so Charlotte and I could watch the new guy be revealed from the curtains.

 

Explaining this to a newly-turned 4-year old can be tricky.  And I, as always, went with the least amount of information in the simplest language when answering her questions.

 

Charlotte: What? Who is it?

Me: There's a new boss of the church today.

 

Charlotte: Our church?

Me: Not really.  Of all of our churches. (I was not prepared to discuss different religions at this point.)

Charlotte: Oh.

 

A few minutes go by and she's obviously tired of waiting....

 

 

Me: Jesus?  No, not Jesus.  The new Pope.

Charlotte: But you said the boss of our church.  And that's Jesus.

Hmmm....not sure how to respond to that one.  Maybe she does listen when I teach Sunday school.

 

Charlotte: Why are we watching this?

Me: Well, this is a big deal. You will probably only experience this a few times in your lifetime.

 

And then he emerged and she wanted to know if he was going to "climb down that blankie hanging on the wall".

 

 

Paper Bag Puppets

 

I'm trying really hard not to have the TV on during the day.  At all.  It's hardest when I'm on the treadmill (oh, it's on for me...just not on in the adjacent playroom) and when I'm trying to take a shower.  So those times are often almost always exceptions.  But if the TV is on, Stella is GLUED.  The other two would watch about 10 minutes if it stayed on all day and then they'd walk away and play something else.  Not Stella...she goes into TV coma.  And the other two will sit through an entire show if the TV is only on every now and then.  So I definitely have to use it so they won't kill each other while I shower to my advantage.

 

Anyway, I was trying to think of something to do today since it rained NONSTOP and we were home all morning and no one wanted to get out of their pajamas.  Then I remembered a gift Stella got last year, but we only completed half of it.  Paper Bag Puppets!  We had exactly three kits left.

 

Do you want to do more crafts with your kids?  Does the thought of the craft make you want to poke your eyes out?  These kits from Alex Toys are really great for a quick-start craft.  Could my kids do the entire thing by themselves?  No.  Did the glue stick work awesomely?  Not really (even the first time months ago).  Did some tape fix everything?  Yes.  Were the kids entertained and happy for about an hour?  YES!

 

Obviously you could do the same thing with some brown paper lunch bags, colored paper, scissors, glue, and markers/crayons.  And it would probably be cheaper if you had the supplies on hand.  But this was a really fun treat this morning.  Some of the creativity was lost in the pre-determined animals.  Each animal came with step-by-step directions.  However, you can see that Henry still did his own thing (bird with no wings)...AND the kids had fun creating their own puppet shows afterwards.

 

If you haven't come across any of the items from Alex Toys - check them out.  There are lots of great things on Amazon.  I've written about some of their products in the past including the great bathtub toys. 

 

We've gotten all of these Alex Toys as birthday gifts so far without requesting them.  And I think I've found a great gift to give to others in the future that won't be too much craft-work for the parent. 

 

 

What's your favorite rainy-day activity with the kids?

 

 

PS - This post contains NO affiliate links.  We just had fun today and I wanted to share!

   

St. Patrick's Day Ideas

Ok, so I'm totally cheating on this post.  Those of you following along more than a week know that I've talked about updating the blog.  Well, it's still going to happen.  It just takes a lot of planning and decisions, etc.  So I DID work on the blog tonight.  It was unfortunately (for those of you looking for a new post) 2-hours behind-the-scenes type of work.  But I love the direction I'm headed.

 

So...for now...since I'm exhausted...here are a few posts from the past regarding St. Patrick's Day.  Are you looking for a decorating idea?  Or a green accessory for a little girl?  Here are a few of last year's ideas.

 

I made the girls these Shamrock clippies and green woven headbands.  Someday I'll finish the tutorial I started, I promise.  Seriously, I was going to link back to the shamrock tutorial and then realized I never posted it last year because it's only halfway written!  Oops.

 

 

 

 

This year I repeated last year's St. Patrick's Day decor on my hutch.

I was so glad to have this picture.

Made set-up NO TIME.

Anyone else do this with season decorating?

Really, no one else keeps photos?

Just me, huh?

 

I am so glad I made the kids create these thumbprint shamrocks last year.

 

And eighteen25 never disappoints with St. Patty's Day ideas and free printables.

 

Do you decorate at all for St. Patrick's Day?

 

Will you wear green on Sunday?

 

What are your St. Patty's Day plans?

 

I ran the Shamrock Shuffle 5k on Saturday.  There was so much green...green hats, green tutus, green leggings, green shamrock headbands, green ice cream, green bagels, green beer, etc.  If you didn't see the picture of my partner-in-crime yet, check her out on either my Facebook page or Instagram!

   

Crock Pot Roast

 

• 1 fairly lean pot roast (I go to the store and buy whatever meat has the Crock-pot/Pot Roast sticker on it!)
• 1 packet of Lipton’s onion or beefy onion soup mix (these come in a box near the canned soup)
• 1 onion, thinly sliced (or sometimes I use 1/3 - 1/2 bag frozen pearl onions - yummy)
• Carrots (I just buy a 1 lb. bag of the mini carrots)
• Potatoes (either 2-3 Idaho cut into 4 pieces or a bunch of red whole)

Place the carrots and potatoes and pearl onions in the bottom, so they will absorb the juices. If using a whole onion, place half the onion in the bottom of the crock pot. Rub the (raw) roast with the soup mix (I don't brown it on the stove). Place roast in crock pot, and top with remaining onion.

 

 

Cover and cook on low heat for at least 8-10 hours. If it's going to cook for 10-12 hours...add a bit of water in the morning - 1/2 cup or so. Otherwise, it will make enough of its own juices.

 

 

Add a loaf of bread, some crescent rolls or just follow the directions on the side of the Bisquick box (I buy the Heart Smart version) for some dumplings. They are not your typical "wet" dumplings...but I still love them.

 

The best part about it is that you can have dinner for two nights!  Take any leftover meat (I always buy a little bigger roast for this) and shred it up a bit and store it separately.  The next day put that meat in a crock pot again.  But smother it with your favorite BBQ sauce.  Put it on the "warm" setting for a couple of hours.  It makes the perfect BBQ for sandwiches or to put over rice/cous cous.

 

Do you have a pot roast recipe you love?

 

What's your favorite crock pot recipe?