My Wine Education

Today I have the honor of guest posting at My Wine Education, Cincinnati’s top wine blog! I hope you’ll head over and check it out. http://www.wine-girl.net/2009/07/guest-post-kentuckys-jean-farris-winery.html

(Sorry for the long URL. I am writing this post from Lake Cumberland on my iPhone.)

Dinner AND Disney

Hey Greater Cincinnati Moms (and Disney fans)

I just got a news release for a really fun event that Vito’s Cafe in Ft. Thomas, KY is hosting that I thought a lot of you would be interested in.

From Vito’s Cafe:

WHO: Vito’s Café, the live entertainment hotspot located in Ft.Thomas, KY

WHAT: Children 10 & under eat for FREE for Disney Night: An evening of your favorite Disney tunes from musicals & movies such as “The Little Mermaid”, “Aladdin”, “Mary Poppins” & “The Lion King”. Kids food choices include: meatball & spaghetti, cheese ravioli, hamburger with fries, fettuccine alfredo, chicken fingers with French fries and for dessert dish of ice cream.

WHEN: Friday July 17, 2009. The Disney songs will begin at 6:00 P.M.

WHERE: 654 Highland Avenue. Ft.Thomas KY 41075.

About Vito’s Café:  Vito’s Café is the special destination for many types of occasions: birthdays, anniversaries, business meetings, Christmas parties, rehearsal dinners, weddings…and your special evening out on the town.  Our food is the perfect blend of Italian classics from the many regions that define the great country of Italy. Some dishes hail from Tuscany, others have origins in Bologna, and for the big zesty flavors our chef’s pay homage to the island of Sicily.

More than the food defines the ambiance at Vito’s Café, as many of our servers are trained singers who hail from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and Northern Kentucky University. It would be an understatement to say that the singing servers add a touch of class: throughout the course of the meal, the singers rise to the occasion belting out Broadway show tunes, opera ballads and jazz standards. 
 

This sounds like it’s going to be a popular event so make sure if you want to go, that you call Vito’s Café (859-442-9444) and make a reservation.

If you decide to go, let me know. Maybe we can all arrange to meet up at the same time?

Wordless Wednesday - Dollar Store Fun

For more Wordless Wednesday entries, visit Wordless Wednesday or 5 Minutes for Mom.

Our New Baby Has Four Legs

With the recent passing of my childhood dog, Bear I decided it was time to get the boys a puppy.

I am pleased to introduce Roxie Bluebell Boyer. Roxie is a 9wk old dachshund/ Pomeranian mix that we found on Craig’s List.

While she is absolutely adorable, I forgot how much work puppies are. It’s almost like having a new baby. Since bringing her home Thursday Ive been frantically researching potty training and behavior techniques. While I know I won’t happen over night (she is a puppy after all) I am excited to say that I am starting to see signs of hope (and fewer potty accidents) already. (Stay tuned for a future post with tips for potty training - I am learning a lot)

Here are a couple of pictures of our new baby. The boys are madly in love with her.

Four Things

Lately our lives have been so crazy that I haven’t had time to share a few things with you.  Rather than write up four long posts, I thought I’d just share them all here in a quick update.

1) THANK YOU. I was so touched by everyone’s kind words regarding my Wordless Wednesday entry yesterday. Bear was a great dog and our family has many, many found memories. I can’t tell you how it broke my heart to watch my mom hold him on his final day.

2) BlogHer Chevy Carpool - I am super excited to share the news that I will be participating in the BlogHer Chevy Carpool this year!  GM is providing myself and my fellow carpoolers - Lu (Art Slam) Jennifer (Playgroups Are No Place for Children), Amy (AmyInOHio) and Andrea (Udandi and the Craft of Money) - a super sweet Chevy so that we can ride in style to Chicago for the conference!

3) Sprout Band of Bloggers - Sprout, one of our family’s favorite program providers has launched a partnership with 15 bloggers from across the country and I was sleected to be one of them!  It’s a pretty exciting opportunity (do you remember our brush with fame when we met Chica last year???) so stay tuned.

4) Hamilton Beach - I recently had a chance to check out Hamilton Beach’s new Thermal Cooler Blender. Head over to Fru “Gals” in Training to not only read about it, but to enter to win a blender from Hamilton Beach!

Wordless Wednesday - Losing a Friend

This week we lost our family pet, Bear. He’d been with us since 1994 when we found him abandond in the middle of the desert in New Mexico. He will be missed.

Want to see more Wordless Wednesday Posts? Visit here or here.

Family Vacation Time at Lost Lodge

Last weekend our family headed down to the Somerset/Burnside Kentucky area for our first weekend boating trip of the summer on Lake Cumberland.  A tradition for the past three-four years, it’s a time of the year that I cherish.  Thinking that many of you may be within driving distance of the area, I thought I would share information about it here at Mommy Bits.

If you’ve never heard of it, Lake Cumberland is one of the largest man-made bodies of water east of the Mississippi - it’s more than over 63,000 acres. The lake is a boaters paradise with water that averages about 90 feet in depth!

While there are MANY small towns and cities located along Lake Cumberland, for our family, there is no better location than the Somerset/Burnside area.  It’s a good-sized little town with plenty of local amenities and wonderful hospitality. Living in a major city, I am drawn to the areas laid back style and way of life. Lake Cumberland is perfect for your family vacation!

With regards to where to stay, there are lots of housing options in the area - from camping at General Burnside Island State Park, renting a private town-home, staying in cabins (like we do) or you can even rent a whole house from the owner.

For the past year or so we’ve stayed at Lost Lodge, a cute cabin community located on the edge of Somerset in Burnside.

Lost Lodge is located in a quaint wooded area and has 1,2 & 3 bedroom cabins. The prices are really reasonable and the include full kitchens so you can cook (and save $$) while you are there.  Lost Lodge is also family friendly and has a playground located in the center.  If you are a boater like us, you’ll LOVE the fact that Lost Lodge also has a boat dock! This is important if you have your own boat as it is NOT fun putting a boat in and out of the water every day.  The other thinking I love about Lost Lodge are the owners Mike and Dona. They’ve owned Lost Lodge for about 8 years and go out of their way to make you feel at home. They are also just all around cool people (Check out Dona’s car - it’s seriously awesome).

If you are thinking about heading down to Lake Cumberland I’d highly recommend it. It’s a great time for families (and couples/singles) that you’ll remember for years to come.

PS. If you don’t have a boat, Lost Lodge is just down the road from Burnside Marina - where you can rent one. Also, our favorite store - Boat-n-stuff (Don’t you love the name!) - rents & sells ski’s, innertubes & more! One more thing… This is Pulaski County. It’s Dry. You have to bring your adult beverages with you or you are out of luck.

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day to one amazing Dad!

Dining Out Without Breaking the Bank

If there’s one thing I like to do it’s eat out.  I’ve never been very good in the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, I try hard, but if given the choice between cooking and going out to eat, going out to eat almost always wins!

Because of the state of the economy, like many parents, I am now always looking for discounts and deals to help lessen the costs of dinner out.

This morning I found a great article in the Columbia Daily Tribune that provides a list of national restaurants that offer discounts for children.

Here are some of my favorites that you can find here in the great Cincinnati area:

Applebee’s: On Mondays, children get a free meal with every adult meal purchase. Additional kids’ meals are $1.

Buffalo Wild Wings: Children 12 and younger can eat for 99 cents from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday.

Cici’s Pizza: Children 3 and younger always eat free.

Fazoli’s: Kids’ meals are 99 cents with the purchase of an adult entree from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays.

IHOP: From 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, each child 12 and younger gets a free meal with each adult meal. Drink is not included.

Ruby Tuesday: Children 10 and younger eat free Monday through Thursday, with each paid adult entree.

Steak ‘n Shake: For every $8 spent by an adult, one child eats free. That’s on Saturday and Sunday.

TGIFridays: Children 3 and younger eat free on Mondays and Tuesdays.

For a complete list of restaurants featured in the article, click here.

Wordless Wednesday - Mother and Daughter

Want to check out other Wordless Wednesday posts? Visit Here or Here.

Photo by Stacy Wegley
Taken during Girlfriendology: Girlfriend Portraits event