Monthly Archives: November 2009

Nov 30 2009

Family Holiday Fun

This weekend Downtown Cincinnati Inc (DCI) invited several local parenting bloggers, including myself, downtown to learn about everything downtown is offering during the Holidays.  Several of us brought children with us, I brought BMan (SM had soccer…..).

The day started at Nicholson’s one of my favorite downtown restaurants. Over lunch Emilie & Mindy with DCI told us a little bit about their organization, and gave an overview of all the things going on downtown this year during the holiday season. I knew a little bit about downtown holiday activities as we have brought the  boys down in the past, but one thing that I was really surprised by was how much was free.  They rattled off a list of at least 10-15  free things you could do with your family like the Duke Energy Train Display, visit Santa at Macy’s, Gingerbread Village at the Hilton and Trolley rides.

After lunch Emilie and Mindy invited us all to bring the kids and experience some of the holiday activities they’d talked about.

The first stop was the Holly Trolley, which takes you around town, and stops at various holiday hot spots around downtown. You can get on and off as many times as you like and it’s free.

BMan gets ready to board the Holly Trolley

BMan gets ready to board the Holly Trolley

Next up was the train display at the Hyatt hotel.  This was a new one for me. They Hyatt actually has a small train display and ginger bread village in their lobby, and the display is open to the public.

Hyatt Train Display

BMan checking out the Hyatt Train Display

From the Hyatt we headed over to Macy’s to see Santa.  At Macy’s Santa is FREE! Parents just need to bring their own cameras to snap a photo of their child with him.

Macys Santa

BMan shares his "wish list" with Santa

After Santa we  hopped on a “Carriage” Trolley for a tour of downtown. Each carriage holds 15-20 people so you could easily bring a group with you.

Carriage Rides

BMan's favorite part (after Santa) was riding with the horses

At the end of the day I have to say  I was really impressed with everything there is to do downtown during the holidays and how affordable it all is. We spent a good 1.5 hours doing things around town that were all free. Next weekend on top of all the free activities, on Saturday Santa will rappel down a building and there will be fireworks. We’ve seen it before and the boys love it.

If you are interested in checking out what downtown has to offer during the holidays, DCI has a Downtown Cincinnati Holiday Guide on its site that lists out all the events and activities downtown with their prices, hours, etc.

Here are a few more photos from our afternoon. It was a blast getting to check out the happenings downtown, and hang out with Susan & Tela from Working Moms Against Guilt, Amy from AmyinOhio and Marianne from The New Frugal Mom!

Nov 26 2009

Recipe for Homemade Cranberry Sauce

One of my favorite things to make during the holidays is fresh cranberry sauce.  As a child I only knew cranberry sauce to come in a can, served in slices. It wasn’t until I was older and creating my own Thanksgiving meals that I learned how to make it from scratch. In honor of Thanksgiving I thought I’d share my recipe with you. I hope you all enjoy it, it’s one of the few dishes I make that is always requested by my family!

INGREDIENTS
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 small can of pineapple (small chunks)
1/2 cup broken walnuts

TOOLS
Medium sauce pan
Medium bowl
Collander
Saran wrap

DIRECTIONS
Begin by placing the cranberries in the collander and running them under cold water. While you are rinsing them you will want to watch for/remove any stems that may still be attached to the cranberries. After rinsing, place the cranberries in the sauce pan and immediately add the water, sugar and juice from the pineapple can.  Allow mixture to simmer over medium heat until the cranberries begin to burst. Once a majority of the cranberries have burst, remove from the stove and add your pineapple chunks and walnuts to the pan, saving a few for garnish.  Allow cranberry sauce to sit for 5 minutes before placing in a medium size serving bowl. Place the remaining chunks of pineapple and walnuts on top as garnish. Cover in saran wrap and allow to cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving . While it is cooling the cranberry sauce will thicken to the desired consistency.

Here are some photos to help you along:

Rinse your cranberries and remove any remaining stems
Rinse your cranberries and remove any remaining stems

Add water and sugar to the pan
Add water and sugar to the pan

Cranberries will begin to "pop"
Cranberries will begin to “pop”

Once a majority of the cranberries have burst, remove from heat
Once a majority of the cranberries have burst, remove from heat

Your finished cranberry sauce should look like this
Your finished cranberry sauce should look like this

Nov 26 2009

Lands’ End Sports Squall Parka – Winter Coats for Boys and Girls

With winter fast approaching and our first snow of the season just around the corner, I’ve been in the market for new winter coats for the boys. For the last 2 yrs SM has been wearing a hand-me down Columbia jacket from a co-worker and the B-Man has been wearing a jacket that SM wore when he was 2/3 yrs of age.
This year I’d already decided that both boys would be getting new coats when Lands’ End contacted Kathi & I offering to let us review their boys Sports Squall Parkas. It was like they were reading my mind!

For those of you who know me, you know that I am a big fan of Lands’ End. While they have sent me things to review in the past, it truly is a brand I love and support with my own money (so glad you can get Lands’ End at Sears!). I have everything from shoes, to skorts, to coats, to swim wear. If you can find it at our local Sears (I don’t like online ordering… I need to try things on) that I more than likely have purchased it.

For the review they sent myself and Kathi each a Sports Squall Parka, one for each of my boys (Kathi watches them during the day). For SM we ordered a M (10-12) and for the B-Man we ordered a S (8).

Sports Squall Parka, available in 12 colors (different jackets for boys and jackets for girls); available in youth sizes S, M, L and XL.

  • Windproof, 3-ply nylon shell, with DriOff™ finish
  • Toasty 300-weight fleece lining
  • Adjustable cuffs lock out the elements
  • 360° reflective trim for better visibility
  • Cargo pockets outside, MP3 player pocket with cord port inside
  • Waist cinches with an interior bungee
  • Attached hood won’t get lost
  • Parka length hits below the hip for more coverage
For SM we ordered the Black with Vivid blue accents (it’s VERY blue) and for the B-Man we ordered the Red with brown accents.

I have to say that so far the jackets are very similar to the Lands’ End jacket I have for myself. They are both very light-weight and “thin” yet they keep the boys very warm.  Right now SM is a size 8, so the size 10-12, while a little big, gives him room to grow and room to wear sweaters under his jacket without feeling like a snowman.  I would have ordered the jacket in an 8 for SM but he has long arms and I was afraid the sleeves might not be long enough.

I would honestly recommend this jacket to any mom out there looking to purchase a new winter coat for their child. It stays true to the quality you expect from Lands’ End and the price is well worth it (and reasonable too) at just $49.50 (IT’S ON SALE RIGHT NOW, down from $69!)


Nov 25 2009

See A Free Movie Tonight! Win a set of 4 Tickets!

General Mills wants to send you and your family to the movies for free and here´s how!
Beginning in November, you can get a free movie ticket when you purchase two specially marked packages of General Mills´ Cereals! They include specially marked boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix and Reese´s Peanut Butter Puffs.

After you buy the specially marked boxes grab the codes inside each box and go to : generalmills.com/moviecash and enter your codes and print off your free movie ticket!
To make it really easy check here for a participating theater near you – http://emoviecash.com/dis_locator.

 

*** Win it!***
Win a “Movie Moment” prize pack that includes 4 e-movie cash certificates ($12 each) and one (1) free coupon for a General Mills cereal. Just tell us your favorite movie moment. Mine involved my sister and popcorn laced with snow caps.

We will pull a winning name out of the old salad bowl on December 10th from those who leave a contact email address and a movie moment.

Want 2 extra entries? Tweet the giveaway, include @mommybits and Mention General Mills Movie Moments in your Tweet.  Want 2 more? Subscribe to our news feed at the top of the page and leave a comment letting us know.

 

*Thank you to MY BLOG SPARK for the tickets and to General Mills for the coupons .

All opinions are my own! Hugs! Kathi