pizza, bugs & games

With Delaney having a mom and a dad who are also teachers, you might think we do educational things with her all the time. If you think that, you’d be quite wrong. We do, however, have this great thing called Netflix Instant Streaming and we let Delaney watch it as much as she wants (which is really less than we’d like her to watch it). One of her favorite shows is Caillou. If you aren’t familiar with Caillou, it’s a cartoon about a little boy with an annoying whiny voice. His family apparently does lots of cool things with him and Delaney has pretty much learned everything she knows from watching Caillou.

One day she asked if we could make our own pizzas for dinner. As you’ve probably figured out by now, Caillou’s family did this. So we decided that maybe she could have some life experiences of her own and not just live vicariously through Caillou.

I used Rhode’s dinner rolls for the crust. Let them thaw (not rise). Put lots of olive oil on the baking sheet and roll out the dough. Top with your choice of toppings.

She made her own pizza. She only wanted mushrooms and cheese for her toppings.

 

Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes. I prefer a little more cheese on my pizza. Thanks Caillou for the easy and cheap dinner idea!

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It wouldn’t be summer without catching some lightning bugs (or fireflies, depending on what part of the country you live). Plus it was on our summer list. So we had to do it!

Another thing on our summer list was “family game night.” Well, half of our family participated anyway. We played Monopoly (she wasn’t really a fan), Spot It (that’s a new one for us…fun but kind of hard for Delaney) and Old Maid (she’s a pro at that one!)

Summer is winding down. Jeremy is already back at work. I’ve been up at the school working but don’t go back officially until Monday.

girls’ day out

I spent the past week gathering and tagging the kids’ old clothes in preparation for a consignment sale. The beauty of these sales is that I can make what I would normally make at a garage sale and I don’t have to sweat in my garage all weekend! And I can buy name-brand clothes and toys for a fraction of their retail cost.

I have purchased pretty much all of Delaney’s clothes second hand at consignment sales or garage sales. I also graciously accept hand-me-downs. Shopping isn’t something Delaney has experienced a whole lot of. Well one rainy day a week or so ago, I decided to take Delaney to the mall to spend her Build-A-Bear gift card that she had gotten for her birthday. Then we had a pretzel (can’t go to the mall without having a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s). And then at the last minute I decided to splurge on a brand new outfit for her for her first day of school. Von Maur always has awesome sales and I only shop those racks. Delaney was so sweet. When we had found several possibilities, she asked, “Can I go to the dressing room and try them on like you did for Bri’s graduation party?” Of course I let her and she loved trying on each outfit and checking it out in the mirror.

 

Here’s the new outfit for her bear. Complete with high heel shoes and a sparkly purse. Life doesn’t get much better than this when you’re 5 years old!!

dinosaurs

I know I’ve mentioned all of Delaney’s quirky fears (dogs, china dolls, blood…) Well we can add “traveling dinosaur exhibit” to that list.

We decided to surprise Delaney with a last minute trip to Exploration Place. She goes there quite frequently with her Nana and Papa and she loves it. But that was before the Dinosaurs invaded it!

 

It was a very cool exhibit. They had actual fossils found in Kansas. You could visit with a paleontologist. And there were roaring, moving dinosaurs throughout. I could’ve taken some fabulous pictures, except I was carrying a terrified and crying 5 year old through the whole dang thing!! We really should’ve known better.

But once we left the dinosaurs, she had a ball!!

If you live in Wichita, or nearby, you really need to see the dinosaur exhibit. It’s here until September. But please don’t invite Delaney to go with you. For your sake!!!

penne a la jerbear

I’ve been in a bit of a cooking rut lately. Just ask my family. So the other day when my mom mentioned a new recipe she tried and liked, I decided it might be just what I needed to pull myself out of that cooking rut.

The recipe was from The Pioneer Woman’s blog, which I LOVE. And I figured you really can’t go too wrong with any of her yummy recipes. Except for the fact that she calls for shrimp. And my sweet hubby (who grew up living near the ocean) doesn’t like shrimp, or any seafood for that matter. What?!

Her recipe is Penne a la Betsy. I substituted chicken for the shrimp and renamed it Penne a la Jerbear (the loving nickname bestowed upon Jeremy by my family).

You can find the original recipe here.

I also used dried parsley and basil instead of fresh and substituted half and half for heavy cream. I’ve heard if you change 3 things in a recipe, you can call it your own. So I now present Penne a la Jerbear:

Yum!! It was so good it even made it to a Facebook post by Bri. Now that’s sayin’ something!!

july?

For the past two summers, you’ve had to endure my never-ending complaints about hot and humid weather. And no rain. But this summer, on the other hand, has been absolutely beautiful!!!

Yesterday (July 27) never got out of the 70s!! It felt like fall. Or Colorado. And it was definitely too beautiful to stay inside all day. So we made an impromptu trip to the zoo. That’s one of the great benefits of buying an annual pass!

In case you’re already feeling like de ja vu, I apologize. Like I mentioned before, we take the same poses every. single. time.

But this funny guy was new.

   

And this was new!!! Delaney was terrified of the sheep earlier this summer. This was a HUGE step!!! She fed them 2 pellets at a time. That’s one way to make your fifty cents last!

And this little baby was new. Like 4 days new. In fact, he’s a day younger than Prince George.

The animals were pretty active. They were also enjoying the gorgeous weather!!

           

The orangutans may just be my favorite animals. They were climbing and swinging and having a great ol’ time!

     

Another successful zoo trip! We saw every animal. Every exhibit. And she still had the energy to go to the Play Park last evening! Delaney definitely doesn’t have a shortage of energy!!