(Insert a Holiday) Crunch

This stuff is so incredibly ADDICTING!! It is so simple to make...thank goodness because you will be making ALOT. I got the recipe from Bakerella...of course:) You can substitute any M&M color for all the various holidays. Or you could skip the M&M's and add Reeses Pieces, marshmallows would be yummy also.

Christmas Crunch
1 24 oz. pkg. white bark coating (we use Kroger candy coating, but you can also use white chocolate)
1 box of corn chex
1 large bag of mini pretzels
1 large jar of salted dry roasted peanuts
1 package of plain M&Ms (you can use holiday varieties at any time of year
to make it holiday themed – Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc.)

You can really use any size packages you want. It depends on how much of each you want in your mix.
Just have fun!

Cover a fairly large area of your counter space with wax paper and tape down.

In a very large bowl, combine the chex, pretzels, peanuts and M&Ms. You might have to work in smaller batches if you can’t fit everything in one bowl with room to mix. Dump the peanuts and M&Ms in last so they don’t all sink to the bottom.

In a smaller bowl, melt your bark coating in the microwave in 30 second intervals and stir in between. Don’t let it go for too long at once or it will scald and you will have to toss it out and start over.

When the bark coating is melted, gently pour into the larger bowl and toss with the dry ingredients. You can adjust the amount of coating you use based on your preference. I usually stir a little bit in, toss, stir some more in, toss again, etc. to make sure everything gets a little bark coating on it so it will stick together.

Working quickly, dump the mixture out on your wax paper and spread out in a thin layer to dry. Once it’s dry, break it apart into pieces and store in an airtight container or divide into decorative cello bags to give away.

Note: If you half your mix ingredients and bark coating, it will be a little easier to work with in two batches. Otherwise you will need a really large bowl and workspace to spread out on the counter.

Apothacary Jars

This is a really bad picture and you probably can't really tell what they are...but they are Apothacary Jars that I made for my mom and Ben's mom for Christmas. These were so fun and easy to do. All I have to say is that Gorilla Glue is your friend. That stuff is A-MAZING! Anyway, this idea came from the girls at Shanty 2 Chic. Click on them to get the how to and what you need.

Connor...6 months

This little guy is already 6 mo. old! Time is going by WAY too fast! He had his 6 mo. check up on Dec. 31 and it was filled with lots of bad news that made me worry way too much. 1. He is in the 10% in weight and we need to fatten the boy up. 2. He has an ear infection. 3. He has dry skin so we have to get all this special lotion and soap 4. The Dr. said she thinks that his soft spot has closed up and if it has, there is no where for his brain to grow...they had to give him an X-ray. Thankfully with all the fasting and prayers he turned out to be ok. What a relief!! Now we just have to try and fatten him up!

Connor with his proud older brothers...always wanting to pose with his brother.
This little boy always has his thumb in his mouth!!

6 mo. stats:

weight: 15 lbs. 4 oz...10-12%

length: 25 3/4"...50-55%

head: 16 3/4"...10-25%

Connor is a very serious baby, but he will smile and laugh all the time!

He loves to:

*suck his thumb

*sleep in his car seat and not in his crib

*He sleeps through the night:)

*is sitting by himself very well!

*to be entertained by his brothers

*playing with his toys

*bounce in his jolly jumper

*stare at you and reach for your nose and mouth and then smile...totally melts my heart.

Gillis Family Pictures---2009

While we were in Houston for Christmas we had some family pictures made since EVERYONE was together...its been over 2 years. So here they are! This is my favorite family pic...love that Texas flag!

My whole family...all 3 brothers, families and my parents.
My parents and all the grandkids
Taylor, Caden, Noah and Brent
Me and my brother: Eric, Brandon and Curt
Mom, Me, Eric, Brandon, Curt and Dad
The whole family

Christmas Morning

We celebrated Christmas the Gillis side this year. The whole family was together...its been awhile since Brandon was on his mission in Russia for 2 years! The kids woke up at a decent hour this time...which was nice:)

Here are the kids waiting at the top of the stairs...This is a picture that I grew up with. Had to get the picture and wait there for FOREVER while my Dad set up the camera and my Mom got breakfast ready. It was torture...now I do it for my kids!!
Here they come RUNNING down the stairs to check out the loot...
I think I can honestly say that Santa did come this year!
Here is my sweet little one during his first Christmas...all cute sitting in his Bumbo chair.
This was Whitney's Christmas present...a cute little long haired Chihuahua, Bentley...so cute. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Eve

I love Christmas Eve...it is so much fun, especially with kids. Our good family friends, the Baileys (for as long as I can remember), came over to celebrate with us. We have had this tradition for several years. We have shrimp...thanks Diane (surprisingly enough, Noah LOVED it...but he hates cheese...go figure), we eat homemade pizza with whatever toppings you can dream up, a delicious dessert and then we have the Nativity story. Since the kids are a bit older, we decided to take it a step further this year...we acted it out!

Eric and Ben were the Narrators for our story, I played the piano (I know...gasp! me play the piano?? It was level 1 music...and it was pretty bad), Katie was the Director, Whitney was the photographer...here are the other participants:

Noah and Brent were Shepherds, Caden was Joseph
Dana was Angel Gabriel, Taylor: Mary, Caden: Joseph
Connor was the cutest Baby Jesus
This was hilarious...Megan and Eric were Angels and when it was their turn they got up and acted like "angels"...funny.
All the kiddos
The 3 wisemen: Jeremy, Brandon and Curt offering gifts to baby Jesus...as they walked into the room Brandon sprayed his awesome cologne and about gagged us all:) Afterwards we all sang Silent Night while I played the piano...I either need to take lessons or just forgo playing ever again because that was just a joke...

It was a fun night and I think the kids loved it. We all had fun laughing at everyone. The kids got the plate of cookies together for Santa and were off to bed.

Thatcher Christmas

We started off our holiday by going to the Thatchers (Ben's parents) first. It just so happened that EVERY SINGLE Thatcher boy was in town! That is 6 boys my friends! So we went there and of course had to get some pictures!

How can you resist this little face? How cute is he!!
These are all the boys...Jon (brother #2), Ben (#1), Josh (#4), Cameron (#5) Chris (#3) and Logan (#6).
These are all 7 grandkids. There has been a grandbaby born every single year since Caden: Connor, Caden, Will, McKenna, Noah, Molly and Henry.
The boys and the wives. Chelsea will be the newest of the sisters...she is the one in the middle...Cameron and her got engaged over the holiday! Congrats to them, can't wait to have Chelsea join the family!
We had Christmas at my parents home, but came over the Thatchers the Sunday after Christmas. This was when we opened presents and what not. Here is Caden extremely excited for this DS game...can you tell?
Noah with his gift...loves imaginext!
And Connor...just excited to eat paper:)

Oh, JOY

This was such a FUN project! The girls at Shanty 2 Chic are pretty brilliant! I saw this on their blog and had to make them ASAP. Glad I did. One thing I didn't realize was how BIG they were. Which is great. They are my new favorite Christmas decoration. I am currently trying to think of a 3 letter word that I can put on the other side so I can keep it year round...any ideas??
If you go to the blog: Shanty 2 Chic, you can get detailed directions on how to make these and where to get the materials. Great thing is that they are pretty cheap to make!!

Candy Cane Kiss Centered Brownie Bites

All I have to say is YUM-O!! These were so incredibly easy to make and so easy to eat:) These came from picky palate...of course. I used a mini cheesecake pan that I got from William Sanoma...best purchase EVER! So they were the perfect size.

Just look at these bad boys! When you are hitting all the holiday sales, make sure you stock up on the Candy Cane Hershey Kisses. So worth it! This recipe will make 18 of them, unless you use a mini muffin pan and I'm sure you can get much more.
Candy Cane Kiss Centered Brownie Bites

from: Picky Palate

1 brownie mix 9×13 inch size

18 Candy Cane Hershey Kisses

1/2 Cup chocolate chips

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

3 original candy canes, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and scoop into a mini cheesecake pan or mini muffin tin pan that has been generously sprayed with cooking spray, about 3/4 way full. Press kisses into center of brownie batter, do not push all the way to bottom, some of the tip should stick out the top. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until brownies are cooked through. Let cool completely.

2. Melt chocolate chips in microwave, 30 second intervals until smooth and melted. Stir in cream until silky smooth. You can place back in microwave for 10 seconds to smooth more if needed. Dip tops of brownies into melted chocolate, then sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Serve with a tall glass of milk. Enjoy!!

Thin Mint Cookies

These are a staple at our house during the holidays...I always have these ingredients: Ritz Crackers and Andes Mints...Crushed peppermint if I have it. Thats all you need and they taste just like Girl Scout cookies;) Melt the Andes Mints, dip the Ritz cracker in it, sprinkle crushed candy cane and refrigerate until it is set. Thats it my friends! If you love mint, this will be a favorite!
Here is a quick easy way to package them up...this is an old formula can, cleaned out with some cute Christmas paper wrapped around it.

May Your Days be Merry and Bright...

This was a gift I gave to neighbors and teachers. So easy...just get your vinyl lady to make up a saying for you and get a pack of chargers from Wal-Mart (4 for $5) and you have the perfect last minute gift.

Cookies for Santa

I made this cute little jars for the people I Visit Teach for Christmas. I think they turned out pretty cute:) The idea came from make it do. If you go there, you will be able to get her cute templates. Bakerella also has some of these...they are cowboy cookies.

Cookies For Santa...aka Cowboy Cookies

From: Bakerella

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix flour, baking powder, soda and salt together. Layer in a quart Mason jar in this order:

First: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
Second: oats
Third: m&ms
Fourth: chocolate chips
Fifth: brown sugar
Sixth: white sugar
Seventh: chopped pecans

Pack each level down really tightly. I mean it. Pack it in. Or else it won’t all fit. Also, I added the chopped pecans last, because if the ingredients were too much or not enough, then I could add more or less pecans to adjust. I’d rather sacrifice nuts than chocolate, you know. The ingredients should be flush to the top of the lid when you seal it up.

When you give this, their instructions are:

Add

1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Use the back of a large spoon to work it all together. You may even need to use your hands to get everything incorporated.

Aargh...

I have a GAZILLION things to post...some fun Christmas things...too bad my card is not reading on my computer! So, until then...don't forget about me and check back later:)