Character Parade

On Oct. 30 Caden got to dress up like a favorite character from a book. We happened to have an Anakin Skywalker book and costume...so BAM! instant costume. However Caden kept saying he can't dress up as a Star Wars character. What?? Anyway, we had a breast plate, whipped that over the Anikan costume and BAM! Prince Caspian from Narnia. Pretty good for the night before and being so last minute. Oh well. It worked:) All the kids got to go through the halls and have a little parade. Here are some of the pics:)

Caden and his best friend, Christian.

Noah and Maddie (Christian's little sister)...how cute are they?
Check out the cute shirts I made the boys...literally minutes before I had to be up at the school...

Ok, this was so funny. Maddie had this little doll and they were showing it to Connor and he just freaked out! He was just smiling, loving and kissing and talking up a storm to this little doll...he was so mad when we took it away! There were people stopping and watching him as he was doing this...so cute.

Me and my boys. When I look at them...I can't help but notice how different they are! In every way! Love you boys:)

Ham and Potato Soup

This is such a yummy potato soup! I love it! My kids devoured it...so it has to be good...right? It is great with some cheese sprinkled on top. This came from Allrecipes.com

Ham and Potato Soup

3 1/2 c. peeled and diced potatoes

1/3 c. diced celery or carrots

1/3 c. finely chopped onion

3/4 c. diced cooked ham

3 1/4 c. water

2 TBS chicken bouillon granules or 3 cubes

1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

1/2 - 1 tsp. pepper, or to taste

5 TBS butter

5 TBS flour

2 c. milk

Combine the potatoes, celery or carrots, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Top with cheese and serve immediately.

Let the Messies Begin!

Connor is now 4 months old!! We just had his 4 month check up and she gave the okay to start him on solids! So, we thought we would test him out on rice cereal.

Getting a little excited for whats coming...
Testing it out...a little funny texture...not quite sure...

Happy face...I think we might have some success:) Yeah for us!!

Here are his stats for 4 months:

Weight: 13.8 lbs. (25%)

Height: 25" (50%)

Head: 16" (15%)

He's just a little one still. He is the best baby I have had yet! He only cries when he is hungry or needs a diaper change. He is still a thumb sucker, he is getting close to rolling over...he gets to his side and his arm gets in the way. He is TOTALLY sleeping through the night...I put him down at 9pm and he wakes up anywhere between 6-9am. Then he eats and takes his morning nap. I have no complaints:) He is at the point now where he is bored with his bouncy chair and the swing...we had to whip out the next set of toys.

It is crazy how much you have to rotate toys and clothes around with babies!!!

Pumpkin Patch!

Halloween just wouldn't be the same if we didn't go to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. We have gone every year since Caden was a baby. Love the tradition!! So this year we went with my ward. We had a blast! Couldn't ask for more perfect weather! There's tons of pics, so sit back and enjoy my cutie pies! All I have to say is it is IMPOSSIBLE to get 3 boys to smile and look at the camera at the same time. I pretty much gave up on Connor:)

I love this picture!


Check out this tree! It is all engraved!
As we were driving home from the Pumpkin Patch we pulled over and got to see the practice for the air show that was going to happen the next day. The boys were totally glued to the sky...I was also, which is why I pulled over;)

This show was very cool...besides, I didn't have to pay the $20 bucks for parking! I got a free show!

Come on Barbie, Let's Go Party...Take 2

The day after the Chuck E. Cheese Birthday was the Family birthday. This party had much more work involved and I had so much fun putting it together!

Here is the banner I made...got the idea off of Polkadots & Pirates.
The cake. I loved making this! Fondant isn't something I have really ever played with. I have made one cake with it, so I was a bit nervous. I think I will forever make cakes with fondant. Loved it! You can hide your mistakes so easily!
A close up of the top...yes, I used feathers and some pink glitter balls and the Barbie head was off of the invites that Whitney made.

The treat table was outside...I couldn't put the banner outside because it was so windy and the cake had to stay inside or else it would be destroyed. On the right I put cute little votive candle holders on there filled with milk and then a cookie on top...I didn't put those out till right before. For those of you who want to know what is on the table:

I made paper cones and filled them with Crunch 'n Munch,

Chocolate covered Pretzels

Pink and White Marshmallows

Circus Cookies

Strawberry Whoppers

cookies and milk

strawberry gummies

Oreo truffles (one bag of oreos and one 8oz. pkg. of cream cheese...mix together, freeze, dip in milk chocolate, freeze and then you can drizzle pink chocolate on them)

good and plenty
This is just a funny that Dr. Brown wanted me to post on my blog...we love the fake flowers in her planters;)

Thanks for letting me help with the party Dr. Brown...I hope you liked everything!

Come on Barbie, Let's Go Party!

This is the first birthday party for Samantha, this one was at Chuck E. Cheese:

These are the cupcake toppers I made...and Whitney designed the cute logos...check her out if you need some, I'm sure she would gladly do them for you:)
These are the cute shirts and leggings Samantha wore for her big day...she looked darling!
Of course every girl needs to wear a tutu...
The goody bags...I needed something fun to put them in so I grabbed a bucket out of my pantry and spray painted it with chalk board paint and voila...
The cute tags Whitney designed for me...
The cupcakes: White cake with Strawberry Goodness injected in each of them with some amazing Buttercream Frosting and sparkly sprinkles on top.

Happy Birthday Samantha! Hope you had a fabulous day!

Where Did You Go Now???

So this month has been a complete BLUR. Since my last post it has been incredibly crazy busy here. The second week of October I got the nasty flu, then Ben got it the next day...we were both sick for about a week. Nasty stuff. Glad that's over! The worst part was having to wear a mask so my sweet baby wouldn't get sick! So glad he didn't!

Then I got a client, my Dentist...Dr. Misty Brown...to do her darling daughter, Samantha, birthday party! So much fun. The theme was Barbie. It was nice to get my girl on and do really girly things rather than Army or Pirates. Thankfully my sister-in-law, Whitney was able to help me and do the invites and cupcake toppers. She's amazing! I've been busy getting everything all together and doing/making: 1 tutu, 2 t-shirts, leggings, cupcake toppers, b-day banner, cupcakes, b-day cake, oreo truffles, treat tables, goody bags and tags, etc...But...I got it all done! It all went great and I had a blast doing it all! I think I have decided to go to the Party business rather than decorating homes, I have had so much fun doing this.

So...with all that being said, there are going to be several postings coming up now that everything is done and I can breathe again:) Hope you like everything!!

Cinnamon Rolls

Over Conference weekend it been a Gillis tradition to make Cinnamon Rolls! I did the unthinkable and didn't use the standard recipe, which is absolutely amazing. I needed one this weekend that was an overnight one, one that I could make at night and put in the oven in the morning. I used this one from Alton Brown, and it was way good. Tasted similar to our traditional one. So, if I need an overnight one, I will use Alton's, if not I will always stick to the Gillis ones. I"m going to post both for you and let you decide;)

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

by Alton Brown

• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 large whole egg, room temperature
• 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted, approximately 6 tablespoons
• 6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
• 20 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 cups, plus additional for dusting
• 1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Filling:

• 8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 3/4-ounce unsalted butter, melted, approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons

Icing:

• 2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 5 1/2 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

Directions

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

Halloween Crafts

Just wanted to share the love of some cute Halloween crafts that I have done lately.

This is a darling little countdown that I've seen all over the place. You need (2) 4x4's and another slab of wood to fit them, grab some vinyl (you will need 2: #1, #2 and make sure the #3 and 0 are on a different block.), 6 different sheets of paper and modge podge the paper and then add the vinyl. Voila...cuteness
I made this several Halloween's ago at my friend Gwens for a little craft night...love LOVE love it. It is a paper mache house that I got from Hobby Lobby and then you just put cute paper around and modge podge it:)
EEK letters, again, 3 pieces of wood (duh) and vinyl letters and modge podge (what would I do without this stuff???)

Special Holiday Offer

Just wanted to let you know about this special on Holiday Cards! Whitney did my Baby Annoucements for Connor and they turned out AMAZING! She is have a sale on her custom cards! You can go to her blog and see some of the things she has done or you can tell her what you want and she will do that! Anyway, check her out and see what you think!! Here are some of my favorites:

Oh look!!! Who are those darling little boys??? OH!! Their mine:)

HOLIDAY OFFER:

Place your order AND submit all photos by the 2nd week of November (11.15.09)

AND

Order 100 or more cards

YOUR PRICE: $1.10 each - this price includes the design, an envelope for each and shipping.



All payments are accepted safe and secure through PayPal. Please don't hesitate to email me whitneygillis@gmail{dot}com if you have any questions and remember that i customize everything so if you have an idea you need translated onto the page i am more than happy to do it for you!

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

I've had this recipe for quite awhile...it came from my friend Carrie C. It is just so good:)

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Mix together:

3 TBS margarine, melted

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Cut 2 large chicken breasts into 1" pieces and dip them in the mixture.

Crush/blend together (I just stick the two ing. in a blender and blend away):

50 Wheat Thins, finely crushed

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Cover the chicken in the crumbs and bake at 450 degrees for 7-9 minutes.

3 Months of Cuteness

My little man is 3 months old now! Time goes by so FAST! He is such a good baby! He is sleeping through the night, he scoots like crazy when he is on his tummy or back, he found his thumb...which is too cute, and really only cries when its time for me to make dinner. Here are some pics of little man:

Ok, seriously...how cute is this??

He is watching Daddy here and just staring at him:) Love that look!

Austin's Wedding

This last weekend Connor and I flew to Utah for my cousin, Austin, wedding! I am so glad I was able to go! I was a little worried about how Connor would do on the plane rides, but he slept the whole time! He is the best baby EVER! Love him! This is his first big trip, so for document's sake: on Saturday, Sept. 26 we flew from Dallas to El Paso to Phoenix to Utah. We flew home the next day and went from Utah to Denver to Albaqurqie (sp??) to Dallas. He cried from Alba. to Dallas for a whole 30 seconds and that was it. So, here are pics from the wedding!!

Maegan and Austin...the newly weds! I loved her colors, so pretty!

Grandma Gillis (my Dad's mom) and Connor...met for the first time this trip!

The Gillis GIRL Cousins. We haven't all been together for a very long time! Jennie and Carter, Sharlyn, Me and Connor, Carrie, Leah and Brooklyn

Leah, Melanie (she lived like 3 minutes away from me and then moved to Utah...I was so sad), Jennie, and Myself.

Me and Little Man...doesn't he look so stinking cute in his little man suit??

The 3 girls (Leah, Myself and Jennie) all had babies right next to each other: Leah had Brooklyn on June 23 and I had Connor on June 26 and Jennie had Carter on July 22. So fun!

Brooklyn, Connor and Carter

My Mom and Dad with Connor

Grandpa Gillis (my Dad's Dad) holding Connor. It was a big weekend for Connor meeting the rest of the family! Glad we got to come up to the wedding and celebrate!