Party of Five

Pioneer Woman Can Cook on GMA

2010-02-25T11:35:00.000-06:00

I love to watch Good Morning America---so this morning I was off work and was surprised when I found out that The Pioneer Woman would be appearing and sharing her recipes! I found her blog about a year ago and like many of you became a big fan! She has also appeared in Southern Living magazine. I haven't bought her cookbook yet but I have plans to purchase it soon and try out some of her recipes!

If you haven't had a chance to visit her website, just click on over and check it out! I promise you will love it! She cooks, writes stories, shows off her photography, raises 4 kids and lives on a real ranch, and loves to talk about her hunk of a hubby that she calls "the Marlboro Man"

Let It Snow!!!

2010-01-27T22:58:00.000-06:00

By Friday, the area I live in and most of the South East will be under a Winter Storm Watch! I love snow and I am hoping we will get the 5-9 inches they are calling for. We have no plans other than church this weekend so it would be great to hang out and play in the snow with the kids! I am also planning on some old fashioned stove top hot chocolate and I found a great recipe @ Southern Plate. My husband went out and bought some sleds for the kiddos so I know he is planning on having fun also. Tomorrow, after work I have to go to the grocery and get a few things. I am sure it will be crowded. I am going to share a few pics I have found from the past winter weather fun.

This is from Jan. 2009 Ice Storm

13th anniversary and The Harlem Globetrotters

2010-01-17T18:31:00.000-06:00

On January 11th, Jimmy and I celebrated 13 years of marriage. We usually plan a nice dinner date out and have some quiet time alone. This year ~ The Harlem Globetrotters happened to be coming to town on the night of our anniversary. Sarah, our 10 year old, decided that this would be a perfect date for ALL of us to go out and celebrate. So that is what we did, and we had the best time! We LOVE basketball and so do our kids so this was an exciting time for us. A lot has changed over the past 13 years and 3 kids later, but we wouldn't change a thing:)

View of the Big Screen

YMCA~getting the whole crowd involved

AWESOME ball handling, spinning the ball on his finger around the back and between his legs!!!

The TEAM!!

Me and little bit

Daddy and Sarah

Happy Anniversary!!!!

Christmas Catch Up

2010-01-16T20:57:00.002-06:00

It has been so long since I have blogged---and I have so many things that I need to blog about! I am going to go back to Christmas and catch up from there!!! SORRY!!

This is the best picture of the kids on Christmas morning, notice Nate had just woke up and was not happy to be getting his picture made! We have a tradition of giving the kids new pajamas on Christmas Eve.

He is happy now--this expression is priceless!!!

Lovin the CD player that was a surprise from Santa

She was so funny on Christmas morning, she had to get a picture made with each gift.

I hope everyone is having a blessed 2010 so far!!!

Card Shower

2009-12-30T11:04:00.000-06:00

This weekend we are celebrating my grandmother's (my mom's mother) 90th birthday! We are having a family get together at my aunt's house to celebrate. I have been so blessed growing up and knowing both sets of grandparents and even two of my great-grandparents and I am very thankful for that! Happy Birthday Grandmother!

To honor her at her birthday we are hosting a greeting card shower! Grandmother loves receiving mail, if you wish to share in the fun please send birthday greetings to:

Charlene Kincheloe Webb

P.O. Box 82

Smiths Grove, KY 42171

Thank You

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-26T21:34:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!!

to all

and

to all

good night!!!

I love when he falls asleep this way:)

I couldn't resist showing this picture of the girls--who kept me up until 4:30 in the morning! UGGHH!! I finally went to bed and they stayed up in the living room looking @ what all Santa had left. I don't know when he had the time to stop since they never went to sleep, they were so excited:) So on the way home from Grandma's this was how they were in the car by 7:00 Christmas night! HA! I packed some PJ's with us so they could go ahead and have them on for the car ride home. We had so much fun with both of our families, more pictures to come. Tomorrow we plan on taking down the tree and cleaning up around here--Have a good rest of the weekend everyone:)

Tales of Christmas Past

2009-12-22T21:11:00.005-06:00

I was looking through some old pictures and found that the past 3 Christmas's we have attempted to take a picture of the grandkids in front of Nana and Pop's tree. There are 8 grandchildren and their ages are from 15 down to 2, it is getting harder and harder to have everyone cooperate. I can't wait to see how it turns out this year! HA!

2006 The sweet little girls

2006 Handsome little boys

2007 The whole gang

2008 as good as we could get of the whole gang:)

*notice my sister trying to get my nephew to stay in the picture--oh what fun!!

Hopefully we will get another picture for 2009

Merry Christmas!

Here is 2009--no time for a picture it was time to open the gifts!

Blog Award

2009-12-17T21:27:00.000-06:00

My blogger friend Crystal, has sent me my first blogger award! I am so tickled that she thought of me:)

Thank you Crystal!!!

Now I am going to tag 5 other blogs with this award so here goes:)

Kentucky Newlyweds

Mommy 2 a Charli Girl
Dave and Brit plus one
Step Inside
The Sweet Life of a Stay at Home Mom

What's in the mail?

2009-12-15T16:24:00.004-06:00

When I went to get the mail today I found this........

My mom has given me a gift subscription to this magazine and I LOVE IT!

This is something she usually does for me and my sisters and it is so nice to get something in the mail:)

She has also given us this one a few years ago......

She said that everytime we come to her house we always look at her Southern Living magazines and sometimes we may have even taken one home to borrow:) HA!

Thanks mom for the "gifts in the mail"--- love getting my magazines and recipes!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-11T21:22:00.000-06:00

No-Bake Orange Ball Cookies, or Frozen Orange Ball Cookies is an old sweet southern recipe that my mom used to make when I was younger. I have not had these for a long time and found the recipe in the December 2006 issue of Kentucky Monthly magazine.

No-Bake Orange Coconut Balls

1 stick butter or margarine

16-ounce box powdered sugar

6-ounce can orange juice concentrate, thawed

12-ounce box vanilla wafers, finely crushed

14-ounce package sweetened coconut

Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, mixing well. Add juice and wafers and mix again. Pinch off small amounts and roll into balls the size of a dime. Roll the balls in the coconut and place in a covered container. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This recipe also freezes well. I have also seen a version of this recipe to add 1 cup of chopped pecans. Makes about 3 dozen.

Mix Ingredients well.

Your hands will get sticky, but these are deliciously YUMMY!
It is also easy for the kids to help if you don't mind them getting messy:)
When we were growing up, mom would keep them in the freezer and we would sneak and get a few! HA!

Kelly over @ Kelly's Korner is hosting Show us your life--Christmas Cookies, take a peak @ her blog and enjoy all the YUMMY recipes!
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Door Tour

2009-12-09T22:22:00.000-06:00

WELCOME

Lianna @ Growing Our Own Garden is hosting her 2nd Annual Christmas Door Tour, so I have decided to participate:)

Please excuse the front door that needs painting HA! This will go on the to-do list! A few weeks ago my dear husband was hanging the icicle lights, and I worked on the front door! (Thank you to my mom for getting this new great ribbon for all our wreaths) LOVE IT!! I used a lot of stuff we already had and went with a red/white theme! I just spray painted a grapevine wreath white added red/white ribbon and I already had the santa. The sticks I found in our backyard and spray painted them white! We have wreaths on all the windows and at night you can see the tree through the side lights of the door.

Here is how it looks from further out! Although it is simple I love how it turned out--we also have wooden candy canes along the sidewalk leading to the front door.

I made this around 4 years ago and it is hanging on the side door! I had seen another version of this in Southern Living magazine and thought it would be so easy! Just buy small, medium, and larger grapevine wreaths and attach together with floral wire! I spray painted it white and added one on my old scarfs! He will hang out until Spring:)

*P.S. Sorry about the picture--I had to run outside and take it tonight and it is freezing here! Brrrrrrr!

Ornament Swap

2009-12-08T22:30:00.000-06:00

This past week Erin @ Kentucky Newlyweds hosted an ornament swap! I was so glad to come across this post on her blog and decided to join in on the fun! There were several bloggers who participated and once we were assigned a partner we just exchanged emails and addresses! It was so fun to get a package in the mail, my girls even thought it was fun:) My partner happened to be Erin herself--here is a picture of what she sent to me

I LOVE this ornament and can't wait to do this again, maybe next year:)

If you get a chance check out Kentucky Newlyweds and see the ornament I sent to Erin!

P.S. I have been so behind with blogging, I need to try and catch up---Nate our 4 year old has had strep throat so it has not been to fun here the last few days.

Potato Soup Recipe

2009-11-17T19:22:00.000-06:00

This is an awesome and easy recipe that my mom gave me about 10 years ago! It is also called "Rafferty's Potato Soup"--and is supposed to be similar to the potato soup served at our local Rafferty's restaurant! I have shared this recipe with friends and know a lot of people who use this same recipe. It is yummy and on cool rainy days like today it really hits the spot! YUM!!! YUM!!! So I thought I would share our supper with ya'll! My family is thinking how crazy I am for taking pictures of my food. HA! Comment and let me know how you like this or if you already use this recipe.

Rafferty's Potato Soup Recipe

5 diced potatoes

1 diced onion

Put in a large pan with 2 cups of water and cook until water is absorbed and potatoes are tender.

Add 8 oz. diced bar of cream cheese

Stir in pan until melted

2 cups of milk

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery

stir in salt and pepper to taste

Simmer for 30 min.

Top with grated cheese and crumbled bacon if you like:)

We usually have grilled cheese sandwiches also, yummy!

Thanksgiving Recipes and Traditions

2009-11-06T17:09:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday! As a little girl, I can remember getting up and being excited about The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Still today I get excited and have found my kids enjoy watching this parade;) It would be awesome some day to go to NYC and watch it in person.

(I think this turkey has been in the parade as long as I can remember...)

Jimmy and I spend time with both of our families. We will have get togethers from Thursday through the weekend. My dad's birthday is on November 24th so we celebrate his birthday @ Thanksgiving also. Last year we got "Pop" this birthday cake, I think the kids thought it was cute.

This was made @ a local favorite bakery:)

This is another tradition of Thanksgiving @ my parents house! We can have some pretty big games of Phase 10 if everyone plays. We usually have to combine a few decks to have enough cards.

*I would also like to share a few favorite recipes that I make @ Thanksgiving

My mom gave me this recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole and it is wonderful--I almost think it could be classified as a dessert! HA!

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes(1 large can no juice)

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of softened butter

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 tsp. of salt

Combine all ingred. and pour into dish. Sprinkle the following topping and bake @ 350 for 30 min.

Topping

1cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup softened butter

ENJOY!!

Crockpot Dressing in something Jimmy's mom always has me make, I got the recipe from a friend I used to work with and she got it out of her smalltown newspaper! Easy and also taste great:)

Crockpot Dressing

1 8x8 pan of cornbread-I make this up the night before

1-2 bags Pepperidge farm stuffing mix (Herb flavor)

4 eggs

2 cups turkey or chicken broth

2 cans cream soup(chicken, celery, or mushroom) whichever you want

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp. black pepper

1 medium sized onion chopped

1 cup of chopped celery

2 Tbsp. of butter

Mix cornbread, stuffing mix, eggs, broth, cream soup, sage, pepper, celery, & onions together and place in crockpot--Dot with butter. Cook 2 hours on high, then 4 hours on low. I will get extra broth and keep an eye on it while cooking--if needed I add more broth to keep it moist just use your judgement to how you like it!

*P.S. Head on over to Kelly's Korner and check out more Thanksgiving Recipes and Traditions!

Before and After Party

2009-11-01T22:22:00.002-06:00

I have been following Thrifty Decor Chick for some time now. She amazes me with her designs and re-do's and bargains she finds! I decided to participate in her Before and After Party and share with you all a redo I did of my own!

BEFORE

This is a sewing kit that we received as a wedding gift 13 years ago! I think??

I keep my cross-stitching supplies in here!

AFTER

1 can of spray paint and a little fabric

I am very pleased with the outcome and instead of a home in the closet, it now sits in the living room next to a side table.

A close up of the top

I am lovin the animal print

So head on over to the Before and After Party and check out more! Have Fun!!

-Trick or Treat-

2009-10-29T22:54:00.000-05:00

Trick or Treating has always been great in our small town. Everybody knows each other and wants to see all the ghosts and goblins. Also a lot of the local community churches participate in "Trunk or Treat"--this is where everyone gathers @ the church or a local park and decorates their trunk for Halloween and the kids go from car to car to get candy. Sometimes the churches even have chili suppers, games, and fellowship! You can imagine with 3 kids how much candy we get---and most of it we do not need HA! We have so much fun on Halloween, and I am glad this year it falls on Saturday--however there is a chance of rain so I hope it is not to yucky! Boo!! This week over @ Kelly's Korner she is hosting Halloween Costumes--past and present, so I decided to share some pictures of my kids and their costumes!

Halloween 2007

Andrea as a cowgirl, Sarah as Hannah Montana, and Nate as a cowboy!

This seems like just the other day! Sigh!!!

Halloween 2008

When I grow up I am going to be a fire-fighter! That is all Nate talks about!

Little Miss Andrea loves to be in the kitchen, so she decided to be a chef!

Costume was $1.00--I added a little flour to her face--she loved it!

PEACE

This girl wanted to be a "HIPPIE" and here is what we came up with!

*Here is a preview of 2009*

Nate has watched Peter Pan several times, so that is what he wanted to be!

A close friend had this costume and let us borrow it--thanks Mel!

Andrea had the idea to be a baby and this is what we created!

Big Sis--wanted to dress like she is at a sleepover!

I think for Halloween we will put her hair up in rollers! HA!

Happy Halloween!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a safe night!!!

Fall Decorations @ Nana and Pop's

2009-10-22T23:24:00.000-05:00

This week over @ Kelly's Korner she is hosting "Show us your Life--Fall Decorations" I took a sneak over to my mom and dad's house (Nana and Pop) to get a few snapshots of thier pretty decor! Nana, as the 8 grandkids call her--loves hosting, cooking, decorating, planning, entertaining, taking care of her home, all things most southern women do etc.--and she keeps Pop pretty busy with the honey-do list! HA! I hope you enjoy their fall decor, I know the grandkids do:)

These urns are on each side of the garage--love the monogramming!

BOO!! The kids love this one!

Pumpkins of all shapes, colors, and sizes

Gotta have mums and pansies

They have planted these pansies in the landscaping, the best part is they will usually last all winter.

This is on each side of the front porch---Beautiful!!

Another favorite of the grandchildren--They can't wait to Trick or Treat!

by the front door to greet you:) CUTE!!

I hope you enjoyed visiting---I thought mom had a lot more going on at her house than I did. We have a few pumpkins and a fall wreath and that is about it!! Next year maybe I will do better! See ya next week, when we get to share halloween costumes!! Have a nice weekend---we love this time of year!!

About Me

2009-10-20T17:22:00.001-05:00

Since I have never written anything on my complete profile, I thought it would be neat to participate in the blog hop going on and introduce and welcome you all to my blog.

Leigh Ann (nicknamed "BUFFY" many years ago by my older sister)

I am a child of GOD, daughter, sister, wife, and mother. I have been a nurse for 13 years and worked in a hospital until about a year ago I changed paths to be with our kids more:) I am currently working in the school systems with special needs children and love the schedule, however I do miss nursing. I have been following some blogs for 2 years now, and have always wanted to start my own. So in July 2009 it all began and I love it. I am using this to help journal our busy life and keep up with our memories.

I have been married for nearly 13 years to the greatest guy I know! He is self-employed, running his own construction business. We have a lot in common and both come from big families! We enjoy being involved with our kids, going to church, being outside, going to the lake, NASCAR, Kentucky Basketball, most all sports, being with friends and family! We try to have fun in whatever we are doing:)

We have been blessed with 3 kiddos that keep us very busy while we are having the time of our life!

Welcome to this "Party of Five" and thanks for hopping by!

My Favorite Show

2009-10-19T20:16:00.001-05:00

Just wondering if any of you are watching---ABC's show "CASTLE"? I am lovin' this show---I love Monday nights and getting the kids in bed, because that means I get to enjoy this show all to myself and the dear husband has even started watching with me:) Around hear with this "Party of Five" mom is the low man for getting the remote control, so it feels good to have a show I can watch and love. Don't get me wrong I watch plenty of shows with the kids and husband but Monday nights are mine:) It is almost that time---I am lovin the characters chemistry, it kinda reminds me of "Moonlighting" that I watched with my dad years ago. I also watched "Cagney and Lacey" and "Murder She Wrote" gotta love these shows from the 80's. Have a great week everyone, I am going to watch a little T.V. before bedtime!

Fall Break Fun

2009-10-17T21:33:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed a 4 day trip to The Smoky Mountains in Tennessee for our Fall Break. This was a last minute trip we decided to take. The kids were so excited and we were too. It had been 5 years since we had been there last, and we used to go there every year. We met 2 other couples and their children, for a total of 14 people staying in a cabin up on the mountain. It was so nice to get away and spend time with some of our best friends. Our cabin was really nice and we saved money by cooking all our meals there (our friends Leah and Sheila love to cook) YUM!!! We stayed at the cabin a lot and just relaxed, visited and let the kids play. We spent one full day traveling through Cades Cove, which is some of the most beautiful land I have ever seen. We also went on a hike on one of the trails there, that was close to 2 miles all together. We saw a lot of deer and turkey :) but no cute little bears (maybe next time)! We couldn't finish the trip without a stop @ The Apple Barn! This is a great place for everyone in the family. The kids like the candy and ice cream shop--so did the grown ups (apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream YUM!!) I love the Christmas shop (I got a Christmas ornament to remember our trip, and a candle that smells oh--so good (macintosh apple). We usually eat @ the Apple Barn farmhouse restaurant, but didn't because of the crowd---I guess we will have to go back for that! I am going to share some of our pictures---my kids are in a stage right now where they don't want to be beside each other and smile for the camera UGHH!!! After many battles I got a few good pictures of them, but not as many as I had hoped. So enjoy our memories:)

A room with a view

Here is our cabin we stayed in

Don't let the smiles fool ya!

beautiful!!!!

I wish this was in my backyard

As good as we could get of the whole group!

All the kiddos, minus my 4 year old who was pretty grouchy:(

My favorite!!

Can't wait till we can go back and do this trip again!!

Class of 1989

2009-10-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was pretty busy! My husband had his 20 year high school class reunion! WOW! 20 years my how time flies! It began on Friday with a get together @ a classmates home and on Saturday they had a dinner and dance. Jimmy had a great time seeing old friends and catching up with what everyone was doing! Some of his classmates he still gets to see, and also he graduated with my sister so she was there too. I was Class of 1992 so my time will be coming soon enough (hopefully I can lose some weight by then)! I knew a lot of people there because of my sister, and because Jimmy and I have been together for 18 years. We had a lot of fun and he had a great group in his class. Can't wait to see what the next 20 years are like. They will probably have a 25th reunion, since everyone had so much fun. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:) GO RAIDERS!!!

Me and Jimmy Friday night fun:)

Ready for the class reunion

Here we are with are good friends Matt and Leah

Jimmy and Matt have been friends since their freshman year and he has known Leah since elementary

We spend a lot of time with these guys and they have 3 children also.

Here is my beautiful sister and her husband!

Chocolate Eclair Cake

2009-09-24T20:57:00.007-05:00

I have been a big fan of Kelly's Korner and on Fridays she hosts a neat thing called "Show Us Your Life"! This weeks topic is DESSERT RECIPES---My favorite:) I have finally got my blogging act together to try and participate this week. I am going to share a recipe that is sooooo..yummmy and easy to make. I have even let my kiddos help with this a few times. My mom introduced this recipe to me a long time ago and it is usually made at holiday gatherings. I have also found this recipe in one of my handy old church cookbooks that I love to use. Anyway here goes...

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE

Ingredients:

2 small packages of instant french vanilla pudding

2 and 2/3 cups of milk

8 oz. container of cool whip

1 box of graham crackers

milk chocolate frosting (I usually use 1and 1/2 containers of this)

Combine pudding and milk in bowl, mix until smooth. Add Cool Whip. Mix well. Set aside.

Grease 13x9-inch pan well. Line bottom of pan with graham crackers. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Then add another layer of graham crackers followed by the rest of the pudding mixture. Then place a final layer of graham crackers over this.

Cover the top with milk chocolate frosting to your liking, I usually use 1 and 1/2 containers of frosting!

Let the kids lick the spoon :)

Cover and place in refrigerator 24 hours before serving

ENJOY!!!!!

P.S. If you scroll down a little bit (Sept. 14th) you will find another dessert recipe for

Chess Bars!!! My Favorite:)

Great Giveaway!!!

2009-09-22T17:33:00.000-05:00

I have had my eye on this for quite some time now:) http://craftysouthernmama.blogspot.com/ makes these camera straps and in celebrating her 50th blogpost she will be giving one away. She also has an Etsy site you can visit if you want to---~~since I am going to be the winner~~---you may need to purchase one. HA! Check out her blog and leave a comment to get entered for the giveaway. I love visiting Mandy!

Friday Night Cruise-In and Saturday Car Show

2009-09-21T19:11:00.001-05:00

This past weekend Jimmy and I went to a cruise-in/car show. We have been going to this annual event since around 1995-before we were even married. The event takes place in a near by town around the square. The cruise-in was on Friday night and you just cruise your hot-rod up to the square, park it and walk around. They had a band playing oldies music and lots of food vendors and restaurants. It was a lot of fun for us to go out like this, because we are usually involved in our childrens activities. On Saturday we went back and took the kids. There were a lot of people there and also many arts & crafts booths and inflatable jumping castles for the kids. Lots of cars for the guys to look at and shopping for the girls. It was a great way to spend the weekend, date night (Friday), then family time on Saturday.

Jimmy's car is the yellow 1967 Barracuda

Having fun with friends at the cruise-in and waiting for our food

A look at one of the streets and a few of the cars we saw

All three kids hanging out in front of their Poppie's Chevy Truck

Nate playing around in our 1950 Ford

Here is Andrea with the great pumpkin we saw @ one of the vendors

And we finished the day with a "funnel cake" YUM! YUM!

Wednesday Night AWANA

2009-09-16T15:49:00.004-05:00

During the school year our church http://www.oaklandbchurch.org/ is doing the Awana youth program. This is a nonprofit curriculum based program designed to help churches and parents raise children and youth to know, love, and serve Christ. This is the third year we have been involved in this program. It is for children ages 2 years to 6th grade. We usually have anywhere from 70-80 youth @ Awana and our church seems to be growing more and more:) The awana program has even helped the adults be more involved as well. So while we are rushing to do homework and supper before church---it makes me THANKFUL to know how excited my kids are on Wednesdays to be going to church! They have even made lots of friends in church, some of which are in different schools.

AWANA is the first letters from 2 Timothy 2:15, which is--Approved Workman Are Not Ashamed!

Sharing Recipes Part II

2009-09-15T19:25:00.000-05:00

This is another recipe that I get requests for quite often. It is a perfect comfort food/side dish for family gatherings, church meals, or work pot-lucks. I first tried this recipe after a co-worker shared it with me and also have found it in an old church cookbook(some of my favorite recipes come from these kind of cookbooks)! This is how to make Sour Cream Potatoes:) I think it could also be called Mashed Baked Potatoes, just because it reminds me of the perfect baked potato with butter and sour cream! ENJOY!!! and let me know if you try it and like it---

Ingredients:

6-8 large potatoes, sometimes I use more, don't have to be exact

1 stick of butter

1 pint of sour cream

8oz bar of cream cheese

small amount of garlic salt to taste

I also add 1/2 tsp. or so of pepper

(another variation is to use 2 tsp of onion salt instead of the garlic salt)

Cook and drain potatoes, then whip with all ingredients until blended well. Pour in casserole or serving dish and bake @ 325' for 30 minutes.

*When potatoes are almost done I sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bacon bits and return to oven until cheese melts:)

There you go:) Let me know how you like it! I hope to share more good recipes with you. I like to cook, but sometimes with work, three kids, church, sports, homework etc. I don't cook as much as I should. It is sometimes easy to get fast food, or fix things fast @ home and eat off the redneck china (paper plates)LOL! Some of our best family times and conversations have been when we have took the extra time to have a good family meal @ the kitchen table instead of on the run.

Sharing Recipes

2009-09-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share some recipes that I am asked to make at family get togethers and cookouts. This past weekend we visited Jimmy's sister and her family for her youngest son Josh's 21st birthday. Her two boys love Chess Bars so that is one thing I usually make. I have seen several variations for Chess Bars but this is how I make them---

Ingredients for crust or first layer:

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 stick of butter, melted

1 egg

Mix these 3 ingredients together well and press evenly into 9x13 dish

Ingredients for top layer:

1 lb or box of powdered sugar

1 8oz. bar of cream cheese

2 eggs

Mix these ingredients together and pour over first layer

Bake @ 350' for 45 minutes until golden brown on top and sides

ENJOY!!!!!!

Tomorrow I plan to share Sour Cream Potatoes--another family favorite:)

Remembering

2009-09-11T20:10:00.000-05:00

Today I have spent a lot of time thinking back to September 11th, 2001! I can remember exactly everything about that day. I was working in an outpatient type setting in a local hospital, when we heard the news over the radio. I didn't think it was to serious at first but as the morning and events went on, we knew. I was lucky to be with some great friends and co-workers that day. We had some time of silence and watched as the events took place. We were even able to take time out from our jobs and pray together in the hospital chapel. I remember wanting to go get my 23 month old daughter Sarah and get home and be with my husband and my family. I was scheduled off work the rest of the week for a trip we had already planned to Gatlinburg, TN. We were leaving on September 13th, and was hesitant to travel especially with our little girl, but we went ahead anyway. It was amazing once we arrived in Pigeon Forge the amount of patriotism we saw. Just about every car had some sort of American Flag or Red, White, and Blue decoration. In bumper to bumper traffic on the strip of Pigeon Forge this was something to see. It made things seem a little better. It made me proud to be an American:) I can also remember hoping for the ones lost at the World Trade Center in the days that followed and praying for all the victims and families it had affected. I think about this day often and especially on today I look back and REMEMBER.......THANK YOU to those who serve this country and community service men and women who risk their lives everyday!

Movie weekend

2009-09-07T20:55:00.005-05:00

So how many times has your children watched this? "Hannah Montana The Movie" We visited our local redbox and rented it on Friday and probably watched it around 5 or 6 times this weekend. Not to mention that we had already seen it @ the movie theater opening day! The kids love it and me and my husband even watched it a few times with the kiddos. Nothing like a good family movie, pizza, and spending some time together. Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.

Hanging out at Nana and Pop's

2009-09-06T21:19:00.006-05:00

Hold on Nate!!!!

Andrea is all SMILES:)

Sarah is just along for the ride!

A few years ago my dad (Pop) made this swing for all (8) of the grand-kids. It is just made with a long rope and plank of wood---the same way he made one for me and my siblings when we were little. It seems like everytime we are over at their house my kids ask Pop to give them a push on the swing. As they have gotten older and braver he gets to push them higher and higher. I love the expressions on their faces as I got some good pictures the other day as they had so much fun. It is hard to get them to leave once they begin swinging.

Little Brother

2009-08-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

So I got to spend some time with my little brother Friday night. He is in town for a few days before he starts back taking classes at University of Kentucky. We got to talk while he did a little work on my computer. He is so talented and smart, and it just comes natural to him. I wish I had gotten a little of his smartness HA! Anyway we had fun, even though he is 10 years younger than me. It seems the older we get the more things in common we can find to chat about. Soooo thanks to Patrick and I enjoyed your company. See ya before you go back to school----Love Ya!

Day at the Lake

2009-08-19T14:01:00.001-05:00

Fun on the tube!!

Can you say BOATDRIVER???

Friends Forever!!!!

Just call me SHARK BOY!!!!!

Jimmy and I have always loved boating and enjoying our local lake or any lake for that matter. Jimmy has had his/our boat for twenty years now and me for eighteen.(I think he is more attached to the boat HA! ) We have not gotten to enjoy the lake as much since we started having kids, but we are now finding that it is getting a little easier as the kids are getting older. This summer has been great and it has been so nice to hang out with friends and let the kids swim, tube, and play. Also packing up a little lunch with the help of the in-laws has been great also. So while we are waiting for the weekend lake trip to come around again, I thought I would look back on this last weekend fun!!!!ENJOY!!!!

First Week of Preschool

2009-08-13T19:44:00.000-05:00

Well here is "little man" on the first day of preschool! He has enjoyed the first week and seems so grown up to me! He makes me laugh everyday--he has been calling his teacher just by her last name "Smith" instead of putting Mrs. in front of it! It is funny to hear this---He'll say "I like Smith" or "I am going to see Smith at preschool" and "If you raise your hand Smith says you can go to the bathroom." I am so glad to know it is going to be a good year with Smith!

Why didn't I think of this??

2009-08-08T16:18:00.000-05:00

This is the best idea for renting movies! Over a year ago a "REDbox" was placed in our area. Our party of five has utilized this many times! We love to have what we call Friday night pizza and movies during the school year! Since school started this week, we are trying to get back into our weekly routines. This week we have rented "Confessions Of A Shopaholic" and my kids and I really enjoyed it. Are you using "REDbox" in your area, and why didn't we think of this before now???

Back to School

2009-08-04T21:23:00.006-05:00

Today my daughters went back to school and I went back to work! We have had a great summer and I will try to post a summary later. They were so excited to start back to school :) Sarah is in the 4th grade and Andrea in the 1st. Nate will begin preschool next week. We will have to see how getting this "Party of Five" ready every morning is going to be. I have learned over the years it helps to prepare everything the night before--WISH US LUCK!!

Welcome

2009-08-02T21:12:00.001-05:00

I have finally got the courage to start blogging! I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother of 3 trying to figure out my place in this big world! My name is Leigh Ann, but many years ago around 1970 something, my older sister gave me a nickname that has stuck. Everyone who knows me well calls me Buffy:) ! This came after my sister's favorite show "A Family Affair"--one of the characters was a little girl named Buffy.

I have been following blogs for over 2 years now! I love Kelly's Korner, Lots of Scotts, Boomama, Big Mama, and Lamberts Lately to name a few. I am wanting to blog mainly because I have tried scrapbooking and haven't had the time to keep that hobby up, so I thought this might be an easier way to keep up our memories. Another reason is for family/friends that are out of town to keep up with our busy life. I look forward to starting this new hobby and hope you will enjoy keeping up with the "Party of Five!"