I know I know.. I have probably lost every loyal reader I might have possibly had because I am such a slacker. I am not slacking on purpose, just have been so busy lately I have barely had time to sleep, more or less sit down and write a blog.
The girls have started school and Hailey took her first day of Kindergarden well, she loves it. I knew she would. Now if I could just get her to sit down and focus on the things that she needs to be learning, like recognizing her letters and numbers, we would be ok. Olivia is such a quick learner that she just picked those things up without help from anyone. Hailey is a little more diffucult and pretty much has the attention span of a puppy. She will not sit still to learn anything. We have been working diligently at it though.
Olivia, of course, loves the second grade and is doing fantastic! She is actually reading at a 3rd grade level and its only the beginning on 2nd grade. So we are very happy. The girls continue to be in cheerleding. PA Extreme Cheer to be exact. There competitions start in October. They should be cute. They are learning a pretty complex dance which is really hard for some of the younger kids. But they enjoy it so we will see.
My football training started, two days a week two hour sessions. After this past weekend I could barely walk my quads and hamstrings hurt so bad. The good thing is when April comes we will be lean mean football playing machines. I can't wait.
D also is playing for a team called the Northern Penn Energy! They are a 6 man team out of Millersburg. He enjoys it. I think that since it is a 6 man team and played on a smaller scale, it gives him a chance to relive some of the high school glory without completely getting himself killed.
The next few weeks are going to be insanely busy, as always. The girls have school and cheer, Riley just has to occupy himself being home all day with no one to play with.. I personally think he loves it. There is no one fighting him for the toys or the TV.
I have football and work and the million other things I do.. The Pratt family is always busy, always. Plus, my 10 year High School reunion is next week. Can you believe that, 10 years. Ought to be a good time, but it still makes me feel old!
Well ta ta for now and I am going to try to make plans to update more often, the key word there is try! LOL

More pics from Lake Tobias

The other post was getting really big so I needed to split the pictures up.. so here is the rest!

Lake Tobias Field Trip

Ok, so on Sunday D and I decided to take our kids and his two nieces, Hailey and Julia to Lake Tobias, which is this really cool wildlife park about 30 minutes from our house.
The kids had a fabulous time, I did however realize that it is insanely diffucult to keep track of 5 kids (though I didnt lose any!).. Especially two Haileys! I took to calling my Hailey, Hailey Marie and my niece Hayley, Hayley Autumn. WOW! Was that confusing.
The kids got to see a ton of very cool animals. You can ride this safari bus out through this wide open area and the animals actually come right up to your bus.. very cool..
So here are some pics from our wonderful day!

Kids Dancing

New pics..

I wish I knew how to download video.. if someone knows please let me know because I have some cute pictures of the kids dancing..
Either way here are some new ones from last week..

Big Surprise

Ok, so really there is no big surprise, the only big surprise is that we have another sick Pratt child. Below is Hailey and what we have been dealing with for about a week. The hospital, doctors etc arent sure if its an allergic reaction to something or if it is some kind of poison. Needless to say it looks way worse then what you can see in the picture. Her face is all swollen up and now the rash is turning brown.. Poor baby!














I will also tell you with almost a 100% certain that Riley is potty trained. I mean occasionally we do get an accident here and there, but for the most part he wears his Nemo underwear all the time. (not the same pair of course) Even at night I have been letting him wear them and he has been doing really well. Things of course have been crazy around him as the Pratt household always is.
Hope everyone else is well!

Forgot to Mention

If you want to check out a ton of Harrisburg Angels Pictures check out the website.. they posted a huge photo gallery.. www.harrisburgangels.com

Well then..

Football season is finally over.. yes, thats right. Over. Wow.. it was fantastic. Yes, I get it, we never won a game.. but our very last game against Virginia was 0-10. We continuously got better. The girls became like my sisters and I will miss them all. In two weeks we are having a huge party/picnic for the entire team, so that will be fun and something to look forward too.
Olivia went to the last game with us (in Norfolk) and did a great job of being the water girl. She really liked it too.. Not sure how much Kelli liked having Olivia's stinky feet on her the whole way home.. lol.. but she dealt with it.
Here are some random pics from games, our trip to Maine with the team, etc. By the way, the trip to Maine was great in the sense that D and I spent the whole weekend without kids on the beach in Maine. Guarenteed we were rarely alone and when we were we were so tired we just slept, but it was fun none the less. D and I on the beach in Maine.. I look weird because I am tired and just got out of the shower.. lol

Thats Dez, Ashley and I.. I am the weird looking on in the helmet.. lol

This is the Maine crew with 'coach Don' lol.. Melissa, Dez, Missy, Donnie, Cori, Jess, TJ and Kelly.. lol

I also forgot to mention that the Angels are technically no more. Since we went under new ownership mid way through season the owners were obligated to change the team name and logo etc next year. So the Harrisburg Angels are technically defunct. The new team is the Central PA Vipers. The logo is a really cool snake head and if I am correct, though it is subject to change, the colors are Navy blue and white. Penn State colors.. BLAH!
I know all the players that gave their heart soul and money for the Angels are looking for a fresh start this year and excited that the owners (who were the previous GM's of the Angels) are willing to give us all a shot. So August 5th is tryouts.. I am going to attempt to not be lazy between now and then.. yeah right.

So.. Olivia and Hailey's cheer competitions start soon.. I think its in August and then run until March.. so it will be fun to watch them have a good time. They cheer for PA Extreme Cheer and I am sure I will have a TON of pictures to post once they start competeing.

Random Pics

I will end today's hot streak of posts with some random pics

Since D complains that I constantly leave him out of this site and rarely post pics of him.. This ones for you, D!

Olivia's Acting Debut

Olivia recently had the opportunity to sign up for the school play, so by choice she did. She was set to play a bug, any bug.. No talking parts just a song with the rest of the bugs in her group.
She decided early on she wanted to be a butterfly (it seems that only the 'cool' girls were being butterflies this year) so here is her in her costume prior to the play.










I took the little man and Hailey with me to watch. We got their fairly early, since Livi had to be there, and still the auditorium was packed. The principal made an announcement that they put out every chair they had and I can bet their were still 50 people standing. Well we all got stuck at the back, but here are some pictures from where we were..


















I told you I was way in the back. I could barely see Olivia and had to stand on the wrestling mats to see her sing. But it was good!
Here are a picture of Riley and Hailey watching. (and they actually were good if you can imagine that!)

They are both so silly. I also wanted to add that if you look closely at Olivia's antennae you would see that its really her hair. We took it, braided in in pigtails.. put pipe cleaners in it and wrapped it in a black sock. They eventually started to droop a little but it was different!

First Things First!

Ok.. So first things first. I finally got my hands on some of the pictures from our first home football game against the Tidewater Floods! So enjoy.. There were no real good ones of me in action. I suppose that's what I get for being a lineman.. No glory there. This past Saturday we played the Maine Freeze at home. The final was 20-6 with them coming out on top, but we scored, ok so we didn't score, actually Heidi Johnson our ever so amazing super star player did.. but it was awesome to say the least. So enjoy the pics.. Angels vs. Tidewater April 20, 2006. If you look at the pic above.. that's me on the left hand side running in.. #64! WOOHOO!

















Obviously you can see more at www.harrisburgangels.com or at the National Woman's Football Association Website http://www.womensfootballcentral.com/

Wow

It has been super long since I have had a chance to post anything. It has been a super long time since I have had time to do anything at all really. Our schedule is crazy. It pretty much goes like this.
Monday - Work then home
Tuesday - Work then practice not home until usually close to 9
Wednesday - Work then home
Thursday - Work then practice not home until close to 9
Friday - Pep rally for the football team
Saturday - Game meet at field at 1:30
Sunday - rest for Monday.

So as you can see my week is super full. Plus Olivia has cheerleading on Thursday night and Hailey's cheerleading is going to start here soon. The few hours I am home through the week I have to clean up, do yard work etc.. Its crazy. But I like it. Plus in a few months football will be over for the season.
Which by the way football is going great. We have played two games so far, lost them both but then we are a completely new team. We only have two people on our team who have ever played before. I am sore, bruised up but still kicking and loving every minute of it.
This week we play the DC Divas which is by far the toughest and best team in the league. I would be happy if I could just come away learning something from them (and preferably not hurt).
The kids are good, Livi is losing teeth left and right, soon I think she isn't going to have any at all. LOL.. I think deep down she just likes getting money from the tooth fairy. Also, she told me at Easter that she knows that the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus aren't real. Actually, she told me that she knows that I do all the work just to help them out, so I suppose she still thinks they are real. Which is good, because as soon as she knows she will most certainly tell her brother and sister..which is no good at all.
Riley is the same, just getting so big, even pants that we got him at Christmas that were to big are now starting to get to small... its amazing how fast they grow.
Hailey is the same, she has been orientated to kindergarden about fifteen times now (they seriously send them to orientation like 6 times) and is super ready to go. every morning she asks me if it is time for her to go to school yet.
Also, one of olivia's classmates moved to the house at the bottom of our lane, so they are excited that there are now kids to play with in the neighborhood.
D is well, just working and coaching my football team, which he seems to enjoy. Gives us a chance to do something together even though he isnt my coach.
So check out our sight www.harrisburgangels.com
Here is a picture of me in my uniform all football player'd out.. lol.. don't laugh at the pigtails..



















Does anyone but me watch 24.. is it just me of is it getting so good. Prison Break too. I think Monday night is the only night that I am actually glued to the TV between 8 -10 pm.
Literally last night I was on the edge of my seat when Prison Break was on.. Can you believe he actually is kidnapping the warden.. WOW..
I cannot wait until next week!

Closer

Well, its getting closer and closer ( 9 days and counting) until The Harrisburg Angels home opener. I feel like lately all I have been doing is sleeping, eating and breating football. Not such a bad thing except when you are a mother of three. Though I have been ok with balancing things so far. D is an assistant coach with the team so that is nice and the kids do actually come to practice on occasion and hang out. They enjoy it.
I am attempting to not get burnt out by the whole thing.. lets hope not. I still have 8 games to play! Honestly, I can't wait. I have played sports before but nothing like this and the closer it gets the more excited I become.
Here is our schedule:

April 22nd
Tidewater Floods @ Harrisburg Angels
April 29th
Harrisburg Angels @ Baltimore Burn
May 6th
Harrisburg Angels @ DC Divas
May 20th
Maine Freeze @ Harrisburg Angels
May 27th
Harrisburg Angels @ Tidewater Floods
June 3rd
Baltimore Burn @ Harrisburg Angels
June 10th
DC Divas @ Harrisburg Angels
June 17th
Harrisburg Angels @ Maine Freeze

So, as you can see busy busy busy.
Check out the very cool website for more info and some great pictures. www.harrisburgangels.com!

Olivia is doing well with cheerleading. she seems to enjoy it. Hailey has ultimately told us that she no longer wants to take dance classes, but she is very much looking forward to going to kindergarden. I think that everyday she asks me when it starts! LOL
She had orientation recently, and is super excited. Good news is we meet with the speech therapists at the school in a few weeks to go over her therapy schedule for next year. So that will be a big relief for me as well. So all is well!

Life.. as it flies by

Things have been unbelievable busy around the Pratt household, as if they aren't always. With football, spring, yard work and everything else that has been coming up I have barely had time to think more or less post..
So here is about the last month in a nut shell!
The kids are doing well, Riley's head is finally healing, although his Harry Potter scar is still very visible and since D took him to get his hair cut last week, it really sticks out. He is getting more and more horrendously bad by the day.. He does exactly everything you tell him not to do. I suppose thats a boy for you! A couple of weeks ago he was getting into the van and he had a pink purse. I asked him why he was carrying a purse, he was a little boy after all. He turned to me and annouced that this purse was for his lip gloss.. All this just days after he announced to D that he wanted to be a ballerina when he grows up. I do believe it is time to find the boy some friends who are boys! LOL
The girls are also good, Hailey is officially registered for kindergarden and asks me every single day when she is starting. She is so excited. They have all day kindergarden at their school, so I think she will like it alot.
Same old same old with the 7 going on 16 year old. She made a competetive cheerleading squad called PA Extreme Cheer. She is doing well and excited to get competing.
Last Friday I took Olivia and Riley to the Shrine Circus. Hailey went to the races with D. The circus was fun.. I hadnt been there is forever. We rode the elephant, walked around trying to avoid the clowns so that Olivia didn't have a fit (she truly is scared of clowns). We ate ourselves silly. We had good seats right behind the sound booth, which was also where the ringmaster (who was a woman) was sitting. Honestly she looked just like my mom's friend Kim Bechtel, who is no longer Kim Bechtel because she just got married! (congrats Kim!) Even Olivia said how much they looked alike. Olivia actually thought it was her! Kim, did you join the circus and didn't tell us? LOL
Football is going well, more then well! Our first game is April 22 on City Island in Harrisburg, Pa. Please please check out our website at www.harrisburgangels.com! We actually have equipment now and are tackling etc. Its fantastic! Last night we were actually on the CBS 21 local news. The link is on the website.. It was a great piece. So watch it! Support us.. Woman's Football rocks!

My puppy!

I just had to throw this in there because he looks so darn cute..

Weekend Get away

Well, D and I finally went on a weekend (ok so it was only one night) get away. Honestly since our kids have been born, all of 7 years ago, we have only been away once without them and that was to the CMA awards in Nashville. Now, I know its hard to get a sitter to watch three children overnight. Unless you get a crazy person, ha! But we found one and went to Atlantic City on Sunday night.
It was really nice. The first time either of us have been there. We stayed at the Resorts Hotel and Casino. All I can say is wow. It was really really nice. We had a great room with two bathrooms, two huge beds, coach, chair and Ocean view! Ok, so I know it was only about 30 degrees outside but the ocean is amazing any time of year. On Sunday night we went to see a comedy show. The main comic was a guy named Mike Stankowitz. I couldn't find a website for him, but he was so funny. Funny enough that about half way through my face hurt. The lady beside me (from RI) was snorting it was so funny. He was just that guy that even when he wasn't saying anything people were laughing. He is probably one of the best comics I have seen in a long time. Very enjoyable!
After that D and I spent some time just hanging out in the casino, gambling, drinking.. I am sure you all know the drill. But it was fun to spend some time together just the two of us.
The next morning we got up and walked the boardwalk..

Which was very cool.. The ocean is beautiful regardless of the time of year. We walked down to a couple of other really cool resorts. Like Bailey's Wild Wild West.. the entire things is very well... wild west like. We hung out there for a while then walked around a little more. It was a little chilly outside so being on the boardwalk for a long time was not an option.
Then we walked back to the hotel and left. The ride back was uneventful but it was a nice night away.

Weekend, Birthday and stuff

Well it was an interesting weekend to say the least. I had practice yesterday, the kids had two birhtday parties and a million other things that were going on. On Sunday I was in the shower to get ready for practice (yes, I shower to go to practice and get all sweaty again, its just my thing).. and Riley and the girls were playing in the family room. I had just hopped out of the shower and was standing in front of my mirror in the bathroom downstairs when water started dripping through the ceiling. It took me a second to realize what was going on but then I raced upstairs only to find Riley standing on the edge of the bathtub watching the water flow over the sink and onto the floor.
He had plugged the sink with the soap and then turned on the water, stood back and watched the mayheim. I was so angry all I had to do was look at him and he just ran to his room. That and the numerous screaming, crying kicking fits that he and both of the girls had yesterday made for an interesting time.
Then, D came home early after being attacked by a drugged out crazy on the ambulance. There were a few scratches, but mostly just blood work and tests to ensure that he didn't catch anything from all the blood flying around.
So, yesterday was quite a day to say the least.
Today, is going much better, its my birthday (happy 28th birthday to me) so I am trying to have a good day regardless of the amount of work I have to do, all the things that i have to do tonight and all the stress that we are having due to the legal issues with the house and money.
I did see a good movie over the weekend, The Bad News Bears. It was very true to the original which I always liked. The little blond kid in the movie played by Timmy Deters was hilarious! Every time he opened his mouth he was swearing or threatening someone. In the one scene he goes after the bullies with a trash can. Nothing the kids should watch, there is a ton of swearing, but its was funny.

Riley is officially 3!

On Sunday we celebrated Riley's 3rd birthday! Now that my baby has officially turned three I feel really old! We had the usual guests, nan, pap, nena pop-pop etc. ..

He enjoyed himself, got lots of presents (although most of them were clothes which made me happier then it made him).

Victoria Secrets and my son

So Monday night Riley and I were laying in my bed watchign 24. D was in the family room watching the Wizards game and the girls were both in bed. The newest Valentines Day Victoria Secrets Commercial came on. I teased Riley and said.. you need to close your eyes you are too young to see this.
So he came back with this.. 'I don't like girls mom, I like women. But they don't like me when I pick my nose, right?'
Interesting the way kids look at things..

I also need to say Happy Birthday to my brother Tyler.. He turned 15 yesterday!

Long overdue pictures of Riley's latest emergency room mishap....
Since I waited so long to take the pics it doesn't look that bad, which is good, and the dermabond is starting to peel off. Although it is going to leave one heck of a nasty scar there..

You know your from Central PA when...

1. You refer to Pennsylvania as "PA."
2. "You guys" is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of men & women.
3. You've never referred to Philadelphia as anything but "Philly."
4. At least 5 people on your block have electric "candles" in all or most of their windows all year long.
5. You own only three condiments "A-1, Heinz 57 and Heinz ketchup".
6. You live within 20mins of at least 3 different malls.
7. You can go 2 weeks in winter without sunshine and think this is normal.
8. Your turkey has "filling," not "stuffing," and most certainly, NOT "dressing."
9. You go to Sheetz or Turkey Hill...Not Wawa (or you've never even heard of Wawa)
10. Know that Yuengling is pronounced "Ying-ling," and believe that it really is a premium beer.
11. You're an Eagles fan even if you don't watch football.
12. You know 10 different ways to cook deer.
13. You have an uncontrollable urge to buy bread and milk when you hear the word "snow."
14. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
15. You owe more money on your snowmobile or John Deere than your car.
16. The first day of "Buck Season" and "Doe Season" is a school holiday.
17. The only Jewish people that you've ever met have been from New York or New Jersey.
18. You love the Phillies (unless they stink) in which case you love the Orioles (unless they stink) in which case you solemnly swear that you've never even liked the Phillies or the Orioles, but have always been a Penn State fan.
19. You have over 500 students in your graduating class.
20. You call places "ghetto" even though to most people in other parts of the country it would be considered middle class.
21. They just tore down the old farm house across the street and put 12 new houses in its place.
22. While you're driving and stop at a red light, the people on all sides of you have the bass turned up so high on their radios that your windows start to shake.
23. For the cost of your house, you could own a small town in Iowa.
24. The local paper covers National and International headlines on 1/4 page but requires six pages for sports (especially during high school football season).
25. School closings due to snow take the radio stations a half an hour to finish, because just about every town has its own school district.
26. When someone says 1972, you think "Agnes," and when someone says 1979, you think "TMI."
27. Airplanes flying above your neighborhood is a normal occurrence.
28. You call sloppy joes "barbecue."
29. You think the start of deer hunting is a National Holiday.
30. At least ONE person in your family hunts, loves Nascar, or watches wrestling.
31. Freshman year at HACC is basically 13th grade.
32. If you stay on the same road long enough, it will eventually have 3 new names.
33. You only buy your beer and soda by the case.
34. You’re immune to race car motors because there is a track within a 5 mile radius of your house.
35. You know which leaves make good toilet paper.
36. You think the roads in any other state are smooth.
37. When you put on your turn signal to change lanes, the people next to you speed up.
38. You ask the waitress for "dippy eggs" for breakfast.
39. You know the four seasons: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Construction.
40. There are still places you can still stop along the road to buy fruits & vegetables.
41. You never see any Confederate Flags, except on the Gettysburg Battlefield.
42. A rich white kid driving a BMW while blasting rap music is a common occurance.
43. You prefer Hershey's Chocolate to Godiva.4
4. You think its funny when out of towners get excited over Hershey Park...when you've lived by it practically your whole life (and know every word of the man’s speech on the ride at Chocolate World)
45. You consider Pittsburgh to be "out west," and you know the fastest way to Philly is the Turnpike.
46. Your high school mascot was some type of animal.
47. You high school was under construction, getting torn down, or they were building a NEW high school...while school was still in session.
48. Bomb threats happened at least once a year.
49. You or someone you knows basement (or yard) floods at least 3 times a year.
50. You know at least 6 different routes to go when the road to your house floods.
51. You have at least 2 refrigerators in your house.
52. It’s not uncommon to see giant colorful cows in the middle of town.
53. You’ve taken a drunken picture with one of those cows.
54. The letters CV give you feelings of deep hatred
55. "Downtown" or "Across the river" is Harrisburg & unless you live there, the only reason you go in the city is to eat or go to a bar.
56. When Kokomo's burns down no one cares anymore.
57. It’s named the "CAR"LISE Pike for a reason (dealerships)
58. The East Shore & West Shore actually mean something to you (and are like completely different planets)
59. You're accustomed to the smell of cows.
60. You've gotten a ticket or have been yelled at by a cop for double parking on a bridge during the Fireworks for Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day.
61. You know what Kapona is & you go every year.
62. No matter how many parking garages they build you can never find a place to park on 2nd street.
63. When people from other cities ask where your from you say "near Harrisburg" because its just easier to explain

For those of you not from Central PA you will have no idea about any of this stuff.. though some of it might make you laugh. For those of you from Central PA.. if you dont laugh at this.. you have no sense of humor.

Emergency Room trip

Well I should have know given the track record of this family that we couldnt possibly go too long without a trip to the emergency room.
So Sunday I was on my way to football practice (www.harrisburgangels.com) when D called me all in a panic. It seems that Riley had fallen and cut his head. Olivia got on the phone and told me that it was bleeding really bad. Then D got back on the phone and proceeded to tell me that it was bleeding alot, was really deep and was gaping wide open. I was to meet him at the hospital ASAP. So, I immediately drove to the hospital and inpatiently sat around waiting for him to get there. Riley was not crying and was fine (other then the big hole in his forehead) by the time they got there.. Though Olivia had thrown up in the van from all the blood. Great!
So we got Riley triaged, my mother in law came and got the girls, then we proceeded to sit and wait and wait and wait somemore until we finally got to go back. Meanwhile while we were waiting Riley was still bleeding, but running around hyper, jumping off benches etc..
They gave him this fantastic medicine that made him sleepy, actually it completely knocked him out, it was great. He ended up with 5 internal stictches and dermabond glue on the outside of the cut. He slept right through the entire thing. Didnt feel anything. As a mother, I just cannot take listening to any child scream in pain as they are doing stuff to him, so it was good for both of us.
Now he just has a huge red cut, the shiny dermabond and a spongebob bandaid. (I bought them to make him feel better and so he didnt pick at it).
I will post pictures tomorrow.

I suppose I should also mention the superbowl, but honestly the officiating made me so angry I cant even talk about it right now.

So tomorrow!

Other Random Birthday Pics

Olivia!

D with the puppy.. lol

Olivia, Tehya and Hailey

Riley and Ethan!