FOOTBALL!

Ok, for those of you who know me you know that I am a fairly huge football fan! D is a huge football fan etc...
Also, for those of you who know me you know that I always enjoyed contact team sports.. I was never much the cheerleader type.. I was always a little bit more agressive then that. So this past Saturday I tried out for the Harrisburg Angels. What is that you ask? Well, the Harrisburg Angels are the Harrisburg area minor league or semi pro womans football team! I am also very excited to announce that I mande the team and will probably be playing a defensive lineman, though that could change. How cool is that! The tryout and practive on Sat killed me and I am so sore today I can barely walk, but its a good pain.. Its a finally getting off my butt and getting back in shape pain.. So I will make sure to post more about this and our schedule when the time comes!

The weekend was pretty quiet though I did take Olivia on Friday night to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.. It is a must see for anyone who loves Harry Potter. The movie is really long 2 hours and 50 minutes but well worth every minute. Livi and I went to the late show starting at 8 and she actually stayed awake up until the very last 10 min. So now I am torturing her by not telling her who actually dies at the end. Sorry no spoilers here! Go see it for yourself!
The theater was packed, we actually ended up sharing a seat! But we both could see good so it all worked out. It was probably the best Harry Potter movie so far. This is why I love having children! I can take Olivia to see movies like this that I also want to see without looking like to big of an idiot.. lol.
Hailey spent Friday night with her Pappy, they went to the annual Block Shoot out at the East Salem Fire Company (yes, we truly are hicks!) She actullay goes every year with him because it seems that my little red headed princess is quite the lucky one when it comes to the paddle wheel. In fact, this year again she proved herself by coming home with a ham and a turkey!
Riley went to D's mom's (nene) and hung out with her and Pop pop and the dogs. He enjoyed himself and was completely asleep by the time I got there to pick him up.

Sunday was pie baking day at the Pratt house. I actually made the pies from stratch.. from a pumpkin! If you can believe that. my mother and father in law actually cooked the pumpkins and cut them up on Saturday while I was at football tryouts. But on Sunday I took the pumpkin and cooked four pies.. and they are mighty mighty good if I do say so myself.
WInter is coming to Central PA.. I actually heard that it is supposed to snow tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday.. only about 1-2 inches but still.. Living where I live it will be interesting to see just how well my van will do in the snow.. lol..
I am sure I will be snowed in more then once this winter.

Everything else is good. Olivia got her report card and as we suspected she is doing excellent in school. She always has. Hailey also got her report card. She isnt doing as well. According to her teacher she doesnt know how to count to ten or how to say her ABC's. Now I know this is completely not true since I listen to her tell them to me all the time. I think that the teacher puts her on the spot and with her speech she gets uncomfortable when she has to talk in front of people. So I think she proabably just didnt do it. Needless to say D and I are taking this very seriously and have since gotten her into the doctor to get additional speech help and Sylvan leadning center to potentially try to help her with the things that the preschool is obviously not teaching her. I am just worried that when she hits kindergarden next year that the teacher will have trouble understanding her and they will pop her into a special education class, which is not what she needs at all. She is shy because of her speech and she knows that the kids have trouble understanding her. So I feel really bad. I suppose as a parent all I can do is try to teach her what she needs to know. It breaks your heart though when you kids are having social problems and she is only 4! Not to mention she is a red head and the middle child! She has been practically doomed from the beginning.. lol
Well I doubt there will be an update before Thanksgiving! SO everyone have a safe and happy holiday!

Bears Vs. 49ers

Here are a few pics of the Bears Vs. 48ers game that D went to this past weekend in Chicago.. The Bears of course won... I knew they would.. thats why I got tickets to that game.. lol
Go COLTS!

Wow I can barely believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It seems like summer was just yesterday. Everyone is doing well and extremely busy. Riley is as crazy as ever. Although I have found that he has been taking his punishments really well when he does something wrong. Unlike the girls who usually kick and scream and slam doors. The other night Riley got in trouble for hitting one of the girls and was in his room .. So his five minutes was up and the timer went off.. Literally he was not out of his room for 30 seconds when he went into the bathroom and flushed the plug for the sink down the toilet.. He seems to be wanting to flush everything down the toilet these days! I try not to laugh at him, but some of the stuff he does is hilarious..
He cracks me up sometimes.

Hailey is doing well in school and so is Olivia. All they do is fight anymore so I am so not looking forward to them actually becoming teenagers and fighting more.
Last Saturday I took them to see Chicken Little! It was hilarious. I love kid movies.. The girls laughed so hard, Hailey even stayed awake for the whole thing. Boy, only a mother would be satisfied spending a Saturday night with her girls seeing Chicken Little!
There are a couple movies out on DVD that they want to see this week.. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.. Madagascar.. but since Riley poured juice into the Playstation 2 that we were using to play our dvd's since he shoved cheese into the original DVD player we no longer have any equipment to watch dvd's on.. SO those movies will have to wait until 1) Riley can stop destroying things and 2) until we get a new DVD player.
Olivia reminded me the other day that Christmas was right around the corner. They have been pulling out the Toys r us catalogs and Sears etc.. circling and re circling what they want Santa to bring them.. Boy.. you gotta love Christmas!


This is a funny picture because if you look really close you can see our dog in the middle of the yard.. but he looks so much like a deer its hilarious..
I wont mention the fact that after this picture was taken I spent an hour running around the yard trying to get him to come in..!

More Halloween Pics

Much needed update

ok.. so now on to the much needed update. I realize that I havent updated this blog in about a zillion years, or at least it seems that way. So here you go....
Things have been crazy since I started my new job, crazy in a good way. Doing more, making more money and liking it a whole lot more. I am still in real estate and selling and doing marketing, but have added about a million more things to my job description for now. Which I like. There are days where I dont even realize its lunch time until 3 o clock or so.. lol.. I like it that way!
Halloween went well in the Pratt house.. we had a little devil, a fairy and a clown.. they were adorable!

WOW

ok so where do I start.. its been forever.. literally.
Well lets just let it rip..
I put in my two weeks notice at my job, but not before I received an offer on another job that I had been inquiring about.. it was a good offer, trust me..
SO I put in my notice.. it did not go well at all, needless to say I think that my boss might have sprouted horns when I told her.. and her face well it was actually quite commical.. I didn't really want it to happen that way, I suppose deep down I thought that they would be happy that I was moving on into a fantastic opportunity for me.. guess I was wrong.
So basically Monday I put in my notice.. monday they told me to leave.. fantastic!
So I called my new employer who is the coolest ever and they wanted me to start right away. So tuesday I went to York to train and meet the other people. I am still in real estate.. working for Coldwell Banker Commercial Bennett WIlliams.. very cool company..
So thats it in a nutshell.. things have been crazy.. they are only going to get more crazy.. I am just now starting to get the office set up and organized.. (it is so not at all) and hopefully will have more time next week to tell some good kid stories.. I have a ton..

So, this is the bunny. He looks a little psycho (I haven't figured out to work the red eye on my new camera yet) but as you can also see he is absolutely adorable. Olivia (who is holding him here) loves him to death. His name is Cadbury (we didn't name him)...
He is very friendly and cuddly. D, hasn't exactly warmed up to him yet.. but we'll see..
I have been trying to keep the dogs away from him since Bandit always looks like he wants to eat him. Tiller on the other hand jumps and runs everytime Cadbury moves (which is hilarious).
This picture is Bandit watching him from the kitchen, like he wants to eat him.. LOL
Hailey looks cute, as usual. So she started dance class on Wednesday night. She loves it! Its a beginner class that is a combination of tap, ballet and jazz. The teacher said she did really well for it being her first introduction to dance. Its nice to see her getting involved for once. She has always been the baby (even though she is technically the middle child)..
They are all growing up so fast..

Last night was Hailey's preschool open house. She was dressed and ready to go as soon as I got home from work. D decided to stay home with Riley since he usually takes her to school and picks her up.. and has been to her classroom to talk about fire safety.. he already knows what she has been up to in school. So Olivia, Hailey, my mom (nanny) and I headed to her open house. It was a nice little event where we got to see some papers she has done over the last month as well as her classroom. On her seat in her classroom was a book that they had done that was all about themselves. Hailey drew a picture of herself, her sister, her family and what she wanted to be when she grows up which was the funniest thing of them all. She wants to be a lifeguard! Who would have ever thought that, it was adorable.. The pictures were cute and Hailey was very happy to get to show off her stuff to me and her sister.
Tuesday they are going to a pumpkin farm on a field trip.. D is going as a chaperone.. that ought to be interesting.
Nothing much else has been going on around the Pratt house. We spent a lazy lazy weekend laying around watching movies and football. In fact Saturday I didn't even get dressed all day! Just stayed in my night clothes.. I love days like that.
Can you belive it is October already, halloween is just around the corner. I have to get pumpkins, halloween costumes etc this weekend. Also Hailey is starting dance tomorrow night and the Strawberry Ball is next Saturday. Lots to do!

It has been one of those weeks. Boy am I glad that it is Friday, and maybe even more so this week. It all started on Monday when while running late for work, again, I ran over Olivia's bike in the driveway. She was completely hysterical about the whole thing. I tried to explain to her that I was sorry, but that was exactly why I always tell her to pick it up and put it where it belongs. But she wanted none of that. Later that night I looked at it, and it is definitely broken, unridable. I feel really bad, but she was told about fifteen times to pick it up. So now I suppose we know what Santa is bringing her.
The rest of the week work was stressful and busy. There are a few changes happening around my office, along with the fact that a close friend is leaving, and it stinks. Basically the changes leave me in limbo as far as where I am going etc. I suppose only time will tell.
Tuesday morning I got up and my van quit running on me about 1/4 mile from my house, luckily my neighbor was coming by or Olivia and I would have had to walk the whole way up our driveway. To the average person that seems like nothing at all.. But considering that our driveway is about 1/2 mile all uphill.. I was not prepared to walk it in the rain and in suits and heels none the less.
Riley has been a little blister all week. He refuses to listen to anyone or anything making every evening stressful and diffucult.
On another note I did get the kids a bunny. His name is Cadbury.. He is all white with one brown spot and brown ears. The girls love him. He is cute and soft and cuddly. D, of course, was completely annoyed by the prospect of adding another pet to the already growing population of two dogs and a fish, but oh well! The girls have been doing a great job taking care of him. I will post pics as soon as I can.
Everything else is ok, other then the rain. It has been raining and cold all day today. I know we need the rain but its miserable. Its one of those days when you just want to lay on the couch in your nightclothes and watch old movies on USA or TNT all day. definitely not the kind of day that you want to be out and about working in...
Hopefully the weekend will bring something fun (an no rain)....
I also have to give a shout out to some of the blogs that I read on a daily basis.
Trent at Pink is the New Blog where I get all my celebrity gossip (what can I say I am a sucker for drama)
Monica at Pieces of Us just because she seems really cool and I think that our daugters were seperated at birth.. LOL
and finally Amanda at Rhapsody in Blog just because she is awesome and rocks and I am going to miss her as an office mate. Plus her blog is very cool...

Homecoming

So this past weekend was fairly uneventful, well as uneventful as it could be around our house. Saturday was my old alma matters homecoming. Which is a huge deal and a ton of alumni try to make it back every year. I went to Milton Hershey School which was origianlly started by Milton Hershey as a school for orphaned boys. Obviously it evolved since I am neither an orphan or a boy. The school is a boarding school that offers a good experience and good education. So seeing your 'brothers and sisters' again is a huge deal. I, being the slacker that I am, have not been back in about 6 years. This year I made an executive decision that I was going one way or another. D was, of course, working so I had to take the kids alone. I was not looking forward to that. It actually went relaitvely well, other then Riley. It was nice to see a few old friends and just catch up. The girls were on their best behavior, for the most part.. but Riley, well he was being Riley, of course. He was running around and throwing rocks and just being bad. As usual. We ended up leaving after about two hours which was actaually ok beacuse I was tired of talking to people and they were just tired. It was a beautiful day though which made it nice too.
Saturday night I was supposed to attend the alumni banquet and then head out with some old friends for some much needed 'adult' time. Well on the way home Riley woke up in the car crying, then threw up all over the place. He threw up and ran a fever all night Saturday night. I couldn't even put him down to do anything, more or less leave him to go to the dinner. So I was stuck, again. But whats a mom to do. He was up most of Sat night sick and seemed to be feeling better on Sunday, though last night he was running fever again. Hopefully (cross your fingers) whatever he has isn't contagious.
I watched a ton of good movies over the weekend. Man on Fire, the new version of Psycho, Honey.. I am such a tv addict. With the NFL ticket we get all the movie channels, so I have been watching every movie I can find on.. With winter coming its going to get better because then I won't feel so bad about not getting any outside work done.. LOL

Dumbest Dog on Earth

Don't get me wrong I love both of my pooches like crazy. But seriously Tiller (our Great Dane) has got to be the dumbest dog on the planet. So recently he has decided for whatever reason that the kitchen tile is way to slippery for him to walk across.. (he always has had issues with sliding on tile) so now he just stands at the entrance way to the kitchen and crys until someone helps him across. Normally it would be a good thing that the dog wouldn't want to come in the kitchen, but unfortunately he has to go through the kitchen to get to the front door, since he has already decided for whatever reason that he isn't going to enter or exit through the basement door. I have yet to figure that one out.
So in order to get him out the front door someone must go to him and physically help him acorss the floor usually by holding him under his belly while he walks. I must add that this dog weighs 200 lbs. Its absolutely horrible! usually Livi does it, but lately he hasnt even been happy with her doing it, only me. I seriously think that he is a bigger baby then our baby. LOL

TV is here

I feel like I haven't had time to post in about a million years.. There are a lot of reasons for that. Obviously Hailey's chicken pox, school, work etc. it all takes up alot of time and allows me very little for anything else. Hailey is doing well and her chicken pox are almost gone. We have been lucky (knock on wood) that no one else around her has gotten them. Hopefully it stays that way. Olivia is doing well in school and all is great at the Pratt household. The people that we bought our house off of keep stalling about getting the garage cleaned out (according to the sale contract they had until the 16th of September) but low and behold, its still not cleaned out. So, I am a nice person but at this point I figure its time to start charging them rent. I am tired of my garage stuff sitting outside under our porch. And with winter right around the corner its time to get it all taken care of, now. So, no more mister nice guy.
Riley is getting so big, I was sitting on the couch the other day actually having a conversation with him. It amazing that he is going to be three soon. Now, if I could just get him to listen we would all be in good shape.. LOL
So, the real reason why I haven't had time to post is none other then the new TV season! I know I am completely a couch potato... but I like it that way. So the new season of just about everthing that is good has started. Here's my tv line up..

Monday night: well its a cross between Monday night football (depending on whos playing) and Prison Break, which is a fantastic show. I am completely digging Wentworth Miller who is just awesome, and Dominic Purcell , who I have loved since Blade Trinity.

Tuesday night: NCIS, which is absolutely one of my most favorite shows ever! It only gets better with every episode. I like all the characters and their story lines alot, though my favorite has got to be Micheal Weatherly who plays Tony DiNozzo. He is obviously known best for his role in Dark Angel, which was one of my other favorite shows.
After NCIS I watch My name is Earl, which is probably one of the funniest shows on tv right now. Jason Lee is amazing. I have laughed out loud numerous times during both new episodes. I am usually not a 1/2 comedy kind of tv watcher but this one is good.. Immediately following it there is The Office with Steve Carrell, which is also hilarious. Since I work in an office some of the jokes are more hilarious then others. I think that you definitely have to work in an office to see the humor in the show though.
So after that at 10:00 I watch Nip/Tuck which could quite possibly be the greatest show on TV right now. It is awesome. If you love drama.. this is definitely the show for you.

Wednesday night: Lost, Lost is on Wednesday nights and its awesome. Beyond that I don't think that I watch anything else on Wednesday. Lost is an amazing show and probably one of the hottest shows on TV right now. I think that everyone must watch it.. Wednesday is kind of my slow TV night and allows me to get other things done.. LOL

Thursday night: The OC! Great drama.. reminds me of Beverly Hills 90210 which was the greatest show ever.. Ok, so maybe not the greatest but it was definitely a cult classic back in the day.
Thats about it, and now that I am done telling everyone how much of a dork I am.. its off to watch more TV. LOL.. hey for a almost 30 mother of three I get very little excitement in my life. Watching drama on TV allows me to see other drama without actually having to deal with it in my own life.. Good stuff.

OH Boy!

So last night I was checking out Haileys rash and it seemed to be getting worse, so I called the dr this morning and took her back in. The Dr. took one look at her and announced "she has chicken pox" I think that for a brief setting my heart actually stopped beating.. ok so I know that chicken pox are not a huge deal and are not the end of the world, but I am thinking chicken pox like I had, or like adults my age had when they were little. Where you got big spots and itched and had to stay in bed. You ran fever and got scars and etc. etc.
It seems that these days with children getting the chicken pox vacine that all they get it the rash and the itch with no other side effects. So I actually started breathing again. I still had to call her preschool, call the babysitter and every other child that she had been in contact with in the last two weeks. When I talked to her preschool teacher she informed me that they had sent two other kids home this week with the same thing. Great! She didn't really blame me, but I could tell she wanted too. :)
For now all we can do is give her oatmeal baths and all those other great remedies for the itching and wait for it to clear up! OH, and hope the Livi and Riley don't get it..
Last night was also the open house at Livis new school. I am happy to inform that the teacher says she is doing well in school and seems to be ahead of the class. We didn't get to talk to the nurse so we still haven't gotten to the bottom of her going there every day. But at least we know its not a class or social issue.
Well, the weekend is going to be boring just laying around and house work, as usual.

Whats been going on!

I have not had much of a chance at all in about forever to post anything. It just seems like work, home, personal time everything is so much busier. Almost to the point of being crazy busy.
This past weekend was uneventful for us. Saturday D was sick all day so he spent the whole day in bed while the kids and I just hung out and played. I also mowed for some of the day which was going quite well until I ran into a rasberry busy and scratched the heck out of my entire thigh on my left leg. Needless to say that was the cue for me to park the mower and move on to better and less painful things. I also have to add that I have a broken pinky toe thanks to Hailey. For some reason this little petite 30 pound red head stomped on my toe just right, and now it is black and blue, swollen and very painful.. most certainly broken. If its not one of the kids, its me.
On sunday I spent the day at the hospital with my grandfather who isn't doing very well at all. The kids stayed home and drove D nuts all day as he was attempting to watch FOOTBALL! yes, its football season.. I am very excited about that. I will mention that the Colts look horrible this year. D and I also got tickets to see the Bears and the 49ers in Chicago on November 13.. so I am very excited not only for the time away for him and I.. but also the game!
On Sunday Riley did a very funny thing.. I think that we are definitely going to have problems with him.. lol.. he got in trouble for playing around on the couch and sitting on my sandwich. So, he ran back the hall to his room, and slammed his door! He slammed his door! hes TWO! I laughed so hard I almost fell off the couch. I couldn't believe it. I thought that they had to at least wait until they were four or so for that. LOL
Other then that things are just busy. School is going well for both girls, and Hailey finally got moved to the morning class so she has other kids in her class now. She likes it alot. Livi is very much enjoying school though she is already having problems with math.. just like her mom.


This is just a random picture of Riley I took as I was attempting to clean off the porch and he was dumping the watering can out.. He's so bad..

No time

I have had very little time to post anything lately.. anything at all, between work and home things have been crazy at the Pratt household. I did want to mention that all my family that lives in Mississippi is well an accounted for, although they lost everything they had. We are very thankful that they are all healthy and well. If you get a chance make a donation to the Red Cross or volunteer, it is definitely worth your time. D will be leaving shortly, through the DCFD to go down south. I am not looking forward to him being away, but am happy that he is finding a way to help.

This past weekend was crazy busy, and went super fast. Sunday D and I went to the Washington Redskins Chicago Bears game in DC. It was so much fun! I don't think that I have ever had that much fun at a live sporting event before. I was also surprised and very impressed with the redskins fans who only gave D some good natured ribbing (hes a bears fan) and nothing near as drastic as he thought it would be. Also he was very excited that there were a ton of other bears fans at the game also. Below are some pics from the game.
Ok I know we were definitely beyond the nose bleed section.. but it was awesome anyway!

Busy Busy Busy

The last few weeks have been crazy, I have barely had time to think, eat and shower (lol) more of less get on the computer and update my blog. So for those of you that actually read this crap, I apologize at the lack of updates. Its funny how busy life can get sometimes.

Last weekend was Labor day and it was, of course, packed to the hilt with family and activities. D was working the majority of the weekend so the kids and I just hung out and did the picnic thing. Monday we went to the Juniata County fair which is always fun. The kids enjoyed seeing the animals and playing games. I just like the fair for the food, what can I say I am a sucker for a good funnel cake.

Tuesday I went to work for half the day and then drove to Pittsburgh for business. I was super excited at the prospect of being back in Pittsburgh after 10 years away. (I went to college in Slippery Rock which is about 45 miles north of Pittsburgh). I spent the whole night in a hotel, without the kids and dogs.. I can't even remember the last time I got to do that. I also got to see the city, PNC Park, Heinz Field etc. In fact our meeting on Wed was at PNC Park in the tour theater room. Which was very cool. They had this display that showed about the excavation of the site for the park, and about the archaeologists and what they found.. it even had glass displays with artifacts in it. I was very impressed. the meeting went very well. NAI Global is a very neat global real estate company to be involved with. I learned alot, did a bit of nteworking.. had a good lunch and headed home around 5:30. I liked being on business, btu hated being away from the kids and family.. By the time I got back I was ready to be back and ready to see the kids.. I really missed them. they may drive me completely crazy most of the time, but I wouldn't give them up for the world.
This weekend will be fun. D is working again today, but actually has tomorrow off and if will be the first time that I have seen him since last saturday. so I am kind of excited to see him, I missed him. Sunday we are going to the Redskins Bears game in DC! I am very excited.

Football season is well underway and last nights game rocked! I love football.. Go Colts!

Traveling

I am actually blogging this from Pittsburgh. I actually am traveling for work, and I hate it.. Ok, actually I like the traveling, and I like staying in hotels and I like going to conferences and meeting other agents and clients. But I hate being away from the kids. Its kills me.. I know, its only one night, but its rough none the less.

The weekend was slow and long... just the way I like it. D worked most of the weekend so it was just the kids and I hanging out, watching tv etc. Monday we went to the Juniata County fair, saw the animals, rode some rides, played some games.. the kids enjoyed it. I always enjoy it becuase it reminds me of my childhood and going there with my grandparents. Good memories. Tomorrow is the conference.. big day.. so good night all!

Perry County Fair

I wanted to mention that over the weekend we attended the Perry County Fair, rain and all. The kids, of course, enjoyed it.. The food was so good and we took some time to talk to some old friends, which is always nice. We watched the tractor parade (hey thats what they do in the country) and Riley enjoyed that.
This weekend is the big Juniata County Fair and Labor Day Races at the Port Royal Speedway which is in the fairgrounds. This is a huge tradition for me and my family since I was raised in Port Royal. I am very excited to go and see everything and everyone. The kids are of course excited to ride rides and spend money LOL...

School..

Well, the girls finally started school yesterday. Olivia was so excited I only had to call her once and she practically jumped out of bed. She has been good so far with getting ready for school with no fits or objections though I assume that will wear off sooner then later. She loved school and said she made a ton of new friends. She seemed excited though I am concerned that she is really far ahead of the cirriculum. This weeks test is tying their shoes. she has been tying her shoes for two years, so hopefully she won't get bored.
Hailey also started preschool yesterday. She said she enjoyed the learning but was bored because she is the only kid in her class. I suppose I should be happy that she is getting one or one attention, but not so happy because the whole point of sending her was so that she could interact with kids other than her sister and brother. So we will see.
Riley, of course, stayed home and terroized D all day. Which I am sure was fun for both of them. Tonight, Alexander and a nice hot bath.

Motherhood

I was laying in bed last night watching TV and Riley was laying with me (the girls have been really getting into their new routines and have been in bed fairly early). We, of course, were watching Noggin.. I think the Fresh Prince or Bel Air was on.. I was trying not to pay attention, but waiting, like any good mother would, until he was asleep so I could change it to what I really wanted to watch, Taking Lives.. So I looked over and he was sleeping, eyes closed and everything.. So I changed it.
Well at the one part the guy jumps out.. and I jumped, he jumped then sat up and looked at me.. "Boy mom" he said.. "that was scary, change it" It was the funniest little thing coming from him. He never ceases to make me laugh, thats for sure.
Everything has been pretty calm around the pratt household.. no major melt downs, no blow ups, no emergency room trips.. that makes me happy. But I also know that everytime there is a lull in drama something major happens, so we will see. Perry County Fair this weekend..