Hello, again..

We took another trip to the InstaCcare last night.. made our hectic evening that much more..
I had a bridal shower to be to.. I was one of the hostesses, kinda had to be there.
I was gathering everything, needing to get there to help set up.
Ashley had been on and off with a fever for the last day, so Merrill was going to stay home with her, but he calls, he's locked his keys in his office. I have to run him the extras.
I am gathering kids, rushing to get everything done, and there on time... find Ash, asleep, and wake her up. She is hotter than hot. I take her temperature. First shot, the digital thermometer reads 106.8?!
Another try.. 104.9, still, not good.
I give her Motrin, and get on our way.
Merrill takes her to InstaCare.. I take my stuff to the shower and he promises me with updates.
Now let me back up to a couple of very important points..
1- Merrill HATES the doctors, hospitals, etc. He gets so ill.. that might be a contributing factor in the size of our family. It was such a miracle he was up to taking her himself instead of substituting for me at the shower!
2- Ashley had said, this whole time that she's been running a temp., that she feels "fine". She is totally herself, nothing hurts, she's running around and playing, but somehow, needs an afternoon nap... she was getting so annoyed with me, repeatedly asking her if she felt okay, if anything hurt.. "NO mom.."
So we are at the shower, just getting into a game, and my phone rings.
"They have been running tests, they can't find anything, they need to draw blood."
Merrill + needles + blood + the subject being one of his offspring = a gihugant disaster... his family knows this. HIs mom keeps Lynn, Peyton is a whole other ball game, she comes with me, after she's covered me with something black.. oh, and her too.
I speed.
I get there right after the blood was taken.. they are both doing fine. :)
Ashley is just laying there, with her hot pink bandage, making fishy lips, giggling. She tells me every detail.
"I had to go tinkle in a cup, but I couldn't go, so they gave me apple juice, and after I drank it, I went tinkle.. then, they took the shot needle, and it kinda hurt, but I didn't cry.. I didn't even say ouch mom!"
She is so tough!!
Merrill was pale. He just nodded his head.
"I was trying to distract her, keep her focus on me, but she wanted to look. She seriously didn't even say 'ow'."
She is amazing... this is proof that she really is mine, despite who she physically resembles.
The doctor basically said that she has a "fever without a focus". They couldn't find anything wrong. The only diagnosis we got, was that it is probably Roseola..
I am amazed at Merrill, that he held a cup while his daughter peed in it, that he was well enough to relay information to me, and to the doctor, and most importantly, that he didn't faint, when the needle came out, or when it went in.. love you Mer!!
As for the diagnosis, we'll just have to wait and see.
Blotchy rash, anyone?
Until then, we'll just be kicking it at home, quarantining ourselves! :)
We've already gone through two bottles of ibuprofen between little miss "P" and Ash..
Good times at the Pitcher's!

** Lynn and I went to my softball game last night, after all was well. Lynn sat, bundled-up in the dugout, while we played our game in the on then off again rain, and the thunder, and the lightning... that was fun!

WooHooooo...

Some fun happenings around here today..
Merrill took the day off.. we worked side by side n the yard all day. We had a good long talk.
I love him!!!
I got this "speshl" gift and note from Lynn, when I needed it most..Love her notes!
Ash was soooo excited about spelling her name.. (love how the "E" is backward :D)(We are living in swimsuits around here..)
She's too cute!
These two...Sometimes they take my breath away with the love they have for each other.
Now do you think the cat fights will end? ;)
SOFTBALL!!!!It was fun.. I have a lot of nerves about it. The last time I really played was.. 14 years ago?! I was a little rusty, a little intimidated.
My little bro was AWESOME! He sacrificed his boy many times :)
So did I..This is my hand (more like my thumb..) after it helped me stop a ball.. playing in-field, co-ed, is a little more intimidating than I had imagined.. you might have to see it in person to get the whole effect. I did get a major "Oohhhh!" from the opposing team's dugout when that slap was heard :)
Still pumped!!
We went for Zeppe's gealto afterward.. yummmmmmy.. Peyton especially loved it! Can't wait to got to one when it opens here!
I also got a large box in the mail today..
Sheets (some which will go into a new quilt..) for a to-be decorated room to celebrate a little girl who's being more and more of a big girl these days...

A Lazy Saturday...

I got the rare opportunity to sleep in today..
I think it was mostly the overcast/rainy morning that deceived our body clocks into thinking it was earlier than it really was.
It was nice.
We took it slow, not having anywhere to go (like I could, or would want to with the three crazy girls in tow..). I had been invited to a Stampin' Up party, thought it better that I not go and introduce the young mother to a new world; that of my children in her home. I really wanted to go and get my new softball cleats.. yes, I cannot adequately convey my excitement on this blog, about the prospect of playing softball this summer (!!!!!). We attempted to go and get these cleats last night, but the hotel called.. it was nearly a full house last night, nearly meaning 3 or 4 rooms empty. So that would have been nice today, but scrapbooking sounded funner :)
So, as we were taking it easy, I put on some Led Zeppelin. It got us going. I love how Lynn refers to the "Immigrant Song" as "that one song, from that one Shrek movie".. then, when I don't immediately refer to it as that, instead, I call it the "Immigrant Song", she stares at me like I have only one eyebrow...
It is always fun to watch Peyton dance, shake her little booty.. she will do that to Hymns too, anything that has a beat.. she really gets going to Led.
Ashley is still on the kick that I am going to fall in love with someone else and marry him (?). This has sparked some interesting dreams. I have gotten in touch with friends from high school, in my dreams, mind you, and begun the wedding planning process.. weird.
But one of our funniest run-ins with a man other than my husband, was just the other day at the hotel.
Merrill has a couple college-age guys who work the 4-12. They are both really good guys, and cute guys too. We talk about this, and how girls hit on them while working. Many times, this is usually discussed around the dinner table. Ashley has proven to us that she has quite the memory, because, as we were down at the hotel the other afternoon, she stops me, mid conversation with David (one of the "cute" guys.. we were discussing "Twilight" of all things..), and says, "Mom, are you gonna fall in love with this guy, and divorce dad, and marry him?" she finishes, pointing directly at David, who begins to blush.
"Ashley, even if I did, he wouldn't have me because he wouldn't be able to deal with a little girl like you."
"But you said he was cute!"
David is still a little shocked.
"Yes, I did. Don't you think he's cute?"
Ashley thinks for a second.. "Well, yeah."
I am sure David had a much easier day after we left.
Everyday life continues to show us how smart and witty our little girls are.. they certainly keep us on our toes and laughing.

start 'em while they are young...

had some errands to run yesterday... went to sports authority to get two things: a new sports bra (for some reason i am too chesty for the one i have...) and baseball socks. i began to really miss my purple ones from my comp. softball days. i ended-up coming out of that store with a few more unplanned purchases. two of which were princess mitts, ash would have much rather had "a hitter", or a bat to most people.
lynn is a natural, ash surprisingly is the girly, "close my eyes, turn my head, and stick out my mitt anywhere" type. lynn is awesome! all she wants to do is play catch now. time is now told by when we can play catch next.it's been a busy couple of days.
yesterday, errands. got more pics, (friday i printed out $50 worth... need to scrap...) one file wouldn't load when i was at sam's friday, thought i brought the right disk yesterday, but the original pic wasn't on it, aarghhh! got the cakes for the party, and mer's father's day done. went to wal-mart to hunt down frames, which i found. whatever happened to target's selection? got home, mowed the lawn, well most of it. i got the front and part of the back done. i thought we were out of gas, but there was more... played catch with lynn, made dinner, ate, then mer did the trimmer while i finished mowing. we finished off the evening with more catch, baths, and home made milkshakes. oh, and mer hit me in the head with the ball, no marks though!
ash had a rough night. she is having a rough go with her breathing. she woke up needing to go potty, but instead of getting there, ran around doing the potty dance in a half sleep stupor with her shirt pulled up. she stood in front of the tv for awhile trying to figure out what to do. she was confused, funny, but confused. we got a laugh out of it. after listening to the kind of cough she had going on, i set up the humidifier, and she did okay. not a real good night sleep for her.
i laid in bed and thought about going to the doctor, but i was nervous for what might come with that. almost two years ago, after stuffing a cooked carrot up her nose, (i was a little distracted while i was on the phone trying to explain to my mother why merrill and i weren't having a baby right then, i was so distracted by this conversation that a boy i was tending at the time even began showing my sweet little girls what made him a boy...) ash started to get an atshma-ey sounding cough and cry. i took her to the doctor, cause i wasn't sleeping too well then either, and told him what was up. he was quite surprised to hear what i knew and asked if i was a nurse. i love it when doctors have that reaction, yes, i do know some stuff. i do have the internet... anywhoo... he gives us an antibiotic, saying she probably has an upper-respiratory infection, she hasn't coughed or cried for him to her how she sounds, yet. i was kind of annoyed, because he said he could hear some wheezing but didn't think it was asthma. so then she cried. he stopped mid-sentence while giving me dosing instructions, and said, "that sounds like an asthmatic cry." duh... so we got her a prescription for an inhaler. he told me that it had only one fill for it, that if she needed more then we would have to go back for more extensive allergy testing to get it pinned down and under control. so i haven't wanted to go back and put her through all of that. a friend has been generous enough to let us use her nebulizer and albuterol (she is a respiratory therapist...) then her son got asthma, and we haven't had it around for a while so ...
so today, i hopped in the shower, really didn't try to do my hair, (yup, i looked super cute!) to get her to the doctor before the primary activity. it all worked out. got her inhaler prescription refilled, got advice on allergy meds, and got to the church on time to set up for our party. what's even better than just the refill, when i told him, well, reminded him (leaving out the allergy testing part...) about what went on before, he gave us 2 refills of the inhaler and a coupon to get the first one free, an half off the next. woohoo!
so we got that all filled, i also bought myself a treat that i can have only when i am srapbooking... and we got home. yes, to play catch. now, everyone is fed and happy, and to prove it:
my sweet peyton... who is making it so i can type one-handed!
she has been doing some fun stuff too: she reaches for toys, can hold them for a micro-second, she watches her feet and laughs at them, and she has started to stick her spare finger up her nose while she sucks on the other two...
now that was a mouthful!