Mostly thanks and a little bit of ick

Day two of chemo has not been as  bad as last time, but still less fun than a  barrel of monkeys. In fact, the thought of a barrel of monkeys makes me nauseous. Thankfully the pressure points Zachary drew on  my hands and legs in sharpie worked well,  although it is hard to maintain when you fall asleep. The key is to hold the nausea back long enough to fall asleep. Fortunately he is coming to work his magic tomorrow evening after the pump comes off. Hopefully I won't have to suffer a week like last round.

The ACE awards were tonight. Obviously I was not fit to attend. A big congratulations to our wonderful principal, Susan Penrod, for winning. I am so proud of her and all she has done for our school with the help of the amazing staff. I am disappointed for Angie and Karen. Karen described herself as the Susan Lucci of the ACE awards. I am sorry to hear that. I can't imagine who does more. Angie, either, for that matter.

Thank you for Anne B. for looking into what it takes to get an elementary school counselor, even part time. I think that is a big piece of the puzzle for our school. Also thanks to Anne B. for continuing to work so hard on the middle school mentoring program. If you are interested in being a mentor, or know someone who would be, please let me know and I can put you in touch.

Thank you to Jen for her regular Monday cleaning, that always includes clean sheets. Changing sheets is absolutely beyond me, especially when I hooked up like I am today. It is nice not to have to go to bed in goo. I wake up with enough of it on me as it is.

In the same vein, thanks to Mary B. for coming to take our duvet to the laundromat. Somehow the cover didn't make it on after it was washed last and I have done some unattractive things to it. Add it an cherry Tylenol incident, and it desperately needed a wash.

Of course, thanks to Deb Mailander for bringing tonight's dinner in between her own life. Congratulations on Hank for to Personal bests at Track today!!!

Very thankful for Nancy H. who has offered to take Karissa to the extra ballet rehearsal on Friday. Also thankful for April, who was also willing. I have to pull my stomach together to do the makeup and bun. Hopefully that will go okay. Karina will be here to do it on our insane Saturday, thankfully.

I'm not sure how things converge like this. Somehow, we have piano guild first thing Saturday morning, then regular ballet rehearsal, then a special ballet performance at the U of O, then Logan's laser tag birthday party. Nothing says perfect ballet bun like laser tag... She will love every second of the day and collapse in exhaustion when it's over. How is that night different than all other nights?

Any birthday gift ideas for a nine year old boy?

And Saturday is Kentucky Derby, let's not forget that.

Next week is syllabus, and scans, and Karissa is having a tooth pulled, and Book of Esther, the ballet. Kelly and Karissa usually daddy/daughter time at the ballet, but that isn't possible this year. We are very thankful Heather, Sheri, and Sarah are making an evening of it.

I'm beginning to think life is going to be a bit of a let down for Karissa when I am feeling well enough to be mom again.

Speaking of moms, in addition to all the people doing, I cannot say enough about Karissa's two moms, Heather and Angie. They have done so much to keep her life not only as normal as possible, but made her feel safe, secure and loved.  That is a tremendous gift that can never be repaid other than by the unending love of a very special little girl.

For me, it was mostly a long day on the couch. I haven't even managed to finish today's crossword puzzle. Not the times, the easy one. But, things should improve as the week goes on and by next week I should be in the neighborhood of normal, whatever that even means anymore. Dr. B says depending on scans, we would have a round 4, but that would be it. Then onto the radiation/chemo combo plate.

Speaking of radiation, Dr. F stopped by to seem me while I was having treatment yesterday. I love him. Just the sight of him makes me smile and feel safe. He said he would be looking out for my scans. So very thankful for my doctors!

Oh, I almost forgot, a big thank you to Lesley who came by to pass the time while I was having treatment yesterday. So nice to just chat with a friend. She would have stayed longer, but a big bag of IV benadryl did what you would expect and I zonked out for three hours. I become a less effective conversationalist at that point. Or, maybe not...

I also slept through Karina's whole brief visit tonight. She had to pick up and RX and stop in to have the dentist adjust her night guard. I guess there is something to be said for being closer to home.

I apologize deeply if I missed anyone who has been so thoughtful and helpful. How someone who has slept almost all day can be tired, but I am. Sleep keeps the nausea at bay. Or so I hope.

Good night to all!

Kiara