3rd Dose

The third dose went well. I am feeling dizzy but overall very well. My parents and sister Beth came down to Connecticut with us and took the kids to the dinosaur park and swimming at the hotel. Xavier and Tilly love Connecticut now; this is fast becoming their most exciting winter yet.

One more dose to go and then scans to see where we are at and what we do from here.

Of Plague and Pull Up Diapers

Forgive our silence, dear readers. (I have offended the muse by being silent. Apollo no longer regards me. * Perhaps deservedly then, ...) We have been sick, sick, sick. I think, in the last three and a half weeks, there have been three distinct cold viruses that have knocked us off our feet, and kept us off. Momma, Poppa, babies, and all. We have rarely ventured out into the cold. Instead, we have spent our time in the ever entertaining, ever frustrating, never ending job of potty training. Now Xavier spends all his days jockeying for m & m's; he reminds me that, "Auntie Beth says you should get a treat no matter how little you do..." He can use that room as much as 20 times an hour and yet still have an accident ten minutes later--but, I must admit, he is improving. He is covered in pirate temporary tattoos to prove it. And in the midst of all of this, I have constantly seen how wonderfully sweet he is about sharing with his sister. After an especially good job, I gave him four m&m's. I told him three were for him and one was to share with Tilly. He said he didn't think that was fair and gave her two. (Makes a Mom happy at least!) As for Tilly, she has entered into the game with gusto. She is doing a great job. But while Xavier is in it for the action (get in, get out, rack up candy points), Tilly is a woman of leisure. She prefers to perch by the hour, books piling ever deeper around her, yelling out every ten minutes, "More book, Momma!" refusing to budge before she is good and ready to do so. So wish us luck. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we succeeded in training the both of them?!? I'll stop revealing the darkest secrets of our family life now, but I'm pretty sure next time you hear from me, you may have to hear more about the continuing adventures of the Diaper Dude.

I'm off to teach tonight, back to school last Thursday. So far, so good. I hope you all are very well and have avoided this midwinter malady. With love

(* Tate's loose translation of the Vigil of Venus)

2nd dose, part II

No worries. I'm feeling much better now.
And besides, perhaps given my relatively mild reaction to Interleukin, a healthy, bodily recoil just maybe just might mean the drugs are working this time...
Lots of love.

2nd dose

The kids had a great time. Aimee's parent's drove out to New Haven and stayed at a hotel very close to Yale Medical Center. We dropped Xavier and Mathilde off with them in morning, and they had quite a fun filled day- coloring books, playdough, and enough toys to sink a ship! (Aimee's sister Kate came over too with Mercedes and Lilly to double the fun :) )

Meanwhile, Aimee's second dose went okay-ish. She had an allergic-like reaction to the chemicals at first, so they had to stop and dose her up with benadryl. She was fine after that, or least didn't react to the medicine. By the time we were done in the evening, though, Aimee was pretty exhausted.

This treatment seems to exact, slowly and increasingly, a toll on her body; she's dizzy and tired today, and her back seems to be aching constantly. Unfortunately, we won't know until the end of the trial whether it has been effective.

Getting Ready for the Second Dose

So, the LSU Tigers play on Monday for the championship. But we might be on the road for it. I'm gonna angle for an early departure so we can at least catch the second half at the hotel in CT. :) (Besides, LSU never plays well in the first half anyway.)

We've been plagued by nasty colds the last 2 weeks. Aimee's been pretty tired, and the kids have been extremely cranky. But I think we're at the tail end of it, even though Aimee's still stuffy. Hopefully, this won't make the whole process on Tuesday (and aftermath) worse.

Well, I wanted to thank all of you for your kind messages throughout Christmas and the New Year. We are truly overwhelmed by the love you all are giving us. It made this Christmas our best Christmas ever. We've been able to completely forget about all our troubles for a bit and just enter into celebration.

Thank you. :)