Happy 4th of July!

I am so sorry I have not posted in some time. That is a good thing as it means our lives are somewhat normal - actually busy is more like it. As I mentioned, we have bought a new house and should hopefully close soon. It has been the transaction from hell, but hopefully it will all end soon. We haven't sold this house yet so if anyone knows of someone who wants a charming 3 bedroom home on a great block in a great town, send them our way. Dave and I finally went away for the first time in 2 years and left the kids for the first time since Catherine's diagnosis. Dave had to go to Paris for a business trip and it was hard for me to pass it up. It was only 3 days, but it felt good to get away. The day I had to myself was awesome. I don't think I have been by myself like that in a long time and it felt good (being home to cook and clean or out alone running errands doesn't count). But I was quickly brought back to reality upon my return. I didn't realize that as your kids get older, their lives get so much busier. Catherine has quite the social life, plus she just started a month-long camp called "Under the Sea". It is run by the Darien School System and meets at Darien High School. The actual DHS building is just 2 years old and all I have to say is that I am glad I will never be a freshman there - this building is huge and so overwhelming. Catherine is so funny, when I picked her up, her first comment was that they didn't have a playground. I had to explain to her that this is the type of school where kids like her cousin Julia go to school and they don't get to play outside on playgrounds during school. So far she seems to be enjoying this camp, but it doesn't compare to her swimming lessons. I signed her up for semi-private lessons with her friend Caroline. She absolutely LOVES it. She has only had 2 lessons, but today in the baby pool at our pool club, she was swimming under the water without touching the bottom, and she can hold her head under water for almost 20 seconds! Not bad for someone who was laying around the house last summer getting walloped with chemo.
Speaking of her chemo, all her doses have increased again due to a change in her body surface area (just another way of saying she has grown). Its funny, her ANC had been pretty stable in the 1100-1200 range, and then all of a sudden it started creeping up. I think Dr. Joe wanted to give it one more week, but I asked him to check her methotrexate dose as I felt it may need to go up due to her weight. Of course I should have known that everything would be checked and all her doses went up slightly - including the dreaded steroids. It seems minuscule, but those minor changes seem to make a difference.
On the Alex front, I am happy to report that I have potty-trained him. He starts pre-school in the Fall and the school he will be attending is pretty strict about no diapers. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly he has picked it up although I am convinced he will end up telling a therapist how his mother was constantly shoving his penis down. I will say that the past month with Alex has been a tough one. He has become very mischievous. He knows how to unlock all the doors and get out of the house... he has locked me out of the house. When he walks out, he climbs into my car and somehow sets off the panic button (which I am sure my neighbors love). Most of all he has become even more strong willed than Catherine - which I never thought possible. He has a definite opinion on what he wants to wear (let's just say I had to hide all his winter clothes) and there are times it takes me 45 minutes just to get him dressed as we battle it out. Very tiring on me, but I always say that some of these characteristics will serve my children well when they are adults (at least I hope).
Finally, I do have some sad news. As you may recall, I had mentioned a teenager from the office who had relapsed during Maintenance and needed a Bone Marrow Transplant. Sadly he relapsed less than 90 days after his transplant. There was nothing left the doctors could do and he went quickly, but according to his Dad he had a horrible, very painful death at the hospital, versus the pain-free death they wanted for him at home. It is this kind of stuff that scares the shit out of me. I hate it when people tell me that leukemia is so curable, blah blah blah. In reality, the 85% statistic for ALL (the type of leukemia Catherine has) is such a joke. Quite frankly, it's either 100% or 0% - either you live or you die. One person described leukemia as a passive/aggressive cancer, meaning, it is an aggressive cancer that just takes over your body, but the leukemia is not what technically kills you -it leaves your body unable to fight infections and oftentimes it is a simple infection that a healthy person can fight that kills you.
I hate ending my posts on a sad note, but I guess it can be thought of as food for thought. We should just be thankful for all that we have and not take for granted each mundane day when everything you have planned out for yourself goes according to plan. So with that, enjoy the 4th and everyday after that and as always, thanks for checking in on us!