Charlotte has had a rough few days.

Roger here. Charlotte has had a rough few days. I think the various drugs she has been forced to take have finally caught up with her. She had been doing so well and everyone had been so amazed at how well she was tolerating the chemo, it was hard to imagine they were actually working. Guess we can put that notion to rest.She has been constantly lethargic and easily fatigued, hardly eating or drinking anything, and not really wanting to go anywhere much (she did, however, seem to perk up when she found out she was going to Anja's. Thanks Meredith). She's been very patient with Mommy and Daddy dragging her around to various places mostly because we had to when all she really wants us to do is hold her.She's had a few bouts with moderately severe abdominal pain, which we believe to be not much more than really bad gas but when she's writhing in pain and crying so hard it scares you, it's hard not to panic. We've had to resort to infant 101 training and bicycle her legs and rub her belly to get relief going. It seems to work.Yesterday was very busy as Rachel had to teach in the morning and I had to dress up as Rompy for the Mascot Mile at Children's Hospital in Richmond, zoom up to Short Pump Middle School to drop off the outfit to the Romp n' Roll tent at the Touch-A-Truck event, head down to John Tyler Community College for a duo Southern Horizon gig with John, then get back home in time for Mommy to get to RNR for a Birthday Bash.Rachel was pretty beat from the morning classes so I did the BB instead (she has covered plenty of classes and BB's for me and will do so again so it wasn't hard to decide). It was a Superhero Adventure Birthday Bash and although there were chaotic parts, it was a great time. I got to wear a cape the whole time and at the end, at least three kids were already browbeating their parents to have their parties at Romp n' Roll. Gotta love it!Mommy stayed home and took good care of Charlotte making sure the IV fluids pump was set up and running correctly. It didn’t take long for her to zonk out last night after I put her to bed. I don’t think she even made it through two books.Charlotte got up about 9:30 this morning, after I left to go teach and Rachel brought her down to the store so we could all go to lunch to speak to a friend about getting Charlotte's Thumbs Up Foundation rolling at a meaningful pace. We went to Panera (yum!) and although the meeting ended up not happening, Rachel, Charlotte, and I actually got to eat lunch together. Kind of a rarity these days. We jotted down a few more ideas about CJSTUF and we got CJ to eat a bit. Granted it was only a container of apple sauce but I was very happy about it. Tonight, after we got all her meds and fluids going, I got her to eat a container of Mandarine oranges and a half of a Honey Stix cracker. Not a 7 course meal but, again, something. Personally, I think she has gotten over the hump of this round.We had our Rompy's Rainbow Station Adventure Party tonight (open house, really) and CJ came down for the first part. She didn't do much and mostly she wanted to watch videos but at one point she asked to go into the gym where I tried to referee the mayhem of a gym and art room packed to capacity with kids and grownups.I think it was a great event and both RNR and Rainbow Station got some business out of it. We're thinking of making it an annual event. Don't see why not.Chick-fil-a gets an extra shout out because, with all the stuff going on yesterday, I forgot to go pick up the chicken nugget trays for today. D'OAH! Remember, they're closed on Sundays. (I think there's a song in there somewhere). Well Pam took pity on me and actually let me in on a Sunday(!) to get those trays. Yes, she was in the neighborhood and all that but it certainly wasn't something she had to do and because of her kindness, we didn’t have to go out of our way to get trays from Food Lion or Kroger that would not have been what we wanted. So go to Chick-fil-a at VA Center Marketplace and tell them how awesome they are.Tonight, CJ sat with me on the couch to see the end of the Denver Bronco/New England Patriot game (GO BRONCOS! 5-0 even in those godawful hideous uniforms!) and then slowly faded as Mommy and Daddy watched “The Soloist” On Demand (Wonderful movie). Just brought her up to bed and here I am.Side note-The Randolph-Macon College field hockey team won their fifth game in a row yesterday 5-1! Congrats ladies. Sorry CJ couldn't be there. We'll try for the next one. I would like to encourage as many Richmond area fans of Charlotte to try to make to a game. Check out www.rmc.edu and click on athletics for more info.Now about that Mascot Mile…I was placed at the first turn on the grass right by the traffic cones holding up the big sign with the arrows on it. I was being Rompy, waving at passing cars and pedestrians, and waiting for the kids to come running my way so I could bark my encouragement as they went by. The announcer said, “Go!” and they were off. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if they were told to stay on the grass because as soon as they came to where they were supposed to get onto the grass and head my way, they simply stayed on the road around the parking lot and never even came close to me. So much for that. I’m very glad I went up to the start/finish line area to schmooze and pose for pictures or I would have thought it was a tremendous waste of time.The weather’s cooling off and I’m looking foreword to getting under the big comforter! Nighty-night.