Day 237

Again, I apologize for skipping another Thursday, but I've been pretty busy as you well know. This past week was the first time I did any travelling for work since late January. It was also the last week my mother in law was here. I never thought I'd say this, but I wish she was still here. Before Andrew was born, I thought a month of her would be plenty. As it turns out, I wish she was still here. But it was time for Leah and me to face reality. I was in Chicago all day Friday at my clients, but I flew in and out, so Stacey cooked for us one last time before she left. Saturday morning was the beginning of real parenting for Leah and I. Its funny because without Stacey to pass Andrew off on, Leah and I have to be "on" all the time. It's definitely a challenge, but with Andrew being so cute, it makes it that much easier. But words cannot express how grateful we are for Stacey dropping her life to come here and essentially be a nanny for us. She is the best and deserves a vacation as far as we are concerned. Saturday night we put him down around 11, and he woke up at 4:30, I gave him a bottle, put him back to sleep, and he slept until 8:30 where Leah got up with him. Last night wasn't as good. He was up quite a bit, but its to be expected. He is so good compared to some of the horror stories we have heard. It was such a beautiful day yesterday that Leah and I took Andrew and Casey for a walk around the neighborhood. As we walked we talked about what a difference in life for us. Here we were, walking in our suburban neighborhood with our baby and our dog, stopping and talking to neighbors. Kids were out playing in the front yards. Its real quiet. Its just amazing how different things are from living in the city. I miss the city. I really do. But its more of my friends and the food than anything else. I can't wait for a few more weeks where we can start bringing him places and for Leah to be back to 100%. We feel like prisoners of our home sometimes. We haven't been able to go out to even eat. That will come soon, but feels like its been forever since we have done that.

Speaking of Saturday night, my basketball season officially came to an end as my beloved Kansas Jayhawks lost in the West Regional Finals to UCLA 68-55 in a game that was closer than the score. UCLA Guard Arron Afflalo decided to break out of his month long shooting slump and was unconscious, hitting on 10-15 shots for 24 points including a couple of ridiculous dagger jump shots to beat the shot clock. KU on the other hand, controlled the tempo for the first 15 minutes, but then lost our composure, wilting under the UCLA tight defense. I haven't seen a team miss more layups than KU did Saturday night. Out of character, we turned the ball over, over passed the ball on several occasions, and didn't shoot enough three's. With 5 minutes left, we cut an 11 point deficit to five and played great defense. UCLA point guard Darrin Collison put up a prayer three over two guys with the shot clock at zero and buried it. That is when I knew the game was done. I've received several "condolence" calls and emails from friends on the KU loss, just one game short of the Final Four. The bottom line is that while I was upset, I am used to my teams losing and not winning it all. I am a Clevelander after all. I only know losing at the end of the season. When my father died, I learned something I could never realize before - sports are not a life and death situation. Yes, I sometimes treat it that way, but my team not winning a title in the grand scheme of life isn't as big of a deal as I make it out to be. My pick for the Final Four now is what I went with when the tournament started - the Florida Gators. I smell a repeat. Now it is time to turn my attention the my #1 love - the red, white, and blue - the Cleveland Indians. Opening day is a week from Friday and you know I'll be there.

So the breaking news today is that Anna Nicole's autopsy results are in. Turns out it wasn't a suicide, but rather an accidental overdose. Maybe finally now we can put Howard K. Stern out of our minds for a while. Next up is the paternity results, but I think we all know that Larry Birkhead is the father of Dannilynn. I've got to stop talking about this story already.

The saddest story has to be the return of the incurable breast cancer for Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Presidential candidate John Edwards of North Carolina. This is one strong woman. Edwards, in an interview with 60 minutes last night, said he will continue to run for president at his wife's request. I'm sure within the next few months, he'll drop out to be with his wife and do the honorable thing - these are good people. As my mom said last night, this is just more fodder for my "there is no God" file. Haven't the Edwards' suffered enough? Remember, they lost a son, Wade, in 1996 to a car accident.

I won't even bother getting into the whole Alberto Gonzales firing eight U.S. Attorneys. Its just another case of Karl Rove, W, and the rest of the cronies screwing things up and surrounding themselves with a bunch of incompetents.

My man Sanjaya is still around for yet another week on American Idol. You gotta love that. Stick with the vote for Sanjaya movement! www.votefortheworst.com

Song of the Day: "Obscured" by Smashing Pumpkins