Day 239

Andrew and Leah Update: The good news this past week is that (fingers crossed), Leah's bladder problems may be a thing of the past. She went to the doctor on Friday to have her catheter removed and to see if she could go to the bathroom on her own. What they do to test it is fill her with 300 cc's of saline to see if she can pass it 200 or more. She passed 200. They said she needed to do it again before they could make the decision. She did 200 again, so they let her go home catheter-free. This was as happy as Leah has been in a while. Having to walk around with a leg bag and not knowing whether or not her bladder was going to function definitely weighed on her. You have that on top of her regular mother duties of feeding seemingly every two hours and the lack of sleep that comes with it and it can be a lot for anyone to handle. As for Andrew, he had another solid week of sleep. This was our first week nurse-free, so we were hoping for good results. He had a solid end of the week streak of 4 nights sleeping from 10:45-6. Nothing really changed with him this week - he is still the same great kid. My brother and his kids were in town this weekend and there is nothing better than seeing all the kids together. Its so cute. Reese just adores Andrew. She is always wanting to hold him and give him kisses.

In all of my years...: Friday was set to be the Tribe home opener here in Cleveland. MD, Jeremy, and I went down to the Jake for the festivities. The three of us haven't been to a Tribe game together since the mid-90's. Last Tuesday I was in shorts and a t-shirt and it was a record setting high, 80 degrees. Wednesday the temperature dropped 45 degrees. No Joke. Thursday the snow began. It it hasn't stopped since. We were still on schedule to go to the game, despite sub-30's temps and dressing we were going to a December Browns game. Keep in mind it has been snowing for a day and a half straight. We get in at 3:40 for a 4 PM first pitch. We find out the game is delayed an hour. So we walk around for a while, go into the team shop and get stuff for the kids, etc. The game starts at 5. The snow began to get heavier and during the second inning, the players were called off the field for about a 2 minute delay with the Tribe up 1-0. Out they came again and as they came back out, the snow got heavier. Tribe pitcher Paul Byrd threw one pitch and was again yanked off the field by the umpires. So we re-grouped and decided to get a hot chocolate and make our decision on whether to stay or go. As we were doing this, out came the grounds crew with leaf blowers, blowing the snow off the field. A drunken fan ran onto the field and made a snow angel; the crowd went wild. After another 20 or so minute delay, the players came back onto the field and we headed back to the seats. The Tribe led 4-0 going into the top of the fifth, needing three outs for the game to become official. The heavy stuff then really started. Byrd walked the bases loaded with one out. Then a line drive way caught by SS Jhonny Peralta for the second out. Needing just one out, Byrd was ahead of Mariners 2B Jose Lopez 1-2. Lopez pointed to his eyes and then Mariners manager and ex-Tribe skipper Mike Hargrove came running out of the dugout in protest, claiming it wasn't fair to his players, they couldn't see the ball to hit it. Tribe manager Eric Wedge came firing out of the dugout to yell at Hargrove. Meanwhile, a blizzard had broken out. Needing just one strike for a win, the umps once again ordered the players off the field. They waited an hour and 17 minutes before cancelling the game. I've been to roughly 1,000 sporting events in my day, and by far this was the single strangest.

The snow literally has not stopped since. They tried for a doubleheader yesterday to no avail. They tried again, no luck. So they will try again tomorrow for two games. What is so stupid in all of this is the fact that the Mariners are here once all year for four games. The Indians play once in Seattle in September. They play in a retractable dome stadium. Why would they start here where the weather is so bad? More scheduling that doesn't make sense - Florida started on the road in Washington. Arizona started on the road in Colorado. Tampa Bay started on the road in New York. Genius scheduling. The weather is supposed to be bad again this week, and the LA Angels come to town for their sole visit to the Jake. More brilliance by the MLB schedule makers.

A D.C. FYI: A few week ago, our friend Jamie Ratner was walking in a popular trail, Capital Crescent. Out of nowhere, she was struck from behind by a guy on a bike and blacked out. She woke up with blood gushing out of her head and a crowd of people surrounding her. She is also pregnant. As it turns out, the guy stood there for a little while, then left with nobody getting his information. What if she had lost the baby or suffered permanent damage? Nobody thought to call the police or get this guy's contact information? Meanwhile, two separate people wrote in to the Washington Post about the incident and Jamie was contacted, causing her to respond. its a pretty interesting story. To read the Post story, click here. Anyone who has lived in a big city and rode a bike/rollerblades/run outside can relate. Again, the good news is that Jamie and the baby are ok and she and her husband Brian are expecting a boy in early September.

Sunday Night TV Review: Last night was the season premiere's for two of my favorite shows, The Sopranos and Entourage. I thought Sopranos was solid, started a little slow but (IF YOU DIDN'T SEE IT YET, STOP READING HERE) things really picked up when Bobby Baccala buried Tony in the face that started an epic brawl between the two. Things haven't really up yet, other than the potential RICO case building on Tony. Was it just me, or did Carmella look real attractive in a bathing suit? My other favorite was AJ's girlfriend's kid who looked like he was 6 with a pacifier in his mouth. The show has only eight episode and will go down in TV history as one of the all time greats. Truly a groundbreaking piece of TV. Entourage I give a B-. Not one of the better episodes I've seen, but there is still no better character on TV right now than Johnny Drama. How good was it when he was making Turtle take pictures of him in front of the billboard for his new pilot TV series to see if anyone would notice him?

The Week: We have reviews at my two largest accounts this week. This morning I'm off to Grand Rapids, back tomorrow. I go to Chicago Wednesday for meetings all day, but on my way I am stopping in to meet little Ella Schneider. I also have reservations with my boss and clients at Joe's Stone Crab. Solid. I cannot wait. I am back Thursday morning and hopefully will be going to Tribe/Angels Thursday at noon, weather permitting.

Song of the Day: "War" by Nas