91

It's the end of an era for me. I am for sure old. My doctor has told me I can no longer (like never, ever) drink Coca-Cola. No Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Caffeine Free, Cherry ... nada. He pretty much yelled at me for not taking better care of my kidneys. He actually raised his voice and said something like, "Do you not care about your kidneys?"

Basically, my Ks can't filter dark. Flat out. No CC, no coffee, no tea. No Guinness. (Thanks for pointing that out Dad.) I also get dehydrated very easily. I should be going at least 2 and half liters of #1 and I am barely pushing 1 liter. This stress on my kidneys is effecting all of my digestion which is why I feel like pooper a lot, have pretty constant pain, I am run down -- and constipated. (TMI?)

I sat on the edge of the examination table and just thought, damn it. What's next? I have given up everything that made me fun and young and reckless and stupid. Smoking? out. Drinking several nights a week? Out. Long nights and watching the sun rise? Yeah, right. And I am only 31. Seriously.

The waiting room at the urologist is always uplifting. I am the youngest person by at least 30 years and no one is happy. But what person with urological problems is happy? It totally bites. There's no way around it. My kidneys are not my friends. They really, really don't like me. And apparently, I have kicked the crap out of them for years. Perhaps drinking countless Cokes for like 15 years everyday was overboard. A smidge.

But some of my most peaceful "me time" moments involved a nice Coca-Cola. Driving to high school and planning my day (mostly how to get out freshman gym as a senior) -- stick shift in one hand, crisp CC in the other. Walking to class in college with frost on the top of each blade of grass, grumbling about the cold, Coke in left, cig in right. Remember when they were still in glass bottles? What was better than a freezing cold Coke out of a glass bottle while sitting around the kitchen table with family? The laughter and satisfaction still plays in my heart.

These are moments filed under "favorite."

Let's face it. Ice cold lemonade ain't going to cut it. Sprite is inconsistent. And water is ... well ... blah. I have always thrown daggers at people who gushed over water. Why have water if you can drink a nice, cold, deliciously crisp, deliciously bubbly Coca-Cola? America was built on Coca-Cola, people! It's fantastic and wonderful. It's the best. You are lying to me if you love water. YOU ARE LYING.

I am asking all of you to stop your flaunting. Put down that can of Coke and remember there are people out there who don't get to drink it. No, I am not talking about people in third world countries. I am talking about ME! Have some respect for my condition or at least have the courtesy to disguise yourself.

Coca-cola. Enjoy. Coca-cola. Sign of good taste. Coca-cola. There's just nothing better.

90

I am not over the recent death of Tim Russert and I can't seem to shake it. When my boss called me to let me know, I actually screamed and immediately flipped to msn.com. And whether you're a print or broadcast kind of newsie, Russert was one of the best. Sure, it's pretty clear he was a democrat but unlike other "professionals" in the biz, you'd never know by his line of questioning.

I have become obsessed with watching the coverage and actually had to go to the store to peel myself off the tube. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a journalist, a writer and I have always been a current events/news junkie. My Papa was my role model and he hammered in the role of a reporter. It's not to cheer when a candidate wins (actually happened in a newsroom I worked in); it's not to attack because you don't agree; it's to report the news. That's it. Most journalists aren't really experts in anything besides journalism, AP Style and gossip. And truthfully, it's not their job. Their role is to report on the experts. It's to make sure the general public is informed. Tim Russert did that, and did it well.

The other day, I bawled over the interview of Luke Russert. He was on The Today Show to talk about his dad, his family, the whole ordeal. He was poised, strong, articulate. I sat at my desk crying hysterically while Matt Lauer struggled for words and this kid sat there and represented. He talked about Tim with such admiration and joy.

Today I scoured the Internet to pull a Tim quote to include in my company's next e-newsletter. Each issue I try to quote influential people like Thomas Edison, Bill Cosby, George Washington. I stumbled upon an interview he did on The Today Show in 2005 about his follow-up book to Big Russ and Me. In it, he said he received letters from people all over the country with stories about their dads that carried them through life. These were not grandiose gestures but little things that imprinted. It was really touching. Again, I sat there with tears. Lauer asked Russert about his relationship with his son. Russert said he wrote him a note the day he left for college that said, "Study hard, laugh often and keep your honor." And isn't that just it?

When I was in first grade my dad was on the school PTO. One day he had a meeting in the school during class hours. I don't know that I realized he would be there. We were hard at work when I looked up and saw him at my classroom. He was around 35, all spiffed up in a navy blue suit, red tie and he looked amazing. He held a single red rose. He walked up to my desk and handed it to me while my teacher gushed to the class. I can still see him in the doorway of the classroom. In fact, when I think of him now, that's the Dad I see. I was so happy and surprised -- and felt so lucky and proud.

I can only hope Joe and I are able to leave that sort of imprint on our boys.

89

Just got back from B's 9 month appt.

Length: 30 1/4 (95%)

Weight: 22 lb, 14.5 oz. (77%)

Head circumference: 47 1/4 (94%)


Brennan, of course, did well at the appointment and flirted his head off. He twinkled his eyes, looked gorgeous and made his shout for hello. (He's way into shouting these days and he fully expects you to shout right back. It's a kind of grunt/growl thing. Then it becomes a copy-cat thing that only ends when he can't control his giggles.)

He's hit all the marks for what he's supposed to be doing right now except he's not choosing to say Mama just yet. He knows my name, he looks right at me if you say it. He's just not that into playing along with us with Mama or Dada. He says Dada when he's looking for him, quietly under his breath, but he's too stubborn to actually say it to his father.

He crawls like mad. He stands, he stretches from furniture to furniture to walk and doesn't stop even after banging himself on the head like a million times. He is able to sit without support, roll over, pivot and he'd much rather feed himself that bother with us.

Luckily, he exceeded these milestones a while ago. And looking over the next group of milestones, he's already met all but two: saying one or two words and walking.

I do think he calls his brother Ba-Ba. I could be imaging but the nanny often refers to Jack has Big Brother. I have heard her say to Brennan, "Look at Big Brother! He's so funny!" and other such things.

I am excited to see what he's going to say. It's obvious he thinks his bro is the funniest person on earth but he's also annoyed by him. That brother dynamic should be a fun mix to watch.

We did have a scare at the appointment. The other night when Joe was giving the boys a bath we noticed Brennan's head had changed shape. We were immediately worried but tried not to panic and decided to wait for Brennan's well-baby check-up. As we described his symptoms to the doctor, she grew very serious and started talking about plates fusing and X-Rays and C-Scans and surgery ... I felt panic as I looked at his fluffy strawberry blond head. I knew Hubbie was feeling the same way. I saw large staples and a scar and pure awfulness.

I think she knew we were freaked out because she quickly assured us he was on target developmentally and he'd accomplished all her checkpoints in the first minute she was in the office -- without even trying.

But the image of baby brain surgery couldn't be washed away.

Note to everyone with a baby or about to have a baby: The shape of a head can look different at different stages as the plates fall into place and fuse together properly. What Joe was worried about most was actually what's left of his soft spot. What I was worried about most was a "corner" that was actually just his plate growing and shifting.

To quote the doctor: "He's perfect."