Friday�s baby excitement finished off a bit late that night when it was announced that she�s finally named. Alizabeth Riley Keena, it�s nice to have you here.

Unfortunately, there are no developed pictures yet. Soon after making her appearance, she was ushered to the NICU. With an unknown type of infection, she�s been there since Friday. We�re waiting for a culture of her germs to grow (which takes 2-5 days after taking a sample) to know what kind of antibiotics will help her out. Until then, she lives germ-free with a generic stream of anti-germ meds running through her. Her appetite is good, so nobody seems to be really worrying.

My sister was released yesterday from the hospital, so she�ll be making the trip back and forth to the NICU until Alizabeth is healthy enough to come home.

Until then, Poppy (a.k.a., my dad) is babysitting Branden.

While my sister was off having Alizabeth, Poppy took on babysitting duties for a day. It seems in the 17 years since he�s had a youngun, he�s forgotten a bit. I got a call asking how many times kids went to the bathroom each day.

�Well, it depends on how much juice you gave him...�

Apparently Poppy doled out the juice freely and Branden�s walnut-sized bladder was just letting everything run right through it. Eight diaper changes later, I got a confused phone call.

Poppy also didn�t keep as close an eye on Branden as necessary, as he found the baby in the bathroom, �cleaning� the toilet with the scrub brush. Give a one and a half year old free reign with a plastic wand and several inches of water, and you�ve got a mess.

When I questioned my dad on whether or not he should be in-charge of watching his grandson, my nephew, my sister�s first child, my mom�s favorite little kid around, he reminded me that he allowed me to drive when I was eight.

It was a stick shift...

I drove to the town 20 miles away...

It looks like Poppy�s gotten out of babysitting duty for my future children. Good move, Pops. I�m sure mine will be hellions.

My Friday evening was spent at a gay sports bar way north of town to celebrate the birthday of Oz. Whenever I get together with Oz, there are always great people around. This man has some fabulous friends, and their turn-out on his big day was fantastic. I don�t think I�ve ever known that many people, but he�s definitely deserving of their love.

I met-met (instead of in-passing-met) this super extrovert who ushered me around all night. �Jo, this is XYZ. He�s fabulous because of (1), (2), (3). XYZ, this is Jo. I�m just now learning why she�s fabulous.�

After his friendliness wore him out and he went home, I spent the rest of the night with a lovely lesbian couple who I can never remember the names of. I went home at a decent hour to get some much-needed rest.

I got my around-the-house stuff done early on Saturday, worked out to keep the contest between Benito and me tied, finished a book (Memoirs of a Geisha), and petted Hambone a whole bunch.

Benito and I went to the movies to see The Incredibles (highly recommended) before going to dinner in Wicker Park. I don�t know if it was the candlelight or the fancy napkin ties around our silverware, but I felt especially fluttery-eyed toward my man over dinner. He really is great.

We headed back to his place after dinner to watch the decidedly unfunny SNL, and I fell asleep before the show even ended. With our limbs tangled, I had some of the best sleep I�ve ever had. Again, note that my boyfriend is great.

I had to be somewhere at 3 p.m., so Benito took me home early after eating at the most-excellent corn burrito place by his house. (It�s a burrito place that puts corn on the burrito, and it�s sooo good.)

We had a shorter-than-usual weekend this go round, will have only Friday night next weekend (which will be shared with my brother), and only a bit of Sunday on the next. I already miss him, (now let�s state the obvious...) as I truly enjoy being around him.

But with our time abbreviated over the next couple of weeks, this will give me a chance to rock it as much as I can to get my class over with. In a mere couple of weeks, I should be a fully licensed real estate agent in the state of Illinois.

In yesterday�s appointment I talked with a friendly agent who I previously met at an open house in my building. We talked about the process of getting a job, how to make a decision on an agency, and other topics that aren�t being taught in my online class but are need-to-know materials.

Pretty soon it�ll be all official and stuff that I�ll be a part-time agent, full-time booty shaker in the game of life.

[Er, something like that...]

BUSTED!

Me: With the potential lay-offs, I�ve been taking my lunch to work each day.

Benito: I should do that. I just don�t have food in the house for it.

Me: Well, if you cooked dinner each night instead of eating Chex mix and microwave popcorn, you�d also have lunch for the next day.

Benito: Gah! And you cook?

Me: Yeah, almost every night.

Benito: You know how to cook?

Me: Um, yeah...

Benito: Why haven�t we ever cooked anything for me?

Me: Because you always take me out for sushi instead.