I feel really thankful. Over the past week I've been the beneficiary of some remarkable service. The first is my fabulous sister-in-law Rachael. I hate the term sister-in-law when I describe Rachael because I've known her for 16+ years. She's my sister and I look to her for advice on many levels-- most recently as my source of all things pregnancy, childbirth, and baby.

Rachael did the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. She cleaned our townhouse last week before we moved in. I'm not sure how many hours she spent there. It had to have been at least 10. She cleaned our kitchen, wiped out the cupboards, cleaned all the floors, and the bathrooms. She did everything. Considering she has a full-time gig as a corporate executive, a seven-year old and twins under the age of two, this means a lot to me.

I am also thankful to Mike N., Mike Y., Scott, Paul, Corey, my brother Brandon, and my niece Ellie for all their help with our move last Saturday. They started loading the truck at 10:00 a.m. and had delivered and unloaded everything at our new house by 12:30pm. It was amazingly fast. Brandon and Ellie came early and stayed late to help with organizing and cleaning too.

My thanks also goes out to Holly who threw a fabulous baby shower Wednesday night. The food, especially the cake, was out of this world. I appreciate all her planning, inviting, preparing, and cleaning-up. And thank you to my friends from the Capitol Hill Ward who came to celebrate. It was a perfect night!

Last but not least, thank you to Nathan for putting up with my whining, bending over to pick things up for me and rubbing my back for a few minutes every night now. He is the sweetest and sexiest man on earth!

--Val

Labels: baby, family, house, move, pregnancy, val

We're exhausted but moved in to our new home - our first home, although from the mouth of our 7-year old niece, it's "a townhome, not a real home."

Valerie and I tackled unpacking the bedroom boxes this afternoon then we watched the Redskins versus the New York Jets at her brother's house.

I promise to get inside pictures up as soon as possible but a) very tired and b) you wouldn't see anything but boxes and boxes - very unattractive.

We've already met some of the neighbors as they seem to be a mix of young couples with young kids and elderly couples.

Now the fun begins, furnishing and maintaining the place. I guess we have finally become the "responsible" adults, with our own place and the exciting bills that go along with said place.

Now its bedtime. I took Monday off so I'll be here unpacking all day long! I know, you're jealous of me!

Labels: house, move

It's here.

Moving Day is upon us.

As I sit here watching women's Olympic gymnastics, I decided to grab the camera and decided to take some pictures of what our living room currently looks like.

Boxes everywhere.





We officially move Saturday morning at 10 am. It shouldn't take a lot of time to load the truck and then unload it 15 miles away from DC in Alexandria, Virginia.

Our street is called Doctor Craik Court. It is a strangely odd name for a street in the United States. At first we thought it was due to the fact that it is near a hospital but we were recently informed of some American history that goes along with our new place.

Evidently our plot of land was once part of a much larger plot of land owned by General George Washington. So who was Doctor Craik? General Washington's personal physician.

Also, a nearby street is called Tis Well Court. Yet another strangely-named street. As you may have guessed, this too has to do with General Washington. 'Tis Well' were the last words of a dying Gen. Washington, as recorded by Tobias Lear.

Labels: house

We own it!!

This afternoon Valerie and I signed the final papers on our home and are now home owners!! We are very excited.

The 2,400 square foot townhome has three bedrooms, three and-a-half baths, and a good-sized basement. The front yard is relatively small and the back is a nice patio. There is a good, little park behind our complex for the kid to play at and the association has a tennis court and pool.

It is also in one of the best school districts in the area, which is a bonus if we were to stay there for five years or so -- which is definitely NOT in my plans!

The hardest thing to swallow has been the fact that our bank account just went from very full to depleted - but it's a good thing -- "house poor." It's a good investment.

Last night we did the final walkthrough but I forgot to take a picture of us next to the SOLD sign in the front yard so after we signed the papers today I used the wife's camera phone to take a picture in front of the townhome (it's an end unit so we have more room and light than the others).

Labels: house

Tonight Valerie and I went to watch the Washington Redskins host the Buffalo Bills in a preseason NFL contest.

Our real estate agent, Ed Pagett, was kind enough to give us his season tickets for the game.

If you know Valerie that well, you know that she is a die hard Redskins fan. Some of her weeks are determined by how they play that Sunday.

I for one am not a die hard fan of any NFL team, as I grew up in Southern California where both the Rams and Raiders deserted us.

When I married into her family they tried to convert me to a Redskins fan, but let's just say that the Redskins strategies and game plans and I don't get along. So it has been hard to be a loyal fan of a team that week in and week out disappoints my wife and brings heartache year after year.

But I sort of pull for them in the hopes that they will win so my wife will be happy.

Tonight's preseason game was average at best, but her Redskins won 17-14 and that makes her happy.

Here are two photos of her and our child sporting their collective #47 Chris Cooley jersey:

Labels: football, sports, val pregnancy baby, wife

I am a big believer of the power of the mind over the body, as I have seen it evident in my daily life.

Tonight I was talking to a friend from high school about labor pains and I was telling her about a number of people I know of who have had "relatively" pain-free deliveries using relaxation techniques ('pain-free', I know, easy for a guy to say, huh?)

I was telling her that some women mentally prepare themselves to have calm, relaxing, natural childbirth chiefly using what is known as HypnoBirthing, or the Mongan Method. Hypnobirthing is a unique method of relaxed, natural childbirth education, enhanced by self-hypnosis techniques. HypnoBirthing provides the missing link that allows women to use their natural instincts to bring about a safer, easier, more comfortable birthing. Emphasis is placed on pregnancy and childbirth, as well as on pre-birth parenting and the consciousness of the pre-born baby.

The point of this post isn't to explain what hypnobirthing is, you can do that on your own time by clicking on the above link or on Wikipedia.

Marie Mognan, the founder of Hypnobirthing, says that our media is partially to blame how women view birth and that they expect it to be painful due to hospital dramas like ER, but that it doesn't have to be painful at all.

Another way mentioned why the western world might view delivery as a painful experience is due to the Bible.

I use the King James Version of the Bible. I know many of you probably use other versions such as the New International Version.

In the KJV Genesis 3: 16 is translated as:

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

In the NIV the same verse reads:

16 To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Other versions translate this verse similarly.

Obviously there is a BIG difference in these highlighted phrases.

I wonder why the KJV (in 1604) translators chose the word 'sorrow' while the NIV translators (in 1965)chose the word 'pain.' Both were translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text.

So then, what does the Masoretic Hebrew text have to say about Genesis 3:16?

The Masoretic Hebrew text uses the word `itstsabown (pronounced: its-tsaw-bone') in this spot, which Dr. Strong translates as "worrisomeness, i.e. labor or pain:--sorrow, toil."

It is interesting how in 1604, the KJV translators decided to translate `itstsabown as 'sorrow' while in 1965, the NIV translators decided to use the word 'pain.'

Surprisingly, neither decided to use the word 'toil.'

The point I am trying to make here is that there are other methods of delivering babies which put the emphasis on the TOIL, instead of the pain. They seek to unlock the methods that will allow the woman to be in tune with her body and the baby during delivery.

However, from the Hypnobirthing website:

HypnoBirthing does not promise painless birthing, though many HypnoBirthing mothers do report having a relatively pain-free birth or one that they were able to manage easily. When the cause of pain--fear that constricts the birthing muscles - is eliminated, birthing can be accomplished in a shorter period and much more comfortably. A relaxed mother's body will produce more endorphins, nature's own relaxants. HypnoBirthing mothers may still experience sensations of tightening or pressure; but most describe their birth experience as working with their body through the sensations, and thus avoiding the excruciating pain that is frequently spoken of by women who choose other methods of preparation for birthing.

I am not sure what the reason is behind why women are conditioned to believe that birth has to be an excruciating painful process, perhaps its the media, perhaps its the Bible, perhaps its' another method (word of mouth??).

But, there are women out there who have had relatively painless, and even calm births of their children. Here is just one of many stories that can be Googled. Read at your heart's desire.

If it works - wonderful. If not - that's why there are drugs!

Labels: val pregnancy baby

I just spent the entire last week in Chicago for my first-ever professional work conference.

Not to bore you with work-related stuff but I think I fell in love with midtown and downtown Chicago while there. I definitely need to go back as a tourist and take a looksie through all the cool sites that they offer in their fine city.

Since this was my first conference for my job, I didn't know how much down time I would have or not have so I opted to leave my camera home in DC on this trip. I definitely now regret doing that. I found myself in so many awesome photo-ops I kicked myself every time. So in lieu of any photos I would have taken, here is a night shot of the Chicago skyline that I found via Google Images:



There were a few nights that I was able to get out on to the town with some co-workers and on Saturday I went on a Chicago River boat tour with a British co-worker. It was an informative tour that highlighted all of the architecture that lines the riverfront and the stories behind each one of them. I'd recommend the Shoreline Sightseeing Cruise/tour to any visitor.

My sister-in-law and I tried to go eat at Giordano's on Michigan Avenue (also known as the Magnificent Mile) but the wait was an hour and a half! Unreal! I mean, pizza is good and all, but not 1:30-wait good. So we tried another place but that restaurant had a 40 minute wait and we ended up at TGI Friday's. So I didn't get an opportunity to eat at any authentic Chicago restaurant and will have to do that when I go back.

I also tried to go see the Dark Knight at the Navy Pier Imax (as my friend Erik told me that's the best way to experience the movie) but it was sold out ALL WEEK!

That's another thing that I need to hit up when I go back to Chicago... the Navy Pier. From their website:

Historic Navy Pier® is Chicago's lakefront playground. And it's the Midwest's #1 tourist and leisure destination, attracting more than 8.6 million visitors a year.

Navy Pier is the place where all of Chicagoland and tourists from around the world have come together since 1995 to enjoy the beauty and the thrills of a day on Lake Michigan. From rides to restaurants, exhibitions to entertainment, shopping to dining cruises and tour boats Navy Pier has it all - in a location unlike any other!

Of all the things I'll be sure to pack in my next trip to Chicago, my DSLR camera will top the list!

Labels: chicago, vacation

Valerie and I have set up an online pool so that our friends and families can enter their guesses on our baby's due date, time, weight and length.

This game is like golf... lowest score wins!



As we've already spilt, it's a boy, so if you choose GIRL as your gender guess you will lose 400 points.

You DO NOT need to register to play. When you click on the link below you will be taken directly to the game page.

Proceed to the top right of the screen and click on "Enter a guess."

Of you register first, you will be able to go back and change your answer.

Here are the point break downs:

incorrect gender: + 400 points if you ignored my instructions and think it's a girl
date & time: + 5 points per hour away from actual birth time
weight: + 5 points per ounce away from actual weight
length: + 10 points per inch away from actual length

To participate, go to ExpectNet.com or go to ExpectNet.com and enter Baby_Coffeybean as the game name in the space indicated on the home page.

The winner MAY get a chance to babysit!!!! :)

Labels: val pregnancy baby

On a whim I went to the 47th Annual Congressional Baseball game at Nationals Park.

Democrats versus Republicans.

Baseball like it was meant to be played.

What? Politicians playing baseball? Yes, it was baseball, not softball. Before you go laughing, know that these politicians are actually pretty good for their age. Most are former college athletes. I was impressed. Read on...

Led by manager Rep. Joe Barton (TX-6), the Republicans came in searching for the five-series sweep against their counterparts. To the winner went the coveted Roll Call Trophy along with bragging rights.

Last year's winning pitcher Rep. John Shimkus (R, IL-19) faced off against Rep. Joe Baca (D, CA-43). This year, the two Congressmen were both tapped to face off again.

Following the amazing defense of 2B Rep. Kevin Brady (R, TX-8), who threw out two Democrats at home plate to preserve an early 3-1 lead, the Democrats' so-called "good luck charm" Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA-8), showed up to the ballpark to a thunderous roar from the third base fans. With the appearance of Madam Speaker Pelosi, the second half of the game turned into a seesaw affair, as both sides put up multi-run innings.

After the Democrats took a one run lead in the top of the sixth, Rep. Chip Pickering (R, MS-3) led off the bottom of the sixth with a game-tying, inside-the-park home run, followed by a triple from Rep. Zach Wamp (R, TN-3).

The GOP put up a total of five runs in the sixth and headed into the final inning with a comfortable 8-4 lead. However, the Democrats weren't ready to call it a night yet.

After the Republicans' lone Senator, relief pitcher Sen. John Ensign (R, NV-1), loaded the bases and allowed a run to score in the seventh, the Republicans brought Rep. Shimkus back in as a relief pitcher. Rep. Shimkus fanned the first two Democrats he faced in relief, but the majority party proceeded to score six runs in the inning to take a 10-8 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.

After relief pitcher Rep. Bart Stupak (D, MI-1) showed signs of fatigue, the Democrats brought Rep. Baca back in to face the Republicans in the bottom of the seventh. But the GOP was not intimidated by Rep. Baca.

A few intentional walks, and bloop singles aided the GOP in bringing the game within one run to tie. The grandson of one of the greatest Major League managers of all-time, Hall of Famer Connie Mack, Jr., Rep. Connie Mack IV (R, FL-14) strolled into the batters box 0-for-2 on the evening. Looking to make his grandfather proud, Rep. Mack hit a ball between first and second base into shallow right field to bring home the tying run. On an errant throw into the infield, pinch-runner Rep. Adam Putnam (R, FL-12) chugged around third base and headed for home and the GOP's 10th victory.

As the throw came towards home plate, Rep. Putnam was well ahead of the ball and the Republicans took the game 11-10.

The Republicans have clearly dominated the Roll Call Congressional battle with a "franchise" record of 33-14. The Democrats have not won a game since 2000.

The event, which sold tickets for $8, usually raises over $100,000 for local Washington, D.C. nonprofits. The proceeds from tonight's game benefited the Washington Literacy Council and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington.



Images I took tonight are in a folder on Flickr. Since I am far from a professional sports photographer, I decided not to edit them. Sorry.

Labels: baseball

Valerie and I have spent a lot of hours this past week with a family friend who happens to be a real estate agent. He has worked with her family in the Northern Virginia area for over 20 years.

Now that I have a full-time job and with Valerie's job going well in Georgetown, we have been house hunting in her old stomping grounds of Alexandria. We need to get out of our one bedroom basement apartment soon - preferably before the baby boy comes! I've heard that babies tend to come with lots of "stuff."

With the market the way it is we decided to lock in an excellent interest rate (in hopes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issues wouldn't kill us) and found a beautiful townhome in Alexandria.

We have toured it twice and still like it, and met with our real estate agent this evening to go over the preliminary paperwork. We are going to put in an offer and see what the owner comes back with. It may be a long shot, but we are closer to buying our own house! I'll just be happy with a house that we like so Valerie doesn't need to spend hours house hunting anymore and can enjoy her spacious digs for once!

I'm sure the amount we are offering will be countered, but it's a start and if anything, it's been a learning experience and a "dry run." We'll keep looking but hopefully we will be able to find something and move into it BEFORE the little tyke comes.

It's been frustrating for me to think that Valerie and I were born just a few years too late to get into a house in our mid-20s. Other members of our family were able to buy nice homes for a lot less than they are nowadays. The market skyrocketed a bit too early for our situation, unfortunately. Hopefully housing prices keep falling and interest rates don't increase to drastically.

Another issue that has frustrated me was a) not having a job/income for the past few weeks and b)while house hunting, finding gorgeous relatively-new homes in the $280K range in states such as Georgia (NW of the Atlanta beltway), and North Carolina (Raleigh-Durham) where there are good schools, good people and unfortunately no jobs that would hire me. I know. I looked. I applied. Nothing. I was hoping to find something in those areas so we could move right into a gorgeous home, but I guess right now it's the DC metro area and a townhome. Regardless, it's time to build some equity.

So... I am off to sign the paperwork, so Valerie can return it to our agent in the morning and he can get the ball rolling with the art of real estate!

Babies, real estate, new job.... lots to be thankful for!

Labels: house val