Things to do before having children

While bouncing from link to link online the other day, I came across a blog that I hadn't visited in about two years, and one article title really stood out: 70 Things to Do Before Having Children. While any list like this would be specific to any person/couple's personality, likes/dislikes, sense of adventure, etc. there is a valid point that there are many things you won't have time to do or want to do once the baby arrives. With that, here are some of the highlights from this couple's list that Lynne and I can say we were glad we did before having a baby.

1. Live in a high rise condo with an amazing view.
Not really interested in a high rise, but we have had our share of fun apartments/townhouse/fraternity that I don't think we'd change for anything

2. Take a month long vacation on the opposite side of the world in a city with a completely different culture.
I think two months in Bangkok qualifies :)

3. Attend the Super Bowl live.
Of course I think this would be fun, but what's to say that baby-sitting grandparents wouldn't make this an easy one down the road...especially when the Bowl comes to Indy (here's hoping the Bears are awesome that year). Also, I hit the Rose Bowl back in 2000/2001, which is the Super Bowl of college football!

4. Jump out of a perfectly good airplane.
Been there, done that (I doubt Lynne ever will though)

5. Make love in places you aren’t supposed to.
[Redacted]

6. Swim with the sharks
Doesn't seem that interesting...but you never know

7. Scuba-dive to a large ship wreck.
Thanks to my dad, I can actually say that I've been scuba diving multiple times, so that should count for something! And deep sea snorkeling should count for something (which we both did in Thailand, as well as other locales)

8. Audition to be on TV or in a movie… even if you’re just an extra.
I did try my hand at getting on two reality shows (although I sure didn't try very hard) while at Purdue. I made the semi-finals in a campus search for contestants for the old Who Wants to Be a Millionaire rip-off, Greed, but alas, my head shot wasn't very compelling. I also was one of three guys in my fraternity to put together a video entry for a show called "flipped" that was going to run on Fox (or Fox Family, which became ABC Family) and put people in new life situations they weren't accustomed to (like Wife Swap, but with individuals). They wanted a fraternity to participate, but the show never got off the ground. I remember sitting in my room thinking of the options of places they could swap me to, and honestly, I thought they'd all be exciting and eye-opening. Also, the Smiley family was in a Dodge commercial, and Lynne auditioned for theater stuff, which is way more high-brow than TV.

9. Throw the house party of all house parties. Supply all the booze and invite everyone you know.
This sounds like us, right? Well, we did throw a great ATO Semi-formal post party at the townhouse in Lafayette, since it was less than a block from the dance venue. And Lynne threw me a great graduation surprise party, so those count.

[now editing out the ones that really don't apply, for time's sake]

12. Become skilled with a musical instrument.
Lynne's got her voice, Kirk had the sax, and I'm still fiddling away at the guitar when I'm bored.

14. Live in the heart of New York City, Chicago, Boston or another major city for at least a year.
Downtown Lafayette doesn't count?? C'mon, it's a metropolis!

15. Spend a few weeks vacationing on the beaches of Kauai with your partner.
We've covered the beaches of Phuket, Thailand, and we've been to beaches in Florida and South Carolina together. I know we'll have more beaches in our future, but they will be very different trips with kids!

20. Read at least 30 books.
Yeh, we both have that more than covered.

21. Jump off a cliff into a natural body of water in an exotic location.
Why would I ever STOP doing this! :)

25. Drink warm beer out of a barrel in a real Irish pub.
Why is this even on the list? I did it before I drank and appreciated beer, in Ireland, and it was gross, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it more now.

26. Spend a night pub-hopping in London.
I've had the opportunity to do this in London, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany, all thanks to the Oxford study abroad program so graciously provided for free by Purdue University :) Nothing like putting your scholarship stipend to good use. I think Lynne missed out here.

27. Stage dive and crowd surf at a rock concert.
OK, I've never stage dived at a rock concert, but I have crowd surfed at a punk rock concert multiple times.

33. Go snowboarding in the Rockies.
A worthy list would have this item, but replace "snowboarding" with "skiing" since it's way better. I've been lucky enough to ski in the Rockies on 4 different occasions: Winter Park, Breckenridge (twice), Beaver Creek, and Keystone. Good times with family and friends. Lynne's never skied west of Michigan, but we certainly have the intention to get her a real skiing experience down the road (once she re-learns how).

35. Attain a solid understanding of how the government works in your country.
I guess minoring in political science helps, but it would be more fun to attain a solid understanding of how other nation's governments work, for comparison sake.

36. Master one particular style of dance.
While I was in no way a "master," I did get pretty good at swing dancing back in '98/'99 thanks to the musical influence, underage clubs, lessons, and plenty of girls willing to let me throw them around a dance floor. Once Lynne doesn't have a belly getting in the way, she's going to let me teach her :) Lynne also thinks she can waltz pretty well...me, not so much.

37. Fall in love.
Of course, but it is a bit sad that this is included on the list of things to do before you have kids. Too bad it's not a biological prerequisite.

38. Write a book… even if it’s short and never gets published.
I've won some awards for poetry and expository writing, but never ventured into the novel/novella, but I do have some outlines. Throw my poems into a collection, and *pow* you have a book that will never be published. :)

39. Drive through a (somewhat safe) portion of a third world country like Mexico or Costa Rica to gain perspective on what true poverty looks like.
Or, try living in a slum in an unsafe portion of a third world country, walking around it every day, choosing to dive into it instead of taking a skewed view through a car window, through actual encounters with the individuals who live in heart-wrenching conditions every day.

40. Go skinny dipping in a large body of water at midnight.
Who hasn't done this...even Lynne has! C'mon!

41. Take a shower under a waterfall.
If by "shower" you mean you stink and stand under the waterfall, then definitely. If this requires soap, you're doing it wrong.

42. Decide on your current life goals and write them down.
I actually don't make life goals...just go where the Lord leads. What's that line?..."If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."

43. Spend New Years Eve in Times Square.
We both think that just looks uncomfortable and NOT fun. There are tons more fun places to spend the occasion, and I prefer Disney World :)

44. Go on a blind date (or a couple’s dinner date with new friends you hardly know).
We've done the couple's dinner date thing, it was fun. Lynne's had one blind date, but it wasn't the best.

46. Hit up Oktoberfest in Munich.
I would love to do this, and I really enjoyed being in Munich for a little summer festival they had in 2000. I could spend all day at the Hofbrauhaus.

49. Experience Spring Break in all its glory in Cancun, Mexico or Panama City Beach, Florida.
Um, not a big fan of "Spring Break in all its glory," since "glory" is infinitesimally too strong a word, but Lynne had a spring break trip to Panama City Beach, Florida, and Kirk's spent spring break in Colorado and Cozumel, Mexico, so he's had the snow and sun experiences (snow is better!).

51. Rent a fast sports car and speed down the Autobahn.
I've been the passenger in a car speeding (very much so) down the Autobahn, if that counts. It was fun to see how fast a Volvo station wagon could go!

53. Buy your first house.
So excited that we did that one last year!! We love it!

54. Own a convertible sports car.
Why own, when you can drive a friend's convertible? The perks without the price or the tickets. Although I do like the sunroof on our 2000 Infiniti.

55. Hike the Grand Canyon.
Kirk's been there, but didn't get to hike down in it (other than for a short little hike), and Lynne hasn't been, so this is definitely a locale for a future trip.

56. Attend a Red Sox vs. Yankees game in Fenway Park.
This item is inherently flawed. Who cares about these two teams? Silly east coast bias. How about "Attend a Cubs vs. Cardinals game at Wrigley Field?" That is the ultimate baseball regular season moment, and we've done it twice (and the Cubs won both times)! Also, Kirk got to see the Cubs play at St. Louis last year, and that was a fun experience to be surrounded by the enemy. Of course, the Cubs won that game, too. Go Cubs Go!

57. Spend a whole day making love without every leaving the house.
[Redacted...again!]

58. Learn to make one mixed cocktail like a pro bartender.
As my friends can attest to, I don't make mixed drinks well (Kamikaze a little strong there fella?), although I used to make a mean martini before I disliked vodka (and we don't drink enough for me to perfect a gin martini now). Lynne's probably much better at this.

69. Master a few fancy dinner recipes.
As our friends Alex and Sonja can attest to, we've done some for sure (despite the occasional recipe going horribly wrong...ok, more like slightly wrong, but in my eyes, it was horrible)

70. Finish up your formal education (but continue learning).
Yeh, we are both sooooo done with that! 8 years and 5 years is plenty!

Hooray for the longest post on our blog ever! If you are still reading, you must really love us, or be pretty bored today.

The Name Game

Since we are in the final stretch (quite literally) until the baby is born, it's been fun as more and more people are trying to guess the name. In an effort to spread the wealth to those we don't see all of the time, it is now open season on guessing the name. Submit your best guess (or guesses, but try to limit them to a handful) to Kirk, and the winner (whoever is closest* or, if you're good, spot on) gets a special prize. I've shared a variety of clues here and there, but the main clues are listed below. Good luck!

-The name is not in the top 300 on the Social Security baby name website for 2007. Now, some people have taken that to mean that the name is in the 300-400 range, because why else would I say "top 300" and not "top 400." While I applaud that astute observation, the 300+ qualification came well before we chose a name. I simply would not OK any name more popular than number 300, since I deemed it too common. Why 300 as the cutoff? Because I'm weird, that's why. It really was purely arbitrary. So I highly recommend looking at names #300-1,000.


-The name is an uncommon/rare shortened form of another name. This doesn't mean the name we chose is "short" but simply means that it could be a derivative of another name, but it is rarely used in this manner. It's a name in its own right.


-There is an actress with this name, but not one I really knew of before choosing the name (and I try to be a film/tv buff, although I used to be much better at it). This clue really doesn't help much, since a simple imdb.com search would likely find an actress with any name you could think of.


-This name might have a different connotation to my mother's generation than to my generation...but it might not.


-The baby's middle name is Kathryn, since Lynne, her grandmother, and her mother all have that same middle name. I like Kathryn, but I also know that if our second child is a girl, I get to pick a weirder middle name that time around. While we didn't pick a first name specifically to "flow" or "gel" with Kathryn as a middle name, we also don't think it sounds horrible, so take that however you are so inclined.


-Many of our friends and family know that during the name search process, we both refused to look at names that ended in a long "e" sound or an "s" sound. An "e" sound (e.g. Janie) coupled with the long "e" at the end of "Smiley" is cute for a little girl, but seemed to cutesy for an adult woman (yes, the baby will one day grow up, crazy!). Avoiding an ending "s" sound is to avoid a run on to "Smiley."



-Still others have asked, "The name IS in the top 1,000, right?" To that, my simple response is: "I wouldn't be that mean, would I?" :)


Now go get to work!


*"closest" defined by Kirk

What sport were you watching yesterday?

What could possibly overshadow the NCAA championship game last night (other than a baby's arrival, of course)? Why, the Cubs winning the first game of the season in Houston, of course. It's the beginning of another exciting and cautiously optimistic year, and for many, the regular season is just a long introduction to the opportunity for the Cubs to show they can actually win a playoff game this time around (third time's the charm, right?). Here's to baseball!

A little fashion side-note: I'm so happy the Cubs have ditched the red brimmed road hats and batting helmets, in favor of all blue. Looks much better, and any chance to avoid the hated color* is good.

*red is hated because it represents IU and the St. Louis Cardinals

A final touch to the nursery!

Lynne saw this cool concept in a magazine, and she spent a lot of time making this cool accent to the baby's room. It ties into the tree theme of the Pottery Barn Kids bedding, and she thinks the baby will love to look up at it when we're holding her in the chair. She sponge painted the branch and then made and added leaves, moss, butterflies, a couple small bird nests, and even a little hummingbird.

Also, a more recent pic of Lynne and her gigantic belly. But, honestly, it could be a lot bigger...she still gets asked if she's due in a couple months...try 6 days! Also, I had two more incidents of people thinking that the beatiful white, green, and pink stripes are wallpaper. I guess that means we made them look really good, but wallpaper sure would have been easier!

More nursery pics

As we EAGERLY anticipate the baby's arrival (Lynne says she can't come out soon enough now), I thought I'd post some more pics of the (nearly) finished nursery. Totally girly, for sure.

Still waiting on the back-ordered dresser/changing table :(

Bear down Chicago Bears!

I'm glad the baby didn't choose to arrive this afternoon, because I may have missed the news of what was the most impactful off-season move in my lifetime as a Bears fan. The Bears traded for Jay Cutler, the best quarterback to (soon) play for the Bears in my lifetime (and since pre WWII). Totally wasn't expecting that, and they picked up a probowl left tackle to protect him. Definitely excited and looking forward to the NFL season more now!



Alas, the excitement over the new Chicago arrival also brings some sadness as Boilermaker Kyle Orton heads to Denver. Maybe he'll get the chance there that many fans didn't want to give him in Chicago.

In an attempt to spread the Bears joy across the world, I went to this funny little site I learned of today, called omegle, where people, for no apparent reason, talk to one random stranger at a time. To see if there were any true Bears fans out there across the Interwebs, I began each conversation with "Bear down..." to see who could pick up the rest of the first line of the Chicago Bears Fight Song (Bear down Chicago Bears, pretty simple). Sadly, after about 100 attempts to elicit the correct response, I had been cussed at, spoken to in spanish, french, and portugese, and told "rawr" many times. And then, in the perfect case of "be careful what you wish for," I had a random chatter respond in a way that I KNEW that THEY knew what I was talking about. Of course, that response came in the form of

Me: Bear down...
Stranger: F*** the Bears

I later learned that his dislike for a certain former coach, from a certain city, who could single handedly beat the Giants (Ditka, if you aren't following the Superfans reference) was the cause of his distaste for the Bears. So I found one random person somewhere in the world who understood my opening line, but who hated the Bears. Great.

Anyway, now all we need is a receiver and a safety, and we should be good for 19 wins...right?

Eating (and cooking) Vegetarian

Our friends Alex and Sonja have decided to drastically limit their meat consumption for environmental/sustainability reasons. It's been pretty interesting learning about this from them and seeing their excitement for a vegetarian diet. It also made for a fun additional challenge to hosting them for a gourmet dinner. I don't think I've ever cooked a meal without a meat product, and finding recipes that were hearty yet diverse was a lot of fun. We even successfully served up many courses without ever featuring a "traditional" salad. The recipes were mostly from a great "Garden Feasts" cookbook I found at a booksale. The author just happens to be a Purdue grad, too!

Menu (with illustrations from the book)

Lime Spritzers


Red Pepper Pesto and Hummus with Pita Bread


Chilled Cream of Asparagus Soup with Mardi Gras Confetti

Grilled Artichoke with Tomato Compote


Risotto Pancakes with Shittake Mushrooms and Cream Sauce and Leek Clouds

Strawberry, Peach, and Mint Sorbet

A Spanish Feast!

This is from last month, but I just saw the pictures, so I had to post them. I hope they make you as hungry as they make me...but at least I got to savor this delicious food. Our friends Alex and Sonja cooked this amazing feast. I could eat that Paella alllll day.

Alex and Sonja

Garlic Marinated Olives

Pan Con Tomate

Goat Cheese and Blood Orange Salad

Paella!

Apples Soaked in Red Wine

Kokoro revisited

I was up in West Lafayette this week for a couple work meetings, and it gave me the great opportunity to head back to Kokoro for some sushi. I fell in love with Kokoro during my years at Purdue and took Lynne there for an early date, where she loved it, too. When we lived downtown, we were only two blocks away, and if it weren't for the cost, probably would have eaten there weekly. I declare that Kokoro serves the best sushi in the states. I know, you'll probably laugh at that one, since how could a land-locked small town have such great sushi? But it all comes from a very unique man, who doesn't do traditional sushi, but "Tony food." Tony has been called the Sushi Nazi (ala Seinfeld's soup nazi) because he is a strong personality with some simple rules. No hats, no special orders, and "My Way or Highway!" He's been a chef for over 45 years, and he's still going strong. We always try to sit as close to his work station as possible so we can enjoy his banter, ordering around of his crew, and playful cussing out of his patrons.

At Kokoro, I was lucky enough to be the only person there late that evening, so I had Tony all to myself. We caught up, talked about how business was struggling due to the economy (weekdays were pretty slow, fewer international students were coming for dinner, etc.). I told Tony that I would cry if I ever saw the place closed for good, and he reassured me at the end of the meal not to worry. Tony and I also talked about Lynne, and the imminent baby arrival, and he was excited for us. When I told Tony that Lynne was sad because, being pregnant, she can't enjoy raw seafood, he said he felt bad for her. I then told him that I still ate it, even though she couldn't, and, in his heavy accent said, "That's really nice of you...Asshole!" He then laughed incredibly hard. That is quintessential Tony, and why we love him.

Also, whenever Lynne and I would go to Kokoro in the past, Tony would have reggae music playing. Much like Pavlov's dog, this conditioned me to salivate and want sushi whenever I hear reggae! This time, Tony wasn't playing reggae though! I asked him why not, and he said sometimes he needs other music. I explained about my reggae conditioning and this concept (and the trials run on Pavlov's dog) to Tony, and he howled with delight and then promptly changed the music back to reggae for the rest of the dinner. We both agreed that his restaurant is the only one in Indiana where you can listen to reggae, and that it's probably the only place in the world you can eat sushi and listen to reggae.

I also got to talk a bit with Ton'y wife, who is the sweetest petite Japenese woman. After dinner was over, I did bring home some tempura roll for Lynne, so I won some bonus points there, as she was so sad to miss the Kokoro experience. Here's wishing success to Tony and Kokoro and for them to weather this economic downturn! Lots of restuarants are going out of business, and Kokoro better not be a casualty.

Birmingham or Bust (or Baby?)

Looking for a chance to get out of town one last time before the baby arrives, I had the great idea to go watch the US Davis Cup tennis tournament in Birmingham, Alabama last weekend. For those that don't know, Davis Cup pits nation against nation in a year-long tennis tournment, which often features a country's best players. The US used to dominate the Davis Cup but went through a dry spell in the late 90's to 2007, when they finally recaptured the title under the team of Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Bob and Mike Bryan. This year's first-round match was scheduled against the Swiss, and I was so excited to go because Roger Federer had committed to play. I had never been to a pro tennis event before, so the chance to see Federer play two (or maybe three) matches against the US, was too good to pass up.

Unfortunately, Federer bailed (because he was scared? or because he had a back injury), but with my buddy Erik Mosley in tow, we watched some great tennis last weekend. In Davis Cup, each team fields two singles players and a doubles team. On Friday, James Blake played Switzerland's best player not named Federer (Stanislas Wawrinka, ranked 16th in the world), and unfortunately lost in 4 sets. Then it was Andy Roddick's turn to destroy the other Swiss player filling in for Federer (I don't even remember his name) in straight sets.

Saturday is a features day for doubles, with only one match scheduled. The US is lucky to have Bob and Mike Bryan, twin brothers, who are the best doubles team in the world, and possibly the best in history (they still have some time left to cement that claim). It took four sets, but the handled the Swiss team of Wawrinka and Allegro in a very exciting match. Having played so much doubles in my life, it was awe-inspiring to watch these two at the top of their game.

With the US leading the match 2-1, Sunday would decide it all. Roddick took on Wawrinka in the first match of the day, and if he won, it would clinch the match for the US. The team calls Roddick the closer, because he has NEVER lost when up 2-1 and playing on the last day. This time was no different, as Roddick played brilliantly to win in straight sets. Then the team took a victory lap around the court, waving the flag. Very cool.

The Davis Cup tournament is a fun experience because, as opposed to a normal tennis event with mild clapping and no real rooting interest, the crowd can get behind their countrymen, make lots of noise, and celebrate in a way uncommon to the sport. The nationalistic pride is really fun, and it was even great to see the large Swiss contingent at the arena who were great sports and had some well-coordinated cheers.

What made the weekend of tennis even more fun was hanging out in Birmingham with Erik, who I normally only get to see a couple times a year at Purdue sporting events. Being an awesome tennis player in his own right, he could also appreciate watching 6 hours of tennis in one day! We also thoroughly "did" Birmingham as we hit all sorts of local restaurants, dives, bars, and tourist spots. Some highlights included:

-Fantastic BBQ at Dreamland...we enjoyed the unique sauce, ribs, pork, smoked sausage, baked beans, and the essential banana puddin'.

-The Vulcan - a giant iron statue on a big hill on the south side of the city. Being up next to it on a windy night was fun, and I think I pulled the pose off well.

-Little local joints Seafood D-lite (guessing we were the first non-locals to ever eat there, but good gumbo and hush puppies), Rojo (good Mexican), Dave's Pub, 5 Points Grill, The Garage Cafe (a unique indoor/outdoor bar with more antiques than an annual flea market), and Twist and Shout (a dueling piano bar where I had to keep Erik from hitting on the bachelorette party ladies).

-sampling lots of local beers. It was our goal to drink Alabama or southern brewed beer whenever possible, and we had some interesting pints courtesy of Good People, a local Bham brewer, and Terrapin (brewed in Georgia)

Overall, it was a fantastic trip, and a much needed "last getaway." Did I mention Lynne was there too? She decided to use our "guys' trip" to hitch a ride to Birmingham and stay with her friend Katie that she hadn't seen in a long time. It definitely made for some good company on the 8-hour drive since Erik flew in to meet me in Alabama. Also, it made for some anxiety as we had to prepare for the big What If...Lynne went into labor on the car ride or in Birmingham! As Lynne put it, "I'd rather have the baby in Alabama and you be there, than to have the baby in Indy and you be in Alabama." Good point!