Brightwood Lights

Election’s Over; Thankful for the Home Stretch

Well, our DC election predictions came true: DC went 92%+ for Barack Obama.  Nancy worked at the polls (a loooong day), the politics news barrage has calmed down, and we’re glad to have it behind us.  DC as a whole was elated when Obama’s win was confirmed; people were literally dancing in the streets.

We’ve been dancing ourselves lately - our Northwestern Wildcats have 8 wins so far this season.  That includes winning at Michigan this weekend for only the second time since 1960.  Go Cats!

Other than avoiding campaign commercials, we spent a good couple of weekends over the past month getting our back yard spruced up a bit.  Caleb’s parents came into town for a weekend and helped to install a new paver walkway and a set of new steps for the back porch.  Nancy’s dad made a spontaneous weekend visit in November and lent a hand in getting rid of the last of the debris from the yard.  Overall, the yard is (slowly) undergoing a transformation - giving us hope for the rest of the house =).

The Joker is due to arrive on the scene sometime within the next six weeks - the home stretch.  You can count down with us (or close to it) every time you hear the number of shopping days until Christmas.  Our due date is December 28.

Enjoy the newly updated pictures … we’ll be back in a bit.

Election Season in Washington, D.C.

This week, while I was out on one of my early morning walks (which have replaced my runs for now), I passed by a house a few blocks from ours with a McCain-Palin sign in the front yard.  It was quite a stunning sight, actually.
So what, you ask.  Don’t you live in Washington?  Don’t all the Republican Hill staffers live in Washington?  Surely there are McCain-Palin supporters running around there.
True enough- Washington is filled with scores of both Republicans and Democrats.  And down on Capitol Hill, you’ll see a few McCain Palin signs in windows or in the back windows of cars.  But that’s “Washington.”  Official Washington.  The truth is, most of those folks aren’t even technically residents here- they maintain their residencies and voter registration in their home states, even though they spend most of their time here (representing you, I might add), clogging our roads but stimulating our economy, all while avoiding paying our high city taxes and denying us a voice in Congress.  But I digress. . .

The rest of us- those of us not officially involved in politics- are residents of “The District.”  We may or may not be employed by the federal government, and we may or may not enjoy discussing our political views.  We are, however, the most through-and-through Democratic (non) state in the country.  In the 2004 presidential election, 89.2% of us gave our votes to John Kerry.  In the 2008 presidential primary, Obama received 85,534 votes (75%) to Hilary Clinton’s 27,326 (24%).  By comparison, John McCain won the Republican primary with 3,929 votes (68%).  Wow.  Needless to say, McCain-Palin doesn’t have a prayer here. . . but they do have one lonely yard sign.

Another DC Summer

We are in the throes of another hot and sticky DC summer, but that doesn’t mean that fun is not to be had.  Local highlights of this past month have included going to another Nationals game AND to an Orioles/Tigers game in Baltimore (where Simona yelled “Let’s go, Nats!” the entire time), enjoying weekly dinners with Tante KK (with an occasional appearance by the attack-Schildkroete), listening to free music at an outdoor amphitheater (National Symphony Orchestra!) and at the Zoo (Army Jazz Band), and spending plenty of time at pools, splash parks, and playgrounds.

Not-so-local highlights have included a weekend in Iowa to visit family and- for Nancy and Caleb only- a twenty-four hour trip to Chicago to attend a friend’s wedding.  Simona stayed behind for one night with Tante KK, which, I’m told, was completely tranquil and uneventful for all parties involved.

Tante KK is only in town for one more week, and we will be quite sad to see her go.  Fortunately, we go to Georgia in mid-August and will spend one more weekend with her (and other family) before she heads back up to school in New York.

We hope you’re all enjoying your summers, too!

Play ball!

The first photo of Caleb and me (that we know of) was taken at a Cubs game we attended with a big group of friends from college in the spring of 1999. Caleb hates that I am wearing a Cubs hat (a free give away that day) as that is one of his least favorite teams, but otherwise it’s a good picture.

It also was a harbinger of what was to come in our marriage.  One of our main shared interests is the good old “national pasttime.”  I grew up “doing the chop” at Fulton County Stadium, while Caleb caught as many Cards games as he possibly could at the old Busch stadium. Thus, we were both thrilled to learn that the (former) Expos, now known as the Nationals, were moving to Washington in April 2005. Most spring, summer, and early fall nights in our household incorporate the voices of Charlie and Dave, the Nats radio hosts, as background noise, and many a train of thought has been derailed by the words, “way back. . . going, going, and gone!  Goodbye!”

(For the record: We’ve agreed that, though our first loyalties will remain to our respective teams, we will raise Simona a Nats fan and cheer for them when they don’t play (or otherwise affect) our Braves or Cardinals.)

Thus, we were THRILLED to get two tickets to Opening Day in 2008. Not only was it each of our first Opening Day, it also was the opening of the new baseball stadium in Washington DC. President Bush threw out the first pitch, which marked our first sighting of him since living in this city. I even agreed to cheer for the Nationals over the Braves for this one select occasion (though I wore my Braves t-shirt under my Nats shirt, did a few Tomahawk Chops, and was secretly glad that Chipper hit the first homer in the new park. . .) Anyway, the Nats won with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth, and, despite the forty-degree weather, the night was unforgettable. I took WAY too many pictures, but we’ve included just a few on the pictures page.

Here’s to wishing you and yours a great baseball season!

We’re moving!

The day has come for us to pack up and leave our little home here in Washington, D.C. Our little family is moving to neighboring Maryland on Sunday, which means the next day and a half will be busy packing, taking our cat to her new home (she can’t come with us, so she’s going to Richmond, VA), emptying out the fridge, cleaning the house. . . you know, all the usual stress and hassle that comes with moving. But we know it will be worth it. After all, who goes through all of that for nothing?

“Upgrading?” you ask. “Had enough of city living?” you think. “Another rung up the ladder of the American dream?” you suspect.

But nope, actually, none of these is the cause of our move. You see, ours is only a temporary, forced relocation, courtesy of the District government. (Brace yourself- yet another ode to DC governmental bureaucracy coming. . .) Here’s the long version:
Back in April, Simona’s (”capillary”) blood test revealed an elevated lead level. Our doctor referred us to a lab for a second, more accurate (”veinous”) blood test. Sure enough, she had lead poisoning (defined as a reading of 10 or higher- hers was 20). Our doctor advised us to modify her diet, wash her hands frequently, and take other preventive steps to minimize her exposure. He also referred us to a non-profit organization that helps families deal with lead poisoning.

We spent the next several weeks meeting with them, determining the likely source of lead exposure, and taking corrective measures. These included spending countless hours doing home repair work (you may remember pictures of our windows. . .) while friends graciously baby-sat Simona. We also cleaned the entire house top-to-bottom (including wet-mopping the ceilings and walls, washing each toy, wiping down every single book, etc.). It was a LOT of work, costing us many hours of labor and several hundred dollars of supplies. We completed the work in late May, confident that we had eliminated any risk to Simona’s health.

At Simona’s next check-up, just after her first birthday, her blood tested at the same level as before. Our doctor assured us that this was to be expected, as it can take several months to come down again. We remained confident that we had minimized her lead exposure.

About a week or two after her second test, we received a phone call from the DC Department of Health. They were calling to “make us aware” of Simona’s elevated lead level and to offer their assistance. Sensing that we were about to be ensnared in a quagmire of District government “services,” Caleb tried to deflect their attention. We explained that we had taken care of the problem, that we were monitoring her closely, and that we would be retesting her frequently. Unfortunately, refusing their “help” would mean being referred to Child and Family Services, which certainly did not interest us. So, grudgingly, we allowed the DOH to come into our home and repeat the same tests the non-profit had performed previously.

As expected, there were still “hot” spots that evidenced lead present in our home. Not surprising, since every house built before 1978 likely has lead-based paint in it. So, in spite of the fact that Simona’s third veinous lead test came back at seven, we were required to allow a tester from the DC Department of the Environment to use X-ray equipment to test the indoors and outdoors for lead. We begged them to exempt us from this test, since any remaining lead clearly was not significant enough to impact Simona’s or our health, but it was to no avail. In late September, the tester came for a full inspection.

We heard nothing from the government for several months. Caleb began making radiator covers, as the paint on our radiators is in poor condition. It was the only spot about which we as parents were still concerned, so Caleb took it upon himself to build covers that would prevent Simona from touching the radiators. (You’ll see pictures in the photo update.)

Shortly before the holidays, however, the wheels of DC bureaucracy began turning once again. We received a “Notice of Violation” from the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, citing us for having lead in our home. The notice informed us that we had fourteen days to abate the lead or face thousands of dollars in fines and jail time. Clearly, the best interests of our child were no longer at stake, as imprisoning us would most likely NOT benefit her physical or mental health.

We were able to obtain an extension until January 26, 2008. In the meantime, Simona’s 18-month check-up allowed us to obtain another physician referral for a veinous lead test. Her level was a six, and, as her second consecutive test under 10, allowed the DOH to close her file. Since, however, the presence of lead in our home is now “known” to us and the government, we are required by law to abate it.

Which brings us to this “move.” In order for the lead abatement process to be safe, we (including the cat) are required to move out while work is being performed. We will not be allowed back into the house until it is cleared by a certified contractor distinct from the one who performed the work. We were able to receive another extension, and our contractor begins work on Monday morning. He hopes to complete the work by next Friday.

In spite of the frustration that accompanies having to spend thousands of dollars correcting a mistake that was made years before I was even born, we have been quite blessed during this time. We are fortunate to have friends who will let us stay with them for the week, another friend who is willing to cat-sit for the week, and the financial resources to make the requisite repairs within the allotted time frame. We’ll let you know how it all turns out once we’ve moved back in!