he's ready!

i had a pre-natal exam today. it went well. everything is going great! he is engaged which means he's got only 3 cm until his head is showing! now this doesn't mean that he is going to be early or on-time but it could...so keep your fingers crossed that he comes in the next 4-6 weeks. here are some pics to show you where the baby is:

this first one shows the babe in the position he is in right now inside of me. he is at +1 station which means he's one cm below my ischial pelvic bones

this second one shows a different view of the stations. the baby in the picture is high up in the pelvis. remember...mine is at +1!

with Lincoln's head being so low and the mid-wife discovering that it is his butt hitting my rib cage...i think we have a tall baby in there. josh is scared that he is going to be just like a tall and lanky meyerkord! hahahahaha! the mid-wife also estimiated that he is 4.5 lbs right now which will make for a pleasant 6-7 lb baby at birth!

we got a house!!!!!!!!!

here are several pictures of the house:

the front (it feels so much bigger in person)

the kitchen that needs help!

the living room

the dining room

random pics of the dining room in use by previous residents! hahaha! check out granny!

we put in an offer today for an awesome house and it was accepted later this afternoon. we even beat out a higher bidder because they asked for a longer closing. yes! we are very excited but definitely slightly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the project.


the house is a total of 3000 square feet which includes a crappy finished basement. it is a magnificent craftsman style home built in 1909. it is quite a deal and is located right off colfax and cook just east of downtown denver. 2.5 blocks from city park!!! the house used to be some sort of facility because the bedrooms are numbered and there is a commercial fire alarm system.


of course, our offer is pending 3 major things: complete mortgage approval, inspection, and other offers for more. wish us luck!

we are very excited to get started rehabing the house and to sell it. we hope to do it in 3 months!!!

34 weeks modeling session

34 weeks

my point of view

belly at 34 weeks
I'm 34 weeks today. That means I've got 6 weeks to go. Josh and I had a talk with Lincoln today that he should come within the next 4-6 weeks...no later. I've got family coming into town that wants to see him extra-utero. If you want to come visit let me know. I would love for everyone to come visit if you're willing to help.

So every once and awhile the realization that my mom is not here hits me. It makes me really sad because she would be helping me with all these things that moms help with. I wish she were here to organize my baby shower so I didn't have to do it with only the help of long-distance relatives. And I really really really wish she were going to be at the birth and afterwards to help me. However, I feel very fortunate to have so much family willing to help and sacrifice their time.

Our new parent class suggested that we don't allow the baby to consume our lives and that we make sure we keep our identity. Sounds great...but how hard will it be?! I tend to obsess about certain topics so if all I start blogging about is baby this, baby that let me know and I'll talk about other things.

I'm registered at babiesRus if anyone wanted to know. please don't feel like you have to get us something just cuz you read that!

Kale Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

10.5 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp minced garlic
3 cups very thinly sliced kale (no stems)
8 oz. whole-grain angel hair pasta broken into small pieces
2 tsp lemon juice
Parmesan cheese
red chile flakes or cayenne pepper for garnish

Directions:

boil vegetable broth with garlic on high
add kale, reduce heat to med-high for 2 minutes
add pasta and cook until tender but not soft (according to package)
just before serving, stir in lemon juice
serve and garnish with dash of cayenne or red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese

Comments:

I adapted this recipe from the Feb 2007 Sunset magazine. It was soooooo good and extremely simple. Plus, you get the health benefits of kale without the nastiness of raw greens! I'm going to have it again for dinner.

Chilaquiles con huevos or frijoles

Ingredients:

chopped onions
chopped mushrooms
red enchilada sauce
tabasco or favorite spicy sauce
eggs or can of refried beans
dash of salt
tortilla chips
avocado (optional)

Saute chopped onions in canola oil and add mushrooms a little later with a dash of salt
Add one can red enchilada sauce
Add tabasco sauce to your liking and simmer
This can be served like this or you have two other options from here:
add half can of beans per person to pan and simmer or,
add 1-2 eggs per person. crack eggs into pan but don't stir until some of the egg has begun to cook, stir a little to get more egg to cook. make sure that the egg is fully cooked. it will look sort of like scrambled eggs in red sauce. (this is my fav way!) the longer you simmer the mixture the better it will taste.
No matter how you prepare it (with eggs, beans or without either) serve over tortilla chips with some avocado on top!!!!

I had this first in Mexico and then at a new fav. Mexican restaurant and figured out how to make it. I'm sure it's not authentic but it's quick and easy and good!

floras!!!!!

yay...spring has arrived. well inside at least. here are some flowers that are blooming in my kitchen. the first are paperwhite narcissus from my bff, Anna. the second are bougainvillea.can't wait for the warmer weather!

Play this game

this game is awesome. i didn't think i would like it at first because i thought it was going to be like Risk (=lame) but Settlers of Catan is not like that at all. My friends, Josh, and i have been getting together every other week to play. it's kind of complicated but once you get it it's really fun and strategic.

diapers!!!

we bought diapers today...not just any old throw'em away kind...oh no, we bought newborn cloth diapers. they are the cutest things (sorry, no pic). we are cloth diapering because it is healthier for the environment*, cheaper in the long-haul (kids are in diapers for 3 years, dang poopers!), and it's better for the baby (no disposable diaper chemicals). so cute! can't wait to use them!

*did you know that disposable diapers are responsible for some of the viruses that we catch. the poo juices leak out of the landfill and get into our water, etc...and make us ALL sick - gross huh!? if you think about it...the water system that flushes from our houses is equipped to take care of the poo in the water...landfills are not.

real estate scheming

well, we were about to put an offer on a very cute (look that way>>) house in a decent location when we found out that someone put an offer in that was accepted the day before. "rats!" we said.

then...we went to direct buy (wholesale membership store for household items...) last night and got to talking to the owner about real estate investing. we were there for over 3 hours. my feet hurt and i was very tired but it was worth it. the money we'll save on renovations for our houses will be awesome!

josh's newest real estate scheme is to buy cheap condos in Aurora (blah!), make them decent to live in and rent them at a decent rate. i think it's potentially a safer plan since the real estate market is in a lull right now. while this plan wouldn't give us any short-term income it would secure a better retirement. any thoughts, friends? anyone want to live in Aurora?!?!? hahaha! yeah right!

if we do the condos only we probably won't be staying in colorado much longer.

we'll keep you posted because with josh's adventurous mind things change daily.

Welcome to our new blog!!!!

Hey friends - thanks for visiting our new blog. we know that most of you are not on myspace so this is a good way for all of you to be able to stay up-to-date at your convenience! we'll include things about baby Lincoln, our real estate investing ventures, and other random things.

Lincoln update: i'm 32.5 weeks pregnant which means i have 7.5 weeks to go until his due date. however, most first-time moms go past their due date before the little booger comes out! he is very active in there and is kicking my ribs and grabbing my hip all the time. we plan to have him at home with our mid-wife and doula. i wasn't interested in fighting against the doctors for a natural birth. birthing is a natural thing not a medical problem. plus, the more medical interventions you get the more likely you are to have a c-section. my baby shower is feb 3rd and for all interested i am registered at babie r'us.

Real estate investing update: we had put in an offer on a house in Denver for fixing and flipping but the bank wouldn't come down enough to meet our offer so we are looking at more houses today.

well thats all for now. check up on us every once and awhile!