Man Overboard! (And wife and baby too!)

I will take full credit for this one! Ross and I decided to take Mustard Millie (as I refer to her) out on the Raccoon River after work last night. We should have taken it as a sign for the events to come when I almost let Ross back the Taurus onto the dock. He would have, too, if it were not for a nice onlooker yelling at him to stop. (I was too busy making sure the boat didn't hit the dock.)

So after a ridiculously difficult rigging and departure from the dock, Ross told me to take the tiller and steer while he adjusted the main sail. Like I knew what the h--- I was doing!! Within five minutes...and I kid you not, I had capsized Mustard Millie. Both of us dumped into the water, along with all of our belongings.

The next five minutes were a blur as I panicked (almost seven months pregnant) swimming alongside of the boat watching Ross get it upright again. He succeeded, but we had no way of getting the two feet of water out of our boat, except for manually scooping it out by hand. No, we were not successful. It was miserable.

I told Ross that twenty years from now we would look back and laugh at the whole thing, but it didn't take nearly that long. We were laughing and pointing out how utterly ridiculous the whole situation was ten minutes later (after I had declared that I would never go sailing again and that I was sorry about fifty times). At one point the park ranger/security guy had even tried to wave us to shore to lend us a five gallon bucket to bail water, but in fear that we would get beached, we had to turn him down and head for the dock still water-logged.

***In addition, Ross discredits Warren for teaching me ANYTHING about sailing growing up and that I have absolutely no intelligence in regards to physics. :) :) :)

I think I will stick to "manning the jib" in future outings...after Baby Mort is here!!! :)

I'm on a boat...

It's official... after taking sailing classes at the beginning of the summer, Ross got the itch and we bought our own boat. I should really say that Ross has a boat. I watch the weather for temperature and humidity and Ross just cares about wind speed. He originally wanted a 16-foot Hobie Cat but he compromised for a more family-friendly version. It's called a Flying Junior. Now I can go sailing with him and not come home soaking wet, unless we capsize. We still have to get a trailor hitch and practice rigging the sails before trying it out on the lake, but we are excited to give it a try! If you're in DSM, I'm sure that he would be more than willing to take you out for an afternoon. :)

It's the little things...

I have been pondering what to do with the mess in my jewelry box for quite some time and hadn't found a good solution until now. It may not be most eye-appealing, but it was definitely another frugal project that met my needs. A hand-me-down bulletin board + some leftover eyelet fabric from making curtains for the basement + some thumbtacks and sawtooth hangers was all I needed. Fifteen minutes later and voila--a jewelry hanger in my closet to hold all of the odds and ends that don't quite fit into my jewelry box. You should give it a try! :) :)

Three months to go!

This picture was taken a week ago, already. It makes us laugh pretty hard. Pregnancy is such an amazing time in your life with so many changes! I look forward to the next three months.

Frank has been extremely active lately, mostly at night when I'm trying to sleep. :) I've found that I can get up and read for a little while until he settles down and then I can sleep. Ross has also been able to feel and see him move on a regular basis, which has been a lot of fun as well.

I start back to work next week. After a busy summer of classes and packed weekends, I am ready... although I'm definitely going to miss sleeping in. That's always the hardest adjustment! I'm hoping that getting back to work will make the days pass more quickly until Maria arrives.

Matt and Lauren had a baby girl, Claire Elizabeth, on August 1st. She's absolutely adorable! We are so excited to have "play dates" in the future. As Lauren says, Claire can also show Baby Mort the ropes... (even though Baby Mort may not take long to surpass her on the growth charts!) :)

Seeing Double

It's fun to share so much with such a close friend... Johnni~29 weeks and Amber~24 weeks

Frank the Fetus

We actually didn't find out the sex of our baby at our 20 week ultrasound, so we just refer to it as "Frank the Fetus" (a term we picked up from Josh and Jill when they were pregnant with Ben.) Some days we also call it Maria because of the Santana song... not that we are going to name our child either one of these. Not knowing the sex makes the pregnancy a lot of fun. One week it's Frank and the next it's Maria. I just don't like referring to our child as "it". :) You can feel free to offer other names as well, if you'd like.

I haven't taken any pictures of my belly until now, but after looking at Johnni's, I have to admit that it is kind of fun to see the weekly changes. The only indicator I've had so far that my belly is growing is that more and more of my clothes don't seem to fit these days. So, if you want to see the first belly pic, scroll on. If not, this is your stopping point. :) :)

I think I caught the nurse off-guard at my last doctor's appointment when she asked me to step on the scale. I literally burst out laughing when I saw the numbers. I actually haven't gained very much thus far, but I still have quite a ways to go. Before getting pregnant I was in great shape, due to training for the SF marathon. However, after a long and trying first trimester complete with daily nausea, I wasn't able to keep running. Excuses no more... Ross and I bought an elliptical and even though it's our first week with it, I am enjoying being active again. "Ellipticalizing" is much less impact than running and Frank seems to be enjoying it as well. It's almost as though he's not done working out when I am, because he continues to bounce right along in there even after I'm done with my cool down. :)

Summer Fun

I have already confessed to being lazy about taking photos, but thanks to Kate, I have a few to send along to summarize some of the fun things that we've done this summer. Enjoy.

Jasper Winery--I kept hearing about this winery in DSM that had live music and outdoor events every Thursday night throughout the summer, so we finally decided to check it out. It was a beautiful night to sit outside, have a burger, and take in some dueling guitars. Those who weren't pregnant enjoyed the Sangria. Ross even tried Sangria and Redbull...yuck.

SWINE Fest--"Where Pork Meets Cork" (or something like that...) The event was held on DMACC's Ankeny campus and included over 10 Iowan wine vendors and another 10-12 Iowa pork vendors. For your ticket price you got a wine glass to take around with you to sample unlimited wines that paired with tasty pork. You could also pick your favorite wine and take a bottle home with you. I have to admit that by the 15th sample or so, I was porked out, so it's a good thing that there was a chocolate booth to give me a break. At the end of the night Kay Thuesen talked a vendor into letting the guys drink some of the Maker's Mark that was part of a cooking display. She had no idea how much to pour and the guys didn't stop her... Needless to say I was the DD. I look forward to next year when I will be able to take part in the wine tasting as well.

4th of July Camping--and I use that term loosely. The tradition started last year after Kelsey and Jay's wedding in the Quad Cities. We stopped at my mom's place in CR and camped over the 4th on our way back to DSM. This year we continued the tradition. Even though the weather was cooler and rainier than we would have liked, we still enjoyed a lot of good food, Bocce Ball, smores over a blazing fire (thanks to our Pyro husbands), swimming, and massages by my sister, who is practicing to be a licensed massage therapist. I think the only "camping" part of the weekend was perhaps the fact that we slept in a tent... on air mattresses. :) Most campsites also do not provide a warm breakfast with chefs that take requests what type of pancakes and eggs you prefer. Lauren is enjoying a Smore in the picture below.

Yes, that is Brad stuffing his shoes with newspaper. According to Matt R., doing so helps to dry them out... and he was right. Within ten minutes our shoes were totally dry. Who would have thought? I also like the picture below because it looks like my sister is totally wasted, but I'm pretty sure it was only her first or second beer. We were all just that relaxed.

In addition, Ross and I took a couple of sailing classes at Gray's Lake, using Hobie Bravos and we had a blast. We look forward to sailing throughout the summer, so I will have to take my camera next time we go.