Nesting

It seems both of us are! Today I

* cooked a huge pot of spaghetti sauce to freeze for meals after the baby comes
* washed and dried all of Figlet's newborn clothes, receiving blankets, washcloths and crib sheets, and put them all away
* continued knitting my latest pair of longies.

Today Jeremy

* put together my dad's old crib (which all of the Herbst kids slept in)
* installed the carseat base into our car and figured out how to adjust the actual seat
* finally hung the pictures on the wall (they'd been sitting on the floor in the upstairs hallway for two months)
* hung a tapestry in the first-floor hallway

We also attended a Cloth Diapering 101 session, took my sewing machine into the shop for a repair, hit a thrift store and a farmer's market, and did the week's grocery shopping. Now Jeremy's out with some A-100 buddies, and I'm watching old episodes of the original 90210 online. A very productive day.

The Herbst women (minus Matriarch)

Last beach picture, but had to get the lovely ladies that prowl the beach in the summer.

More Beach Week

And then the waves came, and we surfed! Now surfing in the OBX is like downhill skiing in Nebraska. You can do it, you're impressed with yourself, but it's not going to win you any kudos out in the real world. But hey, I'm an expert now, so come to me for tips. Nick and I took a lesson (Tip #1: Buy a DVD and save some money). We had such a good time that we rented boards the next two days to try our hand (Tip #2: Make sure you have waves before you rent a board). Needless to say, we got others in the Herbst clan to overcome their shark fear (Tip #3: Don't watch Shark Week on Discovery before you come to the beach), and try out surfing. After a many falls, wipe outs and chapped nipples (Tip #4: Wear a shirt), we were surfers!

Beach Week

One week is too short. We definitely could have used another week at least at the beach. But the Outer Banks spoils you I guess. This year was especially interesting in that there were hardly any waves for the first half of the week. This allowed Masha to get in the water and play around, which was great for the baby since he seemed to be rocked to sleep by the calm water as he didn't kick Masha much the entire trip (check out the belly - it's huge). As you can see, we lounged in the intertubes, playing Cash Cab as the questioner pulled all the tubes around the ocean. Even got a kayak and practiced riding the waves in (I still feel bad for the idiot who wasn't aware that we were going to run into him. Obviously didn't get the memo about our family). But overall, it was great to get away from the office and just spend time with Masha, Figlet and the Herbst family. Now we are just looking forward to kayaking the lake in Omaha over Christmas!!! Love me some ice and snow!

More sewing :)

The stitching is messy, the fabric is bunchy and it took me two hours to sew, but I made a cloth diaper last night and I am SUPER proud of it.

A new hobby

Last weekend, Jeremy flew to Oregon for his cousin Andy's wedding. He arrived in Portland around midnight on Friday and flew back Sunday morning, getting into DC around 10 p.m. There was no way I was going to make such a grueling trip at 32 weeks pregnant, so I stayed home and learned how to use my mom's sewing machine! The sewing machine box had not been opened in more than 20 years - she toted it around the world with her, but had not actually used it since I was very young. So it's a bit dated, but still works great. I made these cloth wipes with a yard of cotton flannel and a yard of terry. Got a dozen out of it, and have enough leftover to make four or six more. Jeremy is thrilled that I have yet another hobby that will involve leaving bits and pieces of stuff (like yarn and fabric remnants) all over the house.