Landlocked Cruisers in Cold Places

Just a little update to let you know how we're doing...

First up is the fact that I am now 28 weeks pregnant.  We are officially on the "home stretch" of this pregnancy which is equally exciting and daunting.  It still doesn't seem real to me that we are about to have twins, and even though I have read twelve (count them...twelve) books on all subjects "twin rearing" and clearly have a belly full of squirming baby limbs I still have a very hard time picturing what our life is going to look like when this actually goes down.  Obviously "hectic" will be an adequate descriptor for a while.  But I think the adjectives "amazing" and "beautiful" will find their ways into our day to day lives as well, so we'll be good.  We'll have a ton of support on the home front and I am told that that, combined with my already organized/scheduled nature will be a huge help when these girls arrive.  A day at a time, I guess.

The weather here is...uninspiring.  While the blanket of white snow on the ground is quite pretty and holiday spirit that fills the air certainly lightens the mood, the grey and drab sky is something that a sun-loving girl like me just can't seem to get used to - but at least it makes me appreciate those sunny days all the more.  When the sun does come out we go outside and soak up that vitamin D like junkies jonesn' for a fix.  I honestly don't mind the cold (bundling up is kind of fun...kind of), but the sun is what I miss the most.  I honestly don't think I'd mind living in a wintery climate for a chunk of time as long as it was sunny more days than not.  The greater Chicagoland area, for your information, is not that place.

The biggest change is the amount of time we spend indoors.  Life on a boat lends itself to an abundance of outside time and because it's so cold up here we are sort of limited.  We get outside for park outings and walks when the weather permits, but it's by no means daily. In addition, we are pretty adamant about very limited television for Isla which means I have to come up with fun activities to fill our days indoors.  Let me tell you,  this takes a tremendous amount of work and effort!  I am dabbling with crafting (yes, I said crafting...) but, like it's cousin cooking, this is not something that comes naturally to me.  Turns out going to a craft store without actual crafts in mind is a bad idea and majorly overwhelming.  Martha Stewart, I am not.  But I try and we're having fun just playing and spending time together.  Isla continues to thrive and if she is missing the boat and the islands, you would never know it.  We could all learn a thing or two from kids.  They are the most adaptable, in the moment people on the planet.

The other thing I do when I have some down time is shop for boats.  I know, I know.  I just can't seem to help myself.  It is inevitable that, at some point, we will be getting a bigger boat and we have our eyes and hearts set on a three cabin monohull.  I know many of you think that a catamaran is what we need - but, as I have said before, we are just not "cat" people.  We think a well appointed three cabin monohull that is set up for live-aboard cruising (and, ideally, already in the islands) will suit our needs just fine and there are some really great boats out there at the moment.  We'll see.  It's fun and exciting and, yes, a little addicting to look.  The fact of the matter is that 12-18 months will fly by and we'll be back out there before we know it.  But, yes, a bigger boat is definitely in our future at some point.

Several of you have asked how Scott is adjusting and the answer is:  he's not.  He's still working in the Grenadines for Island Windjammers and he doesn't fly back until January 10th after he and my dad deliver our boat, Asante, to the BVI's for long-term storage.  He's having a hard time being away this particular rotation, more than usual.  With me being so pregnant and Isla at an age where she actually "misses" daddy and is visibly learning and doing new things every day, he just wants to be back with us.  But we gotta do what we gotta do.  Thank God for Skype, that's for sure.  Watching Isla talk with her daddy over the computer is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

So that's us at the moment.  Christmas is fast approaching and we have plenty of family brunches, dinners, parties and festivities to keep us busy - we're having a great time with friends and family and like I said before, we're living it up and relishing in the tremendous benefits this life affords us while our sea legs go into hibernation.  We're making the most of it, that's for sure.