Crochet Question

Ok, maybe it's early and my brain isn't sufficiently supplied with caffiene or maybe I'm just dim. I can't figure out these instructions for the HeartFelt Angels - Beth's Little Star Afghan.

Round 1 reads: "Chain 7, dc in first ch, *ch 3, dc in first ch. Repeat from * 2 times. Ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch of beginning ch to join, ch 3. (5 spaces)"

Ok, I have followed the instructions, I have this chain with bumps scattered along it. So first question, when the pattern says, "chain 7 dc in first ch", I assumed this means the chain closest to the hook, not the very first chain off the hook. Is that correct? Then when it says "*ch 3, dc in first ch. Repeat from * 2 times, I assumed that meant that I dc in the first chain off the hook after each ch 3. This of course gave me the little bumpy chain....

Then Round 2 says, "2 dc, ch2, 3 dc in first ch 2 space, *shell in next ch 2 space. Repeat from * around. Sl st in 3rd ch of beginning chain to join. (30 dc/5ch-2 spaces)"

OK I attempted this and when I joined my round, I had two chains hanging off the end of the round because of the instruction about "sl st in 3rd ch of beginning chain to join". Somehow this just seems wrong to me, I assumed this meant the 3rd chain from the beginning chain. Am I making any sense? Either way I had way more than 30 dc and 5 ch-2 spaces. This has to be something very obvious, this pattern seems pretty simple so I know it's my brain malfunctioning. I may set it aside and work on something else for a while until the fog clears.

But sometimes I wonder if the fog ever clears in my brain.