A present for M.T.

Last year around the first of January I made a list of birthdays and holidays with ideas on gifts so I’d be ready. Some of that worked. Some of it just added to my guilt. Some of it added to my unfinished project tub. But I stand by the idea so I made a new list this year.

One of the early birthdays in our family is my cousin Scary’s daughter who will turned one last week.

In internet land I saw some knitted balls which I thought were so cute but out of my knitting abilities. So I figured I could knit squares, put them together, stuff and make knitted blocks. I gathered all my supplies in a bag and took it with me to wrestling, basketball, glucose tests…anywhere I sat still. I worked on knitting squares everywhere I went.

I was even trying out one of my Christmas presents, a gauge ruler. I was doing everything to make sure my squares were the same size so they’d go together into blocks. One evening I had about four squares done and started measuring…they were each a different size.

So I looked up the knitted balls pattern again and realized it was possible.

I rearranged my supply bag and made my first knitted ball. It was smaller than I wanted but I didn’t have all the right supplies (my needles were smaller and my yarn wasn’t as bulky) but each ball I made I tweaked the pattern (I used i-like-lemons.blogspot.com/2008/02/knit-balls.html) and finally got the size I was hoping for.

In the end I got 5 fun knitted balls for little M to crawl around after and throw and chew.

Ultrasound

Had an ultrasound to measure baby yesterday. I'm seeing new midwives this time around who have never met me before and only did when I was already 30 weeks so they had no way of guessing size based on prior experience like my other doctors could. Plus that little notation in my chart about having a 10 pound baby before makes them wonder.

He measures right on track to be another big boy, sitting at an estimated 7 pounds at 34 weeks.

Baby cooperated so well and we got some wonderful pictures.

That bright spot on the right above his forehead is hair!

He was sure not shy showing off that he is indeed a boy. #1 was little disappointed, she was holding out hope that the 20 week ultrasound was wrong.

Only 39 days to go according to the counter at the top of the page. The midwife did say yesterday that I'd likely not go to my due date in the hopes of not having another 10 pound baby!

Homekeeping for boys

#3 and #4 help me around the house most days. A lot of helping includes fighting over who gets to do what. With laundry that usually means a lot of arguing about who gets to clean out the lint trap, who puts in the dryer sheet and who gets to load the washer with a new load.

The other day I got a load of towels out of the dryer and was folding them in the living room. #3 took one and set to work folding it very nicely. #4 was mad that he didn't get a towel so #3 put on a towel folding lesson for him.

It was all so cute I had to take some pictures.

A clean basket

#4 and I were in the playroom the other day and, even though I tried to talk him out of it, in true 2 year old fashion he dumped out the whole basket of cars and trucks.

Not a scene a mommy likes to see, but I decided to make the most of it.

I broke out the Clorox wipes, handed one to #4 and let him go to town.

He forgot all about the cars, well actually he never was playing with them…dumping them out was all he was about. But he did spend a long time scrubbing the basket.

When he was done we had a nice shiny basket ready to refill with cars…he wasn’t into that either.

Weekend Plans

Whatever my weekend plans might have shaped up like they ended up with a lot of this:

rosy cheeks

falling asleep early

Tylenol

quilt nests on the couch

snuggling

hankies

Mr. Wiedz passed on his cold of last week to all of the children this weekend. Hopefully we’re over the hump and the week will be calm, refreshed and germ-free

I'm back...kind of

For very good reasons we have had no Internet for a number of months now. For the most part I don't mind, having an iPhone helps so I'm not really without Internet or email, I was spending a lot of time surfing blogs and crafty things. But I have missed writing in this space. The past few weeks I've missed it even more.

I mentioned to Mr. Wiedz that it is the one thing that was bothering me about our lack of Internet, that I missed blogging. His solution was that I could come to the office and post. I think that could work. I think the best way is to write the posts then schedule so I'm not running into the office with four children all the time. But I think it could work.

So I'll be back. Updating. Posting. Changing things around. Just tonight I've had fun changing the header and putting up a baby ticker. So much fun to be had out in blog land.

Yeah. It's good to be back!

Philly : Day 3

My last full day in Philadelphia was the day I had saved for the historic "stuff".

Last night we went to the casino night put on by Mr. Wiedz' convention. It was really fun. The convention gave us each "$2000" to play with. After an evening of playing black jack, poker or other casino games you used the money to buy raffle tickets and put them into bowls for the different prizes the sponsors had supplied. There was a lot of prizes, I put in for gas cards and Macy's gift cards. I didn't win but we were there until 11:30pm so it was a late night.

So after sleeping in for my last morning I got down to the Phlash trolley and rode to the Independence Visitors Center area. My first stop was the National Constitution Center.

I had gotten a brochure about the center one of my first days here and thought it looked like the one thing I'd like to spend money doing. If you're ever in the Philadelphia area I totally recommend the Constitution Center. Part of the $12 admission was the "Liberty Ring" show. The show was wonderful! I was teary by the end just from the power of it all.

Part of The National Constitution Center is the Signers Hall, life-size bronze statues of the Constitution signers.

One of my favorite groupings was the dissenters. There is a note on their table that says "dissent is an honorable American tradition". I really liked that part.
The hall of flags was also really great.
After The National Constitution Center I met Mr. Wiedz and we went on to see the Liberty Bell. The whole Liberty Bell Center is really well put together and it really leads up to seeing the bell nicely. We both enjoyed the Liberty Bell.
We walked around a bit, seeing old buildings, the new Quaker meeting house, the burial spot of Benjamin Franklin and such.

We went on the free tour of the US Mint which was neat. They weren't actually working the machines which would have been better and there is only one path to take through the building so that once you start you just keep walking and walking until you're done. It got a little long and a little stuffy but it was free and a fun thing to see.
Another tall building because every time we see them we think the kids would think it is cool.
I disappear again tomorrow. Back home again with no Internet access.

we are really missing the kids and can't wait to get home. It will be a long trip back. We have to leave the hotel at 3:45am and fly most of the day but we are really to be home!