A Clemdall Wedding Weekend!

This weekend was a great time! Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Clem!! Here are a few pictures of this weekend:

Jack & his buddy Leo (who's only 4 days younger than Jack) hanging out at Church before the wedding!

Their first dance as a married couple! Her dress was BEAUTIFUL with lace all over it, so classic! The reception was at the officer's club at Wright-Patterson because her dad is a Captain in the Air Force.

Me and my handsome son (ignore the fact that his mommy forgot his socks for the weekend).

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Wedding Weekend!

I'm extremely excited for this weekend! My good friend Jessie is marrying her highschool sweetheart, Russell in Dayton!! I am blessed enough to have been asked to be a part of her day as a bridesmaid!


Blog entries will probably be slow until Sunday evening or sometime next week! I can't wait to post pictures of her beautiful day!

Finally Friday!

This past week flew by for me... and I have to be thankful for that because it was extremely full! Work has continued to remain busy with a specific project and it has been compounded by the fact that a coworker on the project has been in Europe for two weeks (still working on the project for with another group). I will definitely be thankful when she's back in the middle of next week!

Jack has been SUPER crabby lately... in fact, calling him "grumpy pants" had been a common phrase over the past week. I must say, we've been spoiled with a very easy going little boy. We couldn't figure out what was up with him... he was throwing temper tantrums & chewing on things a lot so we figured it was teeth, but from what we could see there weren't any bumpy gums. Well, much to my surprise this afternoon (when he was in a great mood) he was laughing with his head back & I spotted not one, but two molars! I am surprised he has molars, but I honestly can't say I knew anything about when he would start getting them. I must have assumed it would be a while since it took so long to get his first teeth.

Tomorrow we're going to my parents for a going away party for my brother. You may have read about him getting a scholarship to go to school in Germany. He leaves in about a week and a half... I can't believe it! I'm so excited for him to take advantage of this opportunity... I know he'll love it! Plus, Matt & I are really hoping to try and visit him while he's there.

In other happenings, we've still be using cloth diapers and I still really like it. I'm not so much in it because it is "greener", but I do enjoy the feeling of self-sufficiency. I suppose the feeling is similar to those who sew their own clothes or have a vegetable garden. We've gotten one new cloth diaper to try upon a recommendation of a close friend. She doesn't have any children yet, but is excellent at reading reviews!

• BestBottom (one-size): This isn't so much of a hybrid in my opinion because there's not a disposable insert option, but it does use snap in liners. We got this diaper in "chunky monkey" which is brown with light green trim with large microfiber liner. The liner has the fleece on top like used for pocket diapers to pull moisture away from baby's bottom. One cool thing about this system is the overnight "booster" snaps in & has snaps for the regular liner to snap on top of it. Big benefit is how trim the diaper is, and I assume it will be trim no matter what size because you purchase sized inserts. They also have a hemp insert, which if it has a fleece layer on it I might try because hemp tends to be even thinner. So far, I like this diaper but I've noticed the insert bunches up around Jack's croch despite the fact it is attached at both ends. This doesn't happen all of the time, and doesn't seem to affect effectiveness.

So far, I'd rank this new one up there with our TotsBots! In other diapering news, we're still trying to figure out a good wash routine. We love our HE front loading washer but apparently this makes washing cloth diapers a pain... its not too bad, but it is frustrating sometimes! Oh well, we'll figure it out with a bit of experimenting!

I'm off to do a little self-pampering to paint my nails... its amazing how good doing those little things feel when you're a busy mom!

A Date with My Son

Earlier this week Matt went out with the guys for wings & beer (they do so every month or so). Jack and I were home alone around dinner time, which isn't really that rare of an occurrence due to Matt's work schedule, but I wanted to "spice things up" a little. Jack has enjoyed pulling the blankets out (normally stored on a low shelf in our living room) and is especially entertained by me flipping the blanket to get it laid out on the ground.

While Matt was out to play... Jack and I had a picnic date in the living room! Here are the pictures from the adventure:

Getting some quesadilla pieces.

I think he was looking for more food on the plate because the pattern on our dishes is distracting.

This is what he does when you say "all gone"... notice the cloth diapers in the background that he previously pulled off the couch after I put them back together.

Labor Day Weekend!

This weekend's weather has been BEAUTIFUL! We're talking sunny skies, gentle breeze and mid 70s... love it!

We went to a cook-out at my in-laws yesterday. Got to eat some yummy food, hang out in their back yard and it was really really nice... until the big boo boo:

(I promise, it looks worse than it is.)

Wee man tripped (over his own feet or a throw rug) and hit his head on the corner of the wall. He cried and cried and cried... and we put ice on it while distracting him with two freeze pops (those little popsicles that you cut the end off of). There was a teeny tiny amount of blood but the skin mainly got scraped, not really a laceration. My poor baby... got to love being able to replay the instant in your mind (slow motion of course) and feeling guilty as if we let it happen. Luckily, Matt's aunt who is a nurse was there & took a look... no need to get stitches. He took a nap when we got home (snuggled up on the couch, no way I wasn't going to cuddle him while he slept). When he woke up we attempted more distraction and some ice (aka bag of frozen peas), but he was NOT having it... mainly because he wanted to play.

This is his, "I'm sweet, don't you want to play?" face.

Last night Jack got to have a slumber party with Mommy & Daddy (I really wanted him next to me after the bump) and woke up with hardly any swelling left on the bump! Yea! We went to the zoo this afternoon and got to see animals & exhibits we hadn't seen before. All I have to say is thank goodness for a zoo membership, no guilt for going for only a couple of hours at a time.

Here are some more pictures from this weekend:

Matt pulling him in the wagon at my in-laws; Jack's Bapie & Dza Dza (family nicknames with Polish origin for grandma & grandpa)

Looking like such a big boy exploring their backyard!

Me and Jack waiting for lunch at the zoo... I took it myself, and I'm impressed because I have such short arms I can never pull off these kind of shots!

Football Weather!

I walked outside this morning to put some pop cans in our recycling bin on our back deck.. it was CHILLY (we're talking 45-50). I told Matt of my observation when I got back inside and he simply replied "Its football weather!"




Football season in this house is a season of focus... on any and all football games! My husband might be a little obsessed. I don't know that I can really blame him since he played in high school (and was really good from the rumors I've heard!). Thursday evening was the first Ohio State Buckeye game of the season... and boy, was he excited! I do find it cute how excited he is to share football seasons with Jack. Here's a picture from Thursday evening:

Jack looks exhausted... that's because he is! The boy has not been going to bed very easily lately... and he's been a decent sleeper for most of his life. I don't know if its the age (toddler temper tantrums), teething (I can see a 5th tooth through the gums), or if we need to change his bedtime routine. We have been reading to him before bed since he was younger than 6 months old... now when we start reading a book he screams at us, fights to slam the book closed, and wants to run away. He still love books during waking hours (always has), but when its before bed, he freaks! I'm hoping it is a phase... but it makes me sad to have to fight at bedtime.

Back to "football weather"... I must admit I am excited for the weather to change! It has been HOT this year and I'm ready for it to be cool in the evenings & mornings. Not to mention, little boy clothes are SO much cuter in the fall and winter months than in the summer. Summer wardrobe options consisted of t-shirts, shorts, and onsies.... snooze-fest (and it makes me jealous of all the options for cute little girl clothes out there for that spring/summer!) Fall brings cuter "boy" (and by boy, I mean colors that manufacturers in which boy clothes are made) colors like deep reds, oranges, navy blue, etc.; as well as sweaters that can be more interesting by having different textures & patterns, not just varying the color! We've got quite a good stash of fall clothes washed & ready to go... and I'm excited!

International Year of Chemistry

While I don't really talk too much about chemistry, except for the fact that I'm a working mom as a chemist. I truly love chemistry, as dorky as that may make me!

Next year, 2011, has been declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations as the International Year of Chemistry!

It will coincide with the 100th anniversary of Madame Marie Curie receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. I feel this is such a beautiful coincidence as a woman in the field of science. I am lucky enough to work for a company balanced (from my point of view) in the employment of women in a research department, but I know there still may be discrepancies out there due to the majority of women not having much of an interest in the sciences.

If you are the parent, please encourage your children to pursue the sciences at some point in their life. Explore a local science museum, go to the library and borrow a book on chemistry experiments you can do in your kitchen, participate in school science fairs... the fun can be never ending! I have been involved in the American Chemical Society since I was in college getting my B.S. in chemistry and I know our group has been working with our local community to provide activities promoting chemistry, especially for next year's celebration. If you want to check out what your local section might be providing to your community please look it up at this website.

I have a couple of ideas on how I will celebrate the International Year of Chemistry on my blog, so stay tuned for some science themed posts next year! (If you have suggestions on chemistry themed posts, I'd be happy to hear them as well!)