Observations of a Chemistry Conference

A couple of weekends ago, I attended a chemistry conference out-of-town. It was paid for which translated into, "We own you now so you will not have a moment free this weekend." I had class Friday from 2-9 PM (with a 10-minute break and an hour for dinner). Saturday was all day - about 12 hours worth. I cut the "free" dinner and ate dinner with my hubby. Sunday morning was full, too. The good thing was (1) despite the busyness of the conference, I learned a lot of things and met some great fellow chemists and (2) made some great observations. Enjoy!

1. Already 30 minutes behind after the first speaker. Bye-bye break!

2. My attention is refocused when I hear the next speaker: a New York gangster. Or at least he has the accent. I imagine his chemistry talk is code for money laundering and getting somebody whacked.

3. About 90% of the chemists there are coffee addicts. The other 10% are at least caffeine addicts. Blame it on grad school.

4. In one of our sessions, they wanted us (about 200 chemists) to organize ourselves by our geographical location. It was chaotic. The speaker remarks, "Finding a seat in here is like taking a pchem exam!"

Don't get it? Congratulations! You are not a nerd.

5. Apparently, I'm not the only one tired. Speaker is talking with her eyes closed. Or maybe she's just shy.

6. In the lobby, I run into nerdier people than me. They are wearing bright yellow sashes that read, "Ambassadors of Chemistry." It's like a beauty pageant. No, it's like a nerdy pageant. And the inner nerd in me really wanted to wear a sash too.

7. I sit by a Southern Belle during dinner who tells us during dinner, "They'll [administration] work you till you die." (You have to say it in your best Scarlett O'Hara accent.)

8. Witness an actual poll of chemists married to other chemists. There were two out of 200. There's a reason for that. I can say that - I'm a chemist.

9. Breakfast was at 6:30 AM. Yes, that's right. I managed to get down there at 7:15 AM to gobble down my food. So did everybody else. Except those crazy East Coast chemists.

10. Free starbucks! When I return to my class with a cup, I am told by another chemist, "You're one of those people. You get starbucks, and now you have a twinkle in your eye."

11. Finally, I overhear this comment, "You got a lot of oxidation going on there with your apple."

What I Turned Around to See Yesterday...

I was enjoying a funny pixar film with Casen in the front living room. It's the room that has all the boxes, a VCR/DVD combo with a TV for Casen's movies, and a coffee table that our friends Pam and David gave us.

I turned around and about had a heart attack to see L Child standing on top of the table surveying the area. He didn't laugh or think it was funny. He just acted like, "What? This is what I do all the time."

He probably does.

So since he acted like it wasn't a big deal, I snapped a picture. Then told him no. He didn't seem to agree with that decision.

I've been watching him like a hawk since then, but he hasn't done it again. Or at least I haven't caught him.

Coffee-table climbing might have bored him. Tonight he figured out how to remove his diaper. I caught him running around bottom-less. He WAS laughing at that fact. Apparently, naked running equals hilarious.

Happy 3rd Birthday Big Boy Casen!

*I forgot to mention that the song playing is Dixie Chicks' Godspeed song. I sang this song to Case when I first learned I was pregnant. At first, I sang "Godspeed, Little One", but once we knew he was a HE, then I was able to sing "Godspeed, Little Man."

It's still one of my favorites for both my boys.

Through the Eyes of an Almost-3-Year-Old

As Casen and I were hiding in the tent this morning from the spiders*, he was twisting my wedding ring around. He said, "It's like a tire."

That kid is obsessed with tires. Anything round is like a tire.

I love that kid!

*Our tent was a makeshift one on my bed. Spiders** included the "Big Spider" which was Daddy. Even though Liam kept visiting us and running off, he was never a spider. Case kept yelling at him, "Hurry Baby! You have to hide from the spiders!"

**Case has been pretending spiders are around a lot lately. Sometimes they are nice spiders. He puts them in his tricycle trunk and drives them around. Then when he stops, he will get them out of the trunk and put them on his shoulder and drive them around like that. Not sure where he came up with that one!

He also has drawn a few spiders on his giant cardboard playhouse.

It'll be interesting to hear his view of spiders when he's older and reads The Hobbit and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Yikes!

Things I've Heard, Seen, and Done Today

In Oklahoma, we don't have Snow Days. We have Ice Days. Today was such a day. It's been a good day with my boys. Tiring though. But entertaining.

1. Casen at the table making pretend cookies, "This one is for Mama...Here you go Daddy...Oh, Liam...um, no, you don't get any....'NO COOKIES FOR LIAM!' (in a great sing-song voice)."

2. Myself, "Uh, Liam...I don't think that's a good combo..." after Case gave a giant beach ball to Liam who is sitting on top of my bed wallowing around. Remember Liam is WILD. He doesn't just sit on a bed.

3. Seeing Liam fall off Casen's bed. (He was fine.)

4. Seeing Liam trip in the hallway - hitting his little knee hard on the tile. Poor boy!

5. Myself, "Don't eat the play dough, Liam!" Several times.

6. Liam, "Bababayayayadadadada!" which I'm pretty sure translated, "Hey Mom, it's no biggie. This play dough is yummy. And non-toxic. It's fine."

7. Casen, "Look! It's pooping!" as the play dough fun factory spits out different shapes of playdough. Talking about poop is a common occurrence for a little boy learning to use the potty.

8. Liam yelling in the kitchen/dining room area. Apparently, drinking a bottle and walking is not a great combination. He was tangled up and trapped in Josh's gym bag.

9. Pretty sure I saw Liam smarting off to me. After agreeing he could get on top of the couch to sit by Casen...wait, he didn't want to get up there to sit by his brother. That was a ruse. He wanted to do what he did - he stood up on the couch, yelled, and then danced around, throwing a leg over the side like he was going to hop down that way. I told him to sit down if he was going to be on the couch. I also was pointing my finger at him. I realized when Liam responded to my reprimand by pointing his finger (and thumb, he doesn't have the coordination yet for a real finger point) and saying something to me. I don't think we need to translate that one.

10. Liam, "Iwandowwwnnn!" then suddenly stands up and tries to bolt off the couch by walking off it. I managed to get to him in time and show him the proper way to exit a couch.

*By this point, I'm sure you are wondering why I keep letting Liam get on things. Well, first, after a million times of him asking, who wouldn't give in? And some of these things, he can get on them himself without any help. Also, I keep telling myself, that's how he will learn to sit on a bed (or couch, chair, etc.) - by practicing. Except he really doesn't want to learn how to sit. He wants to run, jump, or bolt.

11. Myself, "Uh, I don't think so, Liam" taking away the giant beach ball from Liam. He climbed up on the futon with it.

12. Myself, "Uh, Liam, I don't think so" as he came wandering into the kitchen with the giant beach ball while I was fixing tacos for dinner. I could totally see that ball being launched into the hot skillet of hamburger.

13. Liam pouring water out of his cup on the futon. As I write this. Be Right Back.

And to show you this really has been a good day:

14. Liam sitting in the glider reading books. Love it.

15. Watching Case watch Polar Express. He's beginning to believe in the magic of Christmas. Especially if there's a train involved.

16. Laughing with the boys in the toyroom. Why were we laughing? Because the lion bit Casen and had to sit in time-out of course.

And now it's bathtime. I bet I could add more to this list, but I think I'll stop there.

Wild Man Nichols

L Child isn't just walking everywhere now. He also can climb. He has claimed the futon as his domain since he can climb and stand on it. Or lounge as he enjoys his bottle.

One day over break, L Child woke up from his nap early. He was playing in the living room as I was cleaning. I looked up and realized he wasn't in the area anymore. I found him ON Casen's bed pushing on and yelling at Casen to wake up. I realized then I have a climber.

Liam is such a joy - so fun!

Right now, as I blog, I'm listening to the boys play together. I'm pretty sure it's one of the best sounds in the world.

Look Who's Walking Now!

L Child finally decided it was worth it to walk. No more crawling (for the most part) for this kid!

Why This Xmas Gift Got Put Up

Liam "Wild Man" Nichols decided it's more fun to slide through backwards in the chair.

But he can't slide all the way through.

So he gets stuck and screams for help while his tiny hands hang on for dear life with his head on the seat and his bottom dangling inches from the floor.

So I save him. I show him how to properly sit in a chair.

He then laughs and climbs up again backwards.

We repeat the whole thing two more times before I decide we'll put this table and chairs up for awhile. I think, We'll try it again, and I'm sure L Child will sit right the next time.

Then I discovered I have a monkey child. Post to come.

Fun With Tulle

Don't let the pictures fool you...I'm not that domestic. The "cookies" were leftover pre-made pie crust, and I burned most of the cookies.

We enjoyed reading time.

We enjoyed snack time.

And Liam enjoyed laying back those bottles (notice the last picture). Man, that child loves his bottles. I'm going to have a time breaking him of the bottle, but that is for another post.

What I Saw When I Went Into My Kitchen...

...just makes me smile and appreciate my boys.