The Schmidt House

I have realized that I own too much Christmas crap. I always knew that I had quite a bit, but I don't know when it became a lot . Every year I go through the routine and put everything into the festive green & red tubs, label them nice and neat by room (e.g. Living Room, Family Room) and put them away until next year. I think that I am going to need to buy more tubs this year. I have been decorating for two days, that's right TWO DAYS** and I don't even have the stinkin' tree up yet. That's tomorrow night's activity for the Schmidts. My goal was to have everything done by the 1st of December and by God we are going to get it done. I have actually started a list of helpful hints for next year's decorating (I am not going to let it take up two days of my life next year if it kills me). Here's the list so far: Unpack one tub at a time. DO NOT unpack everything at once. That is how we ended up with two wise men instead of three. If the garland is tangl...

Well the Schmidts survived Thanksgiving. We spent the day with my family at my aunt's house in Eden Prairie. We've never had Thanksgiving at my aunt's house. She moved to San Francisco 26 years ago and before that we were always out of state, so it was a first. She was a gracious hostess. The kids all managed to stay on good terms with one another. No major scuffles, which was also a first. The only "blow out" of the day was an air mattress. Evidently the four stooges thought that skiing down an air mattress incline from a metal dog kennel was a good idea. We still do not know who's brainchild that was. The crab of the day award goes to my aunt's dog Rudy. He is still adjusting to the kids and having all these people/dogs invade his home. He only bit one person, my sister. Oh and he gave my nephew a nip on the behind. He then spent the rest of the day in the gulag. My grandmother also joined us. She is 93 and is in an assisted living apartment here in the ...

A year ago this week I was summoned for jury duty. Upon arrival on the first day, prospective jurors were told there were 60+ cases in the queue for the week. Two of the 60 were murder. I planned to have a few days to catch up on reading while waiting for a case. Of course, things didn't work out as I had planned. My name was called with 50 others within the first hour for one of the two murder cases. The whole jury selection process is fascinating. It began in the courtroom with the potential jurors receiving an explanation of the charges and process, while the defendant sat before us. First degree murder, second degree sale of illegal substance. It was surreal to be sitting a few feet away from a man accused of taking another's life. We were asked to complete pages of questions; do you believe this, do you believe in that. The questions made you think and state your beliefs about things which had never crossed my mind. I returned the next day hopeful I would go back to the p...

I took a personality test and I am a Guardian (ESTJ). It is a little more warm and fuzzy than what I used to always be The Executive (ENTJ). This stay-at-home gig must be making me soft. The Guardian - You're a natural leader and quick, logical decision maker. Goals are important in your life, and you take many steps to acheive them. You enjoy interacting with others, mostly through work related activities. Your high energy level means you are great at getting things done! You would make a great teacher, judge, or police detective. So, I ask you, if I have all this energy and are great at getting stuff done, why does my house look like a bomb hit it??? Thanks to Bobbi for sharing this. Here is the link for others: What's your personality type?

Turkey. Whenever I hear the word turkey I am reminded of a little tune Adam Sandler performed on SNL years ago. My friend Sue and I used to sing it at work and it made us happy. Up until yesterday turkey was a happy place. I now have a new connotation for turkey... TURKEY BINGO. Turkey Bingo is an annual event at AE's school. In the past our family packed into the gym with hundreds of other people and played bingo for three hours while a teacher sat on the stage wearing a styrofoam corncob on her head calling numbers. B-9, we have B-9. This year I stepped from a spectator to an official in the game we call Turkey Bingo. I've wanted to get more involved at school and last night I put in a lifetime of involvement in three hours. Somehow I ended up coordinating food for 600 and organizing all voluteers (40+). I only wanted to be physically ill once (ok, maybe twice) throughout the evening. The worst was when I called the pizza place to check on our late order of 70 pizzas and was...

We are now in the second month of the new TV season and I am finally admitting that I have a problem. I am addicted to my DVR. I realized that I am watching/recording ten, yes ten shows on a weekly basis, plus Oprah daily. It would be eleven, however my DVR got too full and wiped out all of the Grey's Anatomy for this year, so I am out of the loop. I will just borrow Shelly's copy of Season 3 when it comes out because I know that she will buy it because she is hooked on McDreamy or it is McSteamy? (I can't keep them straight) In the past I never got this involved because I would completely forget to watch the show get over it in a matter of minutes, however this is different. So many of the shows that I am watching are ones that if you miss a week you are completely lost, e.g. Heroes, Jericho. My favorite comedy continues to be The Office . There is not a better show on TV. I thought that after Arrested Development was canceled I wouldn't laugh so hard that I cried, bu...

Today was a lazy day. Little man didn't feel well, he told me it was because I fed him bad waffles this morning for breakfast. It was gorgeous outside and we were inside laying on the couch. JG took a little nap and I caught up on the show "Heroes". I really like it. I always get hooked into those long drawn out shows and then I suck my friend Shelly in with me. While watching one of the episodes, JG asked for a glass of water. I said, "Wouldn't you like some orange juice?" (thinking Vitamin C) He turns to me, "Mom, I would like water with three ice cubes please. You know the customer is always right." When did I become the wait staff and the little people in my home the customers?

I like to read, a lot. I think that on average I go through at least a book if not two or three a week when I am really in the zone. I have always loved reading, in fact my dream as a child was to be locked in the Rapid City Public Library overnight. They used to have this really cool Alice in Wonderland theme and I was always in awe. How sick is that? AE has recently embraced reading, which I could not be happier about. She has had a book in her hand every spare minute the past month. Last night we were reading her latest book, "The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls" by Elsie Primavera. It is really cute, a little Lemony Snicket, a little Frank L. Baum. Imagine that the Gumm is from Francis Gumm (aka Judy Garland). While we took a little break I told AE how happy I was that she loved to read. "I don't like reading. At all," she said. I was surprised, "What? Why have you had your nose in a book every day?" "I only like it because dad is paying...

The home office signed us up for the annual Muellencamp Family Poker tournament. The tournament is about 50 of our friends and acquaintances crammed together in a basement for three plus hours trying to bluff one another out of $40 each. This is my second tournament, however I feel that it is the first time I am truly playing. Last year, I thought that it would be fun to see what all the hubbub was about so I went and didn't really have a clue as to what was going on. I made it to the second table completely based on luck, nothing else. DLS on the other hand is actually quite good at this poker thing. It must be that mathematical mind of his. This year I have been "practicing" so to speak. I really just needed to figure out the whole betting part of the game. I went online and have been playing with a bunch of folks that I can even tell don't have a clue. So I ask you, is it good practice to be the winner of the losers? It does build one's confidence a bit to h...