The Schmidt House

I feel like every time I fall off the face of the Earth I come back saying, "Boy, have we been busy..." Well, it's the truth. Boy have we been busy - until today. Today Joe had a football game - they won, the weather was fall - brisk, and we didn't have anything the rest of the day - I was bored.

i am amazed at how otherworldly our daughter is. she sees no bad in anyone (except maybe her brother), the world is always new to her, she speaks before thinking and is pure in thought. she has no filter and i love that about her. she doesn't know how to judge others. what a beautiful place to be in the world, oh to spend a day in her shoes and see the world from her eyes. i am proud of who she is and who she will be. in the same breath i wonder what she will do when she goes out into the world on her own. when she will need to balance her own checkbook, cook her own meals and actually have to earn money to support herself. i appreciate each moment i have with her and continue to shake my head in amazement at how the world truly is new to her each and every day.

we had a great vacation, the basketball could have been better, but we saw america from the family truckster. the kids didn't fight...that much and dan and i didn't get into one domestic thanks to the lovely garmin. garmin are a life saver. oh and did i mention... i suck at being a blogger think i might be voted off blog island...sigh

One day I asked my Dad if we needed to get new hockey equipment. On Tuesday my Dad came in with a big bag of hockey stuff... He tried to put my shoulder and chest pads on but my head was too big. Then my Dad went to the store for bigger ones, but I did not want to wear them to practice. It was my game but I still did not want to wear my equipment. Then it was the end of my game. My Dad asked me if I wanted to wear my hockey equipment. I said on Monday. I was at practice and my Dad put my equipment on. I went on the ice and I didn't like my hockey equipment for awhile but... I got used to it. I thought to myself it was the best hockey equipment ever! I told my Dad this is the best hockey equipment ever. Finally, I told him to never throw my equipment away. The End

***To my mom Sharon - don't worry - the blog title for this post comes from a Clark Griswold quote from National Lampoon's Vacation - I really DID have fun on our family vacations.*** We had a very busy weekend as I am sure was true for everyone. I managed to get a lot of the chores done due to procrastination of work commitments. Not a good place to be, but have it all done now and need to get to bed. The work commitment is due to continuing to do my old job as well as my new one. Can't tell you how happy I am going to be when they get someone in to do my old gig. AE asked me if I was being paid for two jobs and I smiled and said, "No honey, that's not how it works." I am trying to be a good former team member and help out versus just leaving them holding the bag - not my style. Dan and the kids went fishing today while I got the first Schmidt family Griswold adventure planned out. AE's team is going to Nationals at the end of the month - gosh can't b...

Don't know if everyone listens to The Current, but have been enjoying Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Love them, they are coming to Mpls this summer and thinking it would be a fun show to see...

Dan took JG and his best bud JV up to Mille Lacs yesterday for a little fishing, they went on one of the charter boats - Dan figured it would be "easier" with the boys and was hoping that JG would have a good experience and want to fish more this summer. Dan has always wanted a little fishing buddy and now he has one. Guess that JG caught the first three fish on the boat of 12 charter fisherpeople. Third time was the charm. Little man managed to land a 7lb. 7oz walleye - it weighed as much as he did at birth! He was the envy of the boat and was so very proud. When Dan got home all he said was, "I have been fishing 33 years and have only caught one walleye bigger than JG's in my whole life. The kid goes out and catches that after his third try." Lucky little cuss...

this past week has been a whirlwind to say the least, i have barely had enough time to fit in breathing. i am drained and energized all at once...is that possible? i am at a cross roads of sorts, i am starting this new journey and am so very excited to enter the "sweet spot" of what i have been wanting to do for years. this new gig truly is my dream job... then on top of all of this i have been encouraged to think about my career in a new light and potentially go places that i have never dreamed of. . . when i was spoken to all that kept going around in my head was the title of this post... a poem i wrote a paper on twenty years ago in college - in 1990 i said that i would travel the "grassy road" that wanted wear... now in 2010 i hesitate... and am thankful i have time... i need a lot of time... because time will tell if our family will travel the road not taken and maybe someday... I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverg...

wishing I was home. flew in last night about 9:30pm, got up around 6:00am and have been going non-stop. I am exhausted, mentally and physically. this whole class has been an exercise in patience most days since you take 20 people and try to have them come to agreement and on top of it walk out with a recommendation. thought it would be easy, but nothing ever is - however through the process i have met some amazing people, who have taught me to look at the world differently. which i appreciate. went to a cotton warehouse today that holds 320,000 bales of cotton, pretty cool - have never seen real life cotton after it comes out of the gin. went to another grain elevator, i am getting pretty versed in those and am the IP police - sigh :) so once again buzzkill - i need to get some sleep - did I mention that I am freezing exhausted... and wishing i was home?

so this morning i woke up with dan's alarm, which was way to early for me - his business is busy again, thank goodness. things were touch and go for awhile there, however they are all putting in extra time now and people are wanting to build houses again. let's hope that this continues, he is much more pleasant when things are busy. i thought i would just lay in bed and listen to the rain (soon to be snow unfortunately - wth) and reflect on the past few weeks and try to catch up on email, the news, and life. the quiet has been out of the picture thanks to our daughter and her iPod - every morning she gets ready and blares justin bieber...sigh. all i have managed to do though is figure out what happened on lost (have been a little lost), realize that i need to update the hotel for nationals in nashville, so got caught up on the flooding and sit here and contemplate how horrible that person who had a typo must feel when they realized they sent the stock market into an tizzy. i me...

JG is making his First Communion this weekend, we went a few weeks ago to the final class with his group where the kids were able to do a "test run" of the whole process. This is where the life with JG fun began... Let me set the stage... about a month ago JG came home and informed his parents that he can't wait to get to college, rationale was - you have lots of fun and drink beer. Where he got this I don't know, he has been hanging out with some of the older boys in the neighborhood - who knows. So Dan asked, "How do you know that is what you want to do? How do you even know if you like beer?" Dan had a beer and let JG smell to which little man said, "Not so bad." Then he put a little taste on his finger which resulted in major dramatics, imagine feigning choking, spitting repeatedly and stating, "That is the worst thing that I ever tasted in my whole life!" So we thought case closed, end of beer drinking dreams in college. Fast forward...

So, my mom and my mother-in-law both said that they have been missing The Schmidt House - I have to admit I kinda do too. It feels like I am not keeping up my end of the documentation bargain - so need to get back into the groove of telling stories and sharing our chaos which seems to be plentiful. I don't know if anyone knew, but I just took at new job at Cargill - will be starting next Monday - so very excited, I am moving to "the business". This new gig is really my dream job and can't wait! More details to come - Oh, will still be spending my time in grain elevators :)

This is our last weekend of traveling basketball for 09/10 season, we are so ready to move forward. Dan told AE tonight, "You have to start practice (with her other team) on Monday. Are you ok without a break." She didn't miss a beat, "Dad, that's ok . I am fine with it because I am going to have fun. I don't need a break." We are off to Kansas in a few weeks, I believe that it is me in the minivan with six screaming pre -teens. This past weekend my sister and I headed to California for Auntie Shirley's retirement party - we had a fantastic time with Shirley and my mom, we were finally able to meet so many of the people I have heard about for years. One guy said to me, "I know all about you, hey wait you're not ten years old anymore." Sonoma is AMAZING. Completely, totally, absolutely love the place. Need to take some girls weekends out there. Shirley has the cutest little house and the land is breathtaking. Can't wait to get out ...

but I would rather just stay nice and snugly here in our bed with little JG who is snoring up a storm. He came in really early this a.m. with his toothless smile showing his Tooth Fairy reward for his 2nd lost tooth in two weeks. He has finally lost the two front teeth and has the cutest little lisp going on. It reminds me of my Grandma Mayfred when she would take out the dentures and soak them in Efferdent for the night. Last week at his conference his teacher mentioned that she is having some difficulty understanding him with his new gap, oh well it is only temporary and I want to savor every little minute of this new little milestone is my big, little boy's life. He is growing up way too fast. Gone is the little boy, however am so thankful that he still wants to snuggle his mommy and tell her that she loves her - only when no one is looking.

This past week or so has been a blur - We went to Iowa for a tournament - girls did fine - think that they got 3rd overall. Will meet up with the teams again when we go to Kansas in March. Got home from Des Moines @ 6pm Sunday, was at the airport by 8am Monday. Off to Kansas City for a training class, actually am really excited to be selected for this, it is "High Performing Managers" and there are only 15 people per class. I about choked the first day when they said that the company is making an investment in us - $15K each. I think that is more than I spent on my entire college education - wow. Got home Thursday @ 10:30pm went to work Friday, and then had a busy weekend. By Monday thought I was seriously having an aneurysm - ALL last week felt like someone was trying to put a stake through the back of my head and really couldn't focus at all. Think that the plane ride back to MN did me in. So went to Dr. who scheduled a MRI for yesterday a.m. Really kinda scared me to t...

At my mom and dad's house there is this plaque (I guess you would call it a plaque) that hangs on the wall in the living room. It has been ever present in my life for as long as I can remember. The plaque was made by my uncle, I guess during a woodworking phase and is quite well made. My uncle was and still is a perfectionist and it is perfect. On the plaque there is what seems like a lot of words when you are a kid. When I would get in trouble and have to take a break I would sit and read this to pass the time, eventually I memorized it pretty much word for word - not because I was naughty all of the time, but rather because I wanted to. It was a challenge to see if I could do it. I can't remember the whole thing now, however whenever I start out a walk by myself I find the words coming easy almost like a little chant, "Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence." It is a habit, however tonight was reminded that I wanted to ...

AE is having trouble sleeping - I don't know if it is this whole preteen thing, but let's just say it is getting a little old having a major crab apple EVERY day this xmas break. My good friend Lori said her son MW is having the same issue and suggested that I maybe sleep with her for a week or so and get her caught up with her sleep. It has only been two nights and she is already more pleasant!!! We are also able to chat every night before she goes to sleep she has told me more in two nights than she had in a month. Every night she has been asking for funny stories, last night I was spent in the humor department and thought about a movie I saw on TV over the weekend. It had been awhile since I originally saw the movie, but every time I think of it I laugh. The movie is "Forget Paris" with Debra Winger and Billy Crystal. Overall the movie is pretty bad, but it has its moments. One of the scenes AE and I laughed until it hurt - its a little story about a lady and a pig...

however have made the decision to have The Schmidt House be invite only, you are the ones that I want to share our lives with - if there is someone that I have omitted by mistake, please let me know. Think that there are some family members that I do not have email addresses for, so will need to track those down. I have found that I have been a little blog "stuck" for the last few months knowing that there were a lot of people who read my site and I became a little self conscious about what I was writing as to not offend anyone - not like I go out of my way to offend, but after awhile you realize that there are some pretty sensitive folks out there. I know it takes all kinds for the world to go around, however I don't want to have to worry about it when I am here. So now I feel a little more free to speak my mind which you all know has never been a problem, but now I feel I am among friends. Thanks for sharing this little adventure with the Schmidts...