The kids and I had a blast making these fun Valentine's for their friends at school and daycare!

Today I will continue our string of birthday party posts with two more. The first is the semi-surprise 60th birthday party we threw for Mike's Mom over the July 4th holiday weekend. She knew she was coming down to Rochester to celebrate with some of her kids/grandkids, but did not know that we had secretly invited a bunch of her friends as well. We weren't able to completely surprise her, but she was pleased with the party nonetheless.

Katie and I gathered ideas for weeks to create the vintage travel themed party. I designed the invitations to look like airline boarding passes and Katie worked hard at printing vintage travel posters for diy decorations.

Benjamin and John had fun helping Cindy blow out her candles.

Even though she wasn't completely surprised, I think the party was a hit and everyone had a great time!

Ever since returning from our vacation, I have been hard at work preparing the nursery for Baby Girl. I've patched up wall holes, painted the inside of the closet, began work on repainting a bookshelf, made many purchases at IKEA and beyond and most recently - began spray painting some cute wall decor. Here is a sneak peak:

Wednesday and Thursday felt like spring. Friday and Saturday felt like winter. Sunday was spring again. This is truly my least favorite time of year. While I am happy to occasionally have a bit of sunshine and warm temperatures, this back and forth garbage is for the birds! Mike's parents visited on Saturday while the weather was at its worst, unfortunately. So they took Benjamin and enjoyed some indoor activities with him. When the weather was better on Sunday, the three of us tried to take advantage of it as much as we could. The photo above was taken while Benjamin sang about baseball and did some kind of crazy dance on the driveway, go figure.

As I said in my previous post, we've been working on some small home improvement projects here and there. Mike installed these new overhead lights in the basement, which I thought went well with our movie-theme down there. They kind of remind me of an old art deco movie theater.

I spent a couple of days freshening up the 3 doors in the front of the house with a new coat of paint. I went with a dark blue color, which seemed classier to me than the lighter blue that had been there since we moved in almost 7 years ago (yikes)!

There is more work to be done! I just hope my new inspired outlook on my list of to-do's sticks around. We have a huge amount of work to do before Benjamin moves into his new room. I am not looking forward to that. I'm also trying to delay that process as long as I can because I'm not sure that I am ready to move my baby downstairs!

The last of the snow around our house has finally melted and signs of spring are beginning to appear. Benjamin and I grabbed the chance to enjoy some outside time Friday afternoon while I cleaned the garage and he rode up and down the block in his electric jeep. Saturday morning, while Mike was away on his run, his brother Dan called and asked if he and Katie could come down for the afternoon. We had a fun visit with them and Katie and I were even able to get some shopping in at Hobby Lobby. I bought our first item for the baby's nursery and am pretty excited about it. I won't share what it is until we're ready to reveal my plans for the room sometime after we find out the baby's gender.

On Sunday we helped our friends Jen and Nate celebrate the first birthday of their daughter Julia. It is hard to believe that she is already a year old!

The weather was so beautiful, but for some reason we found ourselves inside installing new overhead lights in our basement family room Sunday afternoon. The lights look great and certainly make the room brighter at night, but Mike's neck may never be the same! I'll take a photo of the new lights and post it sometime soon. Either my nesting instinct is kicking in or maybe it is just the coming of spring or it could be the countless hours of HGTV in HD that I've been watching, but I've been very inspired to do some small projects around the house. I'll show them off here when I can.

The living room project is nearly complete. As you can see in the image above, I've finished the painting and decorating, except for on those 2 ugly "vents" above the fireplace. They are not functional, but pretty much impossible for us to remove. We still have not decided what to do with them. We considered covering them with mirrors or photos/paintings, but I don't really want to draw attention to them. Soo, they remain blue - for now.

I'll have to follow-up tomorrow with more on our weekend...

As I said in the previous post, I've been inspired by some home design blogs lately and had decided to redecorate our living room. I have purchased a few items here and there, one of which is this beautiful sun burst wall hanging to which I spray painted and added a mirror.

I haven't gotten around yet to photographing the final result of my efforts because I am not 100% done. I should have final pics on Thursday, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, here is an "in progress" photo of the paint job I did:
It turned out so well, but it was quite a project and it took me pretty much all day on Friday to complete it. I had expected to be done much sooner.

Mike's brother, Andy, came down on Friday in order to help Mike get started on a home improvement project that he's been planning for quite some time: the heater downstairs. Our basement is considerably colder than the rest of our house, so we have been planning to install an electric baseboard heater. It requires a lot of work and the kind of work that we have not been blessed with a talent for. They were able to begin the project and we will hopefully have a fully functioning heater before the really cold weather hits.

On Saturday both Mike and Andy met up with Joe and Dan in New Ulm for an Oktoberfest celebration. I guess the guys had heard enough about our fun girls outings and felt like they finally needed one of their own. Well, since the guys were off for the night having fun, some of us girls decided to gather at Mike's parents house for a dinner and sleepover with the little boys. The kids had a great time playing with each other and us adults had a chance to play some games after they went to bed. It was a very fun weekend for us all! Benjamin and I picked up Mike on Sunday and we all treated ourselves to lunch and shopping at IKEA.

We experienced our first real parent-teacher conferences on Monday and I am happy to report that it was great. Benjamin's teacher, Mark, told us that he is a delight to have in the class and that his adjustment to the Montessori way of doing things is coming along very well. We are looking forward to our next conference, sometime in January, when we'll be able to get a better sense of how he is doing as far as the curriculum is concerned.

It was a weekend of home improvement projects:

Benjamin and I repainted his bedroom on Friday from the crazy yellow and nursery murals that I did FOUR years ago to a gray color that allows all of the colors in his room to pop, it looks fabulous! Mike and I also began our bathroom flooring project, but because we were having visitors this weekend we decided to not rip up the toilet just yet. The completion of that project will have to wait until this week.

...a weekend of the outdoors:

Grandpa Bert and Grandma Cindy visited on Saturday and we took a trip out to Oxbow Zoo for animal viewing, a picnic and hiking. The weather started out rainy, but eventually the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. We had a great time exploring in the woods on our very long hike and I played around with my camera a bit to capture some interesting photos.

...a weekend of running:

We found a spot near mile 10 at the Med City Marathon Sunday morning for our annual cheering station. Mike and I stayed up late Saturday night making signs and Benjamin let us bring along some of his musical instruments to make some noise for the runners. The weather was amazing and the runners really seemed to enjoy our enthusiasm! We went to a couple of marathon after-parties throughout the day and then ended the evening with a bonfire in our backyard. We toasted some marshmallows, made s'mores and just relaxed around the fire.

...a weekend of baseball:

Mom gave us a couple of tickets that she had won at work for the Twins on Monday so we decided to travel up to the cities for the game. We dropped Benjamin off with Grandma Chris and Grandpa Ed and we drove out to the Metrodome. The Twins lost to the Red Sox, but we had a blast at the game. Joe Mauer, who was out for the whole game, came in at the bottom of the ninth inning to hit a home run and bring the score up to a loss by only one point. It sure was exciting! Benjamin spent his time meeting Mom and Dad's neighbors at a Memorial Day block party. We drove back to Rochester Monday night and said goodbye to our nice long weekend.

What a perfect holiday weekend it was!

Okay, okay - I get it. Obviously most of you out there call out "Slugbug" when you see a VW Beetle, so I concede. However, I'm going to continue to play "Punchbug" with Benjamin when I see one. Mike is concerned that he's going to come home with a black eye (or eyes) someday from a friend (or friends) when he tries to fight with them over what it should be called. There's nothing wrong with being different, is there? But on the other hand, I will not stand by and let Mike teach him to play "Duck, Duck, Greyduck" because even here in the land-of-crazy-words, kids are beginning to see the light (or lifer Minnesotans are slowly being overrun by transplants from WI, IL and IA) and now more of them are playing "Duck, Duck, Goose."

Our recent weekend was a pleasant one spent at home for a change. We have been having some really wacky weather here lately though. Saturday morning while Benjamin and Mike were at the Farmer's Market, I was working on one of my landscaping projects in the backyard and it was around 47 degrees with a strong wind. I wore a sweatshirt, light jacket, jeans and my work gloves to keep my hands warm. Yesterday the high here in Rochester reached 94 degrees. Needless to say we were all wearing shorts and t-shirts and LOTS of sunscreen! Benjamin hasn't really adjusted to the up and down temperatures and was very confused when on Saturday he was wearing a jacket and on Monday he could wear shorts.

We spent much of the weekend hanging out at our house and running errands. We stopped by Lowe's at one point and picked out floor tiles for the new upstairs bathroom floor. We are beginning the installation tonight, I am very excited. I promise to take some before/after photos. Saturday night we were able to get together with our neighbors, who also happened to be at home this weekend, for dinner. We also broke into our favorite summertime traditions finally and ate outside at Whistle Binkies by the Lake where Benjamin could once again play in the sand volleyball courts with his sand toys. We waited all winter to be able to do that again!

This holiday weekend is a busy one for us. We are really looking forward to the Med City Marathon morning where we have made it a tradition to be out on the streets to cheer for everyone running the races. We are planning to go all out this time because the feedback we got from the runners last year was that we created a great boost for them at just the right point in their races!

Familie Schmitt was split across two states last weekend. Mike and Benjamin were in Rochester hanging out with Grandpa Ed while Grandma Chris and I were off to Milwaukee for Erin's Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party. Mom and Dad came down Friday after work to stay at our house before our road trip on Saturday. The weather here lately has been nothing short of miraculous, which certainly helped our drive in the morning. The shower was in Kenosha, WI at the Birchwood Grill, a very nice place. We were there early enough to get everything ready and change our clothes before most guests got there. The food was good and I think people enjoyed themselves. I was lucky enough to be seated next to Miss Kelsey, Erin and Dennis's daughter who is now about 18 months old. With living so far away, I don't get to see her as much as I'd like to, so this was a treat! She is so cute, a perfect combination of both of her parents. I tried so hard to get her to talk and did eventually get her to utter some possibly unintelligible, but apparently very important sentences.

After the shower we all drove into downtown Milwaukee to our hotel, the Hilton City Center. It was here that I provided the goods to deck Erin out from head to toe in fun novelty items. From there we went to The Safe House for dinner where Erin began her Bachelorette Party. After dinner we ditched the older ladies (wink, wink) and got our party on! I had booked a private class at a store called the Tool Shed where the owner taught us the finer points of using the items she sells in her store. I'll let you readers figure that one out (my Grandma reads this blog!). We also visited some bars though it was not a raucous night, it was still a whole lot of fun and I know Erin had a blast!

Back at the ranch, Mike, Dad and Benjamin were busy doing "guys weekend" stuff. They went to the Farmer's Market, Fleet Farm, Menards and even did a couple of home improvement projects. Last week we ordered a new range hood for the kitchen and new burner plates for the stove, but unfortunately the hood ordered was the wrong color and the burner plates didn't come in packs of 2 like we had expected. So that all has to be returned - just our luck. But Dad and Mike found a hood in the correct color at Menards and they were installing it as Mom and I walked in the door on Sunday. It looks fabulous!

Though it is one of our favorite holidays, the Familie Schmitt had quite a horrible St. Patrick's Day yesterday. Mike and Benjamin are both very sick with a cold, which started off our rough day and my Saturn was hit by a driver in the parking lot of Hyvee in the evening, capping off the bad day. No one was hurt, well, except for my Saturn. I am waiting to hear back from his insurance company about either getting it fixed or totalling the car. There is a nasty hole in the driver's side door now. The car is up there in years and though it has treated me well over the years, I was kind of waiting for an excuse to move on to something newer. We'll see. We did enjoy some green mashed potatoes and cabbage for dinner though, so not all was lost from our St. Paddy's Day!

Apparently Benjamin is all set for Kindergarden, or at least that's what the good people of the Rochester public school system told us on Friday. In our city, kids have to go through a screening process sometime between the time they're 3 years and 3 months and the summer before they begin school. The screening involves a hearing test, vision examination and several small "games" to look at their readiness. He has great hearing, perfect vision (literally) and did really well at the activities. He did struggle with a "repeat after me" game where the teacher said a number and then asked him to repeat it. She started out small -- teacher: "2" Benjamin: "2" teacher: "6" Benjamin: "6" teacher: "9 3" Benjamin: "4 8" teacher: "7 2" Benjamin: "1 5." He just didn't give up, it was so funny. She'd say 2 numbers and he'd come right back with 2 of his own. It wasn't that he isn't capable of repeating her (he did it fine after she explained it in depth to him), but he just had to throw out 2 numbers of his own like it was some kind of one-upping game. He wasn't trying to show his abilities, he was trying to BEAT her at her game!!!

We spent the rest of Friday at Oxbow Park, which has a small zoo, hiking trails and a playground. Since most kids are in school, the place was empty. It was a gorgeous day and it was nice to finally have a Friday free from packing suitcases or cleaning the house for company. I can't even remember the last time Benjamin and I spent a Friday doing something fun!! We even managed to see a porcupine gettin' down:


On Saturday, after Mike's long run with his running group, we drove out to Fountain to spend some time at Drury's furniture looking at extremely beautiful, but extremely overpriced kitchen tables. Then we stopped by an apple orchard and picked up a bag of Courtlands. It was a nice sunny drive to/from Rochester. Sunday morning I went out on a long bike ride through most of town. We are so blessed to have about 60 miles of paved bike trails here for running and cycling. I don't know what Mike nor I would do without them!

Everywhere you look around here now are shining examples of why living in a place with seasons is great! Soon we will have plenty of examples of why living in a place with seasons is not so great, so we are trying to soak in as much autumn as we can!!

Sunday night Mike watched the Packers while he made us a to-die-for meal of Kale Ragu (I know, it doesn't sound like it, but it was AWESOME!). Benjamin and I napped. Monday was a blustery, rainy day so Benjamin and I stayed home and I began the work on his Halloween costume. If you have even briefly talked to him in the last month and a half, you'll know that he is going to be a T-Rex. He is very very excited. I am praying that he doesn't decide to change his costume choice anytime between now and Halloween. I can just see it now, "No Benjamin you WILL wear the T-Rex costume!! I don't care if you want to be Buzz Lightyear now - Mommy spent 20 HOURS sewing this costume!!" Pray for me.

Mike is ready to begin his big home improvement project for the season: installing our baseboard heater in the basement. We actually bought it last winter, but kind of stalled on putting it in as the warm weather came and we didn't really need it anymore. We are sort of planning on totally redecorating the basement actually, so now with heat, we will actually want to spend time down there!! Just in time for winter and hibernation!

We once again headed back up to the Twin Cities this weekend for some exciting wedding-related activities for Dan and Katie's upcoming nuptuals. Mike had a tuxedo fitting on Saturday while Jennifer and I shopped for decorations

for Katie's bridal shower. We all met up later and enjoyed a delicious meal at The Bulldog in Minneapolis - great place! On Sunday Jennifer, Jen and I all headed out to Broadway Pizza to get ready for the shower. The party was very enjoyable and I think everyone had a great time. Katie got a lot of very nice things, including a special gift from Cindy and I that I made for her. I put together a box that people can put their cards into at the reception, which looks like a suitcase. I covered it with homemade stickers representing places Dan and Katie have been, are going to and things that they enjoy together. I think it turned out great and I hope they like it! After the shower we met up back at Joe and Jen's house where they guys had all gathered for a BBQ. This gave us all the chance to relax and spend time with the kids. We managed to get a great video of the very adorable John laughing:

Seeing him laugh like that reminds me of when Benjamin first began to laugh and how exciting it was. He is so big and seemingly "grown-up" these days, but it only seems like yesterday that he was laying under his Little Einstein playmat, laughing uncontrollably at me while I made some ridiculous noises! How time flies.

After leaving the Schmitts, we met my Mom and Dad near their house for a dinner to celebrate Mom's birthday, which is this week. Then we hurried back to their house for the Bears game/MTV VMAs (bet you can guess which one of us watched which show!). Both Mom and Mike took Monday off from work so the three of us (poor Dad had to work) took Benjamin out to an orchard/farm for the day. It was lovely weather and Benjamin really enjoyed looking at all of the animals. Well, he began to enjoy them only after we successfully convinced him that the loose chickens were NOT going to try to eat him. We stuck around Mound for the whole day and Mike was able to watch the first half of the Packers/Vikings game on the big screen before heading back home to Rochester. What an enjoyable weekend!

We have heard that summer is not officially over, but it is hard to overlook the frost we had last night. Winter will all too soon be upon us, but not until Familie Schmitt enjoys the fall as best as we can! Next weekend we are off to Milwaukee for Kelsey's first birthday - how could she be so old!?

Little Benjamin sure is on the go lately! He is sporting a brand new pair of Stride Rite shoes and is now walking everywhere! This morning he WALKED up all 10 stairs on the way into daycare!! He's so proud of his walking accomplishments. He giggles and smiles while walking all around.

Mike and I are nearly finished installing our kitchen floor. Speaking of being proud...we have done it all by ourselves and it looks great! It feels so good to be close to finishing such a major home improvement (well, major for us, anyway...we are no Uncle Terry!).

Last weekend Mike ran the Rochester Track Club Half Marathon, a pretty major race in the season here. He finished at 1:31:41 (a 7 min pace), a personal record! He's been training so hard for the Chicago Marathon (Oct 22) and is very pumped to conquer his goal this year!!

We went to the State Fair on Friday. Benjamin was able to travel around in his new kid carrier backpack, which worked out great! We didn't have to hit anybody in the ankles with our stroller and were able to go in and out of the crowds without any problems. We met up with Uncle Joe, Aunt Jen and AJ and Jen's family there, which was great! AJ is getting to be such a big boy!

Grandma and Grandpa Andrews visited us all weekend. We celebrated Grandma's (last) birthday with a trip to one of our favorite restaurants, the Redwood Room. The weekend was relaxing and everyone had a great time!