Adventures in Vineyardland

The Dude Ranch 1st Birthday Party

2012-01-16T22:27:00.002-06:00

A year ago on Martin Luther King Monday, we were bringing our little bundle of joy home from the hospital. And this weekend, we celebrated his 1st birthday. I'll admit, a valid concern of mine having a winter baby was that we would have to do all his birthday parties indoors. Acres and acres of fun to entertain crowds of people outdoors and for the rest of our lives, we'll be celebrating a January birthday...likely always indoors. It's just as well. I mean, if he were born in September, poor kid would be stuck with "Grape Picking!" birthday parties for the rest of his life.

We decided to celebrate with a little party with just my family, since they are all local...

And since just my family meant about 26 people in our cozy little farm house.

We decided to go with a cowboy theme. This worked out well for my mom and my sister who were headed to the Brad Paisley concert right after the party.

This was my quick attempt at taking pictures of the party decor before the space was filled

wall to wall with people. Cowboy boots, lassos, lemonade in mason jars, Cowboy pizzas from Papa Murphy's...

Fire in the fireplace with all of his monthly pictures taken with his stuffed lion strung across the mantel. I put them out of order so everyone had to guess how many months he was in each picture.

My little buckaroo was still sleeping when all the party guests showed up. So when I got him up, stuck a silly hat on his head, and made him stand in front of all his party guests while I took pictures of him, he was a little out of sorts. "Uhhhh...what's going on here? All these people weren't here when I went to sleep..."

But, at least he gave me his best cowboy pose.

Since there were 6 kids ages 6 and under and 5 of them were boys, I tried to make it portions of our small space as kid friendly as possible. Thus, we created a little fort area called "Axel's Dude Ranch" (aka. "Rowdy kids play here and don't bug the adults")

And then it was cake time!

It was at this point, my sister said, "So is Axel going to take a shower before he opens presents?" Silly, Mom. I totally forgot about gift opening! So, we had to do a quick and intense wash-up before he dove into the presents.

Great-Grandma and Grandpa! We call them Tutu and Kapuna. Kapuna will be 89 next week, so we celebrated his birthday too. I was even able to find a picture of him and his family when he was 2 to put out on the picture display. That was the youngest picture of him they could find! Amazing how times have changed. I think I have taken 5, 682 pictures of Axel just in his first year, so there should be no reason why his grandchildren and great-grandchildren shouldn't be able to find any old pictures of him.

Of course, when he is 89, the year will be 2100!!!

What?!

The best part about being the youngest of 14 cousins...

LOTS of hand-me-down toys!

And people wonder why we need a bigger house...

The birthday boy had fun playing with balloons after everyone left.

Seriously...entertained for hours...

The foam cowboy hat that never dies. This was a hat Aaron and his groomsmen wore at our wedding reception.

It's pretty much a family heirloom.

Oh! And Aaron made a nice sign that he put outside, but I didn't take a picture of it until later that night.

Actually, I think he just wanted to show off his new toy.

That deserves a post all its own. Until next time...

The Bachelor "Wine Maker": This Woman Tells All

2012-01-02T22:50:00.005-06:00

Aaron and I watched the premiere of The Bachelor on Monday night. Yes, we both actually watched and yes, I actually just admitted it. I know, I know...here I just posted about how busy we are and how I just haven't had time to blog, yet, I had time to watch some silly, mindless, fabricated drama TV show....and I took my husband down with me. What can I say, it was my last night of vacation before returning back to work.

I would almost go as far to say that pigs would have to fly before I could get Aaron to watch any show with me besides The Office or something on the History Channel. But this season of The Bachelor there was one thing that made it enticing enough for him to actually be able to stand being in the same room with me while it was on TV; The Bachelor, for those of you who didn't tune in, is a winemaker in Sonoma. So when I asked Aaron to watch it with me, I spun it a different way.

"Hey, do you want to watch a documentary about a winemaker in Sonoma with me tonight?"

I just didn't say it was The Bachelor...and that it was a reality show.

Of course, he spent the entire time narrating with snide comments, but we had a few laughs. While Ben the Bachelor seems like a pretty nice and intelligent guy, I, especially, got a kick out of the girls.

I think the part that was the most fun for me was that these girls are all pining for a guy who has a few things in common with my husband. They had footage of Ben the Bachelor out in the vineyard, driving tractor, carrying posts over his shoulder like a manly man, and testing wine out of the barrels. I know what it is like to be in love with a guy who does those things. It's pretty hot.

BUT...

Like most people who don't understand what's really involved in the vineyard and wine life, these girls are likely imagining a sophisticated, romantic life, strolling hand-in-hand through the vineyard, swirling wine in a glass while talking to their new fancy friends, and running a winery like it's a cakewalk.

It's not that they can't have those those. It's just that there are a few other things that go along with it.

So, on one of upcoming episodes of The Bachelor, I'd like to see the Bachelorettes experience ALL of the things that come along with marrying a handsome, young, winemaker.

Like power washing an old barn that used to house chickens (and all the remnants that go along with them) in order to make room for more wine storage...

Or, canceling an entire month of plans and do nothing but pick grapes...and pick grapes.....

...and pick grapes. Until their backs ache, their knees bleed and their fingers turn purple.

Permanently.

And then carry 30 pound bin after 30 pound bin of grapes and dump them into a grape de-stemmer before it can be made into wine.

I'd like to see one of the Bachelorettes hop on tractor and figure out how to use the post hole digger.

And then basically crawl inside a wine tank and clean it out with special sanitizing spray and make sure there aren't any remnants of grape skins.

I'd like one of the "dates" to be The Bachelor taking the girl out to his vineyard to prune grapevines in the middle of winter.

And then have her clean up after him after he's trudged through the house in muddy boots and dropped his Carharrt jacket that smells like gasoline and fungicide spray on the floor by the front door...

And then go to a dinner party where she listens to him talk about yeast, fermentation and vertical shoot positioning the entire night...

Sorry... were those too close to home?

But really, THOSE are the things these Bachelorettes are in for.

Of course, Ben the Bachelor is probably independently wealthy and has plenty of hired help to do all those things...and maybe his future wife will just sit around swirling a glass of wine in her evening gown.

But, what is the fun in just doing that?

All is Well!

2012-01-01T22:33:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year from the Schrams!

Thanks to the prompting of my sister-in-law, Lisa, I was reminded it has been a while since my last post. I went back and looked...September 28th?! Yikes! I knew it had been a while, but I never intended to neglect this blog for over three months! I guess time got away from me and I just needed a blogging hiatus and not feel guilty about not giving updates as frequently as I'd like. As it turns out working full time, being a mom full time, tending to a vineyard, planning an addition, taking care of two big dogs, keeping up with housework, and throw the hullabaloo of the holidays on top of all of that and any "free time" to blog is almost nil.

So I didn't. This past week, my free time was spent finally getting around to making Axel's baby book, while Aaron took advantage of our unseasonably warm weather and pruned grapevines outside. I can't believe I took this picture on December 26th!

I realized that in one of my lasts posts, I left you hanging with a teaser about some potentially big news. We were, at the time, very seriously pursuing buying a house right in front of our property on the lake. It was a foreclosure and needed quite a bit of work and we figured, "Gosh, we don't have much of anything else going on, so why not find an extremely time consuming project."

If you can't tell, that last line is dripping with sarcasm.

We ended up in a multiple offer situation and, well, we didn't get it. But as all things usually do, we think it worked out for the best.

Instead, we're now working with an architect to do an addition and remodel on our existing house where we can design it perfectly tailored for us and our "vineyard lifestyle." A place to raise our family, to entertain, to host events, to run our business. We are very excited about what lies ahead and the plans we have seen so far. If we can get our plans finalized soon, our goal is to break ground this spring, which we realize will come fast! We are trying to set the expectation that this entire project will probably take years to complete and of course, will likely end up costing more than we initially budget. Isn't that how it always works?

Can you believe our little boy is going to be ONE in less than two weeks? People tell me all the time how fast the time goes and it is absolutely true. A year ago I was sitting around uncomfortable and impatient, waiting for his big debut and this year, that little guy was WALKING around at Christmas, full of personality.

And he LOVES the doggies. Even though we converted our entire dining room into a play room full of toys, all he wants to do is hang out on the dog bed with the dogs. He "pets" them, talks to them, crawls all over them, pulls their ears and pokes them in the eyes, and the dogs are extremely tolerant of him. Extremely. They just lie there and sometimes give me a look like, "Really? You're going to let him get away with this?"

We had a wonderful Christmas and all has been well with the Schrams. While we thought 2011 was an eventful year, I have a feeling 2012 will be no different. Cheers to another year full of challenges, surprises, excitement, and joy!

Happy New Year!

Reader Survey Results

2011-09-28T08:45:00.003-05:00

Well over a year ago, I posted a few surveys on the sidebar of my blog. I never called attention to them or mentioned them in any of my posts. I just put them out there and figured that over time, people might notice and take them. I indicated a poll closing date of 365 days from the date I posted them, but remember thinking in the back of my that I would never leave them up there that long...

Sure enough, here we are...well over 365 days from that posting date. Time passed quickly (as it always does) and I noticed the other day that the polls have been closed. Where did that year go?! So, thought I would share the results. Very interesting for me to learn a little more about my readership, or at least whichever ones of you actually noticed the surveys and took the time to respond to a few of these questions sometime over the past year. It would be interesting to know if this is really a true representation.

29% of you are only red wine drinkers while 65% of you drink both red and white wine.

Let's hear it for the lushes--29% of you are daily wine drinkers who unwind your day with a glass of wine. 39% of you say you drink it a couple of days a week with dinner and 19% drink wine only in social settings. Only 3% of you never drink wine. I am not positive, but I am thinking that 3% might be my underage readers. I had also included an "other" category to this question, which accounted for 6% of you. In hindsight, I am trying to think what sample I was trying to capture with an "other" category. I can only assume that means that 6% of you polish off an entire bottle of wine a day!

30% of you are Minnesotans. I am a bit surprised by this one! 18% of you are from the Midwest. 42% live in the United States (not in MN or the Midwest) and 9% of you are in another country. I know of a few of you, but would love to know who my global readers are!

A whopping 80% of you are dog owners! Glad to know so many of you can empathize with my dog stories.

This was a fun exercise! I will try to come up with some fresh survey questions and not wait a year to post the results.

In other news, Schram Vineyards is finally on Facebook! It has been on my "to-do" list for, honestly, a couple of years. My only hold-up being I wasn't sure what to call it. Schram Vineyards is the name of our vineyard, but when we get the winery up and going, that will be branded under a new name, which is still up for grabs. Although I believe we have finally narrowed it down to a few choices. So, for now, you can "like" Schram Vineyards on Facebook. I intend to use the Facebook page for quick updates, information and pictures that don't warrant an entire blog post. And if my blog posts are any indication, I definitely won't be spamming your newsfeed.

Lastly, did you really think we were done harvesting grapes?

Think again. We have about 8-9 rows left of Frontenac Gris to harvest this weekend. And THEN we will be done. If you would like to help pick this weekend, email us at schramvineyards at gmail dot com.

Harvest!

2011-09-19T09:04:00.002-05:00

To say that the last month has been chaotic at the Schram household would be an understatement.

Busy daytime jobs.

Our house got struck by lightning...

Which fried several electronics and appliances, including our electric dog fence...

Which in turn caused the dogs to be very naughty.

Axel started crawling,

then pulling up on everything...

then cruising everywhere.

We had a bout of a highly contagious stomach flu...

Which started with me on the morning of our very first harvest weekend...

When we had 10 overnight house guests in town from Wisconsin...

And even more grape pickers who came for the day.

Have I mentioned we have one bathroom?

Great timing, huh?

We have also had an potential opportunity pop-up which has taken up a lot our time.

It could be something that could benefit us both personally and from a business perspective.

And as luck would have it...

It is something that, despite everything else going on,

we have needed to spend time and effort pursuing RIGHT NOW.

If we've seen you, we've talked about.

It could turn into nothing at all.

Or it could be HUGE.

But right now, my only point in bringing it up is to tell you that this something has occupied a lot of our time.

I'll post an update if I have one, but right now, still nothing to report.

Now, let's get down to business and let me give you an update on:

Our two full weekends of harvesting grapes!

Afraid you missed all the fun?

We have one more BIG weekend of grape picking to do THIS WEEKEND:

September 24th-25th

Two shifts:

8:30-11:30

1pm-4pm

And plenty of wine to go around! Let us know if you are interested.

We had one lot of grapes that just wasn't quite ready for picking this past weekend, so we have to wait one more week.

Here are a few pics from the last few weekends.

Look at all those grapes!

Thank you grape pickers!!

We weren't planning on doing a grape stomp, but at the last minute, Aaron decided to throw a lug of grapes in the tub.

It was worth it.

Afterall, it's not often that Aaron's grandma Millie, who just celebrated her 95th birthday, and her younger sister, Velda, get to stomp grapes together.

And a few others joined the fun. Although I have no idea whose feet these are.

And then they crushed and de-stemmed the grapes.

The next weekend was a bit chillier, but we had another good crew out helping to pick on Saturday morning.

I couldn't resist a few pictures of Aaron with his babies.

Especially when one of them is wearing this...

SWOON!

The Net Applicator Thingy

2011-08-23T09:57:00.004-05:00

In my last post, I posted a few pictures of Aaron working on his latest invention. Most of the time I don't really know what it is he is building until I actually see it in action.

And last week, I got to see his latest in action.

Presenting....

The Net Applicator Thingy!

Brilliant!!

This is our first year netting the vineyard. We have to protect the grapes from bird damage since they really like sweet, ripe grapes. We still hooked up the distressed bird call speaker again to help keep them away, but unfortunately, that doesn't do the trick alone.

Aaron bought nets large enough to cover six rows of grapevines at one time.

Most vineyards cover each row individually. But Aaron figured if he could just whip up a large net applicator contraption, we could just hammer out 6 rows at once.

Of course, we still had to enlist the help of some friends to pull the nets down evenly on each side as the tractor and net applicator went along each row. We bribed them with beer and pizza.

And watching this process, several neighbors came out to see what was going on and came to help as well.

Wouldn't you be a little curious watching this from your back yard?

A BIG thank you to everyone that helped!

And a few hours later, the grapevines we covered.

We had fun watching the little birdies try to swoop down on the vines, only to realize they couldn't get to the grapes and fly away.

"HaHA! Suckers!" I yelled to them.

That might seem heartless. But it is nice to see this whole process actually working after the big investment of time, physical labor, and money JUST into keeping birds away from the grapes.

The the coolest part about having the net over six rows at a time, is that it will make grape picking quite easy without having to lift the nets off again.

Just slide underneath and start picking. Hopefully it keeps the bugs out pretty well too!

Speaking of grape picking, we are getting a great response for picking in September. The grapes are coming along and we still need more pickers for the weekend of September 10-11th.

Let me know if you want to come help!

Have a great week, everyone!

Hanging out on a Saturday

2011-08-19T14:08:00.003-05:00

Last weekend I decided I couldn't neglect my garden any longer.

Looking for an easy solution to bring Axel outside with me besides just having him sit in a stroller or hauling the pack n' play outside, I stuck him in a wagon just his size, stuffed it with some cozy items so he wouldn't slide all over, and we took a ride to the garden.

And he sat pleasantly in the middle of the garden...while I weeded....

and weeded.

And weeded.

The above statement should explain why I have not posted any pictures of the garden this year.

So should this picture below...

"Mom? Uh...what's going on here? I'm sitting in a wagon with a stuffed bear and a fishing hat and I'm surrounded by weeds."

I didn't even realize until I got him out there with me what a perfect set-up it was for a mini photo shoot. So I took my garden gloves off, grabbed my camera and tried repositioning to something more scenic than my weedy garden.

Of course, then the dogs decided to join us.

Tux and Belle continue to be enthralled with this little creature. Every day they interact more and more with each other.

Even though the dogs have over 12 acres to roam, whenever I bring Axel outside, they have to be within two feet of him.

Or two inches...

Which is another reason why it is difficult for us to "picnic" outside.

"Mom, how long are you going to point that thing at me?"

"Okay, fine. If you are going to make pig noises I'll smile for you."

(Do you like it in black and white)?

"Alright. This is fun and all, but how do I get out of this thing?"

Aaron was outside working on a big project at the time and we all had fun watching.

Especially this guy. He looooooves his daddy.

Any guesses as to what in the world kind of vineyard equipment Aaron is inventing and building?

Hmmmm....

You'll find out in my next post.

It's pretty sweet!

Now you see why my garden has been so neglected this year. Even when I finally get the opportunity to tend to it, I'm too easily distracted.

Sigh.

If only I could train these guys to earn their keep around here.

Calling all Grape Pickers!

2011-08-15T21:36:00.002-05:00

Grape picking season is upon us!

We are estimating having somewhere in the ballpark of 17,000 lbs of grapes this year...our biggest harvest yet!

In case you are wondering, 17,000 lbs of grapes is, um, kinda a lot of grapes.

Certainly more than we can handle picking ourselves, so we are looking for grape picking volunteers.

Each variety of grape ripens at a different time. It is a very scientific process that involves testing the grapes sugar level, acidity, etc.

We plan to pick grapes over several weekends, likely all in September, as eah grape variety ripens to its ideal picking time.

Many of you have expressed interest in picking grapes this year and we are thrilled to hear that!

Here is the plan:

We plan to pick the majority of grapes on the following weekends:

September 10-11

September 17-18

We'll keep September 3-5th (Labor Day weekend) and September 24-25th open as potential picking dates as well, depending on how the grapes are doing. If you are interested in helping either of these weekends, please let us know.

We'll start at 9am, break for lunch provided by Schram Vineyards around noon, continue picking in the afternoon as needed and you'll bring home the very first vintage of our Frontnac Gris wine, made from our very own grapes (2010 harvest) as a thank you for your help. We'll have a grand old time!

Do I have you sold?

If you would like to pick grapes, please email us at schramvineyards@gmail.com or email through the contact link at the top of our webpage and let us know which date(s) you are available to help. We are looking for about 10-15 volunteers for each day, so please email us early so we can start planning and secure your spot. A week before we'll firm up the picking dates, as this will allow us time to make sure the grapes will be ripe.

We can't wait! For your inspiration, here are a few pics I snapped this passed weekend. I tried to get a few views of the vineyard I don't normally get.

Waconia Wine Country Tour: Parley Lake

2011-08-03T09:46:00.001-05:00

When Aaron and I decided to move to Waconia to start a vineyard, we thought we were pioneers marching into unchartered grape growing territory. When we found our property, it was perfect for what we were looking for and we were especially excited about the proximity to the city. Although wineries were popping up rapidly statewide, we really didn't know of any wineries this close in on the west side, or in Carver County at all. We thought we were tapping into an untapped market.

Or should I say uncorking a corked market?

After we moved and started planting in the spring of 2008, we soon found out that we were not the pioneers we thought we were. There were already grape growers settled just before us. Just because there were no wineries open for business, doesn't mean there weren't people close by planting grapes-so we learned!

Soon after we moved, we found out there were already two other grape growers IN WACONIA! And not even that, one of those grape growers was technically in our little Laketown Township. What are the odds? Both of these vineyards were just a few miles away from us! So, last month, we took a little tour of Waconia wine country.

Parley Lake Winery opened up in the fall of 2009. We are happy to say that, since we are not quite ready with a facility for processing wine ourselves, we are partnering with Parley Lake this year to sell them some of our grapes from this year's harvest!

We took our vineyard worker and neighbor, Les, and his wife, Jeanette, over to do a tasting about three weeks ago. All the sweat and tears they are pouring into the vineyard for us, we figured it would be good for them to see what it is we are working for and give them some perspective. Not to mention, give them a taste of some good Minnesota wine!

Les and Jeanette were not real big on getting their picture taken, so I had to snap a few casual candid shots when they weren't paying attention.

And then decided if they didn't want their picture taken, I'd just find another good subject.

Here's one!

Yes, we are really good parents....

We brought our 6 month old to a wine tasting...

...which overlapped with his usual nap time!

Not on purpose. It just kind of worked out that way. I know, I know...babies like schedules, blah, blah blah. But he adjusted just fine and was in good spirits the whole time. That's how we roll...and he just rolls right along with us.

He was so captivated by the wine. We like to think he was checking out the color and clarity like a sommelier in the making.

"Hey, Dad. Give me a little sip of that Frontenac Gris. Hmmmmm....nice balance. Crisp. Refreshing. Notes of apricot and tropical fruit."

Okay, okay...we didn't really give him a sip! We tried to keep the glass at a safe distance, but he kept reaching for it and trying to stick it in his mouth!

That's how we know he is our son.

Since he appears to be keeping those big blue eyes, we reach for anything we can to let us know he is really ours.

Anyway....where was I? Wasn't this post supposed to be about the Waconia wineries?

Did I go off on a baby tangent again?

This is Steve, the head winemaker at Parley Lake. I caught him talking very animatedly about his wine! After our tasting, he gave us a tour of the winery. For those who like to learn about the process and nuances of winemaking, it is fun to get this behind the scenes tour.

And we got to sample a few wines straight from the barrels! Aaron and I were quite impressed with the Marquette he had in the making. Can't wait to try it next season!

And after our winery tour, we got a tractor ride in their vineyard!

This is Lin, the vineyard owner and manager. He has had an apple orchard for over 25 years on this property and started expanding to grapes when he partnered with Steve.

Aaron thinks I have a crush on Lin. I told him it's because I envision Aaron being a bit like Lin in about 35 years: tall, tanned and rugged from working outside, full head of silver hair, still working hard in the vineyard, still learning new things every day, giving tractor rides and tours, talking about his grandkids...

Just seems like a little glimpse of our future.

It was a perfect afternoon to ride through a vineyard with a glass of Frontenac Gris.

This is what happens when you get a bunch of grape nerds together on what started as a nice relaxing, beautiful afternoon...

They stop to examine the grapes and start exchanging ideas and comparing notes on how to control bugs and fungus and weeds. That's the less romantic side to a vineyard.

See. We even worked in a nap. Nothing like a little snoozer on a wagonride through a vineyard.

*Note the "Vintage Baby" onesie.

We had such a thorough experience and good time at Parley Lake, that we didn't have time to go to Sovereign Estates opening weekend on the same day. We went the next weekend instead, when it was like 145 degrees and had a great time, despite the heat.

But that will have to wait for another post.

The Chitalpa Tree

2011-07-09T20:16:00.004-05:00

I am on a roll! 2nd post this week!

In all fairness, I actually started this post with pictures back in OCTOBER. Not sure what happened, but I found it sitting in my drafts and so here I am 9 months later, finally posting it!

It seems appropriate to post about our Chitalpa tree now since I just snapped some new pictures of this beautiful tree which stands in our back yard. It took us three years to remember how to pronounce it. [Kih-tal-pa]. We called it all sorts of combinations of these sounds...Kiptalpa, Kiltapa...but I think we finally have it down now.

In late June it blooms with these beautiful white flowers. It lasts for about a week before they start falling to the ground and our yard looks like it is covered in popcorn.

I love all the branches too! Makes me want to be 10 years old again to climb up there and hang out on one of those branches reading a book.

Or making weird bird calls to make the neighbors wonder...

Or whatever it is 10 year olds do...

I was a weird kid. So I've been told.

Anywho...

It is such a cool looking tree and makes such a statement. Our first spring here in 2008, we were concerned the tree was dead because it didn't bud along with the rest of the trees. We noticed it had woodpecker holes in it and even caught the little bugger pecking a few times that first spring. We thought he had killed it! Fortunately, we haven't seen him since!

But then it budded and we learned from several people familiar with the Chitalpa tree, that it is always a late bloomer.

Funny, that's the first time I've used the phrase "late bloomer" and actually meant it literally!

This was one of the first pictures we took of it our first spring. This was taken from the other side as the rest of these pictures. It's interesting for me to look at these pictures, because our place looks so different! That little yellow playhouse in the background was only there for a few months because the old owners came to pick it up shortly after we moved in. That huge ugly bushy thing on the left was a lilac bush that we cut down nearly a year and a half ago. I LOVE lilacs, but that bush was only beautiful for about 10 days out of the year and the rest of the time it looked like the singing bush in The Three Amigos. Obscure reference, I know, but it seems like most fitting description. Once we took the lilac bush down, that's where I put in that little patch of perennials lined with wine bottles. The jury is still out on how permanent that little creative landscaping place will be, but it is a good conversation piece for now.

You might also remember seeing the Chitalpa tree in some of my older posts, like this one back in February 2010 where I posted these pictures.

Tell me these pictures are not such a true representation of Minnesota and our seasons? Amazing what a difference 6 months can make that we can go from beautifully blooming covered in white blossoms, to beautifully dormant covered in snow.

And then of course there is autumn somewhere in between, where it looks like this...

I took this I think in early October, when the leaves were just starting to turn. The colors don't get quite as vibrant on the Chitalpa as they do on other trees, but the foliage is beautiful nonetheless.

I took all of these tree pictures standing on our deck. I can't imagine what our view would be without it. Or where the dogs would go for shade. Or where we would sit to enjoy a glass of wine outside after a long day.

Here is one other picture I took standing on our deck just the other day, except I was facing southeast, rather that straight south where the tree stands. I had just gotten home from work when a huge, gusty winds storm passed through, quickly followed by blue skies and sun.

A rainbow!

If only we didn't have those telephone wires and birds there to clutter up this picture.

24 Hour Snapshot

2011-07-07T09:01:00.004-05:00

Going into this past weekend, we had nothing planned the whole weekend, except to go to my parent's on Monday for their annual July 4th party. That probably makes us sound really lame, but we were actually looking forward to a long weekend to get some vineyard work done, relax, and enjoy the weather. We figured we'd have some unexpected plans come up, as they usually do.

But our anticipated low-key weekend ended up being quite the contrary.

Here is just a 24-hour snapshot from this past weekend.

Saturday

3pm: We are home and I spot a car out in the middle of the vineyard. We thought it was our friend, Scott, who mentioned he'd by stopping by with his mom, who was in town. We walk down, realize it is our vineyard worker, Les, with his wife, and her parents, who are in town visiting for the weekend. They wanted to show them the vineyard. We chat for a while, Aaron gives his grapevine spiel- they leave.

4pm: Our friend, Scott, and his wife, Julie, stop over, with Scott's mom, who is in town for the weekend. They had just been to Parley Lake Winery, which just opened this past weekend for the season and they bring a bottle of their Apples and Vines wine for us to enjoy. Delicious! Parley Lake is just a few miles away from us, so always happy to support our fellow neighborhood grape growers and wine makers and have some wonderful local wine!

5pm: Aaron gets a text from some friends that they are going to be out on our side of town tonight and we manage to make some fairly last minute plans to join them.

7pm: Aaron and I bring the baby to my parents. We put him to bed there at 8pm and go to meet friends out for drinks. My parents were already watching my brother's three kids, so we decided to piggyback off of them. What's one more kid to babysit when you already have three, right? We have a good night out by the lake with friends.

Sunday

12am: We pick up baby, head home, transfer him back into his crib, and we are in bed by about 12:30am

2am: He wakes up. I go into his room, calm him down, get him back to sleep. Go back to bed by 2:10am.

4am: Something wakes me up. A knocking sound? I whack Aaron to wake him up.
"Aaron!!!" I whisper loudly. "Did you hear that?"

"Probably the dogs..." he mutters.

We hear it again.

"I think someone is knocking on the door..."

Then the doorbell rings.

"Go see what's going on!" I shove him.

Aaron gets up and with only slight hesitation, walks to the door in his boxers while I hover behind him, although unsure of what I should be prepared to do. I can see two flashlights shining through the window by the front door. I can't even start to imagine what could have brought them there at this hour. Aaron opens the door a crack to see two Sheriff's standing there.

"Is that your Hummer out back here?" one of them asks right away, his flashlight shining through our front entry.

I recall a conversation Aaron and I had on our way out to meet friends earlier. He said, "remind me to put the new license plate tabs on the cars this weekend. I keep forgetting to put them on and I got them updated like three months ago."

"You could get a ticket for that, you know," I had told him.

This conversation being fresh in my mind, my first thought seeing these Sheriffs at our door was that they must be some sort of night cops who lurk around people's garages trying to bust them for expired tabs. And they must have found the Hummer still with 2009 tabs because it hasn't left the property in two years.

Sometimes your mind thinks weird things at 4am when you are already sleep deprived.

As it turns out, it wasn't the expired license plate tabs. Phew! Apparently, the car alarm was going off on the Hummer. When Aaron built it 9 years ago, he put an alarm on it (why he did that is whole other question), but said it hasn't been working for the past 5-6 years. At least that's what he thought. It must have shorted somehow because apparently, the alarm woke up one of our concerned neighbors who called the cops.
Aaron tells the two Sheriffs to hold on while he puts some pants on, then goes outside, fiddles with the alarm to shut it off and comes back to bed.

4:45am: I wake up to hearing something through the monitor, but it's not crying. More of a jingle. I realize it is the rattling of a dog collar.  I roll my eyes as I lay in bed, annoyed that I have to get out of bed, not because of the baby, but because of the darn dog. Belle had snuck in his room and was curling up on the floor. She loves it in there! I shove her out of the nursery, whispering sharply to her to "get out" so as not to wake the baby, close the door tightly and go head to bed.

4:48am: The baby wakes up crying again right as I am crawling back into bed. Apparently my whisper and the jingling dog collar in his room were enough to disturb his slumber. Light sleeper...

I go back in, calm him down and am back in bed by 5am.

5:45am: Belle is now whining outside of our door. The dogs have been doing this lately. They often want to go outside and play in the middle of the night, so 5:45am isn't too bad. Aaron gets up, let's them outside.

6:45am: We wake up to hearing the baby cooing in his crib. It's the best sound. Aaron brings him into our room and we snuggle and let him play quietly while mom and dad try to get a few extra Zzzzzs. He actually is pretty good at letting us sleep in a little and sometimes even snoozes with us for a bit on weekend mornings. We needed it this particular morning.

8am: We get up. After some play time and breakfast, Aaron goes outside to work. I decide to make a few batches of baby food--summer squash and bananas.

Aaron heads outside and bumps into a few neighbors down by the lake who are congregating after finding out our neighbor Rita had heard an alarm coming from our house the night before. Aaron apologizes for waking anyone up and explains it was just a faulty wire on his home built truck.

10am: My mom calls.  She tells me they just picked up my Grandma and Grandpa and have my brother's three kids and they're on their way over.

"See you in a few minutes!" she says.

I am still in my nightgown, my kitchen is a mess, baby is napping. In her defense, she had mentioned that they may stop out at some point that day. I just didn't know it would be then...and with a two minute warning.

I quick change, throw the baby food I am in the middle of making in the fridge, wipe down the kitchen counter.

Baby wakes up.

They drive up.   Kids run out of the car, dogs, who are still outside, get all excited and want to play, kids get scared and scream. We put the dogs inside.

They stay for a while, enjoy the outdoors, leave.

11:30am: Staci stops by, as planned, to check out the garden. I think she knows I could use an extra hand with it this year, so I appreciate her help. We spend an hour trying to decipher between plants and weeds and what exactly is coming up because we forgot to label everything after we frantically planted before a storm was coming in last month.

2pm: I am finally back to making baby food in the kitchen and back to making a mess. I am also back in my comfortable clothes trying to stay cool in the heat. My mom calls to tell me some of our family friends are in town for the weekend and may be stopping out at some point that day to see the vineyard and take some pictures. "Sure! Tell them to come out! It's just a revolving door over here!" I love having visitors. I really do, despite the craziness of the day.

2:30pm: Aaron comes in for a very late lunch. As we're sitting at the kitchen table, we see a truck and trailer pull in the drive-way. Now who's here, we wonder? It's our friend, Kevin, coming to drop off a 4-wheeler he let's Aaron use in the summers. Long story...but they have a nice little mutually beneficial agreement. This is a pleasant surprise since Aaron thought he would be going to pick it up from Kevin on Monday instead. Aaron grabs a couple of beers and we hang out, while they get the ATV unloaded and go for a couple of test runs.
So that's a day in the life of a wide open, unplanned weekend at our house.

Hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend!

A-Chooo!

2011-06-29T12:33:00.004-05:00

A-choooooo!

(*cough, cough*)

A-aa-aa-chooo!

Excuse me. As if my allergies weren't bad enough this year, now I am sneezing from getting all the dust and cobwebs off of this blog!

It's been a while. Sorry about that.

I've had really good intentions to write. I really have. Every day I have a moment where I think, "Oooh...this would be good for the blog." Then when I finally find a moment in the evening to sit down and type, I usually get a few sentences down before I start hearing crying on the monitor or some other interuption. So in true Ashley fashion, I am going to have to give you one massive update.

Aaron declared the month of June "Aaron's Month" since it was his first Father's Day (which fell on our 2nd wedding anniversary this year), and his birthday (which was yesterday). We had a lot to celebrate this month.

I threw a little surprise party for Aaron for his birthday last week.

It was supposed to be a "re-do" of the party we had last fall when he ended up in the emergency room and missed the whole party. Remember?

I even fooled him into mowing the lawn and the vineyard the night before, so the place was looking in tip-top shape.

I just asked people to start showing up at our house and one by one, they started "dropping by." Until he eventually figured out that I had actually planned something and that 40 people didn't just "happen to be in the neighborhood..." on Friday night.

Yeah, I gave myself a pat on the back at the end of the night.

My only regret is not getting the chance to take more pictures.

These were all I could get of Aaron giving one group of kids and adults a wagon ride.

And one crappy picture of the campfire. I didn't get ax-throwing or Hammerschlagen, or pics of all the cute kids playing. Didn't capture the look on Aaron's face as each guest showed up. But, I can say that I think people had a good time!

My camera used to be the accessory hanging around my neck.

But I've traded it in for the Baby Bjorn, which means I haven't been able to get as many pictures this year.

So I stuck Axel in the stroller the other day so I could quick snap a few of the vineyard.

The vineyard is looking mighty fine. The vines are relatively in control and trained up on the wire.

The only challenge has been spraying this year. Since we've had so much rain, finding the perfect time to spray has been difficult since there needs to be just the right weather conditions.

Thanks to Aaron's hard work along with our hired help (thanks, Les!), the vineyard is in good shape!

Quote of the week from Les: "I never knew grapevines were so much work!"

You got that right!

I love a fresh cut lawn! It makes such a difference in appearance.

Clearly, our dogs have not improved in the "jumping up on our guests" department.

I was too far away to scold them for this...so I zoomed in as far as I could and took a picture instead. They were greeting my oldest, dearest friend, Megan, who came for dinner while visiting from Maryland. While I boiled some spaghetti and topped it with a jar of Ragu, she whipped up a rhubarb pie for us. She's amazing like that.

Speaking of naughty dogs...

I treated myself to a nice pair of black sandals a few weeks ago.

I didn't even buy them on sale....which is unusual for me.

I wore them once. ONE time.

Can you see the foreshadowing in this story?

Yep, I left them out on the floor for one night...

Only to find them all chewed up the next morning.

Ugh!

I might as well have just handed the dogs a fifty dollar bill to eat.

The only thing that makes me feel better about it is the fact that they gave me a bad blister on my Achilles heel.

****

Yesterday was a perfect night. Gorgeous weather...no bugs...no wind. It was Aaron's actual birthday.

We picked up a good pizza.

Opened a bottle of good wine.

Axel was in his usual good spirits.

We sat in the Adirondack chairs and watched a plane land on the lake in front of us, putter around the lake for a few minutes and then take off again...right on the water! You don't get to see that in your back yard too often.

Although I had gotten him a nice gift for Father's Day, I told Aaron I had spent all my time and energy trying to surprise him last week, that I didn't have a present for him to open for his birthday.

But he said that was okay. He didn't need anything.

He has everything he wants.

Well...

Except for maybe a winery.

We'll get there.

Axel and the doggies love each other.

Among his latest milestones of sitting up independently and eating up his sweet peas and carrots, he now reaches for the doggies to try and pet them or grab their noses and squeals with delight.

He's a pretty happy boy!

And he lights up whenever Daddy walks in the room.

They're good buds.

Life is good.

But it would be even better if we could get this happy little boy to start sleeping more at night!

Planting

2011-05-22T18:00:00.000-05:00

Every year I say I am going to make my garden a little smaller and little more manageable than the year before.

And you can see how well I've stood by that statement in years past. This year is no exception. Even though I am now on my 4th year of vegetable gardening, I still don't believe that everything I plant will actually grow. So I overcompensate by just planting a lot of seeds.

And then they all come up. And I wonder why I have an overabundancee of vegetables!

Because of the amount of rain we've gotten on the weekends in the last month, any bouts of dry weather are precious. Aaron has been trying to get as much done as possible in the vineyard during those times. Since my hands are a little fuller these days, I know both Aaron and I getting things done on a sunny day will be a challenge.

So I called in a little help.

Our friend, Staci, who lives nearby, came to help me plant the garden last weekend. It was warm that day, but very windy. So I got my little man geared up to come help in the garden.

Remember last year when I told you about my buns of steel from doing all the squatting in the vineyard to de-sucker all the vines?

That was nothing.

This year, I am doing the same thing with an extra 14+ lbs and counting hanging onto me.

I held him with one arm while I dug holes with the other. He was such a good sport!

Staci moved a bit quicker than me in getting all the seeds planted.

Who am I kidding? She basically did all of it for me while I ran back and forth from the garden to the house, and chased the dogs out of the garden where they were rambunctiously trampling over our tomato plants. And she even helped me to plant a reasonable amount of zucchini this year. Yet plenty enough so we can make our County Fair winning zucchini relish!

Last weekend, we got zucchini, cucumbers, radishes, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes in the ground. Aaron planted pumpkins, gourds, squash, and sweet corn in the field.

Staci was nice enough to came back this morning and we planted lettuce, peas, green beans, and carrots.

So much for my small garden this year.

I plan on trying my hand at homemade baby food this year, so hopefully all these veggies will come in handy!

It has been storming on and off today, so we had about 30 minutes this morning to get the last seeds in the ground before the rain came.

I've never planted so fast! I literally dumped some seeds in the ground and made a mad dash for the house, pushing the stroller up the hill, so it'll be interesting to see how this all comes up.

I can officially say the garden is planted. Now I just have to maintain it!

And this week we have some more grapevines coming--Frontenac Blanc, Petite Amie, and some seedless table grapes. We are not expanding nearly as much as we did the past two years, but adding a row or two of some of these new varieties.

Vintage Baby

2011-05-08T17:21:00.002-05:00

On May 7th last year, I was waiting in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport for my flight home and stumbled across a winery at my terminal.

A winery...at the airport...

who would've thought?

It was just a little tasting room serving some Texas wine and appetizers, so I popped in to check it out.

I was suspecting that I was pregnant, but had not yet confirmed. I was waiting until I got home to find out for sure. To be on the safe side, I did not order a glass of wine. Although I had tried a Texas Merlot before which was wonderful, so it was hard resisting the temptation at just the chance that I might be pregnant.

Instead, I bellied up to the bar and ordered up a little appetizer plate and chatted with the tasting room server. I thought it was a pretty innovative idea that a vineyard opened up shop in the airport to sell their wine. They figured they'd hit a pretty captive audience at the airport. I mean, how many people pass through there every day looking to kill some time?

I finished up my cheese and crackers and still had some time before my flight, so I wandered through the gift shop, filled with the usual wine related gift items-humorous cocktail napkins, coasters, wine stoppers, cork wreaths, etc. But one section caught my eye- the baby apparel section. I spotted the cutest little onesies.

They came in pink and blue and were imprinted with the following:

Vintage Baby

Aging Perfectly

Mom and Dad's Special Blend

Honestly, can you think of something more perfect for the baby of a couple of winemakers?

I looked at the price tag.

$19.95...

For a onesie?!

Typical airport gift shop pricing.

I wasn't normally one to fork out twenty bucks for a silly little onesie, but this time I felt compelled to splurge. And even though I knew there was a chance I was not pregnant, I knew I'd regret not buying it if I was. It's not like I could find one of these at Target.

The next dilemma- should I buy the pink or the blue?

After a brief thought, I grabbed the blue. If I was even pregnant and if it were to be a girl, I figured it would be easier to put a bow in her hair for a feminine touch than it would be to explain why I have my baby boy dressed in pink.

Although I like to think I had some amazing maternal instinct and just knew I was, indeed, pregnant and it was going to be a boy.

Because the next morning, on May 8th, exactly one year ago today, I confirmed my "expecting" suspicions.

Last year we celebrated Mother's Day by sharing this exciting news with my parents over brunch.

And this year...

We all celebrated with our almost 4 month old son!

Who charmed Grandma with his smiles (although he didn't perform for the camera)...

And impressed Grandpa with his strong legs!

By the 14th grandkid, you'd think they've seen it all. But they are still enjoying all the little things right along with us!

Then he chilled out in Dad's lap for a while.

It's the life.

It was such a beautiful day yesterday...

We took a stroll through the vineyard.

Poor kid still doesn't know what to think of the sun.

I feel like a pretty lucky lady to spend Mother's Day weekend with my three children. ;)

I even laid out a blanket and we hung out under the shade tree for a while and I watched my baby roll over for the first time! First from tummy to back and then from back to tummy.

Yeah, he was on a slight incline on a hill. So?

So what if he had just a little gravitational help?

It still counts.

Right?

I'm putting it in the baby book, okay!

I joked with Aaron that all I wanted for Mother's Day was the gift of sleep since "someone" is still not a great nighttime sleeper.

But instead, he surprised me this morning with...

a new coffee machine!

A Keurig!

He figured if he couldn't give me sleep, he might as well make sure I am well caffeinated. Such a perfect gift for the sleep deprived new mother.

As noted in this picture, I am not far from my coffee mug these days. Now I'll be able to make a quick cup in the morning before work without having to brew a whole pot!

It is amazing what can happen in a year.

Now excuse me-- I have to get back to my vintage baby...

and my baby daddy.

Love these guys!

Then and Now

2011-04-27T09:43:00.002-05:00

The other morning at the breakfast table, Aaron and I realized it has been over three years since we moved here. The official anniversary was March 1st, but it took us until now to realize that date had come and gone. I thought it would be a good time to do a little then and now post since so much has changed since we moved in.

Moving just before spring and having adopted nearly 13 acres, about 3 of which were all lawn, Aaron informed me one of our first purchases would have to be a riding lawn mower.

Having never mowed a lawn in my life before, that thought hadn't crossed my mind.

That statement alone should give you a gage of my naivete of the country life at that time.

We owned three houses between the two of us at that time (which a whole other story and another indicator of how things were much different in 2008), so I was bit hesitant to go out and tie up even more funds on a bunch of equipment for our newest property.

Aaron was not. We are a good balance for each other that way.

So we went easy on the budget to get us through that first summer and found a lawn tractor on Craigslist.

A re-habbed 1969 Cub Cadet.

Check this baby out!

It was about as ghetto as they come...but it did the trick.

Aaron used that "lawn tractor" as his one and only tractor that first summer to do all the planting of the initial 250 vines. Here he is planting the first of what has now grown into 3500 vines.

He put up with it until that August, which was when he called me while I was traveling for work to tell me he was at Home Depot and was buying a new riding mower they had on sale. He didn't ask. He told me. If we are going to do this, we are going to do it right!

He's learned that sometimes it's best to just do what he needs to do, because me being fresh out of uptown, I didn't always understand the needs of a farm or starting a vineyard. "Now, tell me again what we need that machine for?" It's a common question I ask. But I have come a long way. I've come to appreciate the riding lawn mower.

And that following March, he bought the big red vineyard tractor, because, let's face it, a riding mower isn't going to cut it for vineyard work.

Sorry about the snow picture...it is the only good tractor picture I can find right now!

If you are counting, that is three "tractors" our first year.

But it all started with a 1969 Cub Cadet.

Another thing Aaron did that first year was plant grass seed since there had been corn and soybeans planted in the field. For some reason or another, it is good for newly planted grass seed to get run over at high speeds with a rake so that it gets spread evenly and can get buried under the dirt.

But without any type of 4-wheeler or rake attachment, Aaron had to use his home built Hummer with a chainlink fence attached to the back to utilize as a rake.

We hadn't met our neighbors yet. Little did we know at the time, they were looking out their windows watching their new neighbor speed across the field at 60 mph with a chainlink fence attached to the back of this a big black Army-like truck.

Whaaaat in the world??? I can't imagine what they thought of us.

Today, that same neighbor who was laughing at Aaron three years ago is now our newest employee. That's right...Schram Vineyards has hired help!

I've mentioned Les in previous posts as he's been out to help for our planting parties. Now that Les has gotten to know Aaron and better understands the method behind his madness, he's really warmed up to what we have going on in his backyard. As a retired carpenter who loves manual labor and being outdoors, this seemed like a good fit. Aaron has been training him on some of the vineyard projects we have going on for this year and Les can work at his leisure since we are just in his backyard. Takes a lot of pressure off of this new mama too!

Three years ago, Aaron came home one day with about 15 packets of vegetable seeds and threw them on the kitchen table.

"What are those for?" I asked.

"Our vegetable garden!" He said. "I was thinking you could be in charge of that..."
And a monster was created. Grow a vegetable garden I did.

Last night, I ~~caught~~ found Aaron on a seed company website. But instead of buying the cute little 25 seed packets, he was ordering seeds in bulk.

Like by the pound.

We still have this vacant 4 acres plot of land, where eventually we'll plant more grapevines as we expand. But for the time being, are thinking we could grow one kick butt pumpkin patch.

Because, you know, we don't already have enough going on this year...why not grow a boatload of pumpkins too!

We're are still trying to make some decisions about that, and need to do so quickly, so more to come...

Three years ago, we were a couple of folks moving from the city to the country. In hindsight, I really didn't fully comprehend the grandeur of the adventure we were about to embark on.

Here we are, newly engaged, in our first picture taken at our place, sitting on one of Aaron's very first projects--a log bench for the campfire.

Here we are today...

And just because I can't help myself...

Hope this smile brightens your day as much as it brightens mine.

Long Overdue Update

2011-04-10T10:34:00.002-05:00

Has it really been over a month since my last post?! Ay ay ay! What can I say? It has been a busy month. And this is just the beginning of the busy season! I've had good intentions, but between baby and back to work, and lack of sleep, just haven't found the time. I type this now, Sunday morning, with my little guy sleeping in my left arm.

The snow has finally melted, but I don't want to jinx it!

The ice is coming off Reitz Lake...just a little bit left to go.

And with the temps finally rising, we've taken Axel out of hibernation, where he's been since he was born, almost three months ago!

Thought it was about time he got introduced to that big bright, yellow ball in the sky.

I think he liked it! Get this guy some shades!

Aaron and the dogs took a few minutes to soak in some rays also...

The dogs have missed this kind of snuggling, since we've gotten a new snuggle buddy in the house. So as soon as Aaron got on the ground with them, they were so excited to get some attention. Notice the Duct tape on Aaron's hand? He uses it as a band-aid for the cuts and scraps he gets in his workshop.

The dogs were in heaven.

People frequently ask us how the dogs are doing with the baby. They really have been great! Other than just being big and curious and totally unaware of their size, they have continued to be very protective of their new little brother. Their favorite room in the house is still the nursery. At bedtime, the dogs will usually come in the room when I am feeding him or reading a story and lay at my feet. The challenge is always getting them out of the room when we put Axel in his crib.

Have you ever tried to move 200 lbs. of dead weight dog? It's not easy.

Belle is particularly motherly.

Funny how gender differences carry over into dogs. When I knelt down to let the dogs see and smell the baby while he was in the Baby Bjorn, Belle gingerly walked over and sniffed the baby, gently nudging him with her nose, tilting her head in curiosity.

While Tux just sat there scratching himself.

Rattling his collar.

He's been just as curious, but he lacks the delicate touch. Poor guy...it's tough to be delicate with paws that size!

Belle even tolerates a ride on her back.

Tux gets too excited when we try to do this to him.

Our neighbors dropped by the other day too.

No, they are not Amish. But they do have horses and came to stop by to see if we wanted to take a wagon ride.

You just don't get that in the city.

Or the suburbs.

We had to pass on the wagon ride because we were expecting some vineyard equipment to be delivered any minute, but we did get a quick family picture with the horses.

Except we had to put the dogs inside. They didn't quite know what to do seeing four-legged creatures that much larger than them.

They barked and ran circles around the horses, who just stood there like, "Yeah, whatcha gonna do?"

Aaron's been busy, busy out in the garage building all sorts of machines and I finally got out to the shop to take a peek. For instance, this debris fork and sprayer he built from scratch as tractor attachments.

Kind of intimidating looking if you ask me! It's like a big, black, ominous piece of metal sitting at the entrance of the garage. It almost looks like a security device!

But I will say, pretty amazing Aaron's managed to use whatever spare time he's had this winter to build these things.

And he even gave us a preview of the air blast sprayer he built for spraying the grapevines for fungicide this year. It was pretty exciting seeing the final product in action. It works!

The man is handy.

And resourceful.

And efficient.

....

And creative.

Why waste a perfectly good, clean pair of Pampers just because the tab fell off when putting on a new diaper?

Duct tape can fix anything!

Next weekend is going to be a big vineyard maintenance weekend. Anyone around looking for something to do, come on out and help! We'll get a big bonfire going if we have dry weather. Just let us know if you plan on coming and we can talk details.

Have a great week!

Baby's First Wine Blending

2011-03-08T11:09:00.001-06:00

I looked everywhere in my baby book for the "Baby's First Wine Blending" page, but couldn't find it!

Weird.

There really is no question that children being raised on a vineyard will be exposed to wine at an early age.

We knew when we decided to start a family we would be integrating our kids into our lifestyle in a healthy way and that having children wouldn't impede our goals and dreams with the vineyard and future winery.

What great values it will teach them...hard work, constantly learning, chasing dreams, following through, etiquette.

So even at seven weeks...

Our little boy, who is finally becoming more "aware" got his first experience witnessing our wine blending.

Doesn't he look absolutely thrilled to be a part of this?

He sat patiently watching the whole time!

Aaron took all of the wine we have had fermenting and we (and by "we", I mean Aaron and me only) sampled each and experimented with several different blends--taking notes on each blend and deciding which ones we liked best and how they could improve.

We decided on a couple of different red blends to bottle.

BUT, we also were incredibly pleased with how the Frontenac Gris we picked last fall turned out and are bottling that as is. I think it will be my favorite sweet white wine for this summer! YUM!

And we were pleasantly surprised by how phenomenal our 2010 Marquette turned out as well. Aaron tried a different wine-making technique with it and made a major improvement over the Marquette we bottled last year. That's what it's all about...learning, experimenting, and constantly improving!

There is no rule that says we can't stimulate all of Axel's other sense besides taste! He can see the variations in colors, smell the flavors, hear the clinking glasses.

We are priming him to be a world class wine-maker one day!

But only if that's what he wants to do.

Wine Headaches

2011-03-03T08:50:00.000-06:00

Do you get a headache when you drink wine?

There might soon be a solution!

I never used to get a headache after drinking a glass of wine. Having a glass every night probably helped my body develop some sort of tolerance to whatever tannins or flavors might trigger a headache. But then I got pregnant and my tolerance went out the window, so I've noticed that I tend to get them from time to time now that I've been able to have a glass or two again.

Or course, drinking too much of it will trigger a headache for most anyone!

Aaron sent me an article last week about a new yeast strain that is being developed for wine which reduces the chemicals that produce off-flavors that can trigger headaches in people. How great would that be? If this takes off, it could open the door for a lot of people who shy away from wine because of this unfortunate side effect. About 30% of people are are sensitive to these chemicals, so it might help this population look at wine differently. This hasn't been approved yet here in the US but some wineries are experimenting with it. Also, the word is still not out on this new cross breed of wine yeast and the flavors it imparts and how it compares to the other time tested strains.

That article can be found here if you would like to learn more.
And here is one more site to check-out...

One of my readers recently told me about some really cool products she sells at her Etsy shop and has kindly offered my readers 10% off an entire order with the code WINE10 at check-out. She has some great wine related items and super creative products for weddings. When we were planning our "wine themed" wedding, I wish I had known about this "Message in a Bottle" guest book alternative. Such a cool idea!

There's more where that came from! Go check out her shop or click her button on my sidebar.

Farm Fashion

2011-02-24T13:21:00.006-06:00

Those of you who know me, or those who have been reading my blog for a while, know I have a bit of a shoe fetish. While I have come a long way since my uptown days and I can't remember the last time I wore 4-inch heels, I do my best to keep a little bit of my inner fashionista alive living out here on the farm.

I'm not afraid to admit that these days you'll find me wearing the same oversized cozy sweater day in and day out, with spit-up in my hair because I forget to tie it back, and rotating between three pairs of sweatpants. I now understand the women who get dolled up to go to Target* because I believe I am turning into one of them. Any chance I get to get out of my sweatpants and go out in public and I want to throw on some make-up and put on my Sunday best! So being holed up at home in the middle of winter with my own little "doll" to dress up in whatever I want, only encourages this pent up fashionista in me.

So the other day, I couldn't help getting my baby clad for work out in the vineyard, albeit a ways off.

I mean, honestly, is it even realistic to think that he will be walking when he fits into these boots?

No. But how can I resist a pair or work boots this size that are just like his daddy's?

He just has to break them in a bit. And we all know the second he can walk, we'll have him out picking grapes, so I am just getting prepared.

And what's a farm kid without cowboy boots?

Nevermind that we are raising grapes here, not horses.

And flannel?

Cowboy boots, flannel...and a farm themed bouncy seat.

Oh, and overalls! Can't forget the overalls!

Wardrobe change.

Oh, dear.

Someone help me...

I am going to dress him in overalls until he's 18.

And lederhosen.

Overalls and lederhosen.

He's going to hate me.

*Please note these pictures of me were taken before aforementioned "Target run."

For now, I am going to enjoy my time playing dress-up for his life destined to be a cowboy.

Or a farmer...

Or grapepicker...

Or Chippendale dancer?

Look at that face. He has no idea the life we have in store for him.

And can someone explain to me how Aaron and I conceived a seemingly blue-eyed child?

I swear I have never even met the mailman.

If all other features weren't pointing towards Aaron, I might be in trouble. I mean I know they are still changing color and all and there is that whole recessive gene thing...but still.

What do you think the chances are I can get Aaron to wear an outfit like this?

Hello, Outside World!

2011-02-18T19:20:00.003-06:00

I actually went outside for the first time in about three months the other day. Sadly, that's hardly an exaggeration. We had our first big snowstorm November 13th and it just kept coming and then in got cold and...well, you know how winter goes. Between being at the end of my pregnancy and then being home with a newborn, there really never seemed an opportune time to get outside for a bit.

When the temp climbed into the mid-40s the other other day, I decided to climb out from under my rock (where I have spent the last five weeks snuggling my little guy), bundle him up and take a walk outside. First out to the outbuilding to visit Aaron and see the projects he's been working on all winter. The man has been busy! He's been telling me about an air-blast sprayer he's building for the vineyard, but I had no idea how big it was! He'll be able to use it to spray fungicide on the vines this year. Instead of buying one for a couple thousand bucks, he made good use of this off-season, put his handy-man skills to work and built one.

Then the three of us walked out to the vineyard. I can't believe I haven't so much as looked at the vineyard in at least 3 months! Aaron has done a lot of the pre-pruning and we'll have to spend a few weekends in March doing all the pruning to get the vines ready for bud-break in the spring.

Anyone want to come help?

Anyone?

We actually had fun doing it last year! We picked a warmer weekend to do it and when we were done, I made a bunch of grapevine wreaths!

Although this has been one long winter, I can't believe spring is just around the corner!

With these warmer temps, we've had a great thaw and can actually see some of our lawn now! I found things like old dog toys lying around that have been buried all winter, one of my green rubber boots one of the dogs must have stolen off the deck last fall and carried out to the lawn. But what took the cake were all of the pumpkins and gourds I had surrounding my deck last fall that never got thrown out. I kept saying I would throw them out once the snow melted after the first storm. But it never did. So anyone coming to our house now is greeted by soggy, rotten pumpkins.

And then I caught the dogs eating them today.

Sometimes I feel like I have three children. As though one baby wasn't enough to keep my hands full, Belle came into the house limping. After examining her paw, I determined the pain was coming from a BROKEN NAIL on her paw.

Seriously. A broken nail. Such a female!

They'll do anything to get the attention back on them. Like a few weeks ago when we looked over at them sitting on their dogbed like this...

Completely un-posed. They did this on their own! It's as if they collaborated and said, "what can we do that will make us look irresistible? Let's cuddle. Look cute!"

And we fell for it.

They looked so cute and comfy together, we thought maybe, just maybe, if they stayed that way we could stick the baby in the middle of them for a photo that could quite possibly rival Anne Geddes.

Aaaaand...that's as close as we got. Doggies got way too excited when I got this close, so there was no way I was putting him down and positioning them all for an artistic shot.

But, we tried.

Aaron has spent the last few days at the Minnesota Grape Growers Association (MGGA) Cold Climate Conference. Since I couldn't go this year, I told him to take good notes for me! In the meantime, here is my recap from last year.

Eat, Sleep, Poop, Repeat (Plus...our Non-Traditional Nickname)

2011-02-05T19:59:00.004-06:00

Hi, remember me? Sorry, I've taken a brief hiatus from blogging while I've been adjusting to motherhood these past few weeks. My intentions have been good, it's just taken me a while to hammer this out! My title about sums up what the last three weeks have been like for us.

Or, Alexander rather!

I haven't posted for a few reasons:

1. I find it difficult to type a blog post one handed, as that's about all I've had available for three weeks. I can write about a paragraph at a time before baby beckons! The truth is, I started writing this post three days ago and have just been chipping away at it!

2. The theme of this blog is supposed to be our "adventures in vineyardland", not just our "adventures in parenthood." And while it IS the middle of winter and while our growing family IS part of our adventure, I am sensitive about having every post this winter be about the every movement of our adorable baby boy. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to write about how his precious little sneezes make my heart go pitter-patter (as any proud new mama would), but I am not so delusional to think that all of my grape growing and wine loving readers really want to read about every milestone our little baby hits. Although many of you out there might! So I'm doing my best to stifle my urges to gush about our baby too much in this forum while still giving some baby highlight posts amongst my vineyard adventure posts.

I think we are in for a big surprise this spring. And I thought we were busy last year! Now we are adding more vines to tend to and a baby to the mix! It is going to be one busy year.

So besides the eating, sleeping, and pooping that our Alexander has mostly been doing these first few weeks, here are some highlights since he was born on January 14th.

I'll spare you the details of our birth story...I'll just say that it was long. As a result of a prolonged labor, I got an infection at the very end of my labor which meant Alexander had to go to the NICU for a few days to get antibiotics as precautionary to make sure no infection spread to him. Which it didn't and we were so thankful to bring home a healthy boy after just a few days!

This was our first family picture taken just before the nurses swept him away to take him to the NICU. My tears were tears of joy, mixed with exhaustion and some anxiety, because at that point I didn't know what was going on and I didn't want them to take my baby away!

And this was how we saw our baby for the first two days. We were able to hold him and I could feed him, but he had to stay hooked to all the wires to keep tabs on his vitals, which remained strong the whole time.

This was our announcement picture. I was sneaky just posting a picture of his sweet face as I didn't want to unnecessarily alarm everyone with pictures of all his wires without giving an explanation!

We had lots of family visitors our first few days at home with my side of the family! Alexander is surrounded by lots of love both near and far and we are excited to introduce him to the Schram side of the family soon.

The dogs have been adjusting well to their new little brother. They have been very curious and seem to already be developing a protective demeanor. Every time I let them in from outside, they immediately walk around the house scouting out all the spots the baby could be...the bouncy seat, the swing, the crib. Once they find him and do some chaperoned sniffing, they settle down and rest, often on the floor in front of the crib if he is sleeping to act as the crib guardians. It's pretty sweet.

This picture still scares me! Look at the comparison of their heads! Tux could swallow him whole! This was taken when Alexander was only a few days old. Tux and Belle are loving their new little brother! Maybe too much! I'll admit, it has been a struggle keeping the dogs at a comfortable distance from the baby, since they like to get their noses right up in there. Thus the reason the dogs have been spending a lot of time outdoors!

These were some pictures taken around 2 weeks.

He's been a really good sleeper this past week...he even slept 6 straight hours two nights in a row! Good boy!

And he's been eating like a champ! The doctor was impressed by his weight gain in just the first two weeks. Keep it up little fella!

My goofy boys!

Guess who he'll be rooting for this Sunday? His daddy's team!

Last but not least, we have had a lot of questions about what nickname we are using. Although Alexander is a great name by itself, it is four syllables and it's realistic to assume it will get shortened...something we gave a lot of thought to before he was born. So here's the story for those that don't know.

When we started talking about names, Aaron and I quickly learned that I was partial to more unique names and Aaron partial to more classic names. I loved the name Axel. It's unique, without being a made-up name and, in my opinion, extremely masculine! Axel is actually a very old name and more commonly used in some European countries, like Germany. I pictured a rough and tumble kid named Axel running around the vineyard in his lederhosen or helping daddy with some projects out in the garage.

As a compromise, Aaron suggested that we name him Alexander and use Axel as a nickname, satisfying his desire for a more traditional official name and my desire for him not to potentially be one of four Alex's in his kindergarten class. And we both loved the sound and strength of Alexander Schram. We just wanted to take some time to try out Axel after he was born to make sure it was a suiting nickname for him. When he came out practically with a mohawk, an edgier nickname seemed warranted! Naturally, people have assumed we will call him Alex, so I figured now would be a good time to address our nickname intentions.

So if you see me using Alexander and Axel interchangeably in future posts, now you know the story behind our non-traditional nickname. It's nice having some versatility with a name!

Speaking of names...someone is calling mine! I better run. Until the next time my two hands are available again...

Alexander the Grape

2011-01-15T16:12:00.003-06:00

We are pleased to announce that our baby boy, Alexander Edward Schram, finally decided to enter the world on Friday, January 14th at 2:42am.

Thanks for all of your comments and support these last few weeks as we have been patiently waiting for him to make his debut. We couldn't be happier to finally be sharing news of his arrival!

6 lbs. 7 oz. 20 inches

He was born with lots of brown hair and after his first bath, we discovered it is long and shiny! Lucky guy! And he definitely got his daddy's dimpled chin. I'll try and get some updated pictures soon, after I can catch a few Zs. It's true what they say about new moms being sleep deprived, but Aaron has been a great help stepping into his new role as a daddy. So far, Alexander has been a pretty mellow baby, but time will tell if that will change!

When we announced his name, my dad couldn't help but comment on how suiting his name was for some grape growers. "He's Alexander the Grape!"

Honestly, we hadn't really thought of that. So while we don't really intend to call him that, we are still working on the best nickname for him. We love the name Alexander on its own and also love that it has so many nickname options. We just have to decide which one suits him best. We think he's just perfect and already love him so much!

"Did You Pack the Wine?"

2011-01-03T20:57:00.005-06:00

I am still here! Still pregnant. The calls, emails and text messages have already begun, everyone checking in to see if anything is happening with Schrambino.  The other night for instance, I had my phone in the bedroom while I was downstars with Aaron.

7:17pm I missed a call from my mom
7:23pm, missed a second call from my mom
7:31pm she texted me, "Where are you?"

At 7:33pm, Aaron says, "I missed a call from your Mom. She left a voicemail."

She thought I might be in labor and hadn't informed her.   Moms. Gotta love 'em. Aaron was quick to remind me that I am going to be a mother very soon and will probably be doing that same thing. It also probably doesn't help that we have a baby pool going in my family and every one is checking in on their predicted delivery date to see if they are going to win.

Thank you to everyone checking in and thinking about us! Due date is next Tuesday, 1/11/11, which would be such a cool birthday, but if he decides to come early, I won't complain!

I had two weeks off of work over the holidays and spent it mostly at home, rotating between two pairs of sweatpants and three sweatshirts.  It.was.awesome. I don't remember the last time I had two weeks to be a bum and don't see that happening in the foreseeable future. In just a few short months, we'll be back to vineyard and garden work with twice as many vines and one more person to care for this year. That Baby Bjorn is going to come in really handy this spring and summer! So I relished these few weeks where the new Jeep had minimal miles put on it, the dogs got lots of love and attention, the house was cleaned, the nursery ready to go, the hospital bag packed, and I got completely caught up on a certain Showtime drama.

Tux and Belle have been spending some quality time in the nursery. And despite the many questions we've gotten as to whether we would do a "grape" or "wine" theme nursery...

We, um...ahem...decided that might be a little overboard. I mean, as charming and totally appropriate as a wine theme baby room would be...

We went with a western theme for our little boy.

But we did get the cutest homemade grape pattern blanket from Aaron's sister-in-law, so he'll get a little exposure to grapes early on! It is a good accent.

On Monday, I returned to work and it felt good to put make-up on and actually go out in public. My plan is to work until he comes. Last night, I was going over our "plan" with Aaron. What happens if I go into labor at work? Who is going to let the dogs out? Then, I made sure to let him know that the red bag in our bedroom is the hospital bag. This has been something that has been of minimal concern to me considering the hospital is about 2 miles from our house. I figure if there is something we absolutely need that the hospital doesn't provide, I can send Aaron on a quick errand back home. I told him our bag had some comfy clothes for me, Schrambino's coming home outfit, and our overnight toiletries, and asked if he could think of anything else we need or want for the hospital.

"Did you pack the wine?" he asked.

That was really the first thing that came to his mind. The wine.

Leave it to my husband to be focused on the really important things...like do we have the celebration wine to toast to this special event in our life?

Not, "is the camera charged and packed?" or "is the carseat ready to go?"

But, of utmost importance, did you pack the wine for the hospital!!?

Let me explain.

I mentioned in a post a while back about Schramsberg sparkling wine and how I was looking forward to popping a celebration bottle after the baby arrives. My sweet husband took note and surprised me with a bottle of their top shelf sparkling wine for Christmas! It is the Schramsberg J. Schram Reserve and he thought my first taste of wine after 10 months of being dry, should be a good one. And I can't wait to taste it, not just because it is such a quality wine, but more so because of the event it will be marking!

Do you think the nurses will put it on ice for us?

We don't have an official name picked out yet. We have had our list narrowed down to two names for several months and we just haven't been able to decide. Coincidentally, one of those names begins with 'J', which would make our J. Schram wine especially appropriate. BUT, we are not going to let that influence our decision. People have told us that we will just know what name is right for him when we see him. And I hope they are right!! I've been going crazy not knowing what we will call him!

Signing off for now, but I promise to post baby news as soon as we have some to share!

Merry Christmas from Schram Vineyards

2010-12-24T09:26:00.002-06:00

Since we didn't send Christmas cards this year with the idea we'll be sending out something after the new year, post baby arrival, we still wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

If we had sent out cards this year, I probably would've sent one with this picture, taken post-harvest in September.

And maybe this one too if I had tried just a little harder to get the dogs positioned juuuust right in front of the tree.

Tux has been putting on a few pounds the last several months too. Isn't he sweet gaining sympathy baby weight with me?

But, I have still outpaced him!

In case we don't get around to taking and posting any more baby bump pictures, here is the latest, taken last Saturday in front of the Christmas tree at almost 37 weeks. Full term!

Merry Christmas from the Schrams!

Aaron, Ashley, Tux, Belle, and Baby Boy Schrambino due ~~in January~~ any day now!!

Tis' the Season for Spilling Wine

2010-12-23T10:45:00.003-06:00

I've been meaning to do this post for a while and with red wine flowing like water at Christmas parties right now, figured now is as good a time as any to share my experiences getting out red wine stains.

I've recently dubbed a new nickname for my husband. In addition to the Gentleman Farmer, Jack-of-all-Trades, I've started calling him a "Loose Cannon." And I mean that in the most adoring way. A man with as many hobbies and projects as him, he's bound to have some accidents.

And he has.

Like earlier this year when he hit his thumb with a mallet out in the garage and then had a can of black spray paint explode in his face.

Oh, did I forget to post about that last JUNE? You can tell by the expression on his face that Aaron was not happy that I found humor in this situation.

Is it funny yet, honey?

No?

Sorry, where was I? I just needed to back-up my new nickname for him with a visual.

Anyway, when he's drinking wine, the loose cannon term is no exception. He just spills. Not that I don't.... occasionally. But if Aaron is wearing a white shirt, it is pretty much guaranteed he'll drip red wine on it, or get some on the rug...or dribble on the couch.

Yes, I am bringing another one of him into the world VERY SOON.

So while some women carry a Tide-to-Go Stain Remover Stick in their purse, I carry, "Wine Out: Red Wine Stain Remover." Actually, I think this was one of Aaron's stocking stuffers last year. Maybe I should have put this in my wine gift ideas list!

It is just a little spray bottle, but works great for getting out wine stains from carpets, clothing and table linens.

It has worked wonders for clothing. On some materials, the stain might initially turn a blueish color, but once it gets thrown in the wash, it comes right out! I've used this several times on a white linen shirt and I couldn't even tell where the stain was once I take it out of the wash.

I've tried it a few times on our living room rug, which is a tan colored patterned rug that hides stains pretty well to begin with. I say this only because I can't attest to how it would work on light colored carpeting and if it would leave any discoloration.

Normally, I'll dump some club soda on the carpet right away to bring up the stain, since that is a little heavier material and the spill covers a larger area and that has worked well in the past, but involves a lot of scrubbing back and forth, which might rub the stain in further.

But when I tried the Wine Out, I just sprayed over the stain, let it penetrate a few minutes and then absorbed the stain with a white towel and voila! Gone.

Just a little last minute stocking stuffer idea. I got mine at World Market, before the store near us closed! And if you do find a bottle, grab a couple...they are only 1 oz. and if you spill wine like we do, you'll want an extra on hand.

Cheers!