Daylight Savings Time

It's remarkable that one little hour change twice a year can make such a difference! No matter what we do or don't do as parents, the effects on our kids are amazing. Case in point, it was DST that pushed our kids to a 7:00 bedtime that seems to have done well with us for the last year. No matter what time we put our kids to bed, they were up at the buttcrack of dawn. So we thought we'd at least make it work to our advantage and make for an earlier bedtime.

Well, this morning DST ending reared it's early head as the 2 older ones awoke, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, at 5 AM on the dot. I unfortunately am a very light sleeper and was forced to arise when they did. Ironically, it was the best Ian has slept in months. He has been getting up 4-5 times a night to nurse and is up for the morning around 6. I usually don't go to bed until around 10:30-11, so you do the math...I don't sleep for very long stretches. But last night, he only woke up once after I crawled into bed, so you can imagine my disgust when the older ones were up so early and ready for the day.

Hopefully it will get better as the week goes on. If anything, maybe I'll learn to reap what "fall back 1 hour" has to sow and get to bed earlier so I can be ready for the day before everyone else. Did I mention that I'm the night owl? Jason's the early riser, or at least the one who's less crabby when awakened early. Too bad it's just harder to wake him up!

"You can't catch a cold from farting."

Yes, that's actually what came out of my mouth the other night while talking to the kids about germs and washing their hands. I insist that the kids wash their hands when they get home from school & before they eat. But after watching them eat that night, I have decided that it's a good idea during cold & flu season to have them wash their hands after eating as well.

After eating with fingers and licking them, AJ proceeded to move over to the baby and put his hands all over Ian's face. I asked him to please wash his hands before he touched him & said that was one of the ways that germs that make us sick and pass around. I added that may be one of the reasons Ian is sick with the same thing as AJ.

AJ then ventured to say that maybe we're sick because of Laney's farts, which I instinctively answered with, "You can't catch a cold from farting.", after which I paused and immediately began to laugh for the silliness of that very sentence. We all had a good laugh & I knew it had to be blogged.

AJ had to finish with the comment that her farts, (which are quite frequent), do make us sick more times than not, but we all know that it wouldn't do any good to wash our hands in that case.

I'm officially "a Lady"

It's a good thing that Jason embarks on adventures, otherwise I'd probably never have a reason to get dressed up.

Last weekend, he was "knighted" and in doing so, officially makes me a "lady" I guess. He's in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal men's organization. He joined a couple of years ago when St. Ed's didn't have their own chapter, and now there are over 30 men from our parish area who are involved. It has been great to see the men, as a group, doing their work for the church. They love doing the "manly" things such as cutting down trees in the cemetary and ripping out carpet in the church, as well as doing charitable things such as fundraisers and pro-life awareness events.

So getting back to Sir Jason...when he joined, he was a 1st degree knight. This last installment was his 4th degree and during that time, the wives are invited to join the men for the evening social & banquet. As you can see, they are all wearing tuxes, so we decided to get spiffed up as well. Good thing, too, now that I am "Lady Myhre" ;) Yeah, that sounds weird to me too!

I hear the ceremony was just as a "knighting" should be, with the sword and all. And now when events come up that call for the Knights, Jason & his fellow 4th degrees can get all gussied up in their entire regalia (part of which includes his own sword, cape & feathery hat) Neat, huh? I look forward to seeing it! (If you're imagining 3 Musketeers, it's not quite like that...)

Also getting their 4th degrees that day were: Seth (Jason's brother, who also sells insurance for the Knights), with wife Teresa; Wayne Hennen & Lisa; and Father Jeremy (holding Ian). It was a great meal which included the largest piece of cake I have ever been served! I managed to inhale the entire meal though, despite a snug-fitting dress...a nursing mom's gotta eat ya know!

Happy birthday, Laney!

My dear, oldest daughter,

I did not forget your birthday on the 18th, I just forgot to blog about it that day. I remembered Monday, but didn't have a chance to do it & now it's Wednesday & I'm realizing that I still didn't do it. Of course, as I begin, your baby brother begins to stir in his bed, but thank goodness you have such a wonderful Daddy who will go up to comfort him until I can finish.

Six years ago, Jason, AJ & I headed for Arizona for the second time & when we realized the work would be better for Jason in El Paso, TX, we moved on after a week or two. After struggling daily for a week & wondering if he would have made enough money for us to remain in the hotel, he scored a few more shoeing jobs and we had enough to move over to an extended stay motel. That was home for another week.

Then our dear friend, Gary Ladd, God rest his soul, showed up and borrowed us enough money for a deposit on an apartment that was more than a great home for us for the next 7 months. After 2 weeks of living there & not having any furniture but an air mattress on the living room floor and a tv in front of it, along came Laney, 3 weeks early, but still 7 pounds and ready for the world.

After less than an hour of labor at home, we headed to the hospital & as the attendent wheeled me to the OB department, his realization of the frequency of my contractions had me thinking I should not have waited so long. So while Jason went to move the truck out of the emergency bay, the nurses gowned me up for delivery. As soon as he got back to the room, the doctor was there & said it was time to push. HUH?! Three pushes later, I was moved to tears as they announced it was a baby girl...we got our little girl!

She was a very content baby who loved to sleep in her bed, always ate well & didn't fuss much. Now, she still loves her bed, although she's up before the sun lately, she still eats well (actually more than AJ and Faith combined most of the time), but the fussing has changed a bit, but we won't get into that. So here's a belated birthday wish for her that the future holds just as much joy for her as her entrance into our world has been for us.

"I'mmm fifff-tay!" (Sally O'Malley)

It just doesn't come out the same way written down! I totally missed that when I hit my "50th" blog, so it's actually, "I'mmm fiff-tay [three]! and I can KICK-STRETCH-aannd KICK! I'mm fiff-tay!" Here's a cute spoof I found on, where else, You Tube!

Halfway through!

This weekend, Jason & 10 of his permanent diaconate program classmates took part in the Rite of Installation of Lector into the Catholic Church. It was a beautiful Mass as the church choir's angelic voices sang hymns of praise while the candidates (donned in crisp, white albs) proceeded up the aisle, as well as receeded at the end, with the Bishop LeVoir, Monsignor Lozinski, 2 priests (one being Fr. Paul Timmerman), 2 deacons, seminarians, and acolytes. (I am not positive I have all that info 100% perfect.) The were called forward & received a bible from the Bishop as a reminder to bring the Word to the people as preparation for service to them.

Deacon Mark (the director of the Permanent Diaconate program in the New Ulm Diocese) mentioned to us that it was probably going to be the only time that they would be in a Mass where all 7 different levels of service would be present. (I know I don't have all 7 listed...I couldn't remember them all...I was tending to baby when he mentioned it & caught the tail end of his announcement.) But even aside from all that, it was really neat. We are officially halfway through his studies, with 2 1/2 years down & the same to look forward to. It has been an incredible journey filled with learning, bonding, faith & friendships and we are thankful for the opportunity & anticipate the future with open hearts & minds to God's will.

Time for an update!

Woah! I've been quite lacking in the blogging world the past 2 weeks. I think I was enjoying having a little free time to myself. Don't get me wrong, I was still plenty busy & thanks to Steph's mom, Carol, we now have a house that looks more like a home. She came over to help decorate & rearrange our living room and to just go through things that we've been moving around for the last 11 years & tell me what to keep & get rid of. I'm one of those people that doesn't like to keep things & to find places for them. I do for some sentimental things, but I am also willing to let things go at the advice of a professional. It feels really good to get rid of some stuff & "clean house".

"So what do you do now that you have 2 kids at school all day, Tina?" That's a good question! I find myself studying more now that I am in a bible study on Tuesday nights and a SAHM's (stay-at-home-moms) study group 2 mornings a month, so when I'm not doing my "routine" things at home, I am trying to read. Ian, on the other hand, would rather I didn't. He would rather I sit on the floor with him & watch him play, or lay in bed with him when he naps or just hold him. He's rolling all over, but get's mad when he can't get back up to a sitting position. He's better today because I think he got more sleep since I held him when he dozed off. Otherwise, the naps have been short which makes for crabby baby.

Well, enough about all that! Here's some pictures, which are WAY more interesting than me blabbing about my day. I shouldn't complain. We have a beautiful home, in a great location for us, our health is great & Jason brings home the bacon so I can watch our babies grow. Life is good & all the glory & praise to God!

Ian & Toby (our most recent godchild)

Faith sporting her new haircut (she begged me to cut it short)