Auld Lang Syne

I swear, every year I look up the words to this darn song.  I mean, does anyone really know them (besides my dear friend Kerri Sprecher)?  Given that today is New Years Eve, I took a moment, yet again, to look up the words to this song and also found a little history behind it. 

--The song Auld Lang Syne is traditionally sung by most of us on the stroke of midnight each New Year’s Eve.  However in Scotland, where Auld Lang Syne originates, it is also sung on Burns Night, January 25th, to celebrate the life of the author and famous poet Robert Burns. The words 'Auld Lang Syne' literally translates from old Scottish dialect meaning 'Old Long Ago' and is about love and friendship in times past. The Auld Lang Syne lyrics referring to 'We'll take a Cup of Kindness yet' relate to a drink shared by men and women to symbolise friendship. The 'Auld Lang Syne' lyrics and words were first published in 1787 and the song has now become a tradition as we celebrate a Happy New Year!--

Here’s what I took away from my search this morning:

1.       Even though I looked up the words, I still won’t remember them by this evening.

2.       Now that I have more understanding of what the song means, I think I will enjoy my ‘cup of kindness’ a little bit more.

3.       I am now a Burns so it only seems appropriate to start celebrating on January 25^th…just because!

 Because it is New Years, I have taken some time these last couple of days to reflect on the past year.  It was a challenging one for the Burns household, but we are thankful for it nonetheless.  Here are a few highlights of 2014.

January

▪We packed up and moved from Nebraska to Iowa.  A little tip:  If you can move during a warm season, that’s a better idea!

▪David started his full-time job with the Urbandale Fire Department.

▪I started working full-time for a local hospital.

▪We enrolled the kids in daycare/school.  This was a tough transition for all of us!  My mom had watched Tess while we were living in Nebraska.  She and I had the hardest time adjusting.  Luckily Brady was so little that he didn’t know otherwise.  As many of you know, groups of children bring loads of sickness.  We developed a good relationship with our pediatrician early on!

▪David had a birthday and we even managed to squeeze in a birthday meal during the beginning of the month.

▪David’s dad flew from California to spend two weeks with us.  We were thankful for the company and the extra hand in getting some of the house projects completed.

February

▪David’s mom flew out to see our new home.  Luckily the weather wasn’t too bad so we were able to show her some of the city.

▪Brady celebrated his six month birthday!

March

▪David’s sister and her family came out to stay with us for a week.  It was great having them here during my birthday to help me celebrate.

▪Brady had his first appointment with the Urologist in Des Moines.

April

▪We took our first trip to Iowa City to meet with Brady’s Nephrologist.

May

▪California was calling so we flew out to celebrate our niece’s 1^st birthday.

June

▪Tessa turned three with a celebratory party in Okoboji.

▪I was presented with a new job opportunity with Harbor View Medical.  During my first week I flew to Colorado for training.  It was a nice mommy vacation and I got to see family while I was there. 

July

▪We celebrated the 4^th of July in Okoboji as is tradition.

▪ David and I celebrated our four year anniversary.

August

▪We celebrated Brady’s 1^st birthday up in Okoboji.

▪Brady officially started walking.

September

▪Tessa started her gymnastics class.

▪I started my blog up again.

▪We attended our first hometown parade and festival.  I even did the 5k run…my first since before I had Brady!

▪Because it’s a big deal to me, I have to include this; Tessa had her first dentist appointment!

October

▪This was a sickly month.  Between the two kids we made 9 trips to the pediatrician’s office for ear infections and hand-foot-mouth and 2 trips to the Emergency Room.

▪Brady had two visits to his Urologist.

▪We made the trip to Iowa City for Brady’s yearly tests.  He acquired an infection during this procedure which caused him to spend some time at the hospital.

▪Tessa had surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids.  She also had tubes put in her ears.

▪Brady had tubes placed in his ears as well.

▪We had our first photos taken as a family of four.

▪Tessa and Brady dressed up for their first Begger’s Night as a pumpkin and a scarecrow.

November

▪David accepted an additional part-time position with a local fire department.

▪We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family in Okoboji, sans David.

December

▪We flew to California to celebrate Christmas a little early.  The kids had their first Disneyland experience; one for the books!

▪Our basement was finished.

▪We had our first Christmas in our new home.

▪We closed on our current home on December 30, 2013.  It’s officially been one year!

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2015!

Our 12 Days Of Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday! It's hard to believe it has been here and gone. Here's a breakdown of the happenings in our house during our twelve, or five days of Christmas.

 

Twelve

David left for work early on Christmas Eve thinking the roads may be slick during his commute. I was looking forward to sleeping in a while on my first "day off." As luck would have it, I was up at 6am with Mr. Brady.  Mason's reaction completely explains my view on the early morning.

Eleven

Brady was not a happy child on Christmas Eve. In fact, he fussed, whined, or cried the majority of the day. I was already emotional about being "alone" on the holiday so having a sick child just added stress to the situation. No medicine, gel, or nap seemed to help him. Then at 6pm, like clockwork, I had my happy little boy back-and the shiny white glimmer of three new I-teeth!

 

Ten

 I have to attend church on Christmas Eve. Honestly, it's just not Christmas to me if you don't go and celebrate the reason why we have the holiday in the first place. Even with a sick kiddo and a three year old, I was determined to get us to church. I altered my original plans to attend my grandmas church forty minutes north and went to one here in town. We made it on time, sat in the very back row, and snuck out the back exit door after 25 minutes. It was a disaster but darn it, I had to try.

Tessa Isn't Wearing Her Red Christmas Outfit & That's A Whole Other Story In Itself!

Nine

After church I drove circles around our little town in an attempt to have both kids fall asleep and so this mommy could calm down a bit. I had the festive music on low and soon that task was accomplished. I drove home and very carefully laid the kids in their beds. For the first time that day, all was calm. I made myself a fun coffee and enjoyed my little bit of silent night in front of the tree.

Eight

I played Santa on Christmas Eve and was very thankful Tessa was generous with the cookies and milk. After the day I had, and the fact that we had Mickey chicken nuggets for lunch and left-over pot pie for dinner, you best be believing I indulged! (I had all intentions of making a decent Christmas Eve dinner but I think all you parents out there can relate to this kind of day). I really enjoyed filling those stockings and displaying some new packages! I bet it'll be even better on those years I have a helper too.

This Should Say Boyfriend/Husband - But You Get The Point

Seven

Even though it had been a late night, I was up really early to enjoy the tree, make coffee and cinnamon rolls, prepare the cameras, and to make sure neither kiddo woke before me.

Pure Adrenaline

Six

Santa came and he was good to the kiddos-no thanks to those grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins too! Tessa really wanted a reindeer and was over the moon about her special delivery from Santa. 

Mickey Mouse Has Found Himself A Match

Mr. Brady really took to  his tool set-I mean really-and I've had a little man fixing banging anything in sight for the last five days. Little boys are noisy!

Mr. Fix It

 The rest of the day was perfect. We played with toys, took a walk outside, made a nice meal, talked with family, and finished the evening with a Christmas movie.

 

The Swedes Get It Right Every Time - This Stuff Is Great!

Five

I think it's worth mentioning that the weather was beautiful here in Iowa on Christmas! Many would have preferred a white Christmas but I was ecstatic that we could take the kids outside and visit with neighbors who we're enjoying the outdoors as well. What a rare sighting to see kids on bikes, trikes, and other toys on the 25th of December!

 

Four

It was time to get out of the house on Friday. We met up with some friends for a nice get-together and breakfast. Then we braved the crowds and ran a few errands in town.

She Loves To Shop Just Like Her Momma!

Family movie nights are my favorite and I love how much they love each other-most of the time.

Three

Saturday it was just me and the kiddos. We had a nice day inside. During their naps and a few occupied moments, I was able to take down the tree and all our inside Christmas decorations. The house had been a crazy mess after the destruction that was Christmas morning so it felt great to have everything thoroughly cleaned and organized again!

 

Two

Sunday came and so did a horrible cough for Tess. Hers seems worse than the cough Brady had earlier in the week. Here's hoping the honey suckers I bought help the tickle in her throat!

 

One

Monday morning symbolizes the end of my Christmas holiday and the beginning of a new work week and impending new year. It was a crazy few days but days I'm grateful for nonetheless.

Christmas Eve Eve

Despite the weeks of preparation, festive music on my radio, endless nights of baking goodies, and family celebrations; I still can't believe that the holiday is upon us! Where did these weeks go?

We spent time as a family doing fun activities all month but it still amazes me how the days come and go so quickly.

 

Tonight is the last night to finalize everything before Christmas morning as Mr. Burns has to work on Christmas Eve.  And let's pray he gets home at a resonable hour as it may be tricky keeping Miss Tess upstairs with her anxiousness of seeing whether Santa visited or not!  (I made a call to Santa last night to tell him that he was to keep one present of hers since she wasn't being nice to her brother.  That may have been a bit harsh but it sure did the trick.)

  

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and I'll be back for my 5 on Friday!

 

5 on Friday

1.  Basement Completion

It is official, our basement renovation is complete!  All the little details are being finalized today as an ending to quite the wild week!  On Monday I was certain that our progress was going to be delayed past schedule, but the men were determined and all the last minute details went in surprisingly quickly.  The workers were amazing and even helped us move our furniture back downstairs.  This was a nice surprise as I am essentially worthless as help with a project like that.  Now I just need to make the beds up, and get the linens ready as we have our first guests staying with us tomorrow!  There’s nothing like finishing in the nick of time; but that’s just par for the course with our life of chaos. 

Living Room

Still A Few Things Needed To Finish Off The Bathroom

2.  Home Away From Home

When we made the move to Iowa last year, I would be enrolling the kids in their first second true daycare.  (My first experience with Tessa was awful so I try and delete those few weeks from my memory). 

I was very apprehensive and nervous about leaving the kiddos.  I had visited many daycares/schools and the one we currently utilize was the only one that left me with a good feeling in my chest.

Needless to say, the school has been nothing but a God-send for me as I trust the teachers there with all that I have.  I truly believe that the woman and men that watch our kids are not always given enough credit.  To me, they have the most important job on the planet.  They are responsible for my children’s lives while I am unable to care for them.  What a responsibility; and to all who have contact with my kids, I am forever grateful!   (With all his allergies/conditions, I know Brady isn't easy).

Another perk about their school that I enjoy so much is that we are often surprised with little mementos.   This week I received these two little projects from the kids/teachers and I love how wonderful they both turned out.

 

Tiny Brady Toes

Tessa also received a hand-knit scarf from one of her teachers.  It is just beautiful and she cannot wait to wear it.  Now, if only I knew how to do that!

 

3.  Cookie Overload

On Wednesday I left work early to help David with the kids and be there to assist on all the final projects and decisions with the basement.  Since we had extra time in our evening, we made up our remaining treats for the holiday.  Tessa and I made another batch of Russian Tea Cakes, peanut butter balls, rice krispies dipped in melted chocolate with sprinkles (thanks to our neighbor Courtney who pulled through at the last second with the decorations that I conveniently had forgotten), and covered pretzels.  Daddy even made his family recipe of peanut butter balls as well.  (Yes, we have two versions, actually three but we called it off at two).  It was so fun having the kitchen a complete mess (did I really just type that) and singing and listening to Christmas music for hours on end.  It’s the little things, right?

 

Never Too Many Sprinkles, Right?

4.  Simple Amusement & Real Life #3

Do any of you have parents or friends that joke around about how kids do enjoy their presents, but often love the packaging or home forts even more?  I haven’t witnessed that personally as the case yet, but what I did find out is that my children love bubble wrap as much as I do.  It’s calming, really. ;)

 

We had some extra sheets of bubble wrap in our entry closet that we had used in our move.  I pulled it out to throw it away and begun popping it myself.  Of course, that peeked Tessa’s interest and then Brady walked over to see what all the commotion was about.  The next thing I knew we had a full on popping dance party in the kitchen.  I loved every second of it…David was less than amused.  Haha, he can’t stand that sound.

Dance Party

You know you're a mommy of a little when you turned your back for a minute to finish changing and walk back into your bathroom to see this...

Tessa Is Obsessed With My Lipsticks & Brady Is Obsessed With Opening Them For Her...Double Trouble

5.  Weekend Fun

 It’s a busy weekend for us.  We have a Christmas celebration for my mom’s side of the family on Saturday and then we are hosting my immediate family for our Christmas celebration on Sunday.  It’s a good thing the basement is finished and the treats are made because there will be no time for anything else this weekend but family and fun.

Do you have any last minute Christmas activities planned? 

Here’s to the weekend!

Our Tree

It will never look like those you see in the magazines or in the entrance to design stores, but to us; our tree is something magical.  That’s because each ornament hanging on it has a memory or special meaning to all or one of us.

I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again and again, but my family was HUGE on traditions growing up and that is something I have continued with my kids as well.  One of the many traditions we had as children was my parents gifting us each an ornament on the night we decorated our Christmas tree.  When we were younger, the ornaments resembled activities or interests we had at the time.  As we grew older, my parents started gifting us traditional Old World Christmas ornaments to commemorate our European heritage.

Every year when we decorate our tree, I have a mini trip down memory lane.  It takes a bit more time to place all the decorations as I like to talk about nearly every one of them, but it is something I look forward to doing each year.  I took pictures of some of my favorite ornaments to share with you today.

My First Christmas Ornament - She's An Oldie ;)

 

For No Particular Reason - But My Favorite

 

Family Made With My Childhood Nickname

 

Does Everyone Remember Making These? 1985 Baby!

 

Classic Traditional

 

I Love Fish

 

Because Popcorn Is My All-Time Favorite Food

 

I Got These Ornaments For Both Tess & Brady On Their First Christmas

 

Giving Instructions

 

Hanging Ornaments

 

Watching All The Action

 

San Clothes (He'd Always Rather Be Naked), Eating His Favorite Snack With Sissy, & Making A Mess Of It By Filling Packing Material With Popcorn...Never Sitting Still

Christmas Card Conundrum

I was ahead of the game.  By November 18^th, I had chosen the photos I wanted to use on our Christmas cards, selected a template, and had my finished product ordered.  I was feeling organized and on schedule for at least one thing for the holiday season.

A week later, after I noticeably hadn’t received my Christmas cards, I contacted the company to see what was going on.  I had been following the tracking on my package and saw that it was stuck in South Carolina and had been for a few days.  I was told that I needed to wait ten days and then I could contact them again to check on the status of my order.  I waited my ten days, called back, and they proceeded to tell me I needed to wait an additional day to fully see if my package was in fact lost.  You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that my package was indeed lost.  I was furious but followed the rules.

On the eleventh day I proceeded to call back only to listen to the customer service representative tell me that my package was delayed.  Actually, it was what they consider to be in an extremely delayed status, which means that “it’s lost ma’am.”  Duh.  That is what I was attempting to tell them for the last week.

I spoke with a manager so I could file my complaint.  I requested expedited shipping on a replacement order, which was denied, but I did receive what they call a “rush” shipment of four days.

I finally received my Christmas cards, although not all that I needed.  As an apology for the original lost order, the company included a $100 gift card for wine.  Although I appreciate the sentiment, I would have preferred my Christmas cards be on time and the order be correct.  I have decided not to hassle with ordering additional cards.  That being said, to many of our friends and neighbors, the intention to send them out was there.  In an attempt to relay my original gesture, I included a copy of our Christmas card below.

 

Here’s wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from my family to yours.  Enjoy the holidays and remember the reason for the season (and try and not let all the little things get to you…like a Christmas card conundrum). ;)

5 on Friday

1. Lovely Lights

We are a bit behind schedule in the outdoor Christmas light department. We had great intentions set forth but with Thanksgiving being so late and a vacation thrown in the mix, the days are sweeping by! The weather is suppose to be in the 50s today and through the weekend so we will see if David makes it on the ladder. ;) Regardless of the lights, we did manage to get the most important accessory up...Mr. Mickey. (Sorry to those neighbors who aren't fans of blown up creatures but this guy brings insane amounts of joy to both kiddos-it's actually pretty amazing).

 

2. Holiday Treats

Boy oh boy do I love this time of year and all the baking! I hope to do plenty more of it this weekend too. There's just something about being inside when it's cold, having the oven on, Christmas music blaring, and sprinkles scattered around the kitchen (even for miss OCD here). There are some old classics I want to make, along with some tempting new recipes. Cheers to the holidays and stretchy pants!

 

3. Christmas Tree

It finally happened on Wednesday night, our first Christmas tree in our new house was put up! We held off on decorating it until last night (post on that coming soon). Tess had a ball picking it out and was pretty adamant with her choice so everyone who visits will have to ignore the "holes!"

 

He's Becoming A Professional At This

4. The Little Things

We try and do weekly grocery shopping trips as a family each week. I like planning ahead so I know what our options are for the week and I'm not scrambling last minute for a meal idea. I'm not strict about each day being laid out, I like the flexibility, but at least this way we have options. Plus, it's easier to all go so one of us parents isn't tackling the project alone. Tess likes pushing her own mini cart, Brady likes riding in the "fire truck," and who doesn't like the samples? It's a win-win for everyone! This week we ventured out and they had the cutest little samples of carmel apple cider at Starbucks. I was happy it was kid-friendly because Tess wanted one so bad. She felt like such a big kid with her "coffee."

 

 

 

5. The Melting Snowman

My mom stumbled across this little kid activity and snagged one up for us to try. We broke it out last night after decorating the tree and I'm convinced Tessa would have played with it all night if I would have let her. You get to build your own snowman, watch it melt, and build it again. It is seriously the cutest thing! What a great idea for a Christmas gift to all you parents with littles out there!

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday  to you all! I hope it's a festive weekend for everyone!

California

Wow, what a whirlwind week it has been yet again.  I honestly can’t believe that it is already Thursday!  My complete sense of exhaustion has made the days run together but countless cups of coffee have encouraged me to continue on.  Just one more day, right?

Last Friday we flew to California to visit David’s family.  Due to my work schedule, we were not able to leave until after dinner.  I thought this would be difficult with the kids, but it ended up being the best flights we have had with the littles.  I dressed them both in their pajamas for the flight and even though they were both wired with excitement when we took off (in part due to daddy’s suggestion of feeding them Sour Patch Kids), they slept like angels for the second flight.  We didn’t get to bed until 3:30am (our time) but again, the kids did great.

Great Backdrop, Right?  A Little Templeton Rye...

Saturday morning we ventured to Disneyland along with every other family in California and probably the country.  It was packed!  

I didn’t really know what to expect so the crowds didn’t bug me as much as they did David.  Despite the number of people we managed to get in all the activities we wanted to. 

I Forgot How Much I Loved "It's A Small World"

We even crossed parks to California Adventure.  That was an excellent idea as there were so many kid-friendly activities there.  We actually rode double the amount of rides at this park due to the shorter lines, shorter ride times, and closeness of all the attractions. 

A Little Sunny

Lovin On Her Cousin

Inside Mickey's House

Playground Time

The Carousel Was A Great First Ride

Brady LOVED The Rides

The Grandbabies & The Naughty Kids In Jail

Obsessed With Water

After The Parade - The Girls Were Sleepy

The highlight of the day was seeing Tessa’s face when she first saw her best friend in the whole-wide world…Mickey Mouse.  She was so happy and so excited when he came down the parade route.  We thought about waiting in line at Mickey’s house in Toonland to meet him one-on-one but the wait time was out of this world and we didn’t know how she would be up close with him.  At the end of the night, walking out of the park, Tess mentioned to David how much fun she had but that she wished she could see Mickey again.  It was just our luck that he was standing right outside a shop by the exit.  She wouldn’t get in line for a picture with him, but we were that family who stood as close to him as possible so she could get a view.  She didn’t want to leave and that moment made the whole day completely worth it (it even justified the fact that I carried that girl over ½ the day in the park-talk about a workout)!

Sweet Girl - What A Moment

Her Pal Mic - We Stood There A While ;)

Sunday was a low-key day.  We spent our time visiting with family and swimming in the pool.  I knew Tess loved to swim (as long as her head doesn’t get wet) but I had no idea how Brady would be now that he was older.  Well, he is certainly our little fish.  In fact, he screamed when we took him out of the pool.  Once we got him settled down and dressed, he spent the rest of the day attempting to get back in with his clothes on or begging people to hold him and bring him closer to the water.  It was cute and nerve-racking all at the same time.

Monday was our flight home.  I wish I could say the flights were good but it was awful!  The kids were exhausted from our activities and they never quite adjusted to the time change.  Brady fussed for an hour and a half of the first leg of the trip.  David had to walk up the aisles and stand in the back with him to get him to calm down.  Miss Tess fueled off of Brady’s attitude and tested us as much as she could as well. 

Don't Let This Face Fool Ya - Stinker!

If we would have had extra arms, David and I would have been having cocktails to calm ourselves down.  The second flight was better than the first but it is safe to say we were all totally relieved to land in Iowa.  We didn’t get home until close to midnight and we both had early mornings at work.  I was looking forward to getting home on Tuesday evening and having a great night of sleep.  Mr. Brady had other plans and kept me up until 3am. 

Time Change + Teething Child + No Sleep For Mama (Again) = Bad

Anyway, the trip itself was a great success.  We have spent these last few days dealing with the so-called aftermath but here’s hoping we can have an enjoyable and relaxing weekend to recover.