I am so proud!

I just visited my brother and found out he was named "Administrator of the Year" for Kane County, Illinois. What an honor! Jon is an amazing elementary school principal and administrator. I read the letters his staff wrote to nominate him... WOW! He definitely deserves the award! He is a gifted visionary, encourager, team-builder and one who values everyone... from teacher, to parent to student. He celebrates all victories, little or big. He makes people smile, laugh and feel good as an individual. I am very proud of my big brother, Dr. Jon Tuin!

Words and Sayings According to E & A

These words and sayings are funny things that Emma and Anna either say now, or have said in the past. They are things that I have always wanted to write down, but never have until today. Because I have waited so long to write this, I won't remember them all right away. I will have to add to my list as I remember them. Here is what I have so far...

E: "I do it all my by myself!"
A: Sequanda! - We're not sure what or who that is...
E: A-goona-gonay - That was one of her first words.
E: Freerigerlator - refigerator
A: Freerigerlator - since that how Emma says it.
E: Smish-smash - mustache
A: narble - marble
E: smarshmellow
A: (after screaming in frustration) - "I did it!"
E: Santa Closet - guess who that is...
A: "It's too long!" - that was Anna's answer to any "why" question.
E: Walrus - what she used to call a "waffle"
E: Piepothepis - this was just yesterday... she was trying to say "hypothesis"
A: Party - meaning "Barbie"

Oh, Happy Day...

It is a happy day when...

1. Coffee is made before I wake up.
2. I get time to myself.
3. I get fun mail instead of junk and bills.
4. My house stays clean.
5. My girls get along.
6. My dog doesn't bark for no reason.
7. I check my computer and see that I have email &/or comments on my blog.
8. Dinner involves no work on my part.
9. I get lots of hugs and kisses from Emma and Anna.
10. I get to spend time with Dave.

The Gap

It happened. Emma's top tooth fell out. It actually fell out Friday night and I am just now getting to post about it. This is the first time since then that I have been able to sit and the computer and do much of anything. So here's the story...

I don't think anything really happened, but Emma's tooth started to bleed... well, not the actual tooth, of course, but her mouth... anyway, she took a tissue and held it up to her mouth. The tissue was only there for a few seconds when Emma pulled it away and made a goofy noise. I wish I could write the sound, but I don't know how. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I looked at her and there was a big gap in her mouth. The tooth was in her hand. She looked so cute! She sounded cute too... she was sort of talking with a lisp.

We took her out to dinner that night to celebrate (ok, and the oven is broken - but that's another story!). We also stopped by to show Aunt Jil and Uncle Ron that her tooth FINALLY came out! We have all waited a long time for this... it was loose before Christmas.

Before Emma went to bed, she made a great letter for the tooth fairy. She wrote, "Dear Tooth Fairy, Thank you for the money. Love, Emma I (love) U" and she drew a great picture of the fairy and a castle. She put that and her tooth under pillow and went to sleep. What a cutie!

When she woke up on Saturday morning, the other fron tooth had moved over. Now there is a gap on the other side of her mouth and the tooth is crooked. Maybe that one will soon find its way out of her mouth. :-)

Toothless

Today is a day for the history books... at least for the history books in our house. Emma lost her first tooth today. Just yesterday she was almost in tears because she was the only one in her class that hadn't lost a tooth yet. Now she is part of the toothless club. (Of course, she is not completely toothless; after all, she did only lose a bottom tooth, but soon she will be toothless... the top may come out any day and there are 2 other teeth that are also loose.)
When I went to pick her up from school she was so excited! She came running up to me with her mouth open wide, pointing to the space in her mouth. She said, "You were right, Mom, it didn't even hurt!" She said it just fell out. She was in such fear of the pain that she thought would be involved. Now she knows, it really doesn't hurt. Tonight the tooth fairy will make a visit. Wonder what she'll leave for Emma...

Somewhere in Time...

The decade, the 80's. I have many memories of that era. It is funny to see things in the stores now and think, "I wore that when I was in high school". Some things are back, and some should never have been around the first time! :-)

A couple of years ago we had a 70's party. It was a groovy party. Now we are gearing up for another decade party... the 80's party. We have plenty of music to play... if we can only find a cassette player that still works. :-) I think it will be a totally rad party!



I remember my mom listening to 50's music and being nostalgic. I couldn't imagine feeling that way about MY music... Duran Duran and Wham would be around forever, wouldn't they? Then there was also Boy George, Cindy Lauper, Madonnna, Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Smiths and so many more!

I remember styles too, like crimped hair, skirts with leggings underneath (a style that is "back"), lots of bangle bracelets, big belts, neon colors, bleached jeans, Members Only jackets, Ray-Ban sunglasses... and again, so much more.

Planning the party makes it fun to think back to "my era". I just need to find some baby blue and mauve country decor for my house... my red and brown just isn't going to cut it for the party. :-)

Family Fun

Last Saturday night, we had a family night out with our friends, the Randolphs. The girls had fun seeing Roger, April & especially, Ryan. We went out for a night of dinner and miniature golf. Emma and Anna had never tried miniature golf before, in fact they didn't even know what it was. It was entertaining to watch the kids enjoy the game. Ryan knew what he was doing and was counting every stroke the girls made. He didn't like us helping Anna with some of her strokes. :-) Emma was just having fun and didn't care how many swings it took to hit the ball in the hole. She wiggled her hips every time she got in the stance to swing and danced every time the ball eventually went in the hole. (With Ryan standing by counting: one, two... ten, eleven... fourteen, fifteen.) Emma would just giggle. Anna would get set up (with assistance, of course) and swing. When the ball didn't go where she wanted, she grunted with frustration. A couple of times, she picked up the ball and placed it in the hole. She didn't like that either so she started setting the ball up right next to the hole so she could hit in without the frustration. Pretty smart kid. :-)
It was a fun evening out. We really need to do more things like that with the kids. We usually end up staying home and if we do go out, it is just Dave and me trying to steal a few moments away. We don't take the time to just have some family fun. It was a fun evening, a good lesson for us.