Jackson, the Bull

Yes. Our precious baby boy is exploring the darker side of life as a soon to be two year old. We have daily tantrums and throwing of the cereal bowls, followed by either a timeout on the fireplace, quickly rebutted be flailing arms that often brush the mothers ever so delicate cheeks, only to be love-tapped on those tiny chubby hands..., it continues with lots of big crocodile tears and the heart-tugging cry of, "MOMMO...," finished up with hugs and lovins. Only to be repeated several times throughout these never ending days of summer! Double!! And picture this..., a young boy child with a raging temper crawling through out the house a maximum speed, ramming straight into the legs of his mother. HMM?

BOO!

Did your eyes just just get really wide? Think I have something good to say? Not really, just wanted to make you giggle:)
The Laughlin's are good. Heath sent out apps to residency programs this month. Anxious to see where we will be in July.
Both of our children have been sleeping now for a little over an hour, only after screaming for a little less than an hour! Nice.
Just sitting here thinking I need to do something about my wobbly arms and wishing I didn't have that last cup of coffee! NJ

more to come

I just came home from a long day at the hospital to find this amazing post. Don't worry, you will all be the benefactors of a surprise/retaliation post to come...

Just say NO

This must be the month for Free Trials from the WWW. Let me just say in a round about way, "It is not worth the hassle or your time!" After just $4.99, 20 minutes of waiting on hold, another 20 minutes of fighting with "Jason Samuel" to cancel my order, 7 minutes of waiting on hold for "Jason Samuel's" supervisor (He told me it would be 1 hour), and another 20 minutes of arguing with "Jason Samuel" when his computer mysteriously started working again, I am the proud new owner of some Acai Berry Supplements!!!!! NJ I learned so much from this experience and after that phone call, I felt I was so revved up that I should have gone on the O'Reilly Factor!

OK, here is the best thing. Heath signed up for a free trial for a teeth whitening system.

Hey, yo!

Ace

"B-52. B-52. Hut, hut, HIKE!"

Great Grandma Ethel

This is my Great Grandma, Ethel. Sunday was her 100th Birthday. Can you believe that? I think it is so awesome. She has lived through the Great Depression and 5 wars. She plays guitar and loves dancing and Country music. She looks amazing for 100. Can't really see very well anymore, and she kept calling me Vicki, but other than that she is the picture of health. I hope her genes were passed down to us!

Jack Tate

So, last night we had family hair cuts. I just had to post this picture of Jackson. He was so handsome. He is such a good boy for his hair cuts!

Super Food

Hey Ladies!

What will you be making for the Super Bowl?

Might be one of the greatest snacking days ever.

Don't care about he game, just the food and the halftime show and the commercials!

Oh, and the greatest show ever will be following the Super-Bowl this year, THE OFFICE!

OK, I found a new dip recipe I will be trying for tomorrow, Homemade French Onion Dip.

2 T butter
2 Lg Sweet Onions, diced
2 shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c sour cream
1 c Mayo
1 t celery salt
1t Worcestershire
salt, pepper

Yum-o

Mia's 3rd Birthday

Mia turned 3 this weekend. I know it is cliche, but I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. It was a bittersweet day for me. On one hand I rejoice for the life God has entrusted us with and I know each day to come I will only fall more and more in love with her, on the other hand I hold on to all the precious things of her childhood that I already see disappearing before my eyes. My baby girl is now just a girl.

We make birthdays a big deal at our house. So, Saturday night, Lilly came to our house to have a sleepover with Mia. We got home kind of late that evening so they played for about 10 minutes and then told Heath and me they were tired and wanted to go to bed. We tucked them both in Mia's bed, turned the off, and shut the door. We didn't here a peep out of them all night. Pretty smooth for their first sleepover. Sunday, we stayed home to clean and cook and get ready for the big par-tay. They played all day with out a single argument. And if any of you know Mia, or Lilly for that matter, you know this was a great achievement! They took a bath together, Got their hair beautiful and then played with hair accessories all afternoon.

Later that day, we invited all Mia's grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins over to come and celebrate with us. She was so happy. Her screams of excitement nearly broke the glass on the front door as her cousins all got here!

Gift unwrapping is always a little chaotic with the Laughlin kids.
High Anxiety. I had no idea what gift was from who. But they never seem to mind.
They just want to get everything opened so they can start playing.
She did love all her gifts. Lots of dolls and Darbies and dress up clothes. What more could a girl want?



Note to self: Never order black icing on cake ever again!

This was the after party. Mia and Haley dressed up and were dancing to some 80's music we found on Dish Network.

Thank you everyone who made this a special day for her!

For Sale

I have a used CHI blow dryer and flat iron for sale. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Kid Stories

Some funny things.

The other night We were having a terrible time getting Jack to fall asleep and stay asleep. At one point, he had been sleeping for about an hour, and woke up jabbering. When we went in to tuck him back in, we discovered Victor Vito nestled in his crib with him!
Later that same night, he woke up yet another time. When I went in this time, he had his blanket completely wrapped around his body and he was rolling around like the blueberry girl from Willy Wonka. It was hilarious.

Tonight, I was trying to make dinner and Mia decided to she wanted to go swimming in the backyard. I ignored her. She soon came into the kitchen in her bikini, absolutely insisting that she go outside to get her swimming pool. I told her no way, there is snow and ice outside. Still, she insisted. I just wanted to get dinner in the oven so I opened the door and told her to go outside and see if she still wanted to go swimming. She went out for a minute, in nothing but her bikini, and came back inside saying she needed her jeans on. A few minutes later, here comes Mia Rose in her bikini, a hoodie, a pair jeans (on backwards), and a pair of light up Tinker Bell shoes(No, I did not buy those shoes. I loathe light up character shoes). So I opened the door and she went out, stood on the deck, and sucked her thumb for a while. Miss persistent!
Needless to say, dinner was late, and Jack was screaming because he was hungry, and Mia was still mad because I wouldn't get her pool out for her. It would be so wonderful to cook in peace and quiet.

Are you a dork?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Does it give you immense gratification when you are de-boning a chicken and the chunks of meat come off in perfect pieces?
• Is your favorite day of the month the day your Racheal Ray Magazine arrives?
• Do you know every word and dance move to Choo- Choo Soul?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, we have a lot in common. congratulations!

It's Been a While

Happy New Year!

So, It's been a while. Where do I begin?

It has been a busy few weeks. Heath was off for two weeks. It was so wonderful to have him home with us. On the 19th we celebrated our 5th Anniversary. I can hardly believe I'm 26, I've been married for 5 years, and we have two kids! Boy, how time goes by so fast. He has added so much to my life, I can't imagine my life without him!
You all know Nate arrived on the 19th also. He is darling. Chad and Alison, you did a great job. And I must say he wins the prize for the best Laughlin baby hair so far! My kids just love Baby Nate. It was neat to see Jack with a real baby. He was captivated with him.

We had a great Christmas. Mia was very into it this year. She was addicted to Elf, Hermies's Fruitcake Christmas, and The Polar Express. For some reason, she loved going to the mall to sit on Santa's lap. (Yes, she believes in Santa.) She would just sit there and smile while he asked her what she wanted and told her not to forget to set out cookies for him Christmas Eve. The very last time she saw him, she figured out that she could ask for a present. She asked for "Tinker Bell Movie." It was all so cute. You should have seen her face when she pulled the movie out of her stocking. She definitely brings so much joy to her Daddy and Me!Jack didn't get too involved in opening gifts.

Two days later, my baby boy turned the Big 1! I have to say I was a little sad all day that my son was getting so big. He is just precious. He stands very very well on his own and has taken a step on his own a time or two, but he has not yet started walking around by himself yet. He started saying MAMA! Yeah! He is just wonderful. He has a great personality that is developing. And I can definitely tell he already has a great big heart.

And, now, all the festivities have come to an end, I have managed to burn yet another plastic item in the oven, and Heath is back at school. It was fun while it lasted!