All About Me and My Family

Well let's start with me. I am Laurie. All my kids call me Lala, it seems easier for them to say. My sister, when young, could not say my name so she called me Oreo. But my best friend's kids and my nieces and nephews could not say my name. So Shyanne, being the thinker she is, one day called me Auntie Lala. Now all call me that. It stuck so what is one to do. Go with it I say. I am, or was for 8 years, a single mom. I went through a lot back then and if it was not for the love and support of my family I would probably not be where I am today. I am a Mom, Daughter, Granddaughter, Wife(without the paper), Aunt, Sister, and Step-mom. I grew up in a family that I used to in my wonderful "teenage" years called the Brady Bunch. My parents are still married and never argued. My sister is 6 years younger than I and we would have our spats when we were growing up, but we are very close now. My life has had its ups and downs, but I am glad I have landed with my feet on the ground.

My daughter is Jessica, she likes to be called Jess or Jessie. She is at the wonderful age of 14 and knows everything. She was born with ADHD so every day is a struggle for us as a family, but I would not trade her for the world.

Now my husband, Rob. He and I are not married legally, but have been together for 6 1/2 years now. We have been through a lot. When I met him he was still married ( my mother taught me that if I can't say anything nice not to say anything at all) so we will not discuss her. She had thrown him out of the house and my best friend's husband, who Jess and I were staying at, decided he needed a change of scenery for a while and let him stay with all of us for a while. So that is how I met him. He is my rock. He keeps me going when I feel like I am at the end of my rope. So for the past 6 years we have been going through a divorce for him. It was all settled about 2 1/2 years ago and thousands of dollars in lawyers later. Everything was starting to go good and now I have a husband and step-son to add to my family.

My step-son, Mitch, how do I describe him. He loves dinosaurs, dragons, animals, and seems to be obsessed with bears and tigers right now. I hope he grows up to either write stories for kids or an archeologist. He has recently, and to my wonderful surprise, decided to start karate. He is now on his yellow belt and just beams when we go to his tests. He is just like his father in many ways, he comes up the most unusual and funny things to say and comment on at the most opportune times.

That brings me to our newest addition to the family, Little Girl. She has a very special place in our home. First off I am allergic to all animals. Little Girl I am not allergic to. She is a black and white cat. Her markings are just so cute. She reminds me of Sylvester the cat. She has such a personality that we are constantly laughing. She came to us in June of 2010. She just showed up downstairs at our complex and has not left. We finally let her in because she would not run from all the kids in the complex and they are not all nice kids, she acted like she was a house cat before and someone decided they did not want her anymore. She made herself at home from the start. She must have been about 4 to 5 months old then, she was little. From the first she was box trained and she hardly ever makes any sounds. She does not get up on the tables or counters, or even the furniture. She was a blessing when she came, you see we lost Rob's mom in September of 2010 to Lung cancer and Little girl showed up just in time to keep everyone sane. She even now keeps us laughing. We all say that Mom had something to do with me not being allergic to her. ( and I am bad allergic, I have asthma so when I react to animals I go into a full on attack that takes hours to get out of and sometimes a visit to the hospital)

That is the Lala clan. Of course there are several friends and family thrown in here and there to but these are the one's I am responsible for on most days. hehe.