Happy (almost) Birthday Laura!

Well, Laura is turning the ripe old age of 29 this Sunday and even though the great Diet Coke battle rages on, I couldn't let the day pass without honoring my overly sensitive, poetically inclined, middle sister.

So, without further ado, here are the Top 5 Reasons Laura Roecker rocks:

1. Laura is always up for anything. Seriously. When we were little I used to dress her up as a boy and call her Patrick and she was totally fine with it. And whenever we played Mermaid and Seahorse, she was always the Seahorse in spite of the fact that I outweighed her by a good 15 pounds. So I guess it was only natural that when we had our epic phone conversation about doing something with our lives and I suggested rewriting PRIDE AND PREJUDICE for young adults (so original, I know), Laura was totally on board.

2. Laura is good at everything I suck at. She's really thoughtful and sensitive. She's good at writing descriptions and actual emotions. And she's got wicked poetry skills. I'm too blunt, impulsive and if I wrote a book by myself it would be all plot and one-liners. Oh, and don't even ask about my poetry skills. They're nonexistent. Basically, I'm only half a woman. Laura, you complete me.

3. Laura never gets annoyed with me. I have what some people might call a "strong personality." I'm bossy, crabby, and oftentimes downright bitchy. Shockingly, some people aren't really on board with being bossed around by yours truly. But Laura never complains, she never screens my phone calls and she even lets me get my way. Well, sometimes anyways.

4. Laura never judges me. I can literally tell Laura anything and she just gets it. My three-year-old still sleeps in a crib mostly because it doubles as a kind of sleep cage. When I confessed to Laura she told me she recently read a book that said a crib until three years of age actually supports good discipline. SCORE. Yesterday, I casually mentioned that I'd like to purchase a poster of Zach Efron for my bedroom. Laura agrees that if I didn't live with my husband and two children this kind of thing would be totally normal for a thirty-year-old woman. See? No judgement.

5. Laura is smart. I mean, obviously, she's smart because she's an amazing writer, but she also gives amazing advice. Let's face it, without her insight I'd have a picture of Zach Efron on my ceiling and I'd probably be in the middle of a mental breakdown. Laura just has this way of making things seem OK even when you're bawling your eyes out because you're convinced your children are sociopaths. It's very endearing.

And finally, because I've had many, many requests for some embarrassing Laura pictures I decided to put together a little slideshow for your viewing pleasure. Some of you might remember the humiliation that was my birthday post back in October.

Yeah, payback really is a bitch.