Hmmm.

I keep staring at this box. I have stories, but they aren't forming. I'll update a bit instead:

• The water problem was a crack in the casing of the whole house water filter. We got a new one, but it was just different enough from the first to have to redo all the plumbing surrounding it. I was outliving my usefulness and went to bed about 10:00. When I awoke, the plumbing fairy had finished it all, taken out the trash, cleaned everything and had everything back in it's place.

• Charlie now knows all his shapes and recognizes letters as letters, even if he doesn't know their actual names. He calls everything O, C, or W-M. He spent most of today naked from the navel down. He sat on the potty for a bit before discovering that it was more fun to pee on the carpet. He felt the need to poop coming on, tried a bit on the potty, then asked for a diaper. I came home between work and bunko and he ran out to give my van a hug and kiss, but wouldn't come near me.

• Melody had her 'Kindergarten Readiness' test at school and was a + in everything except 'waiting her turn to speak'--just like her mommy! She got her beloved deer in the mail today, thanks to a fabulous fan, and the world is right again. She has also stopped dressing in Christmas and Easter dresses every day. We have discovered Gymboree leggings and she adores them. They are comfy, actually fit her scrawny body, and are colorful and bright. As much as I miss Mme Fluff N Stuff, it is nice to not have to buckle petticoats into car seats every day.

• The longer this school year goes, the more I am convinced that having Dixie wait a year to start Kindergarten was absolutely the right thing for her. Five days a week of five hour preschool is strenuous enough for her. I can't imagine having her gone two more hours a day and with a more rigorous curriculum. She is thriving where she is. She has also adopted Sticky, who is the Queen Over All Of Us. She found a fairly straight four-foot stick in the yard. She has a face, belly button and nipples drawn on and plays dress-up with the girls. We had a formal adoption ceremony for us and she sleeps in Dixie's bed, beside her. The girls love stringing beads to make her tiaras and necklaces. I have a pic here somewhere.

• The weight loss was not courtesy of stress. If I were the kind of person that lost weight due to stress, Sticky and I could share clothes. Thanks for all the congrats!

• We still know nothing about any jobs for Dowlan.