I'll take Potpourri for $200, Alex

First on the agenda, an update on last post's status report:

• Same (except it's a different dinner. Gosh, I hope.)


• Same.


• Same


• DIFFERENT! I found another pair of jeans! Fantastic!


• DIFFERENT! I showered yesterday, and, if I work out today, there is a 40% chance I'll take another today. Whoa.

Let's move on.

Since the last couple of posts dogged on my kids, I gotta say something nice. I really really enjoy listening to Gabe's speech improve. Yes, he still sounds like Mushmouth¹ a good deal of the time, but he's really going somewhere. The best part is the comprehension and the stuff he thinks up on his own. No more toddler thinking. He cogitates. He makes little jokes and can explain his weird ideas he comes up with out of the blue. This morning, for example, he started whipping around his blanket, smacking me with it. Dear heaven, boy! Stop hitting! "Mom, I'm making wind." Oh, well, then, that's alright. Just don't hit me with the windmill. And then I stand there wondering how his mind came up with this non sequitor. "Hey, while I'm standing in the kitchen, what if I whip my blankie around and make wind! Here we go!" Or, even more amazing, was that an excuse he came up with on the spot to weasel out of trouble?

Claire, has killer story-telling skills. I can only replicate it in person for you. She is adorable, I'm sure we all agree. DON'T WE. Anyway, you'd think she is faking it, but that is her real life self. She can be kinda shy with people, so it may be hard to catch her at it, but I have witnesses. Adorable. Lot's of hand gestures and voice inflection. Oh - let me say that these aren't storytime stories; these are stories about what happened today, or something on a movie or whatnot. She'd be the most entertaining news anchor ever.

Charlotte. What to say? She is her own brand of person. She is very sensitive. She is very tender-hearted and justice-oriented. "That makes it fair," is her favorite thing. I actually counted how many Hershey kisses went into each stocking (25) because there was a doggone good chance she would concern herself with it. She begs to do science experiments and look into her new microscope, and she even took her collection of crystals to school for their unit in science. Yes, she has a collection. From a geode we painstakingly busted open last year. And the Family Home Evening we had after growing our own crystals. And the youTube segments we watched about crystals. Y'all starting to get me on this?

Yesterday was my lovely mom's birthday. She is so fantastic a person that it is amazing to me. During all the fighting and angst of growing up, I never imagine she'd be one of my very best friends. That is rewarding, truly. Same goes for my sisters, but it ain't their birthdays, so I'm not talking about them now. Okay, back to Mom. Incredible lady!

Finally, NCIS. Yes, my show, my show. Spoiler alert (for those who care): last night we met Tony's father. MAN, I love getting a piece of their personal lives! Ducky's mom has been the most featured in talk and even made appearances. We've met one of Gibbs' ex-wifes, which I thought was good, but when we met his father I dang near died. McGee's sister. Ziva's brother and father. And now, FINALLY Tony's family enters the scene. Yes, I know this is a pathetic paragraph, Sarah, but I don't care. I listen to you talk about Dog, Hoarders, and even Big Brother occasionally.

Right, back to me. I have no desires to accomplish anything today. Which means I'll be doing laundry. Thankless, endless job. On the upside - clean underwear. In college, I just bought new underwear instead of washing. I had NUMEROUS pairs when I left. 30+. No money, though.

¹Fat Albert reference, people. Google it if you need to MARY.