Caitlyn: What are you doing? REI Salesperson: I’m writing. What are you doing? Caitlyn: Oh, trying to pick my nose.

Caitlyn, on her own, named one of her stuffed animals today, the little mouse with a cookie that Grandma gave her with a copy of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. The mouse is now Jilly Boo, or occasionally Billy Joe. “Mama, say hello to Jilly Boo’s feet.” “Hi, Jilly Boo’s feet.” “Jilly Boo goes down the chimney (a hole in the top of a footstool). Mama, Jilly Boo went down the chimney.” “And what did Jilly Boo find down the chimney?” “An ocean.” (The floor.) “Ah.” “Her mama’s going to rescue her. Mama, say hello to Jilly Boo’s …

English is a fun language, being the hodge-podge that it is. We have so many different words that mean more or less the same thing. But there are still some things we have to use lots of words to say. And, wouldn’t you know it, there are other languages that have nice, concise ways of getting the idea out there without taking all week to say it. Here are my favorites, but the full list is worth checking out. Kaelling (Danish): a woman who stands on her doorstep yelling obscenities at her kids. Pesamenteiro (Portuguese): one who joins groups of …

Two days before Halloween, Caitlyn discovered the dress-up box in her closet and started playing with the scarves, purses, and robes there – including getting tangled up in the pocket-sleeves of an authentic kimono. Today, the day after Halloween, she is right now napping while wearing her Halloween bunny tail (Thanks, Jeannie!). It took awhile last night, but eventually, she was running to the door when the bell rang. Once someone parental had opened it for her, she would carefully hand out candy to the kids outside. Most kids in our neighborhood don’t dress up, probably either religious issues or …

Shopping rant: It’s fall, a time of year I seem to always start to think about my wardrobe and my general trend of apathy about Fashion and how maybe I should at least make an effort to do something about it. It’s generally a bad time of year for me to start thinking about Fashion because I can’t wear any of the olives and oranges that make up the Fall Fashion Palette. I had my “colors” done, once, a million years ago; the person doing them told me I was a “true luminant summer” but I find myself gravitating to …

Caitlyn was jumping down the stairs this morning, one at a time, saying, “And jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped,” as she went. Being the bookish person I am, I thought perhaps she was referencing Are You My Mother? (“The egg jumped and jumped and jumped.”) So, I asked her if she had a baby bird inside her. “No. A bunny.” At the time, it seemed delightfully silly and a brilliant joke. I laughed. She laughed. And now, I can’t seem to remember why… Some jokes are like that, I guess.