Oh, my, Gawd. Becky, look at her butt.

Confession: I have always wanted a bubble butt.

Alas, I have a somewhat flatter derriere. No saddlebags, and no great sag, but still. Years ago, I worked with a woman from Nigeria (shout out to Adetola!), who told how in her village, bubble butts are so de rigueur that women pad their bottoms. Butt-falsies.

platypygous
adjective [zool.]
Having broad or flat buttocks.

...and it hit today

The bite finally made it into the air.

I relish the crisp coolness of fall air. I start completely involuntarily breathing deeply the moment I smell the first chill. The next wonder for me is kicking my feet through crackling leaves on the ground, then bending to sort and exclaim at the colors. The oldest and I will start hitting Pilot Mountain every other weekend again, too. And it's time to start collecting acorns, I think. I'm giddy; I really am.

parky
adjective, chiefly British
Pleasantly cold and invigorating; Synonyms: crisp, frosty, nipping, nippy, snappy.
"parky." WordNet 1.7.1. Princeton University, 2001. Answers.com 22 Oct. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/parky

Oh, my

photo at top, released by the Mexican Presidency, shows Mexican President Vicente Fox, at right, speaking with actor and director Mel Gibson at the Los Pinos Presidential residence in Mexico City, Mexico on Wednesday Oct. 19, 2005.

The beard makes him look awfully like a

billy goat
noun, informal.
A male goat.

He also reminds me of this toy we had as children.

Starry Night

Yesterday, my oldest came out of school babbling happily about Starry Night, the painting by Vincent Van Gogh, which he discovered yesterday. He finds it "beautiful" and "wonderful" and "magical".

His art teacher had shared some prints of Van Gogh's works with the class and told them how Van Gogh cut his ear off, how he wasn't successful at all in his lifetime, and about his brother, Théo, with whom he was very close, and who died six months after Vincent. The closeness to his brother resonated with my son, who is, likewise, incredibly close to his own brother.

All this was delivered to me in a happy rush of words as we drove to a shopping center on an errand. We parked down a bit from where we were headed, just in front of a local bookstore, where right on a sidewalk sale rack was an enormous coffee table book about Van Gogh with lush, glossy prints of his works, including Starry Night.

We bought it, of course.

chance upon
verb, idiom
[Also, chance on.]
Happen upon, find or meet accidentally, as in In Paris we chanced on a wonderful little restaurant, or Andrew chanced upon his karate teacher in the health-food store. [Mid-1500s]
"chance upon." The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Answers.com 20 Oct. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/chance-on

Hello, sun!

I know I should make my oldest stay inside until he's done his homework, but I truly believe sometimes fresh air and time in the sun trumps. The sun will go down, but the homework will still be there, so why not wait until then?

It has been especially glorious here the last two days. My children have been busily reaping the benefit of such weather by staying out as much and as late as possible.

We all sleep like rocks at night.

salubrious
adjective
Conducive or favorable to health or well-being.
"salubrious." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 19 Oct. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/salubrious

nose turned up

My youngest is going through a stage where he likes a particular food one day, then the next acts as if he has never liked it and you are trying to poison him by serving it. He actually takes offense to dishes that the day before would have elicited gleeful thanks and praise. Sometimes his tastes change as fast as one meal to the next.

I try to plan meals so that I serve at least one thing each child likes. It's a mite challenging these days.

finical
adjective
Very difficult to please.

Special

The media has descended on Arkansas, where a mother recently gave birth to the couple's 16th child. This story is being carried by the international media as well.

Why? Why is it particularly newsworthy at all?

There are certainly mothers the world over who give birth to large families. Why so much to-do for this particular family?

An obituary from today's Winston-Salem Journal reads in part:

He was born July 21, 1921, in Greenville Township to the late William Louis Mayo and Mattie Leonora Harris Mayo. He was also preceded in death by his wife, Mary Jane "Jary" Collins Mayo; two granddaughters, Asya Aimee Farnham and Bronwyn Boinaiv Farnham; and five brothers, Curtis, Charlie, George, Robert and James Mayo. Survivors include a son, Louis Allen Mayo Jr., of Houston, Texas; a daughter, Dr. Candace Jo Mayo-Farnham, and husband William of Rushville, N.Y.; grandson Eric Allen Farnham; granddaughter Amanda Lenore Farnham; brothers Wilbur Mayo of Lynchburg, Va., Bruce Mayo of Dallas, Texas, Alton Mayo of Newport News, Va., John Mayo of Chatham, N.J., Edward Mayo of Hyattsville, Md., Ralph Mayo of Allentown, Pa., and Samuel Mayo; sisters Mattie Harris Horne and Lula "Lou" Ladson, both of Newport News; and many nieces and nephews.

count 'em out:

1. Louis (decedent)

2. Curtis

3. Charlie

4. George

5. Robert

6. James

7. Wilbur

8. Bruce

9. Alton

10. John

11. Edward

12. Ralph

13. Samuel

14. Mattie

15. Lula

Imagine feeding 15 children during the Depression. Goodness, now that's an accomplishment. Were William and Mattie Mayo fêted? I sincerely hope so.

hoopla
noun
Blatent or sensational promotion. Synonyms: ballyhoo, hype, plug.
"hoopla." WordNet 1.7.1. Princeton University, 2001. Answers.com GuruNet Corp. 17 Oct. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/hoopla

We be jammin'

My seven-year old son picked out a CD to buy all by himself for the first time yesterday: Will Smith's Lost and Found.

The first music I ever picked out alone (and it was on cassette tape) was Chaka Khan.

My husband's first musical choice was Peter Frampton, he thinks on cassette as well.

I stand behind my first choice today, as does my husband behind his. I feel certain the boy can be proud of his in the years to come, too.

jammin'
adjective, slang
Excellent; first-rate.
"jammin'." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com GuruNet Corp. 16 Oct. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/jammin