You know how most reality shows have a season where they feature “All Stars”? It’s the best against the best? Well, if we had a Mammalingo All-Star Team, this woman would be one of the team captains. Yes, sir. Here’s a submission from Jill Kravetz of Boston, MA.  STRAPPLE v. [Fr. strap + grapple] Highchairs, car seats, strollers. Why is it that every piece of equipment that harnesses babies and children must have straps that are insanely difficult to get straight… so that the clips actually go into the right holes without completely strangling your child or cutting off an arm? Not to mention the effect that spit + old Cheerios + ground-up goldfish + meatsauce has on the flexibility of these straps. Even the fancy, new age-y high chair I bought for my 3rd child (think Jetsons) still has the crappy straps!

You know how most reality shows have a season where they feature “All Stars”? It’s the best against the best? Well, if we had a Mammalingo All-Star Team, this woman would be one of the team captains. Yes, sir. Here’s a submission from Jill Kravetz of Boston, MA. 

STRAPPLE v. [Fr. strap + grapple] Highchairs, car seats, strollers. Why is it that every piece of equipment that harnesses babies and children must have straps that are insanely difficult to get straight… so that the clips actually go into the right holes without completely strangling your child or cutting off an arm? Not to mention the effect that spit + old Cheerios + ground-up goldfish + meatsauce has on the flexibility of these straps. Even the fancy, new age-y high chair I bought for my 3rd child (think Jetsons) still has the crappy straps!

MESTING v. [Fr. MESS + NESTING] An uncontrollable urge to clean one’s house brought on by the desire to prepare a nest for the new baby. Or in my case: an uncontrollable urge to clean one’s house brought on by utter shame and the realization that my mom AND mother-in-law are coming. (Submitted by Molly from the blog, Life After.) Note: You should check out Molly’s blog because 1) it’s a funny read and 2) she has picture on the upper right corner of her homepage that will probably make you laugh out loud. If you didn’t realize it from the word she submitted, Molly is pregnant with her second child and is due in the not-too-distant future. Hence, her urge to mest.  Congrats, Molly.

MESTING v. [Fr. MESS + NESTING] An uncontrollable urge to clean one’s house brought on by the desire to prepare a nest for the new baby. Or in my case: an uncontrollable urge to clean one’s house brought on by utter shame and the realization that my mom AND mother-in-law are coming. (Submitted by Molly from the blog, Life After.)

Note: You should check out Molly’s blog because 1) it’s a funny read and 2) she has picture on the upper right corner of her homepage that will probably make you laugh out loud. If you didn’t realize it from the word she submitted, Molly is pregnant with her second child and is due in the not-too-distant future. Hence, her urge to mest. 

Congrats, Molly.

CRYLE n. [cry + smile] Ah, the cryle. It’s the one that’s part smile and part cry. Or is that part cry and part smile? Sometimes, it starts as one and morphs into the other. Thank you to new father and blogger Noah Dunavan from Turlock, CA for coining the word. Now that I know it, I can describe what my baby is doing right now, sitting next to me, and trying to get my attention while I type… Oops. Gotta go!  

CRYLE n. [cry + smile] Ah, the cryle. It’s the one that’s part smile and part cry. Or is that part cry and part smile? Sometimes, it starts as one and morphs into the other. Thank you to new father and blogger Noah Dunavan from Turlock, CA for coining the word.

Now that I know it, I can describe what my baby is doing right now, sitting next to me, and trying to get my attention while I type… Oops. Gotta go!  

I’m a bit stunned. Tonight, I was listening to the Canadian radio show “Q” on my local NPR affiliate. (Clearly, there weren’t children with me.) While I missed half the interview, it was with a lexicographer from the Oxford English Dictionary. I’m about to tell you something I learned from the program. Are you ready? Seriously, you might want to sit down for this news on your bootylicious derriere. Did you notice how I just slipped in the word “bootylicious”? Well, evidently, “bootylicious” is in the dictionary. Not only that, but it’s been in the dictionary for more than five years. Do any of you want to guess the origin of the word? Wrong! “Bootylicious” was not coined by Beyonce. It originated with Snoop Doggy Dogg in 1992: “Your bark was loud but your bite wasn’t vicious. And them rhymes you were kickin’ were quite bootylicious.” I am not sure how I feel about “bootylicious” appearing in the dictionary. On one hand, I’m sad for Western civilization. But, on the other hand, I’m pretty excited. If “bootylicious” made it in, I think some of the fantastic words that you guys have submitted to Mammalingo in the past year stand a chance. Success means not being satisfied until we get a made-up word into the Oxford English Dictionary. So, keep the words coming! P.S. Clearly, the Tumblr spellcheck team needs to invest in a newer copy of the dictionary. Tumblr spellcheck doesn’t recognize “bootylicious.” Fools!

I’m a bit stunned. Tonight, I was listening to the Canadian radio show “Q” on my local NPR affiliate. (Clearly, there weren’t children with me.) While I missed half the interview, it was with a lexicographer from the Oxford English Dictionary. I’m about to tell you something I learned from the program. Are you ready? Seriously, you might want to sit down for this news on your bootylicious derriere.

Did you notice how I just slipped in the word “bootylicious”? Well, evidently, “bootylicious” is in the dictionary. Not only that, but it’s been in the dictionary for more than five years. Do any of you want to guess the origin of the word? Wrong! “Bootylicious” was not coined by Beyonce. It originated with Snoop Doggy Dogg in 1992: “Your bark was loud but your bite wasn’t vicious. And them rhymes you were kickin’ were quite bootylicious.”

I am not sure how I feel about “bootylicious” appearing in the dictionary. On one hand, I’m sad for Western civilization. But, on the other hand, I’m pretty excited. If “bootylicious” made it in, I think some of the fantastic words that you guys have submitted to Mammalingo in the past year stand a chance. Success means not being satisfied until we get a made-up word into the Oxford English Dictionary. So, keep the words coming!

P.S. Clearly, the Tumblr spellcheck team needs to invest in a newer copy of the dictionary. Tumblr spellcheck doesn’t recognize “bootylicious.” Fools!

INTERREMINDER n. [Fr. interrupt + remind]: My five-year-old daughter recently coined the word. Example, “We always have to interreminder our teacher to use the purple marker.” Submitted by Tabitha and her daughter, Tovah. (Thanks, Tabitha and Tovah. Yes, we have interreminders in my house. There seem to be two themes: 1) They occur when I am on the phone. 2) They begin with, “You said…” Let’s say that I am on an important phone call. Imagine that one of my children is sick and I’m trying to schedule a doctor’s appointment. It is inevitable that one of my speaking children will interrupt. “You said we can have some Halloween candy.” “Shhh… Mommy’s on the phone.” Two seconds pass. “You said we can have some Halloween candy.” I repeat, louder, “Mommy’s on the phone.” ((I told you before, I speak in third person all the time to my kids. I am too annoying for words.)) One second passes. “You said we can have some Halloween candy.” That’s when I pull out my trademarked WHISPER-YELL and switch to first-person, “I AM ON THE PHONE. I NEED YOU TO BE QUIET. HALLOWEEN WAS SIX MONTHS AGO. THERE IS NO CANDY. I ATE IT ALL. I MEAN, THE CANDY WENT AWAY. AND IF YOU CAN’T BE QUIET, THERE WILL BE NO CANDY… EVER.”)

INTERREMINDER n. [Fr. interrupt + remind]: My five-year-old daughter recently coined the word. Example, “We always have to interreminder our teacher to use the purple marker.” Submitted by Tabitha and her daughter, Tovah.

(Thanks, Tabitha and Tovah. Yes, we have interreminders in my house. There seem to be two themes:

1) They occur when I am on the phone.

2) They begin with, “You said…”

Let’s say that I am on an important phone call. Imagine that one of my children is sick and I’m trying to schedule a doctor’s appointment. It is inevitable that one of my speaking children will interrupt. “You said we can have some Halloween candy.”

“Shhh… Mommy’s on the phone.”

Two seconds pass.

“You said we can have some Halloween candy.”

I repeat, louder, “Mommy’s on the phone.” ((I told you before, I speak in third person all the time to my kids. I am too annoying for words.))

One second passes.

“You said we can have some Halloween candy.”

That’s when I pull out my trademarked WHISPER-YELL and switch to first-person, “I AM ON THE PHONE. I NEED YOU TO BE QUIET. HALLOWEEN WAS SIX MONTHS AGO. THERE IS NO CANDY. I ATE IT ALL. I MEAN, THE CANDY WENT AWAY. AND IF YOU CAN’T BE QUIET, THERE WILL BE NO CANDY… EVER.”)

MOMIFORM n. [Fr. mom + uniform] The template for an outfit that you utilize every day, rarely changing any aspect of it too much. It works for you and so you repeat it over and over and over. (Submitted by Sara of Portland, Oregon who is the founder of the blog, Portland Sunshine.)There will be more words from Sara in the future, so come back early and often. I’m actually very happy that Sara sent this in. This word is incredibly appropriate for me. I do have just a couple of “momiforms” that I wear pretty much every day in the fall, winter and spring. 1) Black leggings, black boots, and a long shirt — no pattern with the exception of stripes. 2) Jeans, sneakers or boots, and a long shirt — no pattern with the exception of stripes or plaid. That’s it! Until Sara introduced me to this wonderful word, I’ve never admitted to myself (let alone publicly) that I may have a problem. Perhaps I am in a bit of a style rut? I feel like one of those women whose friends surprise them with a makeover on national television. (By the way, if anyone ever does this to me, I will kill them. So, consider yourself warned.) You know those women who end up on “Oprah” because they’ve had the same haircut for twenty years? Well… uh.. I’ve had the same haircut for about twenty years. (I cut it once, and I hated it.) I don’t know about changing the rest. I’m pretty comfortable in my style rut. What about you? Do you have a “momiform”? Have you changed your hair in the last 20 years?

MOMIFORM n. [Fr. mom + uniform] The template for an outfit that you utilize every day, rarely changing any aspect of it too much. It works for you and so you repeat it over and over and over. (Submitted by Sara of Portland, Oregon who is the founder of the blog, Portland Sunshine.)

There will be more words from Sara in the future, so come back early and often. I’m actually very happy that Sara sent this in. This word is incredibly appropriate for me. I do have just a couple of “momiforms” that I wear pretty much every day in the fall, winter and spring. 1) Black leggings, black boots, and a long shirt — no pattern with the exception of stripes. 2) Jeans, sneakers or boots, and a long shirt — no pattern with the exception of stripes or plaid. That’s it!

Until Sara introduced me to this wonderful word, I’ve never admitted to myself (let alone publicly) that I may have a problem. Perhaps I am in a bit of a style rut? I feel like one of those women whose friends surprise them with a makeover on national television. (By the way, if anyone ever does this to me, I will kill them. So, consider yourself warned.) You know those women who end up on “Oprah” because they’ve had the same haircut for twenty years? Well… uh.. I’ve had the same haircut for about twenty years. (I cut it once, and I hated it.) I don’t know about changing the rest. I’m pretty comfortable in my style rut. What about you? Do you have a “momiform”? Have you changed your hair in the last 20 years?

KIDPRESSION n. [Fr. impression + of kid] An impression of your child or an attempt to re-enact that cute thing your child did, when your child is not present. My husband and I replay anything adorable our daughter says or does for the other parent. “Honey, this morning I got out the toothbrush and she said, ‘Toofpays peeeese, mommy,’” or “She held her doll up after nap and said, ‘ba-bee dis hundree, eat beans!’” Now, I think this is perfectly acceptable in the privacy of our own home. We are trying to keep the other parent updated, and celebrate that our kid learning to talk is cuter than a baby bunny snuggling a penguin. Where it gets embarrassing is when we realize we are doing this at work and with our friends. Today my husband admitted that his boss asked him how he was doing and he replied, “I’m fine. This morning my baby came running up to me and said, ‘Daddy! Dis sunny o’side! Pee pee potty!’” He used a comically high voice, with wide eyes and a spot-on lisp. At work. To his boss. Submitted by Andrea of the Tumblr abecomingmotherhood. (Andrea, I love you. Oops. I mean, I love this. And, I just had to post this on a Monday morning because I assume that’s when most of these occur in offices and cubicles all over the country. “How was your weekend, Bob?” And then Bob launches into baby talk. Remember, friends don’t let friends do kidpressions in front of non-immediate family. And “baby bunny snuggling a penguin” will be the first entry in my new blog, This-Made-Up-Phrase-Is-Hysterical.)

KIDPRESSION n. [Fr. impression + of kid] An impression of your child or an attempt to re-enact that cute thing your child did, when your child is not present. My husband and I replay anything adorable our daughter says or does for the other parent. “Honey, this morning I got out the toothbrush and she said, ‘Toofpays peeeese, mommy,’” or “She held her doll up after nap and said, ‘ba-bee dis hundree, eat beans!’” Now, I think this is perfectly acceptable in the privacy of our own home. We are trying to keep the other parent updated, and celebrate that our kid learning to talk is cuter than a baby bunny snuggling a penguin. Where it gets embarrassing is when we realize we are doing this at work and with our friends. Today my husband admitted that his boss asked him how he was doing and he replied, “I’m fine. This morning my baby came running up to me and said, ‘Daddy! Dis sunny o’side! Pee pee potty!’” He used a comically high voice, with wide eyes and a spot-on lisp. At work. To his boss. Submitted by Andrea of the Tumblr abecomingmotherhood.

(Andrea, I love you. Oops. I mean, I love this. And, I just had to post this on a Monday morning because I assume that’s when most of these occur in offices and cubicles all over the country. “How was your weekend, Bob?” And then Bob launches into baby talk. Remember, friends don’t let friends do kidpressions in front of non-immediate family. And “baby bunny snuggling a penguin” will be the first entry in my new blog, This-Made-Up-Phrase-Is-Hysterical.)