Oh God...so funny

I mean, some of this is definitely accurate. But if "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden tells me how I feel about life, then, well, I'm not so sure I can go on.

LJ Friends Meme by coolerq

• You must tell 7 people about this game.
• Mark is the one that you love.
• Bob is one you like but can't work out.
• You care most about Mita.
• Arwen is the one who knows you very well.
• Amy is your lucky star.
• I Can See Clearly Now is the song that matches with Mark.
• Amazing Grace is the song for Bob.
• It Ain't Me Babe is the song that tells you most about YOUR mind.
• and The Trooper is the song telling you how you feel about life
Take this quiz

First word...yes, that is right, skeptics

Daisy said "cat" today. She really, really did. I have been totally conservative on the first word question, people: I did not count "dada" or "mama," which she has been saying for months, because I don't believe she knows what they mean. She does say "hi" and "hey" and I think she's aware it's a kind of greeting, but I didn't count that, either. (Oh, and she waves now--it's the cutest thing. She waves AFTER the person has left, and waves in the opposite direction, so they can't see her doing it. But she knows it's associated with a person's departure.)

But today was something completely different. She was looking at the cat and saying her word for "cat," which sometimes sounds like "gak," sometimes like "dat," and sometimes like "cah." I pointed to the cat and said, "cat." She was looking very deliberately into my eyes, and she repeated, "gak." I again pointed at the cat and said "cat." She kept looking back and forth between me and the cat and slowly and deliberately saying her "cat" word (gak, cah, dat). We went back and forth about TEN TIMES. It was amazing. She was concentrating hard and working on her pronunciation. Her pronunciation is still imperfect--of course. She is 9 months old. But I could see her grasping the concept that this guy who fascinates her (the cat) has a name. And she really was trying to say it!

Accent meme

What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Northern. Whether you have the world famous Inland North accent of the Great Lakes area, or the radio-friendly sound of upstate NY and western New England, your accent is what used to set the standard for American English pronunciation (not much anymore now that the Inland North sounds like it does).

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

We're going to start with "cot" and "caught." When you say those words do they sound the same or different?

Same Different Same, no wait I mean different, maybe, a little bit different...

Happy 9-month birthday, Daisy

Daisy is turning 9 months old tomorrow. Since things are feeling kind of sad and perplexing in life right now (I am thinking of the Virginia Tech shootings and other things in the headlines, but also of some sad stuff happening in my personal life), I wanted to write to my blog about something I feel happy about. I love being a mother. I love being Daisy's mama, specifically. Every day I feel that way more strongly. I have always been a person of ups and downs, and I have experienced times when I felt despair and wondered if I really had it in me to keep going. But for the first time I have this strong, sustaining core that tells me I'll never stop trying and that it will always be worth it. So, happy 9-month birthday, Daisy.

Well, that explains it

If you actually read this blog, then you know that I posted earlier that I had taken a free version of the Myers-Briggs test and it said I was an ISFJ. This surprised me, since I remembered taking the test in high school and being an INFP.

Well, I just took the ACTUAL Myers-Briggs test--the one you pay to take--and guess what? It says I'm an INFP. Guess I haven't changed that much after all.

Short and sweet--just what I need

I took this from Haddayr's blog. I like it because the rules allow for exactly the amount of energy I have right now: one word answers only.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse

2. Describe your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover? patient

3. Your hair? messy

4. Your mother? perky

5. Your father? commanding

6. Your favorite item? socks

7. Your dream last night? sleepless

8. Your favorite drink? lemonade

9. Your dream car? safe

10. The room you are in? warm

11. Your ex? original

12. Your fear? suffocation

13. What do you want to be in 10 years? confident

14. Who did you hang out with last night? friends

15. What you're not? malicious

16. The last thing you did? child-care

17. What are you wearing? outfit

18. Your favorite book? Victorian

19. The last thing you ate? Cheerios

20. Your mood? tired

21. Your friends? exciting

22. What are you thinking about right now? bed

23. Your car? dirty

24. What are you doing at the moment? obvious

25. Your summer? please!

26. Your relationship status? understanding

27. What is on your tv? nothing

28. When is the last time you laughed? 7:45

29. Last time you cried? forgotten

30. School? noooooooooooooooo!



Copy.
Paste.
Answer.
One.
Word.

See, this is why I'm superstitious

Last night I wrote a post about how well everything was going. I called it "Happy, but cautious." I tried to appease the gods by qualifying everything I said and by mentioning some of the negatives that were still happening in my life. Nevertheless, I was uncomfortable about the perky and upbeat nature of the post. Among other things, I mentioned that for the last three nights, Daisy had slept ten hours straight.

After a few hours of the post being up, the discomfort became unbearable. I went back online and deleted it (so, probably, nobody ever read it). But the damage was done. Not five minutes later, Daisy started wailing from her crib. It was about midnight. Mark and I tried rocking her back to sleep, three or four times each; every time, she went back to sleep easily, but woke up crying the second we put her back in her crib. Finally, we brought her to bed; I gave in and nursed her, which always works. She would STILL not go back to sleep. She wiggled and squirmed and fussed till 2 or 3 in the morning. She was awake again at 6. I have had almost no sleep.

So, you see, that perky, immodest post has cursed me, even though I deleted it. Either that, or the fact that we deviated from her bedtime routine last night cursed us. And I honestly don't know which option is worse. Is she so inflexible that an occasional change in her bedtime routine throws her completely off kilter?

Edifying

According to the version of the Myers-Briggs test I took yesterday, I am an ISFJ. I was surprised, because I remember taking this test in high school and being an INFP. I guess these categorizations are change-y.

Apparently, I share my personality type with the elder George Bush and Mother Theresa. I can't tell you how confused that makes me.

EDIT: I share this type also with Jerry Seinfeld, Kristi Yamaguchi, and President Taft. That's right: President TAFT. You're jealous, aren't you? Come on now, just admit it. In the world of fiction, my fellow ISFJs include, according to this site, Dr. Watson and Ophelia!

I always sensed there was a deep underlying connection between Jerry Seinfeld and Ophelia...and between Kristi Yamaguchi and Dr. Watson. Now I know why.

I found the test here:
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm

and the analysis of the types here, from Meghan's blog:
http://www.typelogic.com/isfj.html

What a great name!

I just conferenced with a student whose first name was "Dimple."

Unrelatedly, Daisy learned to clap yesterday. I believe it was from watching an older child in the playgroup we attended. Her clapping method is rather strange and awkward: she holds her left hand still and claps the right hand into it. Cute.

She was so into the clapping that it was hard to get her to go to sleep that night. As I rocked her, she sat there clapping and clapping and making noises of delight. Dear me.

Sandbox politics

I took Daisy to a playground today. She's been in the bucket swings before but that's it. Today I put her in the sandbox, and she was absolutely delighted. I think she could have sat there all day (and I mean "sat"-- she still does not crawl and seems perfectly content to sit, examining objects around her).

Daisy batted her eyes beguilingly at the three-year-old girl who approached her. "Uh-uh," said the girl, as Daisy reached for her shovel. "You already have a shovel." Daisy reached again for the shovel. "You already have a shovel!" the three-year-old repeated, more firmly. Then she looked at me and said, "She just doesn't know any better."

I suppose it could have been worse...much worse. But I still wanted to seize the girl's shovel and give it to Daisy. I'm going to have to work on that.