I wish I had a Kryptonite cross

I have come to a conclusion--I have a lot of health issues on the right side of my body. (Bear with me--I promise this will be a short paragraph.) You all know about the jaw pain, which I mentioned yesterday. I've also had problems with my ears all my life, but mostly with my right ear--there is a lot of scar tissue on the eardrum due to having so many infections as a child, which makes me hard of hearing in that ear. Then there's my migraines--almost always, they start and/or remain the most severe on the right side of my head. There's even smaller stuff, like warts--I have only a handful, but the majority are on the right side of my body (one on my hand and a few on my leg). I'm not sure what all this means--maybe it's the curse of being right-handed? I just thought it was interesting. To me, anyway. Tony wasn't impressed with the news, and I'm sure you're not either.

So, moving on to the Ari update... one thing that's been on my mind recently is her eating habits. She's been doing well with eating, and even with trying new foods, which is good. The other night, she happily gobbled up some fresh, steamed green beans--which surprised me, since she never really liked the green beans in baby food. Then again, fresh food always tastes better than canned. But it struck me the other day that, in a way, I am fully responsible for her eating habits. Yes, I know she can (and does) pick and choose what she will eat, but since I am the one preparing the food for her, much of the choice lies with me. Here is this little person who has no food addictions or weaknesses yet--at least, not ones as strong as mine. She isn't addicted to chocolate, she doesn't get cravings for McDonald's french fries, and she doesn't know what soda tastes like. So as her mother, it is my responsiblity to introduce her to healthy foods--to help her establish good eating habits and prepare her for a lifetime of good choices. If I wanted to, I could be one of those moms who only feeds her kids organic foods. Or I could ban all chips, soda and other junk foods. Or I could make her a vegetarian. I'm not getting all power-trippy or anything, because honestly, it's a sobering thought. She is this new little life--right now, her little body is untainted by excess sugars, caffeine, trans fats, and all those other evil ingredients that I stuff into my body. It's up to me to help her maintain her perfect health.

So this probably isn't a good time to mention that she had her first taste of pizza last night--and loved it.

Ari has decided she's scared of the vacuum cleaner. It never bothered her before, but Tony told me that the past couple times he's vacuumed (yes, my husband vacuums, regularly--jealous?), she's been freaked out. I had yet to witness this phenomenon... until last night. Tony pulled out the vacuum cleaner, and as he prepared it (unwrapping the cord, etc.), Ari began protesting. It's hard to describe--she wasn't crying or whining or even acting scared. It was more like she was indignantly telling him, "Hey Dad? I see what you're about to do, and I DON'T LIKE IT." I scooped her up in my arms right before he started. Yeah, yeah, I know--you're not supposed to coddle a child and affirm their fears, but, hey, I hadn't seen her all day, and I wanted to take advantage of a moment where I could cuddle my active little girl. The funny thing was, once he turned it on, she quieted down. She kept an eye on him, but stopped her complaining (maybe she figured he couldn't hear her anyway?). I held her close, nuzzled my nose against the side of her head, and sang the first song that popped into my head--"I Can Hear the Bells" from Hairspray. Once Tony was done, I put her down, and she waddled over to the vacuum cleaner, as though she had to check it out. She protested only a little more--as though she had to get in the final word (or maybe she was saying, "OK, you're done--put that crazy thing away NOW"). It was the funniest thing, though--the way she acted was unlike anything I've seen her do yet. It was as though she was insulted that we would dare disturb her peace and quiet with such an obnoxious machine (as though she's so silent herself).

We were driving somewhere the other day, and Ari was just chilling in her carseat. I have to say that so far, she is an excellent traveler--even on long trips. Tony glanced back at her, and then said to me, "I wonder if she ever gets bored back there." I pointed out that we often give her toys, but that she usually ends up tossing them aside. As a joke, I handed her a Reader's Digest--I opened it to a random page and placed it in her hands, expecting that she would mangle it and/or chew on it. But instead, she held it properly, and started babbling up a storm. But there was something different about the babbling--she was speaking in the kind of sing-song-y, light voice you use when you read a child a story.

Last night, I was reading her her bedtime story, and she did the same thing. She's always liked to grab at the pages, trying to turn them or close the book while I struggle to see the words past her giant head. But last night, even with her pacifier in her mouth, she started the same type of babbling--a light, airy tone, full of gentle ups and downs, as though she was mimicking my story-telling voice. I hope she loves reading as much as I do.

Speaking of reading, I think the Harry Potter book has renewed my hunger for reading. It's not that I stopped loving to read, but you know how it is--life gets in the way, and reading for pleasure drops low on the priority list because there's just no time. In fact, the only thing I was reading was magazines--and even then, they were starting to pile up, unread (we have way too many subscriptions). But since reading Harry Potter was such a priority for me, I found that I was making time to read it--sure, maybe I was staying up too late at night, but the point is, I made time, and once I was done, I wanted more. Not more Harry Potter, necessarily--just more reading. It was like I suddenly realized how much I missed it. So I jumped right into a new book--a piece of Christian fiction by Ted Dekker, titled Three. I just finished it last night, and am debating what to start next. Mary lent me a copy of The Memory Keeper's Daughter, which I've heard is good, so I'll probably start on that next, just so I can get it back to her as soon as possible.

I know several of you love to read as much or more than I do. So here's your chance to spread the love--any good book recommendations for me? I'll read just about anything, so go crazy.

What's that? You want a book recommendation from me first? Fine... here's one of my all-time favorites. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Yes, the book the movie is based on. If you loved the movie, you'll love the book even more. As cliche as it sounds, it's true--the book is so much better.

Your turn.

What's that again? All right, relax--I didn't forget...

Jack Handey QOTD:

I wish I had a Kryptonite cross, because then you could keep both Dracula AND Superman away.