I can't do it!

Yesterday afternoon we got some snow here in Baltimore and us and the kids had a chance to go outside and play. Unfortunately, Titus was cranky and kept getting frustrated. He'd try sledding & when he couldn't get down the hill he'd throw himself on the ground & shout "I can't do it!!!" Then he'd try something else, and when that was difficult he was back on the ground yelling "I can't do it!!!" He did manage to have some fun & even made a snowman with Kevin, but it was all with little bursts of "I can't do it!!!" mixed in.

Later that night I found myself frustrated from an evening full of inconveniences and when I couldn't get a large bowl into the dishwasher I found myself throwing my arms in the air and declaring "I can't do it!!!" I was in Titus's shoes. Something that should have been easy was giving me trouble, and that on top of everything else was just too much. I forget that the poor little guy has been moved across the world, is living in a different house, has lost his Grandpa, has started a new school, and deals with having a Mom who is too sick to do much lots of days. He's got every right to be pissed off when his sled won't go down the hill. I would be too!

Belly Jelly

Living with the Dingles, I am continuously getting exposed to new and different things. Today, that included taking Rebecca to her ultrasound appointment. This was my first time ever seeing an ultrasound, and it was pretty neat seeing the little bugger squirming around. After the appointment I told Rebecca there was one part that bothered me though: the doctor didn't wear a glove and when he left he shook our hands and got belly jelly on my hand. Rebecca thought it was hilarious that I referred to it as "belly jelly". I asked her what it was really called and she didn't have a better name for it. So, all you mothers out there, what on earth is that ultrasound belly jelly called?

Orange slices are off-limits & TV is a silent activity

Last night was an eventful night at the Adams-Dingle household. I had to add two new mandates to the rules of the house:

1. Orange slices (the candy) are now ONLY for Torrie & Rebecca. No men or children allowed.
2. Watching TV is a silent activity. No talking allowed!

The first mandate was because Ben brought me some orange slices on Tuesday & when I went to get one yesterday they were gone. Apparently Ben ate 1/3 of the bag, Kevin ate 1/3 of the bag, and they gave Meg & Titus the other 1/3 of the bag. And Rebecca & I got none. So, from now on, nobody is allowed to eat orange slices except for Rebecca & I. Kevin thought he could get around the rule by buying two bags (one for the men & one for the women), so I hid the women's bag to make sure the rule is successful.

The second mandate is one whose need has been growing slowly & yesterday it finally reached critical level. I'm accustomed to living alone. So I'm also accustomed to watching TV alone. Which means, I'm definitely NOT accustomed to people yapping during my TV shows. Apparently the Dingles are accustomed to the opposite, because they are frequent yappers. (Actually, Kevin is the one who likes to yap about things that have nothing to do with the show, and Rebecca is the one who likes to ask questions about the show, like I have some sort of supreme power that makes it so that I know more about what's going on even though I'm watching the exact same thing as her). Up until last night I had been fairly patient about it (thanks to my TiVo's ability to pause the show until they're done yapping). But last night, while I was trying to watch Grey's Anatomy, they were yapping so much that I had paused and backed up the same part of the show 5 times trying to figure out what was happening. That's when I lost it and put the second mandate into effect: No more yapping. No more questions. Watching TV is now a silent activity & anyone who can't adhere to that has to go upstairs.

Forget family-time. When I'm watching my TV shows, don't talk to me. If you want family-time conversation, wait until dinner.

On going potty...

The Pajama Diaries, by Terri Libenson. Jan. 11, 2008

The joy of "lovies"

In the Dingle family the kids have what they refer to as "lovies". Their lovies are comprised of all of their stuffed animals and blankies. One stuffed animal or blankie is referred to in the singular, "lovey". As in "Where is my George lovey?"

Titus is especially fond of his lovies, and let me tell you, that boy has a LOT of lovies. And apparently the lovies he has with him are only a fraction of what he owns. He's lovey obsessed!

Yesterday I got out my old pink stuffed bunny from when I was a little girl & told Titus that I had a lovey now too. He ran into my room to see it & came running back saying, "Aunt Torrie! You have a beautiful bunny lovey!!" It's so funny how excited this kid gets about lovies!

So, the joy of lovies is now filling my house and my heart. Although thankfully they're not filling my house too much because lovies are supposed to stay on beds.

On a side note, when I first started hearing all this lovey talk, it reminded me of how Mr. Howell used to call Mrs. Howell "lovey" on Gilligan's Island. After doing some research, it turns out the character's name was actually Mrs. Lovey Howell, so he was just calling her by her first name!

Oh TiVo, how you betray me

For anyone who has a TiVo, you know it's a life changing invention. It allows me to record my TV shows so I can watch them whenever I want and skip all the commercials. It also has this great feature where it suggests new shows based on the shows you already watch. I could always count on there being an endless supply of episodes of Friends, Seinfeld, Scrubs, House, and all my other favorite shows. That is, until the Dingles moved in. Now my TiVo Suggestions list is full of things like "Go, Diego, Go", "Dora the Explorer", "Denise Austin's Daily Workout", and "Yes, Dear". Apparently TiVo thinks I've become a stay-at-home mom. Next thing you know it will be recording spanish soap operas for me. I guess I'll have to start scheduling some of those shows instead of counting on my TiVo to know me well enough to record them for me.

What AdSense thinks of us

I added AdSense to this blog last week & have really gotten a kick out of the ads that have shown up. For those who aren't familiar with AdSense, it's an advertising tool provided by Google which looks at your web content for keywords and places advertisements that it thinks are relevant & that your readers may be interested in.

Here's what AdSense thinks "Living with Dingles" readers are interested in:

• How to Sleep More
• Prevent Dehydration
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Diarrhea
• Children Diarrhea
• "Is It Fresh or Spoiled?" sensor for meat & poultry

I guess that's what I get for posting about midnight screaming, hyperemesis, gas pains, refrigerator organization craziness, and the nasty word list; so I decided to just remove it altogether since it's not really posting anything worthwhile.

Fridge Organization

Today I got home & Rebecca informed me that she had organized my fridge and that the boys & I were not to mess it up again. She even did a walk through with Ben to make sure that we understood where everything goes.

Here's the new organization...

Mmmmm.... dinner

I have to say, despite all the craziness that happens around the house, the downright BEST thing about living with the Dingles is having dinner on the table when I get home from work. Almost every night when I get home Kevin has dinner on the table or almost on the table. Or (in the case of tonight) when I have to work late, he's going to save some leftovers for me. Life hasn't been this good since childhood, and I wasn't smart enough to appreciate it then. Now I just have to convince Ben that he should be in charge of dinner when the Dingles leave :)