Things overheard

Because the Dingles live on the second floor, I overhear a lot of the activity that happens up there. Usually I only hear footsteps and the sounds of people talking (but can't make out the words), except for in the morning when I swear Meg talks 20 times louder than usual.

Here are some things I've overheard lately:

This morning, from Meg: God said to Elmo...
This happened about 40 minutes ago and I'm still trying to figure out if she was reading a bible story & I misheard, or is there really a religious book involving Elmo? I mean really, God said to Elmo????

One morning, on the way out the door, from Meg to Kevin [as one long whine]: Daddy, why are you making that mad face at me? You're hurting my feelings! You're hurting my feelings, Daddy! My feelings are going to be hurt FOREVER!!!

Last week I overheard two sets of little feet dancing around in the kids room, when suddenly the dancing stopped and I hear Meg: Mommy!! I was just sitting here and Titus pushed me over!!

Tuesday night was the following progression:
1. Someone running from one room to another
2. Rebecca pounding on the floor (that's her way of telling Kevin to get upstairs)
3. Kevin running upstairs
4. Running here, running there, running everywhere
5. The bathtub running
6. The faint smell of puke
At which point I figured out that somebody had puked. It honestly could have been any of them, but I put my money on Meg & went upstairs to check it out. Turns out it was Titus - thankfully there was nobody around for me to actually lose that bet to.

And last, but not least, the sounds I typically hear every morning:
WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! blah blah blah... But I don't want... whine whine whine... MWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! Titus [insert tattle here] whine whine whine blah blah blah

I don't like this preview!

Since the day they moved in, it's been abundantly clear that Meg & Titus don't understand the difference between watching a DVD and watching TV. In fact, they have seemed to be completely confused by the concept of TV. This shows in a number of ways:

1. During a scary commercial they'll often say "I don't like this preview! Skip it, Aunt Torrie, please, skip it!! Skip this preview, it's scary!" - and they really don't like when I tell them there's nothing I can do about it.
   
2. After a show is over - "Can you put that movie on again?"
3. During a commercial they like - "I want to watch THAT movie!"
4. My favorite... when they first moved in and a TV show would hit a commercial break, they would run to get an adult because "Something happened to the movie! Help!"

They still get a little confused and I don't think they have the whole concept down yet, but thankfully after hours and hours of the Disney channel they seem to understand TV a little better now ;)

Smells like home

This week has been the best week of living with the Dingles since they moved in. For one reason and one reason alone... when I come home, my house doesn't smell like poo anymore!! That's right, Titus is finally potty trained. No more dirty diapers! No more slap-you-in-the-face stink as soon as I walk in the door. Now, the Dingles will say I'm exaggerating - they never smelled the poo smell that I insisted was there. But I say they just got used to it (which is disturbing on a whole different level) and that's why they didn't smell it.

Regardless, no more poo smell makes for one happy Aunt Torrie!

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