The Orange Rhino Challenge

I'm sure you've all heard of The Orange Rhino. If not then she's a mom who one day after she was overheard yelling at her kids, decided to go 365 w/o yelling and she blogged about her experience.

Her book just came out, Yell Less, Love More and I bought a copy and joined her 30 day challenge of no yelling. Its in the form of a book club in that she assigns a topic and a short section to read then she has a forum on her website www.theorangerhino.com.

It just started in Friday and I had a minor set back already on Saturday but it is helping me to be conscious of trying not to yell. I'm catching myself quicker, realizing my triggers and not letting them make me yell and I've told a few people about it, I've reached out for support.

For me yelling had gotten out of control in our house. It wasn't just me doing the yelling. C was yelling at A who was pretty much yelling all the time. I've told my kids it's ok to be mad, it's ok to be angry, but it's not ok to yell or hit. What kind of example was I setting?

I made the decision to do something about it and the next day I saw on Facebook that The Orange Rhino was doing this challenge. It was just what I needed! I was planning to buy the book anyway. There are so many parents who can benefit from this. The forum is a great place to read about other parents faced with the same problems and are wanting to find different ways to handle their various situations instead of yelling.

The challenge encourages you to reach out to friends and family to find that support you need and to hold you accountable. I've told my husband about the challenge but he's not too supportive right now, it's still early days. And I've told 2 friends. Friends I can count on when I call or text saying "I'm gonna lose it! Remind me to redirect my anger!"

I'm excited about this challenge. I've been needing a change in my life in more ways than one. This is just the beginning of what I hope will be an improved me!

Vomit and Hello Kitty

I'm a sympathetic vomiter. If I see, hear, smell someone throw up, chances are I'm joining them. Doesn't matter if it's an adult, child, or animal. Most of my family is this way. My brother has a hard time making it through a diaper change of the #2 kind. (I've witnessed this first hand. He's not faking to get out of it.)

Whenever our dog gets sick he always throws up twice. It's a guarantee. He makes a pretty obvious noise too to let you know it's coming. That's your cue to either shove something under his face to catch it, or drag him off a carpeted area. 

We had our first round of child sickness this past week. A ran a fever last Wednesday and threw up first thing the next morning. After she'd had her milk of course. Thank goodness Hubby was home to clean it up. 

This was the first time A has been throw up sick. She's old enough to know its about to happen but not old enough to know she needs to tell us or run to the bathroom. Every time she would cry and just go limp before bending at the waist and letting it go. 

Hubby and I went out Thursday night. A threw up first thing that morning, kept some toast and soup down all day, wasn't running a fever, and was acting like herself. The babysitters were here, Hubby and I had just finished getting dressed and I was settling down to nurse Baby C one last time. 

I heard A cry and Hubby tell her to get in the bathroom. Another spot on the carpet. And she'd had carrots for lunch too. 

She still didn't have a fever and the babysitters weren't scared away so Hubby and I left as planned. After we got home and were getting ready for bed, we hear A crying in her room. She'd thrown up again. All over her pillow and baby doll. 

We quickly replaced the pillow and pajamas, wiped her face and hands, rinsed out her mouth and tucked her back in bed. 

3 hours later, more crying, this time from the bathroom. She'd gotten out of bed and headed in the right direction but was too late. It was on her bed and trailed on the floor. 

Surprisingly none got in her pajamas. Hubby got another warm rag while I assessed the sheets. They needed to be replaced. 

Did I mention A and C share a room? So there was no turning on the lights. I was using a small nightlight on their bookcase but it wasn't cutting it anymore. I spotted a small flashlight on the dresser and flicked it on. This made changing the sheets a breeze, no small feat on a bunk bed, and she was settled back in bed. 

It wasn't until I was leaving the room and I placed the flashlight back on the dresser that I noticed it was A's Hello Kitty flashlight from Halloween last year. 

Thanks Hello Kitty for being the shining light to help me clean up vomit.