Parenting on Empty
The other day as my boys and I drove up north to visit my family, we saw a car on the side of the road getting serviced by a tow-truck. “Why is that car stopped mommy?” Asked my increasingly inquisitive four-year-old. “He probably has no gas. That’s what happens when you have no gas you […]
Wishes For My Babies
I remember so very clearly the beautiful October day my husband and I left Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina with our first son. The sky was bright blue with pure white wispy clouds. Some of the trees had just started changing color and those red, yellow and orange leaves shone gorgeously under the […]
“I Can Do This.”
Well, I did it. Yesterday I woke up and thought, “today, today is the day I am going to conquer my current trigger (my weight)” and I did. Just like that. Snap of the fingers, ya know? Super duper easy. Or easy peasy as my seven year old would say. Ha! As if! The day […]
{sometimes} My Weight Makes Me Want to Yell
My weight is up right now and boy does it have me down. Now, my weight being up is not a new thing to me; I have struggled with my weight and body image issues for at least fifteen years. (Okay, that was kind. I think since I was fifteen is more like it.) Anyway, […]
What Does That Have to Do With Yelling?
Since May, I have wanted to write about my five year old’s birthday and how proud I am of his growth this year; how proud I am of him for wanting a cooking party even though he thought boys might make fun of him; how proud I am of him for his social progress making […]
Learning to Let Go
So, I kind of hold onto any tangible thing associated with a good memory that I can…and I kind of always have! In fact I think I can trace it back to age 10. Around then, I received a corkboard from my parents and I immediately started covering it with every single memento possible. Glittery […]
I Yelled At My Boys.
520 days of loving more, yelling less I have a confession. On Friday July 12, 2013, after 520 days of The Orange Rhino Challenge, my public promise to not yell at my boys, I yelled. Big Time. Yes, I, The Orange Rhino, yelled at my four boys. There was no question if it was maybe […]
Was Yelling at me Really Necessary?
You all know that I have never made a mistake in my life, right? And that I am perfect? Nope, I have never put red socks in with my husband’s white undershirts, dying them pink. Nope, I have never accused one child of doing something when it was another, causing a major uproar in the […]
Saying “Quiet!” without Yelling “QUIET!”
Dear Orange Rhinos, As to be expected, I am always looking for new alternatives to yelling. Always. And then I received this email from Orange Rhino Shannon and I fell in love with the alternative. You see, my boys are all in to “top secret codes.” My oldest son has a top secret word he […]
NEW! Private Orange Rhino Forum for Discussing Yelling
Okay, what am I so excited to share tonight? Am I pregnant? Nope. Did I win a million dollars? Nope. Do I have a new Orange Rhino resource to share with you that meets lots of needs people have shared and that I think has the potential to be outright incredibly awesome? Yes! Yes! Yes! […]