I Will Never Look at the Color Orange The Same Again!

This guest post is part of the “Yell Less, Love More” Book Blog Tour. I am honored to have Carrie write this and impressed with her courage to share her story. Thanks Carrie!

I WILL NEVER LOOK AT THE COLOR ORANGE THE SAME WAY AGAIN!
by Carrie G.

Yelling was just a common occurrence growing up. I guess I never thought that much about it until I had children of my own. When I had my children, I told myself I would raise them differently then I was raised. I would do better in all the areas my parents struggled, like not yelling at my children. Then the stresses of daily life happen and you find yourself falling into some of those same parenting patterns. You do what you know until you know better. I have yelled at my children and afterword felt frustrated and sad. Shortly after an outburst I would apologize, but my guilty feelings would still be there. This was a part of my childhood I didn’t want my two boys to experience.

It was February 2013 when I first stumbled upon “The Orange Rhino 30 Day Challenge to Yell Less and Love More” blog. I was making my usual rounds on Pinterest and saw a bright orange rhino with little pink birds resting on it’s back. It was definitely the color of the pin that first caught my eye. After visiting the blog and reading posts about the upcoming challenge, I thought I am up for this challenge. So later that week I signed up for the 30 day challenge. The first few days of the challenge were enlightening. I was learning about myself, what triggered my yelling, and tips to help me not to yell. I started becoming mindful of these triggers and how my occasional outbursts affected my children.

The challenge was going rather well until day 22. I just lost it and yelled. I know what triggered my yelling, little sleep the night before and a lot of “kids being kids”. I can’t remember what I even yelled about, but I knew how awful I felt looking at my teary-eyed boys. It wasn’t their fault I was tired.

 Later that evening, I visited The Orange Rhino blog. I wanted to say thank you to “The Orange Rhino” for her encouraging words and great ideas. I wanted to ask her if I should restart the 30 day challenge, because I felt like I failed. So I emailed her and told her about my slip and how horrible I felt. How I so badly wanted to not yell anymore. Never did I expect to see an email from “The Orange Rhino” the next day. Sheila wrote this great email to me encouraging me to keep going.
Here is a snippet of what it said:

“Please know that you are not alone and that you are doing awesome. The mere fact that you are aware and want to change is HUGE. So many people don’t ever get to that point. It takes courage. Good for you, truly. I hope today and tomorrow are going better. Take it one moment at a time, that is all we can do. You will get there because you care and are determined. I can tell.”

Her kind words and knowing that I wasn’t being judged, but instead encouraged to keep trying is why I know Sheila McCraith’s book, ” Yell Less, Love More” can help anyone. It’s a wonderful, relatable parenting book with real stories from a real mother who struggled with her own yelling issues.

What I love about McCraith’s book:

** This is a real person’s experience with honest stories that took courage to disclose to others. McCraith shares her worse moments with you and it helps you know you are not alone.

** “Yell Less, Love More” is loaded with so many tips and ideas that can be adapted to fit any family.

** I love how McCraith intertwines her stories and advice with logic and humor… We all need a little humor.

** McCraith’s book has a lot of great advice packed into a little more than 200 pages… Good for anyone short on time.

No one can predict what each day has in store. Everyday I do my best to not yell. Some days are more challenging than others. “Yell Less, Love More” has helped me tremendously and I know it can help anyone who wants to be an even better parent.

One of my favorite revelations from “Yell Less, Love More”:

“Being an Orange Rhino isn’t about perfection; it’s about yelling less and loving more, one moment at a time, so that there are more loving moments in a child’s life than angry moments, so that the scale is tipped heavily toward love.” 

I think that quote says it all!

Thank you Sheila McCraith a.k.a The Orange Rhino!
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Thank you Carrie! For anyone who wants to pre-order the book so that you can participate in our “Yell Less, Love More” 30-Day Challenge Book Club (details here), you can do so here. Also, anyone who comments about this post on Facebook will be entered for a free copy of my book!