MA Update

I am a yeller. I realize I get this from my youth. We yelled a lot in our house. Not necessarily argumentatively, but just yelled a lot in general; "Cynthia, phoooooooooooonnnne!," "Get the dooooooooooooorrrrrrrr!," and "Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?" Were a few common yells. If you wanted someone's attention and they were in a different room or different floor of the house, you just yelled for them instead of walking to them and politely saying "excuse me...." Anyway, it's prepared me for being one of those mothers who just can't help yelling. I've tried counting. I've tried leaving the room. I've tried umpteen things recommended in baby and child rearing books. But they just don't seem to work for me. I feel like I am a terrible yelling person. I never wanted to be one of "those moms," and I am afraid that that is exactly what I am turning into... One of those fierce yelling moms. Why can dads just say one thing one time and it's done? Why can't a mother hold that sort of authority? I wonder for stay at home dads, if its the other way around, or if its just that power in a man's voice that makes a kid jump when dad says jump. Maybe we should all start off with stay at home dads, let the moms gain that sort of auhority and then one day, poof, moms stay at home and all is well and good. I wonder if that would work.
But, so much for wishful thinking. It doesn't make me feel any better about my yelling situation. I guess I will have to just keep on praying for sanity in my little life and learn how to eventually keep my volume down. I'm surprised the beighbors haven't said anything. (Our houses are only 7.5 feet apart, you know.) Maybe because they have little ones too, they know what I am yelling about.

Today wasn't a great day. Not a terrible day either, though. We ate, showered, got dressed, ate some more, played a bit, my neighbor and her kids came over and we had a good few hours of deep conversation, interrupted, of course, by the children who have a hard time staying upstairs in the playroom (which I don't mind, really, but it would be nice to have a normal conversation without having to get someone juice or wipe someone's rear). Then we made meatball stroganoff(a pretty good recipe. Not to-die-for or anything, but easy and tasty. Missing something though. Can't figure out what, so we just throw some parmesan on top and it tastes not-so-lacking.) And, yes, mom, we all touched the meat again. You'd be so proud. Anyway, that's enough complaining for one day. Please pray that I can learn not to yell... to get my point across without becoming a screaming raging lunatic. Thanks.