Meredith Duncan tried not to yell for two months!!

So I am such a slacker and totally forgot to post my project last month. But it worked out ok because it turns out this was a goal that I needed to focus on for two months. So just like Sharon Thacker, my March goal was to not yell at my kids for 30 days. I too had read an overview of this lady's blog  www.theorangerhino.com, who had committed to not yelling at her kids for a whole year. A couple things that she said stuck out in my mind. The first thing that rang true is that when she yelled, it was often because she was struggling with something herself; a fight with her husband, a long to-do list, or that time of the month. She realized her "personal triggers" had nothing to do with the kids behaving badly. Another thing she said was that when she yelled, she missed out on some incredible moments with her children.

I never really thought of myself as a big yeller. Yes, there are times when I loose it and think, wow, I just yelled loud. But for the most part I thought I was pretty calm, ha ha. If I am frustrated at my children or need them to do something I use a loud "stern voice". One day I was listening to my three oldest children talking to each other (not very nicely) and realized they used several of the same phrases I use to talk to them and in the same tone!!! Ahhh, is that really what I sound like? If so, I am not nice, and I yell!!

Also, my two year old started talking a lot lately, well, it has been a lot of yelling really. This is new to me and quite upsetting. Never have I had such an aggressive toddler yell like he does, at everybody!! He is such a copy cat that I thought he is yelling at everyone because we all yell at him. So after reading this blog and analyzing my children's behavior, I realized that I needed to focus on not only minimizing my yelling but also my "stern" talking.

When I told my husband about my goal he said that he thought all children needed some rash talking too or else they don't know that we mean business. He said that if I was not going to yell, he would have to yell twice as much to get our kids to do anything. You see, our kids don't do anything unless you ask them nicely two times and then yell the third time. Luckily I came across this article that gave me a few ideas. 10 ways to stop yelling . 

March started out pretty good. I quickly figured out my trigger points which are:  when ever I am using electronics, the witching hours between 4:00-6:00 p.m., Sunday mornings, and basically anytime we have a deadline, or when the kids are whining, or when they won't go to bed. I mentally prepared in advance for these triggers and committed to staying calm. For the most part it went o.k. Mostly what would happen is I would start out yelling and realize what I was doing and then I would try to finish the sentence calmly. There were several times when I completely failed. All in all I thought the month of March was at least a definite improvement.

The morning of April 3rd was a completely different story, however. My two oldest were getting ready for school and could not, despite my asking nicely, stop teasing each other. I lost it and yelled at them, for a long time. It was bad. That is when I decided I better continue my goal for another month. April was not perfect but at least I was more aware of the yelling. I know my children appreciated the "not yelling all the time" mom too. In return, I could tell that they were really trying not to yell at each other (yeah). And I will never forget the look on my two years old's face when I yelled at him for the first time after trying not to yell for several weeks. That sad, hurt look was enough to break my heart and make me commit even more. I am glad that I set this as a goal and I am going to continue to focus on minimizing my yelling. I want my home to be full of love and I know yelling ruins that.

Who could yell at this face?

My Cute Clan, Easter Morning (a somewhat yell free morning)

Meredith Duncan February Remodel Bathroom

For my February goal I decided to remodel the kids bathroom. In January my husband ripped out the linoleum and replaced it with tile. It turned out great, I love it. So while the bathroom was in construction mode I decided to just finish the remodel. I wanted to put up bead board, paint, stain the cabinet and frame the mirror. I thought this would be easy enough and small enough that I could get it done in one month. Ha, not so. At least not in a short month with two birthdays, an anniversary, Valentines, four kids which all want to help, a tired husband....that list goes on and really they are all just excuses. But I am proud of what I did get done so far.

Here are my before picture:

So my first step was putting up the bead board. I only put it half way up the wall and behind the toilet. I mostly just managed this part of the project which means I told my husband what to do and where to cut and held the board up while he used the nail gun. It was still fun, I'm pretty good and telling him what to do.

Next I painted. I am determined to make this project as cheap as possible so I used some left over paint from painting my baby's room last year. It turned out just perfect and I am amazed at how paint can look different from room to room. I found a great light fixture for $30.00 and again managed (watched) as my husband put it up. 

That is as far as I got. My next step is to re stain the cabinets and then frame the mirror. I did get a new shower curtain though and I am dreaming of the day that this bathroom will be put back together again. I will keep you posted.

 March goal: no yelling for 30 days. Yikes.

Meredith Duncan, January, organize and create piano curriculum

Hello all, my name is Meredith Duncan. I live in West Jordan, Utah in Nora's old neighborhood. I have four children; Makaylee (10), Noah (7), Morgan (4), and Luke (1), and a wonderful husband Matt. I am a stay at home mom and I love it!! I hate cooking but I do it because I am a stay at home mom. I love music, shopping, running, eating, and hanging with my fam.

The Duncan Clan

I met Nora about 5 years ago when I was walking my oldest daughter to Kindergarten. I actually had met her once before briefly at church. We met real quickly in passing for about two seconds but apparently that warranted a friendship because as I was walking my daughter to school I heard someone come up behind me on her bike (kids in pull) and say "hello friend".  A couple weeks later she invited me to come to a fireside with her. On our way home she was telling me that she once was a counselor at Oakcrest Girls Camp and then she proceeded to sing the "Chicken" song complete with leg kicking actions all while she was driving. It was then that I knew I wanted to be friends with this crazy, fun-loving chick. We started running together and then she convinced me that Triathlons are fun. So we trained one Spring together. A couple years later we trained and ran the Ogden Half Marathon. I miss our "confessional" early morning runs. P.S. it was on one of our early morning runs that she told me all about this "Projects Connect" idea that she wanted to construct. What a great idea! So glad she followed through. :)


My goal for January was to organize, compile and come up with some type of set curriculum for my growing piano studio. I started teaching piano a little over a year ago when my neighbor down the street asked me to teach her son. At first I was a little apprehensive because it had been years, really decades, since I considered myself a good piano player. Although I took piano lessons for 12 years, other things in my life (work, husband, kids) had taken a front seat to sitting down and actually practicing playing. It was my calling as Primary Chorister three years ago that reminded me of my great love for music. This calling also gave me a new found love for teaching music. So when my friend asked me to teach piano I thought "sure, why not". As I started teaching I soon realized, "hey, I know this stuff, I can do this." So I brushed up on a few terms and concepts, blew the dust off some of my old pieces and started playing again. I actually love, love, love, teaching. I love playing the piano so I guess it is no surprise that I love to teach it as well. Needless to say, now I have 14 students and I am so excited!! I love 3:00 in the afternoon because I know students are coming and I get to spend the next hour involved in piano (and get paid for it).

A cherished gift from my wonderful Husband for Mother's Day

This month my goal was to organize my studio (I love that word, it sounds so official) a little more. The first thing I knew that I wanted to set up and start doing was a group lesson once a month. So I organized and held my first lesson the last week of January. In this group lesson we began with each student playing a piece for everyone else. Then the rest of the hour we spent going over note reading and playing two games that gave us all note recognition practice. I must say this was really fun and I thought it was very successful. I hope my students all felt the same way. I have so many more fun ideas for these group lessons.

First Group Lesson (don't they look like they are having fun)

Next I knew that I wanted to schedule a recital.  Boom, done. June 19th, 2014 5:00, Daynes Music Recital Hall.You are all invited to come. Now the fun part is picking out pieces and helping the students get ready.

The last thing and the hardest thing I wanted to do was set up a curriculum for finger exercises and theory work.  90% of my students have had one or more teachers prior to me. They all came from different lesson modules and levels. For the most part, we have been able to pick up from where they left off and try to fill in or concentrate on what they did not know. But because there are a few different systems going on, and me being a planner and a little of a control freak, I wanted to bring it all together and have some type of system or plan. I am not sure if I want to follow one specific series (Faber, Alfred, etc.) or create one of my own incorporating everything. I really like the "A Dozen A Day" finger exercises but I know I need more. Anyways, this part of my goal is still a work in progress. I thought I would be able to create one in a month but it looks as if it might take longer. I know that a lot of you are piano teachers or piano players, so please any feed back from you is greatly appreciated. What works best for you?

My next month's goal is to paint and remodel, to a small degree, the children's bathroom. Whew, better get started.

Meredith Duncan's Goals & Projects for 2014

January - organize and set up a system/curriculum for teaching piano.

February - Facelift bathrooms (ie paint cabinets, walls)

March - No yelling for 30 days, yikes.

April - Be consistent with Family Home Evenings

May -

June - Paint garage door and design shutters

July - organize with my sistas the Skola reunion

August.

September

October. - run first marathon

November

Dececember