Making Family Time Special for Everyone

Tonight we held our 1st Family Appreciation Night   of 2013! We have a running notebook in the kitchen where family members can write ideas/comments/suggestions between FANs, and the little ones are asked about once a week if there is anything they want us to write down for them. The notebook is also there to remind everyone what we discussed at the last Night. 

from www.formulamom.com

It had been brought to our attention, by Spiderman, that we yell too much. (insert sheepish expression) As you all know I've written several times about how my one... ok, I'm sure I have more than one... but my primary vice is yelling. You can find some of my rants HERE and HERE. So, we fully unveiled the The Orange Rhino Challenge tonight! 365 Days of NO YELLING. 

from www.theorangerhino.com

* First, we have to track our yelling for 3- 4 days. I printed off the tracker example and actual tracker PDF HERE

 

* Then, I equipped all of us with age appropriate non-yelling responses/reactions. Hubby & I got the 100 Alternatives to Yelling, which will all be found in a jar and we can pick one every time we are on the verge of yelling. 

* Spiderman, Baby A, and Baby B (just for fun) all got their own rhinos. These are for them to squeeze if they are angry or upset, or to hold up if they feel someone else needs a respectful reminder. 

* ORANGE is our other reminder. There will be some orange rhino pics, like the one above, placed around the house to remind ALL Of us to be calm, present, and respectful at all times. 

Additionally, we strove to complete our 10 house rules, which will eventually become our Family Mission Statement . We added to our previous list and we so far have 6 of our 10. We will work on it until everyone feels satisfied: 

1. No yelling. 

2. Be respectful. 

3. No last minute plans or changes. 

4. Chores- we work as a team, everyone does their part. 

5. Listen to others. 

6. Hug everyday

Sissy & Spiderman last year, making Christmas cookies <3

Now some of you won't care to delve this far into our family life ;), but for those of you that want to institute a Family Appreciation Night of your own, the point of our FAN is to be FUN! Tonight was Valentine themed; so everyone got a little treat, we had hot cocoa with heart shaped marshmallows, and we made Valentines for each other. Everyone had their own printable (I just googled 'valentine printables'. easy and FREE) and had to write why they loved the other person. Each person did one for every member of the family. 

from Vday <3

made tonight, all together. and the mask is one example of the "treats" the kids got. We do NOT use candy. You could use whatever works best for your own family ;)

I think they had FUN! <3 

Then everyone had a section of this canvas, and I taped off LOVE. This is what we have so far, I will post the finished product tomorrow, once it's dry and I've had time to spruce it up with every one's name and a Sharpie!

this is the BEFORE. The AFTER I will post tomorrow when complete ;)

This will be hung above our family rules in the living room once they are complete <3 

We always try to enjoy some fun treats, so I totally forgot our new gluten free menu and grabbed a frozen organic pizza and the heart shaped marshmallows for the hot chocolate! 

The Last order of business was for our teenager, Sissy. That will be posted separately for those interested in the following post: iPhone vs the World. Enjoy! 

What do YOU do to make family moments special? Do YOU have a family mission statement? What helps you develop family bonds? Please share below, or via Twitter, Facebook , or Pinterest @mymackey.