I moved in to the street about 5 weeks ago. I brought 3 kids, a husband and a dog with me.
We’re not a quiet family. No one watches tv quietly or speaks to each other in quiet voices. We’re loud, boisterous and lively. I wasn’t sure how this was going to go down…
Next to us is a family with 3 boys also and their Dad works in the Army, so they are no stranger to the loud voice. However, their loud voice comes from their Dad, not their Mum. They didn’t watch The Block (shame on them!), so they don’t ‘know‘ me. This is good because there is no weirdness and no questions.
Across the road is another family with 3 boys. I knew them before we moved here. We have children in the same class at school. We’ve had a few conversations before. Loveliest people. But I’ve not heard them yelling yet.
Next to that house is a young family with one little boy. Her house is quiet. She watched the tv show and was hysterical when I moved in. Ha! It was funny. She has hundreds of questions. Lovely girl. 
Ok, so now can you see we have 10 boys in 3 houses.
It can be chaos when they all want to play.
So, I’m a yeller. I’m loud. The sound guys when I was on The Block had my sound low or I would burst their ear drums. They’d say “who has Katrina? Ok, turn it down.” I talk loud and so do my kids.
The kids in the street want to ride bikes and scooters outside every afternoon with the neighbours. This is fine, but I do have to watch them. Some days I don’t want to so this can make my yelling voice louder when I’m in a cranky mood and wish they’d just watch tv. Plus I am a nervous person, so just watching them all play on the road makes me yell a lot. Our street is not busy, but people are returning from work around the time they want to play.
I yell from the front door about putting helmets on, changing your shoes, stop punching or I scream “CAR!”. I do apologise to the neighbours for my yelling, but they all just nervously giggle. I think they are scared of me. I realised that my yelling is probably a bit full-on when I was across the road talking to one of the neighbours and this happened (all in yelling voices):
Chevy: Muuuummmmm!!!
Me: I’m across the road!
Chevy: Come here!
Me: I’m talking!
Chevy: I need you!
Me: Just get a t-shirt out of the cupboard, you’re not a baby!
Neighbour: (laughing) Wow, and it’s only Monday!
Hahaha, that was my normal voice. Not an exhausted voice. Not an angry voice. Just my normal loud voice.
I’ve decided that from now on when I’m outside I will not yell, or screech or holler. I will practice my library voice at all times. I will not scare the neighbours and I will be angelic.
Are you a yeller?
LOL I’m a yeller !! I WAS a quiet child / teenager, then I had 4 boys…..so yep I’m now a yeller
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Our neighbours are yellers.
They just don’t seem to be able to move into the same room as each other to have a conversation. Delightful neighbours, lovely people,the noise isn’t an argument unless it;s the kids bedtime, but they do like to yell
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Hi Katrina
That is super funny. As a mother of boys I must confess I yell too much too. There could be worse things in life and my boys are certainly not scarred by my yelling. Maybe earmuffs for your new neighbours for Christmas would be kind .
Please please please check out my blog, I have some feathers featured today ( I know you are a feather girl !!!) I hope you enjoy.
Happy Yelling Shell ( A Darlings Nest)
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Yeap I’m a yeller !! I’m sure my neighbours all think “oh God here she goes again!” Plus I do have a loud voice to begin with …
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I grew up as the only girl with 5 brothers- I had to learn to be a yeller to be heard.
As a mother, being an experienced yeller is a much needed skill
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I’m a yeller. I have a bad habit of standing at the front door and yelling out to the kids when it’s time for them to come in for dinner. I think my normal voice is loud too. But I blame it on my family for not listening when I talk quietly.
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I am too a loud person i just thank god all around me work or are retired and constantly useing mowers hedge trimmers and other tools lol mornings are the worst i am sure my kids ears are painted on………
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Katrina Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
That’s what I need! Background noise when I’m yelling haha!
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I find this hilarious!! =) I’m always wondering what the neighbours think, apologising to them in the street for my noisy boys and my very loud voice.
We moved in 12 months ago, also have lovely neighbours surrounding us! (Thank goodness!!)
On one side, 2x single young guys – no kids. On the other side, single mum with 2x grown up girls. Mmm.. lucky we have another family with kids across the road!
Thankfully they are used to Hurricane Preston that rolled in 12 months ago and still love us =)
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My voice isn’t really loud, but it’s so high pitched I’m surprised windows don’t break around me!
I’m always shocked when I hear myself on video but my family says I always sound like that
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Katrina Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
I got a rude shock too when I first heard my own voice on tv. Apparently I’m very bogan
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I’m not a yeller, but a bit loud in general, especially with a couple of wines in the system. And definitely a loud laugher. This I realised when my neighbour told me I woke her at 1am one night when we had friends over and were sitting outside. She had slept through our music and everyone else’s voices, and she only heard me roaring with laughter and talking loudly.
I say be loud and proud. Just not next door to me
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I have 2 loud boys who also suffer from “selective hearing” and though I usually start in a “normal” tone, no one seems (chooses) to hear me until I YELL. I am not a loud person by nature and there are days where I get tired of hearing my own voice…None of our neighbors have kids so I do worry sometimes about the noise eminating from our house and have been known to run around shutting doors and windows so I can yell with a little less fear of neighbourly judgement!
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Katrina Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
This is what I do! Close all the windows and doors when we are having our ‘loud’ afternoons!
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I am a yeller too. One time my “across the road” neighbour heard me on a bad day & bought over a tray of brownies & a big smile(she had all boys too). I nearly died, now that’s loud.
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Katrina Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Hahaha that’s hilarious! Yeah, the yelling must come with being a Mum to boys!
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Im a yeller here too! And as a mum of 3 girls, they are no better than boys with regards to the fighting, talking loud etc!!
My neighbours here me all the time, and say things like ‘its ok dear, you remind me of myself 25 years ago!’ lol!!
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I often am very grateful we live on a farm so nobody can hear us! xx
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Katrina Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
We just came of 7 acres. I miss it!
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I am a loud talker too – not too sure how much people hear though = )
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You know I have 3 boys – do you even need to ask if I’m loud? lol
I’m trying (really hard) not to scream for fear that the cops will turn up on my doorstep one day. A couple of weeks ago my niece (who lives across the road) was standing outside with some friends and a cab driver who had just arrived…and apparently I went ballistic (inside my house, with windows closed) and their heads all spun around! Don’t know what the neighbours must think! If my boys would just listen, there would be no need to scream
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Katrina Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
It must come with the 3 boys thing!
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Oh my…do I yell? Is the pope Catholic!!
Saying I yell is like saying K Rudd has an ego problem….my KATs have a word for it when it gets out of control – psycho mummy…say no more!!
I come from a long line of people who weren’t blessed with a volume control
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Katrina Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Hahaha!!! I’m psycho too )
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Yes, I’m an out and proud yeller.
My husband comes from a family of people who never raise their voices. Every time I yell (which is often) he tells me to relax, because he thinks I’m wound up. I’m not, I just yell. Yelling is what I do best.
And I only have girls! God help him if we had boys!
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I have learnt to tone my voice down since moving back into suburbia. Living on acreage for many years I adopted the perfect pitch and could let rip with the best of them. I also noticed how most of my kids friends who were also growing up in that rural area yelled just like my own offspring. I think yelling just goes with the territory.
I’m meek and mild now and butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth cause I don’t want to scare the neighbours.
xx
xx
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yep I AM A YELLER TOO!!!!!!!!
same as you.
CAR!!!!
BE NICE TO EACH OTHER!!!!
DINNER IS READY!!!!!!
GET IN SIDE!!!!!
etc….
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Katrina Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Hahaha it’s such a habit!
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I yell! A lot! I try not to but my 3 year old just pushes my buttons, you know what I’m saying right?
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I yell! A lot! I try not to but my 3 year old just pushes my buttons, you know what I’m saying right?;)
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I used to yell a lot.. And I mean A LOT… I now use my “library” voice ( thanks Katrina for the saying!!) all the time.. It makes my kids concentrate and listen to what I’m saying.. Rather than it be scrambled noise. Works a treat!!!
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Yep I’m also a yeller haha. we’ve got 4 kids 2 girls and 2 boys an d they are 4,9,12 and 14 years of age. So there is a lot of yelling here. Luckely we moved 2 years ago to a farm outside of town so I can tell very loud before my neighbours can here me
.The yelling starts early every morning before the kids go of to school because they are in eachothers space!! Even my 4 year old daughter tells her 14 year old brother to take a hike hihi.
It’s so peacefull and relax when they are all to school.
But I couldn’t miss them for a day I love them so very very much.
So you see yelling is not something that just happens ‘down under’ but also here in the netherlands.
love Wilma ( a yelling mum)
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The good thing about living out of town is that no-one can hear you yelling and you don’t realise how loud everyone is until you go and stay somewhere surrounded by houses and you are constantly telling the kids to be quiet as you are sure all the other people that have come to the beach for a holiday came for peace and quiet and not to hear us!
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When we built our new house 2 years ago we made sure the walls were super well insulated……!!!
………………………………………………….
Tania Maree xx
(mum of 2)
PS. Thanks for the Gravatar
I’ll know in a minute if I did it right ;o)
Fingers crossed!
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I soooo am a yeller and always said I would’nt be as My mum was one and I hated and ignored it…lol! But my husband says my ‘whisper” is a dull scream add to that the industrial deafness from years of hairdressing and talking over hairdryers and ringing phones…I am loud!…Lucky we live on acreage. Though hearing of your street and kids playong My Son would love that and I would love it for him,So much easier to come home and wander out for a play than the ‘organised” playdates!
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Im a yeller from way back. Mum said she could hear me at school swimming carnivals when we all did our house warcrys. There was only 249 other kids in my group and I still managed to drown them out.
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Yep I’m a loud talker too. Some people hate it at work and somethimes I think I am whispering and the person I think I am whispering too says “you said that so loud”. Ha ha… My Dad bought me home a baby rabbit when I was a young child (I’m 48 now) I was so excited and screamed and the rabbit had a heart attack and died
Hooray for loud happy people xx
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I really liked your blog.Thanks Again. Great.
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I am a yeller and I have 3 boys!! Never yelled until I became the mother of 3 boys.
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Thank God!!! I was starting to think it was only me that yelled. Having grown up on a farm and could be as loud as you liked. Now with 2 girl and living in town, it has been a big change for me. There are a few old couple near us and a couple of other families, but I never seen to hear anything come from them. I do the same run around closing windows and doors, but I don’t know how much it helps.
So I just wonder what they think of me, I have got a few dirty looks from the neighbours a couple of time. But oh well not everyone is perfect…but it’s how I was brought up and I turned out just fine. Like they say ” you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl”
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Oh I am a yeller (and sometimes a swearer)
People walk past our house all the time. Even after dark when I am screaming at my kids to have a shower or go to bed…..
My kids tell me that’s why I have grey hair because I scream all the time…..
In their words “stop being so psycho”
Which ticks me off even more
Pen x
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