Bad Day Jar

I feel I must preface this post with the fact that my sweet husband is usually very happy, always willing to help other people, and is one of those people that you like to be around.  I also tell really long stories, so you can just skip to the end if you'd like.  That being said...

Monday was one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.  I felt like all day my phone was ringing with people telling me bad news; I had to make 4 apology phone calls (which all 4 people I called were very gracious); my house was (still is) a complete disaster; I had done 4 loads of laundry and did not get one folded; I had to cancel (last minute) some kids that I tutor (I hate when I do that- I feel terrible); I had watched 10 kids most of the day (that really wasn't bad, they were all REALLY good, I'm just adding that detail to help paint the picture); I had started preparing dinner but didn't end up getting it finished so I fed my kids Dino-bites (HATE when I do that) and I had a bad headache because I felt that everytime I wasn't around my kids I was crying.  Okay, really it wasn't that bad for me, I mostly was just feeling so sad for people I love.

At 7:00 p.m., in enters my husband.  My kids are actually being really good (eating their Dino-bites and talking away) and I'm just heating up Spaghettios for me and the hubs (I know I'm a stellar wife). Usually he greets us all with a kiss and smiles, and will immediately begin asking about our days.  Monday, however, he starts doing the dishes (??), says he doesn't want to eat, and starts snapping at me and the boys for everything.  Kind of how our evening goes for the next half hour when I ask him to go put the big boys to bed and I'll put the baby to bed (our usual routine).  He tells me no and says that he is in such a bad mood that if he has to put kids to bed he will yell at them.  I have all the boys give Dad a kiss goodnight, and promptly wisk them all downstairs to get ready for bed.   I try just to give him space for the next hour and then I run a couple of errands.  Upon arriving home I get my head bit off because I took so long (and really I was quite proud of myself for only taking 45 minutes).  I apologized and the two of us folded laundry in silence for a few minutes.  In the end he said he was sorry.  He had a rough day at work and all he wanted to do that evening was hold his wife and watch a show (see, I told you he is sweet).  The last little bit of our evening was good- filled with folding laundry, good conversation, and watching the news.  When we crawled in bed that evening I felt that all was well between us and in our home.

All week I've been playing Monday through my head, thinking of how I could have done better as a wife (perhaps had a real dinner, our house cleaner, not been on the phone when he came home from work, etc...) but have really come to conclusion that I really did the best I could that day.  My bottom line- everyone (even my practically perfect husband) can have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day once in a while.  Thus my idea..
a Bad Day Jar.

Simple enough, saw a cute jar on sale at Ikea.  Tied a cute ribbon and tag on it and filled it with Laffy Taffys.  Not only are Laffy Taffys one of my husband's favorite candies, but the jokes on them make you smile.  I had the boys come up with reasons why they love Dad, and I added a few of my own.  I printed up the reasons, taped them onto the candy, and tossed them all in the jar.  This way when the hubs is having a bad day at work he can grab a treat and remember why we love him (then hopefully if it's Spaghettios and chaos for dinner he'll be a little more forgiving of me too).   

Now go ahead and make a Bad Day jar for yourself or someone you love!