Feb
2
2010
10 On Tuesday
1. Does anyone else hate the 5:00 hour? Or is it just me? I try to remain upbeat. But by the time 5:00 rolls around I am usually tired, grumpy, and splattered in spaghetti sauce. The kids are tired, hungry, and whiny. The combination is sometimes just too much to take. I try to get the kids involved in an activity to pass the time while I prepare dinner…but 0h how I wish somedays that I could just hide in a corner with a bag of M&Ms. Don’t get me wrong. I love my children. I adore them. But I could do without 5:00.
2. Of course somedays they stop from their busyness and flash me adorable grins during the 5:00 hour and then I feel insanely guilty for posting about how I despise this time of day.
3. And sometimes they just eat the crayons. That works too. (By 5:00 I am usually completely over it.)
4. Especially if their cute chubby hands are working on a masterpiece.
5. I don’t know why I even bother buying {other} shoes for my kids. All they want are Converse. So we did our spring shoe shopping and hit the Converse outlet. The girls each got their traditional hot pink hi tops and now we are all set! I figure they go with everything, right? I mean…Sam wore his black Converse with his herringbone pants and sweater vest on Christmas Eve…so pink high tops are cool for Easter right?
6. I need to tell you about a couple of special people in my life. It is such a blessing to have friends who get you….who understand your heart and are along for the wild ride right along side you. One of these gals I’ve never even had the chance to meet in person. We designed for years together in ebay-land…ventured into photography together…stalked eachother’s blogs. And now we’ll both travel to the other side of the world to meet our newest family member. And she totally gets me. And that is so very cool.
This means “I love you” in Amharic. I can’t even express how much I treasure this gem!! Can I suggest that you hop on over to Nic’s Shop and support her endeavors to change the world for a child? Or maybe stop by her blog to say hi and provide a word of encourage (be prepared to get lost for a bit…her blog is about the yummiest thing around!)
7. And here is another bit of loveliness. This one crafted as a Christmas present by one of my VERY bestest friends…The Librarian (aka. my bigger, wiser, smarter oldest sister). Is this not lovely squared? “Mother” in Amharic, an Ethiopian map, and a symbolic bird. Heaven in a necklace, I say. Shouldn’t she be crafting these for fund raising for her own adoption journey? Can I get a hearty amen to that? Why don’t you head on over to her blog “Fly to his Heart” and make that suggestion (she doesn’t listen to me…I’m only her sister). Love you Paisey….
8. And one more gift to share. I’m almost speechless on this one. It is the BEST PRESENT I have ever received in my entire life. It was created by my sweet husband…he gave me my life…in a book. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve sat down and attempted to do this. And while I was bemoaning his many International business trips and complaining over the phone to him…he was sitting in a hotel room thousands of miles away…making this for me {boy do I feel like a heel}. This is my blog. Since the day I started it 2 years ago. Every memory. Every picture of our family. Every word. Every hard day. Every bit of hope.
I never knew he was working on this…didn’t even have a clue. I am totally blown away by his willingness to do this for me. I never would have gotten it done. The last time I started a book, I got 3 pages in and was driving myself crazy with all of the re-arranging and re-editing….and I gave up. THE.BEST.PRESENT.EVER. And I thought he didn’t even read my blog 
9. I just had dinner with a great friend. Wow. I am so very lucky. My life is FULL of some pretty amazing people.
10. Feeling very blessed.
That is the. best. present. ever! How thoughtful of him! It takes FOREVER to edit and organize a page on Blurb. I can’t wait to come over and see the book! You forgot to add Mr. Nikon to your friend list!
wiping eyes…blowing nose…sniff….sniff…..i love you too baby sissy!
Great post! I about died laughing, picturing you huddled in the corner of the room, popping M&M’s into your mouth as fast as you can while the children run wild through the house. Ha! Yes, I feel like that many days too. Yesterday, I decided to just skip that crazy time and all three of us napped from 4:30-6:30 pm. It was great, but then I wanted to do it again today!
Okay, so the book is AWESOME! I make a book for our family every year with pics and text from the blog, and it does take FOREVER to complete! And it doesn’t help that Blurb now allows you to EDIT every page template to your heart’s content! Seriously dangerous.
I love the pic of the kid holding up the vintage camera! I have some old cameras and I’ve been wanting to take a picture like that of Abbey for a long time, but just haven’t gotten around to it. I have one of her holding up the 5d when she was two and it still makes me nervous to think about it!
Your book looks awesome – those amazing pictures don’t hurt it any! What a sweet thing for your husband to do.
I couldn’t help buy notice the hymns behind those wonderful necklaces. When we traveled to China for our daughter, the song “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” meant so much to me.
Jenn,
This is one of your very best “10″ posts ever. The sweet smiles from your little people (Sam’s hands – I can hardly take it!), the vulnerable moments of mommydom, the amazing gift from your hubby (MAJOR gold stars for that thoughtful book) & the jewels – well, I loved it all. Thank you for sharing. And here’s to M&Ms at 5:00.
)
Ah, yes! 5:00. Affectionately known around here as “The Witching Hour.”
Love this post!
Hey Jenn…
I`ve been wanting to books for my kids forever….wanted to get it done for Christmas…but it is a huge undertaking! What a sweet hubbie you have!!! Do you know what program he used????? I think if I get started right now I might get 5 done for NEXT christmas…LOL
Big Hugs…
Laurie
Can I just say what an AMAZING gift your husband gave you?! That is soooo sweet!! So thoughtful. I wish mine would create a book for me!!
Because I haven’t gotten to it either!
And to answer your question, YES I hate the 5:00 hour! Actually, I really dread from about 3:30 until Chris gets home!! The time just DRAGS!!! Back in KC we would go out front to play with all our friends until the dads got home, but now we just try to make it through on our own!!
What a thoughtful guy to do that for you. He wins husband of the year hands down! I got teary just reading about it. I bet the book is just one beautiful page after another (just like your blog), wish we could see the whole thing. I’ve started putting mine together a thousand times too and it’s so overwhelming. I get lost in the details.
Amen about the 5 o’clock hour. Indeed the hardest part of my day too. I usually can’t even start dinner until David is home, it’s just that impossible it get anything done with kids fighting and a baby wrapped around my legs begging to be held. Pass me the M&M’s.
oh, sweets. thank you. and holy moleys, that absolutely *is* the best gift…i can’t imagine how long that must’ve taken. i made a very short book for my mil via blurb, and it took me two minutes short of forever. mr p is a keeper for sure!
I just found your blog and I love it! Where did your husband get the book printed?…that is amazing!