A Long Week... sick kids, projects, & adventures!

Thank goodness Tim will return on Monday! It has been a long week but it has gone relatively fast thanks to family, good weather, and movies! Last weekend we spent the weekend in Texarkana with Grandma and Grandpa O. The boys had a wonderful time playing baseball, tennis, doing art, and playing at the park. I even got to fit in some window shopping while Grandma and Grandpa did a little babysitting! Monday started the week off with a sick Nate and trip to the doctor's office. After missing 3 days of school Nate returned on Thursday. Then as luck would have it, Zacy got sick on Friday and Ben woke up snotty on Saturday! Ugh!

Well in the middle of all the sickness and in the absence of my husband, I decided to paint the big boy's room (this instead of going to Dallas - the trip we had to cancel because everyone was sick). I know it is crazy to tackle this project while Tim is gone... but that was kind of the point... I have a habit of changing things when he is gone... Anyway, I mentioned it to mom and thank goodness she and my dad came up to help! Well, mom watched the boys (harder than painting) and dad and I painted. Good thing the kiddos were not in the room we were painting or they may would've learned a new vocabulary! Dad hate's to paint and it was my first attempt at the activity! Thank goodness for good ole' dad. The room turned out great! I think Tim will be surprised! While daddy was gone, the most "cooking" I did was chocolate chip pancakes....

By Sunday afternoon the boys were all coughing and wiping their snot on everything. I think Ben managed to drink out of both Zac and Nate's sippy cup.... wonder why he's sick?! We were all driving each other crazy so I decided that after naps we would go on a little adventure.... a trip to Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs. For me this meant 2 hours of travel time (kids strapped in, hands to themselves, movie playing, peace and quiet) and 2 hours of looking at beautiful scenery. Even though the kids didn't feel great they were excited. They had a fabulous time exploring and stressing me out (they like to get really close to water... ponds, puddles, waterfalls, etc.)! Despite that they were really good. It is such a beautiful place and I highly recommend going there.

We left when the park closed at 5. By then the boys were hungry... I'm thinking McDonalds but Nate saw a sign for Cracker Barrel and begged to go... I must admit it was more appealing than Micky D's but was it appealing enough to risk taking 3 boys in by myself to eat????? YES! After threatening them and bribing them within an inch of their lives we entered! Luckily they seated us fast and the boys were being so good.... then Zac had to go potty.... this meant getting everyone up and taking everyone to the bathroom at one time... I reassured a waitress that we weren't leaving yet. The boys ate and were excellent during dinner. I'm not sure what I ate because I was trying to keep food in every one's mouth so they wouldn't yell to loud, say something rude or make an offensive sound at the dinner table! Again, I must say, the boys felt crummy but they behaved wonderfully for mommy today! Thank goodness for small miracles! And thank goodness daddy returns on Monday!

PICS FROM GARVAN GARDENS BELOW!