adventure of the day

today we had an adventure. one with paint and fake marshmallows and wee shopping carts.

we went with some friends to a children's museum. the adults were outnumbered. 'twas a risky move... 8 children to 3 adults. they could have planned a coux if they had wanted. but they lacked the organizational skills to see it through, so it ended up being a beautiful morning!

did you know that there are some chick-fil-a's in this world where police officers actually stand by to direct traffic? amazing. the wonders of america will never cease to amaze me.

but back to the children's museum:
there's a grocery store, ambulance, campsite, hospital, train set, cave, longhorn, construction site, and more.
but our favorite part? running around like banshees. with wet paint on our hands. yep.

no, i jest. it was great. and the best part? we were with friends.
i bet you wish you could see all the beautiful pictures that i took. and then you could say, "wow! those kids have grown! oh look, how fun! i wish i could've been there! oh, honey, look: maggie may looks really tired thesedays." but alas, my phone is old, the pictures stink, and this dinky computer that i'm on freezes every couple of minutes.
oh, first world problems! you will rue the day you made it difficult for me to post mediocre, grainy pictures on my blog!

unusual surprises are the best

hello peeps. how goes it? sorry my entries are sporadic. there are several reasons for this:

1. sometimes i have nothing nice to say, and my momma always said, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

2. the boys keep me busy

and

3. i haven't been doing anything new or exciting

but yesterday was wonderful, so i thought i'd post about our adventures before another week begins.

yesterday our plan of attack was to get up late, get all our junk together, and head out to our church's new playground to just get out and about for awhile. if i have an extra set of hands, i want OUT of the house. so the hubs needed pants hemmed, (since he's 6'5" and has to order pants from a catalog, they never come to our house ready-to-wear) we were planning on heading over to the alterations place and then heading back toward home and the playground. instead it took FOREVER for him to get his pants to the guy. instead of the kids and i waiting in the car, we visited a church playground across the street. (and SO glad i did, because little did we know it would take the hubs somewhere close to 45 minutes to get the guy to measure them.) the boys had so much fun. it was a gorgeous day outside, despite the pollen, and the playground was actually age-appropriate. (imagine that!)

since we were already on that side of town, the hubs went across the street and bought a pizza. we all sat down at the park and enjoyed our unhealthy lunch, then went house browsing. (i desperately want to move but it's not the time.) we had fun daydreaming about where we could live and where the kids would play. --really any house with a front yard that doesn't have a hill that leads to death and destruction would be a move up for us.

the best part? we returned home to put the kids down for nap and i got a pedicure. now my soul and my feet are happy!

an outting

so we all went to chickfila today. myself and the four boys. no additional help. this was our first time doing this.

this is a big deal.

a very big deal.

i was prepared...i packed cups, wipes, diapers, and food for the baby.

i had a talk with the boys before we went in.

and they behaved.

they......

....behaved.

shock and awe, people...shock and awe.
this might not be surprising to anyone else, but it's quite the shocker for me. when people complimented me on them, i told them with complete truth that it was God's provision that, at this very moment, they were not biting, hitting, yelling, scratching, crying, or throwing food. they laughed. little did they know that there is nothing humorous about 3 toddlers/preschoolers slapping the snot out of each other at the dinner table.

so this was a victorious day. and no matter what else happens today: the ugly cry, lack of sharing, or throwing my freshly folded laundry all over the living room, i will remember that, for a meal in public, my children behaved.

-------------------"victory is mine trebek!" --will ferrell as sean connery--------------------------