Who stole my children???

In order for Steve to make a dent in painting the bathroom I've been in charge of keeping the kids occupied today. No sweat. It's who I am, it's what I do. It's just that usually Saturdays around here are team effort. A day I look forward to, because I don't have to shoulder the responsibility of entertaining 3 very energetic children for a whole day... by myself... in the dead of winter... in Ohio. (do you hear the desperation? are you extending pity? just checking!)

My plan? Off to the Y so that someone else could entertain my hoodlums for an hour and a half while I worked out and grabbed an uninterrupted shower. I'm no fool. Next stop, the mall play area.

Let me first start by saying, I've not been so proud of my three for a long time. I think we've just entered a new stage around here. And I likey!!! The 4 of us walked into the mall, all holding hands. No one wandered into traffic. No one refused to hold someone else's hand. No one made me regret the day I said "I do."

Next, we hit the play area. And believe it or not, when we first arrived there were only 2 other kids there. One was a girl, who turned out to be 2 days younger than Olivia. They became fast friends and played well for the next 40 minutes. The boys played their guts out- running, jumping, rolling and sliding. Turner only hit 2 people (and they *might have* deserved it!) I found a nice grandma to talk to and actually enjoyed it rather than being annoyed by it.

Everyone came when I told them it was time to go home. No one whined. No one cried. No one made me chase them like a lunatic through the mall. No one pooped in their diaper. No one had to go potty in the restroom. No one begged for a cookie (stupid mall planners put American Cookie Co- or whatevertheheckitscalled RIGHT NEXT to the exit of the play land). They each got a sample chicken nugget from Chick-fil-a as we walked out out... they even said thank you.

So, either we've turned a corner as a family, I've chilled out, or my kids have been replaced in the middle of the night by stepford children. Whatever the reason, you won't hear me complaining!