Frustration with meds and eating, and ME time while camera shopping

I was standing near the end of the queue when God was handing out patience and so I have already had enough of sick, crabby kids.

Yes, already.

They cry at the slightest thing which normally doesn't bother me but they are also not eating.

And that is freaking me out.

All the medication says "with food" so as a result, today Connor got his morning meds at ..............11:20!

Speaking of Connor, he has now decided that he does not like to take medicine.

We have to administer it two by two, one person holding him and another forcing his mouth open and squeezing the syringe.

As a result, K is doing much better and is eating a tiny bit again although my fridge is full of half-eaten meals (no, I don't just throw it out - I try again).

Because of this no-eating thing, we have broken all our rules:

• I caught myself bribing Connor earlier (I'll take you in the car if you'll finish your food - he was not swayed one bit)
• D gave him a Provita in his cot (a big no-no)
• Offering everything under the sun (about 6 different choices) just in case something appeals. Apparently only raisins, peas and pasta cooked but with no sauces on it will do.

Hopefully it will not be hard to get back to normal when they're well.

Do you have kids who hate taking medicine? How do you do it? Seriously - I need tips!

As a result of that, I had to escape the madness after lunch when they had a nap.

(Hey, that's one good thing - they go to sleep easily, even during the day)

This week, I did a couple of things for my own self-care:

1) put the kids in children's church last weekend (I need to post on that) and went to big church
2) cancelled a supper with a friend so I could finish my work and take care of myself (I had some sniffles but I needed to be 100% well the next day for the work function)
3) spent some time last night organising my desk and doing some paper crafts
4) today I went to do grocery shopping by myself (D normally does it but is sick). While I was at the mall, I picked up some paint swatches (I am in love with the idea of painted furniture after reading one too many home and decor blogs - I want the chest of drawers in my bedroom painted a lovely light olive green and another piece a bright turquoise... let's see if I'm brave enough) and went to look at some cameras.

Talking more about the cameras...

I've decided that cameras are very expensive and it's even more difficult to choose what to get. So I'm stuck between getting a bridge camera (had never heard of these before today) and an SLR.

I like the Samsung NX10 and the Canon 500 D (both R6300 and they come with an assortment of things - either lenses, memory card, bag, whatnot).

Any tips on camera shopping?

P.S. Wherever I go, I will not go to the one store because the girl was VERY condescending. That's another post because I've had some shocking customer service experiences lately.