DAY 5

Eating Out?

Posting once a day is going to be a little difficult, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to have time to THINK much less get those thoughts into a blog! Ha!

After Tyler got out of work last evening we decided to go out to eat.

Going out to eat without toddlers is like eating ice cream- it's sweet, savory, smooth and enjoyable.

Going out to eat with toddlers is like eating stale potato chips- they are rough, tough, chewy and unsatisfying.

There are a few questions to ask yourself before venturing to a restaurant with toddlers. Some things we've learned:

1) Is the restaurant kid-friendly? Meaning; If my child throws a temper tantrum or spills food everywhere, will everyone notice?

2) What is the likelihood that we will have to wait more than 30 minutes for a table? Meaning; Do I have to find ways to entertain my toddler outside the restaurant so they don't run around and knock down a waitress?

3) What is on the menu? Meaning; Are we going to pay and arm and a leg for food that our toddler won't eat or that ends up on the floor?

We asked ourselves these questions before we left last night and we decided on a little BBQ joint near Uptown not far from our house. The food is delicious and the restaurant is packed and noisy, lots of televisions, very loud. Perfect!

I giggled as we were walking past other diners to our table as one mom about my age was up out of her seat trying to grab her toddler as he was dodging her under their table. I walked by with Asaph on my hip and she looked up and said with a sigh, "You know what this is like..." I smiled and said, "I sure do!" Nothing like cheering on another mom. I feel your pain. Eating out is not what it used to be!

When we got our food Asaph decided he only liked the hushpuppies and once they were gone he started screaming and kicking and trying to get out of his highchair. At the same time Rowan started to cry uncontrollably and I had to hold him while I ate (I had ribs, mind-you, which are impossible to eat with one hand.) Tyler and I switched off children so we could both use two hands to finish eating at some point and then looked at each other like, ok, time to get outta here! Well...it was a nice try anyways. It was nice not having to cook.

The best part of the night? After trying to convince Asaph to eat (pretty much anything at this point), bouncing Rowan up and down for 20 minutes while trying to console him and picking up forks, knives, crayons and other items Asaph flung across the restaurant my husband looked at me and said, "Babe, I can totally see a need for a babysitter now!"

Yes, yes my dear. :)