Tonight, we went out to dinner. This is unusual not just because Robyn and I actually left the house together, or that we went to dinner in a real restaurant, but also that we took the kids with us. As far as I can remember, this is only the second time that we’ve eaten at a restaurant together since the babies were born (10 months ago yesterday!). We’ve talked about trying to take them out with us, but just haven’t gotten around to it. Since we’re both trying to lose weight, we’ve been pretty good about not eating out, so that has obviously precluded bringing the babies out with us.
We kind of blew our diets last night when we ordered [url=http://www.dominos.com/]pizza[/url] (not that Dominos is REAL pizza, but sometimes we both get a hankerin’ for that salty sauce and the Chicken Kickers are pretty good) which pretty much means we’ll be eating pizza the next day as well. So, today we decided that we would just throw caution to the wind and take the kids with us to [url=http://www.rattlesnakeranchcafe.com/]The Rattlesnake Ranch[/url]. It’s a pretty laid back place with good Tex-Mex style food.
Both of the babies are generally pretty good when we’re out. I guess they’re entertained by all the new sights and sounds. Tonight really was no exception even though it was their first time that they’ve sat in those wooden restaurant style high chairs. We certainly kept the waitress moving throughout the night making sure that there was not a lot of time between courses and we even had her ring up the check before we were done eating so that if we needed to make a hasty exit, we could do so. Chloe did start to get a little fussy towards the end and Gabriel was grabbing at his ears (probably teething) and whining a little, but this was to be expected since we were still at the restaurant when we’re normally getting them ready for bed.
All in all, it was a good experience. I think I was more nervous about the whole thing than Robyn. I’m very conscious of annoying the other diners around me and I didn’t want to be one of “those people”…. Although I don’t think we’ll be making a habit of going out to eat with them (we’re trying to lose weight here!), at least we know we can.
You gotta get them out there. Kids, I think, need to be socialized, kinda like dogs! Seriously, if they get use to being out and about and having rules enforced, you won\’t have any problems in the long run. Granted, you\’ll probably have to leave a couple times for it to sink when they act up (especially when they hit 2 or 3). Abby, compared to some of the other kids we know, is just super. She just sits and colors quietly and order her own food and all that stuff.
You can take them anywhere, bro. 🙂 As long as you do it right, you won\’t be \”those parents.\”
I meant to edit my post to clarify this point, but forgot…we DO get the kids out all the time. We’ve actually surprised ourselves with how frequently they get out of the house. They probably get out more than I do because it’s a nice break for Robyn during the day. Going out to eat and taking a long trip (more than an hour from home) were the last things on our checklist. So, that’s one down!