And then once we were sat and Naveen had cleared the table of all it's silverware and was well on his way to holding us hostage with restless boredom before a server could even offer us drinks, I found myself rifling through my purse for a granola bar, a half empty box of raisins or something to restrain him with, when we looked at each other and remembered why we don't go out unless it's a very kid-friendly place.
We gulped down our beers and asked the server to package up our food and headed to a nearby park where we could freely scold the kids to our hearts' content. It was a park with a splashpad, and playscape. There were ducks to feed and at least a dozen other families with small children. We laid out our picnic blanket and ate.
Sadly, it was our kind of place.
And then we came home and started the bedtime routine where Shaune concluded that we had a Rhodes Scholar on our hands because our three year old recited Dr. Seuss' What was I scared of? verbatim. We happily ignored what other kids his age might or might not be capable of, agreeing wholeheartedly that there was indeed something extraordinary about our child.
After discussing this at length, with the clear implication that our unique parenting techniques were likely the catalyst for such genius, we opened a bottle of Shiraz, and checked out what was on TV. Eventually I headed upstairs with my book and was out, in a dead sleep by 10.
I'm joining Stream of Consciousness Sunday at all.things.fadra.
I have been told by a certain age, going out for diner with the kiddies can be tiresome! Luckily my little one is only 9months so we can enjoy time at a restaurant. I am just waiting for the day that all beats are off and only kid friendly restaurants will be the way to go...*sigh*
ReplyDeleteBoth of them have grown so big and lively.
ReplyDeleteHow are you Kim?
Yep definite genius... I still can't figure out half of what Dr Seuss is talking about let alone recite it from memory.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much our lives change when we have children. Your ability to roll with the punches is refreshing :-)
ReplyDeleteComing over from Fadra today. I participated for the first time today.
ReplyDeleteI so know how you feel. This post hit home.
Leigh
I loved this Kim because I remember those days too. The part about going through your purse-been there too-even offering Amy my keys and credit cards to play with:) Your dinner in the park sounded really nice anyway-having kids just helps us see how to fun in different ways:)
ReplyDeleteI think one of the things I miss most about pre-baby life is the ability to just pick up and go whenever we want. Last night, my husband said he wished this ice cream place near was was still open, because then we could get frozen custard and it wouldn't be as bad for us. There is a location of this particular place in another city in RI and I said, "well let's go to the one in Warwick." He looked at me like I was insane and I was like, oh yeah...the babe is upstairs sleeping. Duh.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, I totally know how you feel. But that picnic and the park sounds pretty awesome!! :)
Mine is grown now and I still feel like I can't take her out in public sometimes! I do remember the whole resturant thing though. Seems like we only ate at places like Micky D's for YEARS!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like my kind of night!
ReplyDeleteI think when your kids are little you have to basically let go of dining out unless you can leave them with a sitter. For the other folks' sake, if for no other reason. Soon enough, they'll be able to sit at a table in public and eat with you. And anyway, who doesn't like a picnic?
ReplyDeleteOh, we have been those parents out in non-family friendly restaurants on numerous occasions. My hat goes off to you both for keeping your cool, regrouping, and still managing to enjoy your night. That's awesome!
ReplyDeleteThe boys look ready to tackle!
ReplyDeleteWe decided to go to one of old favorites from when were childless. Marlie was acting a monkey as they say. Luckily, there was only one other group in the restaurant. We went to dinner at 4 pm just in case she acted up.
I am jealous that you can stay up until 10.
We also went out Saturday night. Went down town - we were feeling brave. However, I packed the kids premade dinners of pasta, veggies, cheese, and applesauce. I also packed some playdough and crayons as well as stickers.
ReplyDeleteOur sushi dinner took 90 minutes but we made it through without a melt down. It was wonderful to get out and feel like an adult for just a little while.
I have found that to do something like this takes a lot of preparing. Otherwise, utter failure.
And yes, we too have had to have our food packaged up to go many, many times.
However, I wish we could have made it to bed by ten. The kids were so revved up from the outing they did not fall asleep until close to midnight.
How about a video of that story reading? Isn't it amazing what they learn?!? Clearly you guys read to him all the time so you should feed extremely proud of yourselves and him, too.
Other than McDonald's there is no such things a family/baby friendly here, so we always have to be extra prepared! It sounds like taking it to go and going to the park was a great idea!
ReplyDeleteand NO LIE - same thing happened to us Friday night - we have been on total restaurant ban - no clue why we thought it would work. Box 'em up, please!
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at Deaglan's skills. I agree with you and Shaune that he is extraordinary. ;)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, your evening sounded just lovely. ;)
I LOVE this picture of the two of them!
Go Deaglan Go!!! I'm glad that you had a nice night together. That's a great picture :)
ReplyDeleteTo me, that sounds like a perfect evening. Although I do admit that my son being 4 has made it just a bit easier to go out. Even to some slightly fancy places :)
ReplyDelete