Last night was a milestone of sorts, but a totally unplanned one. That's not usually my style, but after a burned dinner, a smelly house, and hungry kids, I veered from my normal "planner" self, and we met Rick for dinner. That's right. All seven of us--for the first time.
We enjoy doing things as a family, and so we are all out together fairly often. Eating at a sit down restaurant is a whole different ballgame though, and I knew that it would be interesting to say the least.
Some lessons learned:
-We are a party of seven, not five (which is what I told the hostess).
-Our family is a fire hazard. It was a challenge finding a spot where we would all fit--including our two high chairs.
-If you go out to eat before 6pm on a weekday at this particular restaurant, odds are you will be one of the only patrons with children. Not only that, it was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Or, every.single.noise my children made. They weren't being naughty--just normal kids, but I was hyper-sensitive since it was so quiet.
-My babies can't eat french fries quite yet. It results in a lot of choking and other things I won't mention here.
-Ryan eats a lot. I did know that already, but when you're paying for the food at a restaurant, you REALLY notice. Good thing the kids' menu was 99 cents that night, and that he's under 12. We just ordered two of them. :) The waitress was thrilled.
-Most of all, I saw that it could be done. It was messy, and imperfect, but the kids loved it (and did really well), and we had a great night as a family. I have a tendency to not want to do things unless they can be perfect, but I'm gradually learning that when I let go of how I think things "should be", I'm able to enjoy my children in a way I wouldn't otherwise.
We enjoy doing things as a family, and so we are all out together fairly often. Eating at a sit down restaurant is a whole different ballgame though, and I knew that it would be interesting to say the least.
Some lessons learned:
-We are a party of seven, not five (which is what I told the hostess).
-Our family is a fire hazard. It was a challenge finding a spot where we would all fit--including our two high chairs.
-If you go out to eat before 6pm on a weekday at this particular restaurant, odds are you will be one of the only patrons with children. Not only that, it was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Or, every.single.noise my children made. They weren't being naughty--just normal kids, but I was hyper-sensitive since it was so quiet.
-My babies can't eat french fries quite yet. It results in a lot of choking and other things I won't mention here.
-Ryan eats a lot. I did know that already, but when you're paying for the food at a restaurant, you REALLY notice. Good thing the kids' menu was 99 cents that night, and that he's under 12. We just ordered two of them. :) The waitress was thrilled.
-Most of all, I saw that it could be done. It was messy, and imperfect, but the kids loved it (and did really well), and we had a great night as a family. I have a tendency to not want to do things unless they can be perfect, but I'm gradually learning that when I let go of how I think things "should be", I'm able to enjoy my children in a way I wouldn't otherwise.
10 comments:
Davids family loves to eat out so this has been something I had to learn quickly: how to eat out with children and it always amazes me how my children exceed expectations!
This made me giggle because it is all too familiar. The party of 5 made me laugh. I'm glad you jumped right in and did something out of your normal comfort zone and that the kids had a blast. Maybe we should meet up sometime and ask for a table for 14 and see what kind of looks we get!
Dinner at a REAL restaurant is a huge adventure! At least you have some of the cutest kids ever...people will forgive so much more :)!
Oh, Kierste. It makes me smile to think of you conceding to doing something that doesn't end up perfect. And I mean that in the most affectionate way possible. I, also, have a hard time with too much noise or any messes at restaurants, because we already stick out; let's not confirm everyone's stereotyping/ judging by making lots of noise and/or leaving a giant mess, too. I want to somehow make it something they'll remember as an exception to their preconceptions. And we need to try it more, so our kids will get better at it, and I'll get more confident!
way to go! after our texas trip i don't think i'll ever be taking everyone out to eat for a LONG while ;) at least not for a couple of years...
If you guys can do it, we definitely can! We've been scared to take our 1 year old twins out to eat except for a rare early Sunday breakfast for fear of an uprising. Wanting everything to be perfect is half the battle for me. We MUST venture out more. Thanks for motivating me!
Wow! Brave girl. It sounds like it was a fun adventure for the family! And now you know you can go again...and not have to make dinner...or clean up...yay!!! :)
It must have been such a fun evening--especially for the little girls. You are so brave.
I was going to say and to top it all off you got to go home and not think about cleaning up the kitchen, but then I remembered you said you had burnt the dinner--so I'm assuming there was something to clean up when you got home ; )
How fun! We go to a buffet because for some reason the kids do really well there. Olive Garden? Not so much.
I so know this feeling. We got so used to just the 3 of us being able to go out and it always be perfect. Not so anymore. A party of 5 is hard to seat and sometimes kids just don't cooperate. But, it's good to do it also, it helps them for the future.
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