Skip to main content

Dinner (again)

Today we went to a birthday party that was supposed to last from 3-5. I was planning on leaving early, but unfortunately there was a clown making balloon animals very slowly, and my kids have not learned how to push themselves up to the front (perhaps they are related to their mother?).

Amanda finally got her flower at 5:15. Then we had to decide what to do for dinner. I had been thinking Chili's, since they have an extensive allergy menu that we could revisit, now that Amanda can have wheat... but the nearest Chili's was 20 minutes away at least, and not on our way home. Thinking out loud about the restaurants on the way home, I mentioned the Outback. Eleanor jumped on this idea (I had been thinking about McDonalds, but frankly Eleanor won't eat any of their food. She has better taste than I do, I suppose.) I was weak, she managed to convince me by promising to eat lots of vegetables =)

We had an ok time, but going out alone with 3 kids does not give mama much time to eat. Luke seems not to eat when he is in a restaurant. He ended up throwing all his food on the floor (I left a nice tip). Eleanor and Amanda actually followed through on their promise to eat vegetables----Eleanor likes the stems of the broccoli and Amanda likes the flowers, what teamwork!

There were a couple of large groups with grandparents, so when Luke escaped his high chair and walked over to see them, they admired his cuteness. It is definitely less fun going out with no other adult conversation: I tried, but it's hard with a 3 year old who barely talks above a whisper and a 5 year old who is bouncing off the walls.

The other problem was that we finally got served at 6, which is the time Amanda is supposed to be hopping into the bath. Luke fell asleep on the way home, messing up his sleep schedule. Eleanor didn't get a shower yet again... sigh. At least I have some really good leftovers for lunch.

Comments

Gary said…
Our boys go out to restaurants ALL THE TIME- more often when one of us is working, so lots of single-parent restaurant lunches. It's not so bad, since it's so hectic with the boys, there's no way to fit adult conversation in, anyway!

Lenise
mathmom said…
Hi Lenise! =) You're right about the absence of conversation even if there is another adult present. I think that the more kids go out, the better they are at it. Hopefully our kids will end up there someday...

Popular posts from this blog

My hero, Helen Parr

Otherwise known as Elastigirl , a.k.a Mrs. Incredible. She is a stay at home mom ( SAHM ), she clearly feels that what she is doing is important and is willing to give up a lot to do it (remember her comment in the intro: "I'm at the top of my game! Leave saving the world to the guys? I don't think so.") But she is finding fulfillment in leading her family from day to day, in doing a hard job well. She also knows that she is very talented, and that knowledge helps her see beyond the repetitive drudgery of staying home. My favorite scene is from the deleted introduction, where she talks with a "career woman" who is of the opinion that staying home is fine for people who can't do anything else. She responds that taking care of her kid is at least as hard as saving the world, and is valuable contribution to society. The point for me is that someone has to do the job that I'm doing, and it's not something that you could pay someone to do. I see...

Kindergarten Fashions

I was informed the other day that Eleanor wants to get a new thermos. She lost the o-ring from her purple Tinkerbell thermos, and I have so far resisted buying another one for her, on the theory that you shouldn't just replace things that are broken since it doesn't encourage being careful with one's things. I have been sending her with the sippee cups that she has been using since she was a year old, which she has resisted giving up to the point of becoming partly dehydrated when I don't let her use them at home. Here's how the conversation went. Eleanor: Anna and Jane said today at lunch, " Kindergartners don't drink from sippee cups!" Me: That's very interesting. Eleanor: They are supposed to drink from thermoses. Me: Eleanor, would you like a new thermos? Eleanor: Yes! Get the purple one, please. If there is a crayon one, that's the one I want.... Who knew that peer pressure started in kindergarten? The sippee cups are perfectly f...

Girl toys

A friend just had a post about her son's desire to have a pink bejewled play phone (she and the people who comment have great things to say: here it is so you can read it). Thinking about her post made me very glad that for girls 5 and under (which is all I have experienced lately) there is no toy that is off limits as far as I can tell. Amanda's favorite toys are trains (although she doesn't play with them the way some of her boy friends do. I think Chanson's kids would play well with her version of trains). Her favorite movie is Cars. Her favorite TV show is Bob the Builder. No one in her life (relatives, friends, teachers) tells her that she can't enjoy all of these things. On the other hand, she likes to play with all these things while she is dressed as a princess... In Eleanor's class, everyone's favorite thing to do is woodworking, both girls and boys. The only mathematicians she knows are women, so she expects to do well in math as well...