At this point in our parenting career, we've mastered going out to eat with the minis. We know books and magazines keep them busy, crayons and coloring can cause fights ("no I want the red crayon!" screamed loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear is not something I care to repeat again), peeing before we get to the restaurant is a requirement because we want to avoid bathroom breaks as much as possible (my minis make it their mission to see how many times they can pee in one meal time at a restaurant. They also have this knack of needing to pee right as our food is set on the table), they've learned how to order for themselves, ask for refills if needed, and sit politely in their seats. Knowing how to behave in a restaurant is something my husband and I bill a top priority in raising our kids and have stuck to taking them out to a variety of restaurants once a week.
Even with all of the practice and knowledge, we still have those meals. You know, the ones where you think your child(ren) have lost their damn minds....
Wednesday night we decided to take the minis to our/their favorite Mexican restaurant (side note: we also ran into Lauren, where we discovered it was both our nights to cook....and we both took our family's out to dinner. This is why I love her). We go to this restaurant quite often. I should have known this dinner visit would be different than others as soon as the minis switched their regular orders up.
The boys ordered adult meals. Adult meals. Our bill doubled just because of that.
The youngest mini declared she had to pee as soon as we sat down. She did the logical thing and just crawled under the table instead of trying to talk to the boys about moving.
There was singing and dancing in seats.
The real treat came at the end of the meal as we got up to leave. Our youngest put her purse on and I noticed her stuffing a few things in (the purse). When I questioned her, she rolled her eyes and told me she was just grabbing a few things to keep her busy at the store. So what did she put in the purse? The remainder of her meal for one. The meal she said she didn't want a to go box for. She just stuffed it in her purse...along with a giant pile of napkins "just in case." She then proceeded to spread a napkin out and FILL the napkin with our basket of chips on the table "because there's no more room in my purse for them." Seriously, where does she get this stuff???
Oh and there was a meltdown about the .25 cent gum in the dispenser that they wanted (I legit did not have any change on me) but couldn't have.
So, just when I think I've got this stuff down, the minis are there to prove me wrong.