Tonight I was reminded why we SHOULD NOT EVER be spontaneous when it comes to certain things. Like which restaurant to eat at. As parents, we've learned to keep a mental list of restaurants ok to visit with the kids. These restaurants include categories like kids menu (yes or no), pre-meal snacks (croutons, crackers, etc), noise level (the noisier the better, that way the noise of our own kids will be drowned out by all the other noise), booths or tables (booths are better, they keep the kids more contained), lids on the cups (lids for kids obviously better).
Tonight, we decided to eat somewhere that we hadn't eaten before, and we had the kids. Bad idea. I said to David, "Let's be adventurous." Bad idea. We didn't know the menu, the noise level, the seating arrangements, we were going in blind. Bad bad idea. Now, don't get me wrong, the kids weren't completely out of control, they were just being kids. And the restaurant was nice. But the only thing on the menu that Archer would have any chance of eating was the cheeseburger. And he didn't eat it. And they didn't have booths. And it was very very quiet. So every little screech by Shelly or bang of the fork on the table by Archer was painful. The food was great but when we left, David and I felt relieved to finally be out of there, I was ready for a nap.
So I'm reminded that spontaneity is great with kids, in the right setting. Restaurants? From now on, we'll stick to what we know, and be spontaneous without the kids.
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