Outing

I forgot to mention this when it happened, but as I have little else to talk about today...

We haven't actually eaten out in a restaurant, as a family, for the better part of a year. We tried, several times, when Alex was little and inclined to just lounge in his carseat and sleep a lot, and even then, he usually woke up just as the entrees were being served -- and as soon as he woke up, he was not content to just be held or passed back and forth while we ate. It made for a miserable dining experience, and so we mostly gave it up and switched to takeout, as being more flexible and less stressful for everyone involved.

Last weekend, however, I decided I was tired of takeout, and seeing as how Alex is a year old and sitting happily at the dinner table in his high chair for most of dinner, I thought we'd chance actually going out.

We went early, so we wouldn't risk having to wait for a table, and the kids were mostly really good. Penny happily colored her kids' menu, and Alex happily ate a crayon until I realized what he was doing and replaced it with some cheerios. Alex was even more delighted when our food arrived and I let him have most of the mushrooms off my steak. (I'm not a big fan of mushrooms, but apparently Alex is.)

The only snag hit when it was time to give Penny her shot. She was wearing a long-sleeved dress, so the only way to bare suitable shot-giving skin was going to involve exposing rather more of her than was suitable for the middle of a crowded restaurant. So I decided to take her back to the bathroom to do it. Alex does not handle me walking away from him with anything like aplomb, and he started screaming and crying, and was inconsolable until I got back. So I guess next time we need to plan ahead and make sure Penny's wearing something that makes it easy to bare an arm or a bit of stomach at the table.

But otherwise -- whoo! We can go out again!