Fancy Smancy

When I was a kid, it was a huge treat just to eat at someplace other than our house.  I thought Taco Bell was some of the best food on the planet.  My kids, on the other hand, at 5 and 2 have actually experienced fine dining.  Last night, my parents treated us to a dinner out at Ruth's Chris.  Before thinking we're all crazy, let me explain.  My dad cashed in some credit card points for more Ruth's Chris gift cards than I have ever seen in one place.  They asked if we'd like to go, and we decided that we could go sometime around my birthday to celebrate. 

We tried to find a babysitter, but were unsuccessful.  So, we bravely forged where few parents before us have.  We took our toddler and our kindergartener to a fancy restaurant.  For the past day, we've been preparing Audrey explaining to her what she should expect and what we expect from her.   She wanted to wear her Christmas dress, since we had told her we were eating at a fancy place, and that is her fanciest dress. 

Overall, the kids were surprisingly well mannered.  Audrey had trouble keeping her napkin on her lap because she was wearing a longer dress, and Barrett was completely confused by having 2 forks. All in all though, I am so proud of how little they disturbed the other guests.  In fact, I am pretty sure that the other people in the restaurant didn't notice they were there until we were walking out.

I attribute much of this good behavior to two factors:  bread that was on the table within minutes of us sitting down and smart phones.  Actually, I should just say cell phones in general, because Barrett had more fun playing with my dad's flip phone from 2008 than he did with my phone.  The funny thing is that just before offering the phone to Barrett, my dad offered his phone to Audrey to play with.  She just looked at him and said, "What am I supposed to do with that?"  Clearly, she prefers phones that can connect to the internet, play games, and watch shows.  I guess Barrett is young enough that pushing buttons still makes him incredibly happy.

 

In the end, we all had a great time.  I don't think I'll spread my luck to thin though by trying that again too soon :)