Dining Out

Husband and I used to dine out a lot before Baby. Like, a lot. We are not part of one of those relationships where one person just loves to cook, and therefore the job automatically goes to that crazy person. Nope, not us. We argue over who's turn it is to attempt to throw something together, then usually end up grabbing something somewhere instead.

We used to be regulars at the usual sit down restaurants in town, and the Chinese delivery guy greets us if he sees us in town. The pizza people know us as well. Not to mention a few of the drive-thru window fast food chain places.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't say that I can't cook. If I put my mind to it, I can churn out some pretty scrumptious items. However, I have a tendency to get bored and turn my attention to other things. I mean, what do you do when you are waiting for something to boil? Or simmer. Or saute. Stirring is so overrated.

Why, just the other day I ran out with Baby to pick something up from the store and Husband called while I was out to remind me that I had something cooking in the oven. It was done four minutes after I left the house. He only noticed it because the timer went off. Oops. Luckily he was there to take it out and make sure I didn't burn the house down (so far I've only left burners on twice, and left the oven on once since we moved here in November).

Well, now that we have Baby, we (by we, I mean I) have cut back on our dining out/ordering in for a variety of reasons.

1. It's expensive and we are trying to cut costs so one of us can stay home with Baby instead of sending her to daycare.

2. It's easy to be unhealthy when ordering from a menu. We would like to live to see our grandchildren's children and set a good example for Baby.

3. Dining out in restaurants for dinner is quite the process when one has a Baby. Which brings me to the reason I was writing this post in the first place (see how I get distracted?).

We went out to dinner last night with Husband's family at a sit down restaurant. It wasn't anything fancy so I was hoping Baby would be ok. We tried to make it at a reasonable hour because she tends to get fussy between six and seven (we usually put her to bed around seven).

We planned dinner at six because that was the earliest all the working people could do. I packed toys and a sippy cup for Baby, hoping to keep her occupied (more on the sippy cup in an upcoming blog).

When we got there, I requested a high chair for Baby, and she was excited to sit in it. Granted, she can't sit on her own yet, but she can sit with support. Have you ever noticed that all high chairs in restaurants are different? The one in this restaurant was way too big for her, and strapping her in just made her look like she was a little rag doll. So we just held her up while in it. Granted, this did not last long as it was awkward for Husband and I to do so during dinner. Oh yes, dinner.

Baby decided she wanted to get fussy about half an hour in, so Husband and I took turns holding her so the other could eat. She didn't want to be held by anyone else at the table, unfortunately, nor was she that interested in her toys. She tried to eat a couple of the menus at first, but the waitress took them away after we ordered.

Needless to say, I had to take her out of the restaurant and walk around with her outside to calm her down (Husband said I didn't have to, but I really don't want to be one of those parents whose crying baby disturbs other diners). Then the sprinklers came on outside, so I brought her back in where we packed up and left, taking boxes of leftovers with us so we could finish our meals later. Unfortunately, this morning we woke up and realized we had left the leftovers in the car overnight. I was very disappointed I didn't get to eat the rest of my salad (yep, still working on that baby weight-I ordered salad). Oh well, such is life.

What's the moral of the story, you ask? Well, I learned that if I plan on going out to eat with Baby after six (she's usually pretty good during lunch trips), plan on not eating, not being a part of the conversation (I honestly don't know what the people at the table talked about. I caught tidbits here and there, but was distracted), and the most important lesson of all is to not leave the leftovers in the car.