PSA: Restaurants

Take Heed: Top reasons to refrain from taking your children to a restaurant that does not boast a play scape:

The children will bounce in the booth seats like they are in the lead at the Kentucky Derby.

Butter will become the main course for at least 1 child.

After eating all the butter she can with her spoon, 1 child will lick her plate to get any remnants the spoon may have left behind.

Meanwhile, the other child, after eating all the butter her heart desires, will use it to moisturize her hands.  And her hair.  And probably your hair.

One child will inevitably poke a hole in her styrofoam cup soaking her meal in milk.

The waitress will ask if you need a drop cloth.  She'll say it in a joking manner, but you recognize the smirk behind the tone.

Remember that butter?  It will be used to put out the open flame on the centerpiece.  You'll remember that restaurants with play scapes don't have open flames on the table for a reason.

You'll go through enough cloth napkins to make a large load of laundry and wonder if you should write an apology note and include a bottle of Shout.

You will swear under your breath to never again take the children to a sit down restaurant all the while being unable to ignore that little voice in the back of your head telling you that you will indeed find yourself in this same situation next week.

And then, you'll leave the restaurant, capture this, and realize it's all worth it, and you wouldn't change a thing.

Another Round of "Isms"

I'm trying so hard to write down the especially funny or cute things Grace and Emma Kate say.  I'm sad that writing them down can't possibly convey the expressions on their faces, the tone, or the mood of the situation, but as I read back over these, it brings back the memories and makes my heart smile.

Spaghetti is one of the very few ways Emma Kate will eat meat.  When I told her it was on the dinner menu, the following exchange occured:
Emma Kate: Febetti, yay, febetti!
Grace: No, Emma Kate, It's PUH-sketti.
Emma Kate: Fe-bet-ti
Grace: No, say PUH-sketti.
Emma Kate: PUH-febetti.
Grace: No, Emma Kate, say "PUH" first.
Emma Kate: Puh-first-febetti.

For Mother's Day, Justin took the girls shopping.  When they returned, I was giving Grace (who has just learned about keeping secrets) a hard time asking her what they got, where they went, etc.

Grace: I can't tell you where we went, but I can tell you the charms we didn't get you.

Lo and behold, for Mother's Day, I unwrapped new charms for my Pandora bracelet.  Sweet Grace was so very pleased with herself for not spilling the beans and telling me what they DID get me.

"When I get fru sickin' I won't cough anymore."

"I wish it would quit darkin' so I don't have to go to bed."

"I'm tryin' to pick my up self"  -Translation: I"m trying to pick myself up.  Now, to correctly paint the picture, imagine EK with her arm between her legs standing on her tippy toes. :)

"Mexico don't have sketti."  We were trying to convince Emma Kate that she would find something edible at a Mexican restaurant; remember her spaghetti infatuation.

     All by Emma Kate, age 2 1/2

Watching coverage of the Royal Wedding:
Me: Look, Grace, there's a real, live princess!
Grace: Oh, like me!
Yes, Princess Grace, just like you. :)

Out of the mouths of precious babes.