4, 3, 2, EAT!

Today I planned to eat dinner out because it has been forever since I have eaten at Souplantation and I was ready for a treat.  I truly did block out that fact that eating dinner out with 3 little ones is NOT a treat and continued to think about how great it will be that I don't have to think about what to make for dinner and I can get the kids to try all sorts of vegetables.  As we were showering (from doing yard work) and getting ready, Jared said, "Do we really want to spend the money?  We can get 2 $5 pizzas to feed us all." This was tempting because I was a little more confident that they would eat it and it was at this point I realized what he was getting at- we don't like taking the kids out to eat. I didn't put up a fight...but Jared also didn't push it, so we stuck with the original plan.
The kids questioned what we were doing as we were all getting dressed and having them put shoes on. We told them we were going out to get food.  Corban said, "No, I don't want to go get food. I am going to go down and see what food we have." Like he was going to try to convince us that we didn't have to leave to get food?  So we get them in the car and we get to Souplantation and Corban says with excitement, "We are eating at a RESTAURANT!" He was beaming!  I didn't realize that he didn't know what it meant to "eat out". To his credit, it truly is a very RARE occurrence for our young family because I usually remember how miserable it is and would much rather make a meal at home. Again, when planning, I somehow forgot about that.
About halfway through the meal it dawned on me how PLEASANT this meal was. Each child was being well behaved, eating something, and being cute.  They were playing "cookie monster" as they would eat something, but were keeping their voices at a tolerable level. They were allowing each other to eat off the same plate. I was sitting next to Addison and she kept patting me on the back of the shoulder. At one point I kindly took her hand and asked her not to touch me (given that she is eating...and not using utensils). She tilted her head to look at me and said, "You my friend." Oh, melt me!  Okay, go ahead and touch me all you want. And that she did, as she told me all sorts of stuff.  She would pat, tilt her head and tell me about "monsters", "cookie monster", "best friend", and more.
As we were leaving, and older man came up to Jared and told him, "Your children are the cutest kids I have ever seen." There was a point during the meal that I planned a response to someone saying something (and I probably do this all the time because I always have people commenting to me) and my response would have been, "I know, they are being really well mannered. It is even surprising me!"
Who knew that a 4,3 and almost 2 year old could be pleasant in a restaurant?  Certainly not their mother, but she can be taught! I truly have never had so much fun with them eating out, but they are surprising me a lot lately.
(Just as a side note for something else that Addison talked about all day. "Cinnerella, wha happen next, mama?" with a very concerned look on her face- asking about what happened next on the movie Cinderella. ADORABLE! I want to eat her cuteness all day long!)