Eating Out With Toddlers

Well lately I try to avoid taking Z to restaurants if I can help it. This is pretty easy to do since we don't have the money to be eating out right now. However, on occasion we do find ourselves at a restaurant with our sweet baby boy. In fact, Z and I have been out to eat twice in the last two days and it has been an adventure!

Back in the day I loved to take Z out to eat. He would lay in his carrier or sit in the high chair and chomp on a teething biscuit. Everyone would comment on how cute and well behaved he was and it was really fun to show him off ;) Now the game has changed! It is all about how fast can we get our food so that we can get out of the restaurant before we bother the people around us. What is the point?

About 6 months ago (after Z started walking) I vowed to never take him out to eat without another capable adult. This made my grandmother very sad because we use to be her ticket to lunch every two weeks. Eating out with Z has to be a tag team event. One person eats (or inhales) while the other tends to feeding/entertaining Z. Then the person who ate (and now has indigestion) takes Z for a stroll around the restaurant as the second person gets to inhale their food (sometimes alone). What fun!!!! As a compromise to my grandmother, who was not able to participate in the tag team event, we bring take-out to her house and let Z run around while we try to eat. It seems to work but she misses getting out and about.

Well my grandmother is off to Florida for the rest of the winter so the last two days have been about goodbye celebrations. Yesterday we went to lunch and today breakfast. Z is an extremely picky eater (I will address this in an upcoming entry) and proceeded to throw most of his meals onto the floor. He has also started this loud squealing thing when he thinks you are not paying attention to him and so he would do this (much to the enjoyment of the fellow patrons). I love to go out to eat but after eating out the last two days....I really do not see the point of taking a toddler (especially mine) out to a restaurant. I am a person who likes to relax, have a glass of wine and a good conversation. When Z is there the meal is very fast paced and chaotic. We get so many looks from the people around us and the wait staff seemed "thrilled" to have a toddler in their section :)

So family and friends....please know that as much as we love going out to eat, I think we are going to take a break for awhile. When Z is involved, take-out is everyones best option :)