Dinner Out

One Sunday afternoon, after a day of errands, I decided that I'd had enough cooking for the week and suggested that we go out for dinner. This is a rare occasion for us as one girl is a picky eater and the other is hardly easily contained in a high chair for any length of time. We chose Montanas and went early (about 5 pm) and honestly expected to have to make a mad dash for the car shortly after wolfing down our food as the girls's behaviour, while not really all that bad, would still be beyond what John and I deem acceptable in a family dining environment.

For the first time, we were pleasantly surprised! Meredith sat and coloured and put on the silly moose antler hat and even ate half of her grilled cheese and a handful of John's fries (yes, I'm happy that my kid will eat a fry). Charlotte was relatively calm for the entire hour and scarfed down most of her pasta and tomato sauce. After three years of not really being able to enjoy a restaurant meal with our kids we have finally turned the corner. Halleluiah!

Of course, this lead to the realisation that it isn't cheap for a family of four to dine out. And that's with no drinks and two of the diners eating off the kids' menu. I remember when my Dad would take us to McD's when I was a kid. We were allowed to go out for dinner only once a month and my Dad preferred McD's because it was fast and, of course, cheap. The four of us would eat for under $20 (including a soft serve dessert) and be done in 20 minutes. Ahh...those were the days.

The next step: get the girls to like Thai. Then I'll be in dining out heaven :)
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