I'm not sure when it happened, but eating out with a baby has become more of an olympic sporting event than a meal as far as I'm concerned.... that combined with a game of "Beat the Clock!" Granted, I do have a bit of an advantage since as a teacher you are trained to eat in 15 minutes or less- I still feel like I deserve a medal after my efforts taking a baby into an eating establishment by myself!
I was just talking with a friend today about the whole process (after we had just done it ourselves!) and her words pretty much pegged it. "Afterwards you think, did I enjoy my food/meal/dining experience... um I can't even remember!"
Eating out pre-baby:
1. Get a table
2. Order food
3. Talk & Savor meal with chosen company
4. Pay
5. Leave feeling great that you didn't have to clean up any dishes!
Eating out post-baby (over newborn sleep all day age):
1. Get a table
a. table must be child friendly and avoid hitting passersby with baby gear if seat is too far out in the aisle
b. strap baby into seat and assemble toys to entertain child until you can get food out (or discover there
are no straps on the seat given to you and repeat process) :)
c. simultaneously keep child from pulling on mini blinds on the window
2. Order food
a. try to figure out what you want while pulling out snacks for baby, rearranging items on table so they are
out of baby's reach, and discovering that jr. has a poopy diaper
b. try to finesse waiter with cool tricks your baby can do seeing as how he/she will probably be leaving the
table in disarray, though you try your best to minimize collateral damage :)
c. order food and 50 extra napkins too
3. Talk & Savor meal with chosen company
--- this just makes me laugh! I am good if I can remember the story I am trying to tell! It will take me the whole meal to finish one thought most likely. Continue multitasking.... ---
4. Pay
a. If you have made it this far you have also made it through every scrap of food you have brought for
baby in the diaper bag and he/she is politely letting you know the highchair is getting boring
b. Attempt to do math to figure out tip and such (again I have not mastered the multitasking, clearly!) :)
5. Leave feeling great that you didn't have to clean up any dishes!
a. Still feel good about this, but you are also feeling slightly guilty about the amount of smashed
food particles under your child's seat, as well as the pile of wipes, napkins, etc.
Then if you are really lucky (again speaking from recent personal experience)...
Little one may let you see their lunch all over again on the way home. Not a fan of peas the second time around... :)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Pass the Peas Please
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Mommy Guilt
So I just have to take a quick second to rant a bit and get something off my chest. Emme and I have been going to Story Time at the local public library. I really enjoy it and it is a great program. Emme loves the songs, chants, and stories, and then they offer a little play time at the end for all the babies.
The routine is pretty much the same every week. The first thing you do is introduce yourself and your baby, how old he/she is, and somethine new they have learned. This isn't really a problem, as babies seem to pick up a new trick every day-- but today I was starting to feel a little intimdated by other people's "tricks." I don't really know why but there were lots of babies today in Emme's age range, and the stories from each mom kept getting bigger and bigger- like one of those fishing tales.
It sounded sort of like this...
Me: "I'm Janna, and this is Emme. She is 8 months old and she just started clapping recently."
Moms: "Awww! So sweet..."
Mom #2: " I'm --- and this is ---. He is 9 months old and walking all over the place! I can't hardly get him to sit down!"
Mom #3: "I'm --- and this is ---. She is 9 months old and saying "Baby... Mama... and Dada!"
Mom #4: "I'm --- and this is ---. He is 8 months old and crawling all over the house. He can also push behind his walking toys!"
Mom#5: "I'm --- and this is ---. She is 9 months old and she just started doing somersaults from her classes at the Little Gym." (at this point she proceeds to show us how her daughter can do that- quite impressive).
Anyway, after Story Time was over, I left feeling somewhat defeated. I love being around other moms, but sometimes it feels like a competition- and I don't like that feeling. All the tricks sort of piled up on me this week and I was feeling like, "Man! I'm behind! How to I get Emme to do all of that?!?" --Breathe deeply--
So now I'm trying to shrug off the need to compare and just enjoy the stage Emme is in right now. End rant.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunny Days
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Our first trip away...
Ben and I were in Branson, MO with the choir kids last weekend. We were so blessed to have my mom come down and take care of Emme. I knew she would be in great hands and that helped ease any fears I had of leaving her for 4 days! We had a great time. The weather was absolutely beautiful and even though we were surrounded by high schoolers (they are really excellent students) we felt like we were on vacation. We are always surprised by the amount of things you can squeeze in to a short amount of time without a diaper bag, feedings, car seats, and such! We visited Lamberts (home of the thrown rolls), Silver Dollar City, the Hard Luck Cafe (the servers sing to you), Dixie Stampede, and stayed at a gorgeous resort (we were quite impressed with the accommodations given it was a school-sponsored trip). Of course I don't have any photos to show- but I promise you it was a phenomenal trip. I would love to go back- Branson is a super family friendly town. The drive back on Sunday was the only part that got me! By that point I was SOOO ready to see my little girl!
While we were gone my mom took Emme to take pictures in the bluebonnets. Mom said that Emme was more interested in examining the flowers than smiling- but I love this shot :)
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Emme's First Easter!
