One Small Step for Woman...

one giant leap for the Campbell Clan. While I have taken all three children out of the house alone on numerous occasions, I vowed never to take them to a restaurant alone. My biggest fear was that we would be sitting nicely and eating when Noah would announce that he had to go potty. What would I do with Benj and Abby? What would I do with our food? When I had these thoughts, we were at Chicken House which also added what would I do with all the kids while ordering? Well, on Monday I had either a case of insanity or bravery and we ventured out alone. To the Chicken House, none the less. Daddy was going to be in a meeting over lunch and Noah and I agreed we needed a little something to break up our dull, stuck-in-the-house day. He suggested a restaurant and I agreed. So how did it work, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. (Take good notes in case you ever have to attempt this on your own.) I get Benjamin out of his seat, put him in the van next to Noah, undo Noah's seatbelt, and get Abby's car seat out. With that on one arm, I lower Benjamin down to the ground. Noah hops out too and grabs Benjamin's hand, while I hold the other. (This is still a new concept so there are still some kinks to work out. For instance, Noah usually grabs Benjamin with the wrong hand and then ends up walking backwards wherever we are going. And Benjamin is still getting used to walking so sometimes he just stops and Noah and I drag him a little until I convince him to move his legs again. I am sure it is pretty humerous to watch. If you are interested, I'll be sure to let you know where we headed so you can see for yourself.) So, once inside, Noah and Benjamin took off for the play area. (Noah was kind enough to hold the door open for Benj so they could both get away from me.) I got a highchair, found a table, and put Abby down (who was screaming her head off) then went in to get my boys. After wrestling Benjamin into his seat, I went to order. By the grace of God, the three of them sat still in their seats while I was gone. (I did have to run back once to plug Abby, though.) Now, I have to admit, the Chicken House is the ONLY place I would even think of leaving my children alone and it was after thoroughly studying every other patron in the joint. (Thanks to all those years of watching Law & Order, I know exactly what to watch for.) And the Chicken House acknowledges that sometimes people need help and actually delivers the food to the table without being asked. "My pleasure, ma'am," they always say. So we ate and the boys got to play. For some reason, they never fight when it is time to go and we made it out just as peacefully as we went in. (It was a little trickier on the way out because I had bags and drinks to manage as well. Thank goodness for diaper bags!) Needless to say, I was pretty pleased when we stepped foot back in the house and there were still four of us - safe and sound. Not to say I intend to do this with any regularity, but it is good to know it CAN be done.