End of an Era

Okay - maybe that's a little dramatic. But Pat and I were faced with a harsh reality last night as we attempted to go out for dinner with Josie.

We can't go out to dinner with Josie.

Well... maybe if conditions are perfect, i.e. she's been fed, has napped sufficiently and is in a happy place, then we can take her out to eat. But on a rushed and harried work night, it's just not worth it. We picked her up from daycare, scooted home to let the dog out and to grab her diaper bag, crackers and sippy cup and went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. We thought we were going to be doing dandy as we trekked up White Bear Ave at 5:30... until she started to melt down in the backseat. That should have been our signal to turn around and high-tail it for home. But no. We persisted. Things were going fine in the restaurant as she was happy to be out of her carseat and in a bright, colorful restaurant and was enjoying her crackers and milk while we waited for our food. Well, we had to wait a *little* too long and the timing was perfect for her to become bored just after our meals arrived. It really wasn't THAT bad - just not exactly a relaxing night out for us as we tried to keep her happy and to not throw everything on the floor.

It used to be so easy when she was more readily entertained and we'd smugly proclaim that we didn't know what people were talking about when they said it's hard to go out with the kids. Hmm. Lesson learned. And we need to find a babysitter :)

Otherwise, it was a lovely day. I got roses at work. Yea. :) They're beeeeuuutiful.