My Birthday

Last weekend was my birthday.  It was kind of a big one.  Tyler worked it out so we were kid-free from 2:00 Saturday afternoon through the evening.  He took me out and bought me not one but two new dresses.  After that, it was off to the dinner of my choosing.  I chose a little French cafe in Evanston, not too far from where we were shopping.  Tyler got the rack of lamb and I got the pear-shaped chicken.  They weren't kidding about the "pear-shaped" part.  It was all delicious, especially the sweet potatoes and wilted greens it was sitting on...so good!

On Sunday, we went to church.  After church we decided to go to IKEA and then out to dinner with the kids.  After quite the debacle at a restaurant last fall, we've been working on our "how to eat out like civilized people" skills.  We thought it was time to try out our new skills at an actual sit-down restaurant.

They all did really well!  They didn't get up and try to climb under their chairs or run around the restaurant.

They didn't yell (except for the occasional out burst by Elias, but he even kept those to a minimum).

And maybe the best and most surprising, they all ate their food without complaint.  It was awesome! One of the ladies seated near us even complimented us on how well-behaved our children were as she was leaving.  Best present ever!

Albert was very entertained (and entertaining) during our outing.  During this trip he figured out that he could feed himself those garlic mashed potatoes using that butter knife he's holding.  He ended up eating more than half of the plate that way.  Apparently we need to give him more practice with utensils at home because he was loving learning that new skill.
So thanks to my parents for funding our trip to Olive Garden! It was a smashing success and a good time (and a good meal) was had by all.