One of These Days, I'll Learn ...

Have you ever been out somewhere and seen "those" parents?

You know ... the ones who can't seem to control their kids? Who let them run wild and don't pay any attention to them? Whose kids are running and screaming and raising their voices?

Yea ...

That was us the other night. Sort of.

M had a doctor's appointment, and while he was in there, I took the kids to the indoor Play Center to play. The appointment ran really late, and I hadn't planned accordingly. Dinner on the menu for that night was going to take an hour in the oven, and a few more minutes of prep time ... so by the time we got home and cooked dinner, it would be the kids bedtime before we were eating.

So we stopped at a relatively empty and quiet mom & pop diner on our way home.

I knew the kids were hungry. And tired. And just wanted to go, go, go. So I ordered them both, and myself as well, things that should have been pretty quick to make.

Green beans, apple sauce and a roll for L and a grilled cheese sandwich for S. I got a sandwich, my husband a quick burger.

Our food came out and the kids' food was no where in sight. [Pet Peeve: I *HATE* when a restaurant doesn't know how to manage their time and they send meals out one and then another ... send them all together, folks! So rude!!]

So the kids were getting wild. L wouldn't stay in the high chair, and it didn't have a seatbelt buckle to restrain him, either. So he spent his time trying to throw everything off the table, climbing out of the high chair and getting quite vocal.

S was not happy, wanted to run wild and started getting a little loud, and a little mouthy. She was throwing tantrums.

We were those parents. M and I kept getting fed up ... and they finally brought the kids food out, which helped a bit. L sat down to eat ... but of course, wound up wearing just as much as he ate. S ate her sandwich, but still wouldn't sit her butt still.

I was so happy when everyone was done eating. As I was getting ready to clean L up, I look over and S is dipping her fingers in a tub of butter and licking them. Seriously?! I couldn't get us out of there fast enough, and into the car.

At least then I knew we were really on our way home.

I guess for awhile, we just need to stop eating at places other than home. Really, we need to anyways, but this is just more of a push to keep us out of places other than our home kitchen. It's not good for us, its hard on the wallet sometimes, and the kids just don't know how to behave.

Have YOU ever been that parent in public?