Wanted: A Babysitter

Consider this a 'Help Wanted' ad . . . because we aren't taking our 2 kids out to dinner again for a while, so we'll need a sitter to watch one (or both!) the next time we go.

Last night, we went out to dinner to celebrate Julie's (Jim's sister) 26th birthday. Seems easy enough, right? An early dinner at a PF Changs about 30 minutes from our house. Yeah, we have two young kids, but really . . . how hard could that be?

Hurdle # 1: Getting to the restaurant

Jim's sister is dating a great guy, and he owns a townhome in Suwanee, GA where they spend a majority of their time together. Suwanee is about 40 miles from where we live, but better than a 90 minute drive on a weekday evening. Being the great sister-in-law that I am, I suggested that we meeting somewhere in the middle for our dinner to give Julie and Greg a break from driving all the way to our side of town. But, that meant to meet a little after 6:00pm, Jim had to get home from work at a good time, I had to pack up for 2 kids, and we had to head out into the evening traffic.

Not too big of a deal. This we have done before. Besides, it was Julie's birthday . . . I wanted to make it a little easier for her.


Hurdle # 2: Kids Menu

When deciding on where to eat, Julie mentioned that PF Changs sounded good. Her only concern was what Meg would eat at a Chinese restaurant. (My only concern was Weight Watchers, but I can suck it up for a night.) I wasn't too worried about Meg. I was certain they would have a kids menu . . . at a chain like PF Changs, wouldn't you think they have a kids menu? Some nuggets, a grilled cheese, maybe some kids version of chinese noodles? I was convinced that something would be suitable for Meg, so PF Changs was our restaurant of choice.

We arrived. No kids menu.

Nothing, na-da.

Okay, we can manage that. Jim and I found some things on the menu that (a) wouldn't blow our diet for the night and (b) Meg would most likely nibble at. She won't starve . . . we figured she'd eat something. Worst case: we'd give her something else for a snack when we got home.

Hurdle # 3: Potty Breaks

Meg asked to go to the potty FOUR TIMES. FOUR. She actually went potty three of the four times. Taking a 2-year-old to the potty that many times while you are trying to enjoy an evening is just annoying.

I love that Meg is potty trained, but MAN were diapers easier!

Hurdle # 4: Evening Fussiness

I had to nurse a crying Kate as soon as we made it through that evening traffic and settled in at the restaurant. "I'm gonna whip it out" -- that's what I say when I have to nurse in front of a crowd. Julie is used to it -- and so is Jim -- so everyone seemed OK with Kate having her dinner while we decided on ours.

After eating, Kate was plesant for all of, I'll say, 20 minutes. Then she cried. Cried when held, cried when put down, cried when toys were offered to her. I had to leave the restaurant with her twice . . . once during dinner, and once during dessert. I didn't even get to sing Happy Birthday to Julie, the whole point of our dinner.

"How much longer to we have to be here?" I kept thinking. I love Julie -- I really do -- but a crying baby and a toddler with a weak bladder will make anyone want to get the hell out of anywhere that is uncomfortable.

Hurdle # 5: Appetizer, Dinner, Dessert

The meal took for-freakin'-ever. WAY too long for anyone like me, with 2 kids and a short temper. We sat down around 6:30 pm and got in the car to go home at 8:30 pm. A TWO HOUR dinner with two kids, 2 and under.

You know the funny part? Our waitress said she had two kids . . . and one of them is two years old. "Really?" I'm thinking. "They must be angels because you'd think anyone with 2 kids would appreciate my situation and HURRY IT UP A LITTLE!"

The first time I looked at my watch thinking, "When can we get out of here?" it was 7:30 pm. I had to make it through an entire hour longer. It seemed like our dinner lasted for 2 days instead of 2 hours.

Hurdle # 6: Getting Home

I don't think I even have to say it . . . but I will. Kate cried the entire 30 minute car ride home. No reprieve, no break. 30 solid minutes.

And Meg was 'singing' in the back seat, at the top of her voice: "I can't wait to be KING!!" (from The Lion King, you know the song).

When we got home, both girls went directly up to bath. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. STRAIGHT to bath. Then straight to bed. By 9:30, everyone was in bed and asleep. Including ME. I was so tired, so drained, so OVER trying to take 2 kids anywhere. And I was so bummed because I was supposed to meet a girlfriend for coffee at 8:30pm . . . which I totally had to bail on because I was just leaving the 2 hour dinner when we should have been having coffee. That bummed me out and certainly didn't help my mood.

The moral of the story: we'll be eating home a little bit more these days.

Eating out for the Dahlbys just got about $25 more expensive . . . because we now will factor in the cost of child care when considering a meal out. The next time I don't prepare my own dinner, I sincerely hope that I'm looking across the table at only my loving husband . . . and that my kids are somewhere else driving someone else mad for a little bit.

And Jim and I still think we want another kid?! After nights like last night, I wonder how crazy we really are.