Monsters...

Last night, since we were all feeling better, Carl and I decided to take Cale out to eat. However since Sears was having a sale, we decided that we needed to check out some appliances before eating. Cale is in the walking stage right now which makes it really difficult to take him into stores for more than a brief period of time. For the first 5 minutes he was okay, but then he started squirming so much that we could barely hold him. Knowing this was probably a bad idea, we gave in anyway and put him down. He was so fast and didn't stay in one place for long. We spent the whole time chasing after him, searching for the locations of items that he had pulled off the shelf, and passing him back and forth to one another. I kept wondering if we were those parents. You know the ones. The ones the Sears employees probably complained about later. The ones that were unknowingly getting sideways glances from other customers. The ones that let their child run wild causing commotion. I think that might've been us last night (~Cringe~). After finally making a decision on a microwave, dishwasher, and oven, we purchased our items and were out of there. We chose to eat at LaHuerta's because we've found it is probably the loudest, most chaotic place in town. This mixes well with a small baby. One thing you'll learn when you become a parent is that you have to choose restaurants wisely. Quiet, dimly lit restaurants...baaaad idea.

Cale has a good track record with LaHuerta, so we eat there fairly often. From the charismatic Hispanic waiters racing around the restaurant in all directions, to the ear-splitting birthday chant that always mangages to be sung before the end of any meal at LaHuerta's, there's a lot to keep a baby entertained. This time was no different. Except that Cale arrived already having pent up energy that he needed to get out, but had not really been given the chance at Sears. Being the "prepared mom" that I am (haha) I had the little sticky mat for the table laid out, cheerios in hand, and chicken rings with carrots ready for Cale's dinner. Before I knew it, every (partially eaten, but then spit out) carrot and cheerio was on the floor, the green mat, that I had so carefully placed to keep the germs away, was being pulled up, the sippy cup was thrown across the restaurant at the feet of another set of diners, and my water was spilled everywhere. One year olds only look sweet and innocent. They're actually miniature monsters in disguise, capable of creating havoc and embarrassing parents in a matter of minutes. So, after eating quickly, we took our little monster home for a little play time and then bed.

Somehow, I love Friday nights.