Wednesday, September 9, 2009

may I take your order?

We are a family that loves to go out to eat. One of our favorite ways to treat ourselves is to eat out at a restaurant. We've been taking the kids out to eat since they were each infants and as a result they know how to behave in a restaurant which makes the outing enjoyable for us all. Granted, there was a time when our choice of venue was limited to Friendly's and Brighams but now that the kids are older we take them everywhere.

All this dining out has made playing "restaurant" one of my kids absolute favorite games. They play it inside at their play kitchen. They play it outside at the small table set under the trees. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. They play the parts of the chef, the server and the customers. They write up signs, create menus and even give us mints at the end of our meals. Most of the time, Joe and I get to play the role of customer. It never fails to crack me up when Katie saunters over to the table with a small notepad and pencil and says "Hi...I'm Katie and I'll be taking care of you today. What do you want to eat?"

When we do go out to eat (in a real restaurant that serves food made out of...food...not playdough or dirt) I always tease Joe about his choice of entree because he is very predictable and depending on where we are I could order for him with my eyes shut and one hand tied behind my back. Me...I'm more adventurous, and am always looking to try something new and different. But it seems my kids find me just as predictable as I do Joe. The other day I decided to try out a new restaurant that just happened to open in my backyard. I was greeted and taken to my table. My server Katie came over and pulled out her pad of paper and pencil and said "Oh, it's you...wine and cannoli?"!!!

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