It's all relative, relatives

This weekend my parents in law came to visit ... kind of anyway. My father in law was here to play golf with his friends, and was gone during the day.  Since they used to live here a while back they still have friends in town, so they had plans every night, except for tonight. Tonight we all went out. We went to J. Alexanders, the restaurant where Lionel and I used to go all the time before the girls came along. It was an early dinner, because Isabella gets really cranky when it is past her bed time.

Once at the restaurant we ordered the girl's food right away. They do not have much patience, so it's best to keep them occupied, and keep things moving along. Actually I should clarify that Sofia does pretty well at this point, but Bella does not stay seated for long. Not surprisingly, the menu for the night was chicken tenders, french fries, and ketchup on the side. My in laws do not ever eat ketchup, so I think that seeing Bella happily dip her fries in it was not a welcomed sight. They were also slightly horrified seeing her get the food all over her face, drop her cheerios AND the container all over the floor. My mother in law was also visible annoyed when Isabella started shaking her head and screaming about something, even though the noise of the place pretty much muffled her crazy ways.

Bella finally got sick of staying in her seat before everybody was ready to leave so she, Sofia, and I walked outside while Lionel and my in laws finished their meal and waited for the check. When we got up I could see Bella's big old mess under her seat, an obvious reminder that we have turned into "those people" whose kids leave big messes behind them.

Apparently the disaster did not go unnoticed by my mother in law when they finally got up. According to Lionel, she looked horrified and embarrassed, and even apologized to the waitress when they left.

The thing is, that was actually a pretty good and I would almost say "relaxing" dinner for us. Sofia was very good, and Bella stayed in her seat until I finished my meal. She did not throw a thing, did not spit her food, and did not spill her drink all over herself. But my parents in law are not really used to the mess. So it's all relative. We were happy, but I think they couldn't wait to get out of there.