Seth's Outback Birthday Adventure

Eating out with the Goodmans is never dull.  Tonight's dinner at Outback for Seth's birthday was no exception.  Oh yes, I decided to suggest that we take all three kids out to dinner at a decent restaurant. Am I crazy?  Possibly.  But Seth had specifically said he wanted steak for his birthday dinner, and I decided yesterday it was probably best if I didn't cook (cough-kill) it.

For the last 24 hours I've been instilling the fear of, well, anything I could think of into the girls regarding their restaurant behavior (yes, I have the best parenting skills ever).  That worked so well that Lizzie waited to start whining until the girls and I had been seated for a whole 10 minutes, and there was still no sign of Seth.  And it wasn't like I could call him since I apparently left my phone at home.  And that's just the beginning.  Here's the highlights:

• Seth got there, told me what he wanted, then immediately went back outside to take a work phone call
• Lizzie lost the blue crayon in the black hole (literally, there was no light) under the table and was on the verge of a meltdown when Anna graciously shared hers (after mommy told her to)
• I forgot to tell the waitress to bring the kids' food out with the salads, and not to wait for the entrees.  It was close to 6:00pm and apparently my kids were starving to death.  Because that snack at 4:30 was ages ago.
• Seth's steak was tough.  So tough that when he tried to stab it for the first time with a fork, the fork did not go into the steak.  It just smashed one end of the steak down, so the other end went flying up, and the crab topping that happened to be on that end went flying onto Seth.
• By the time his replacement steak got to the table, the girls were done with dinner and antsy.  We ordered them dessert, which was apparently on the house, yay!  (Also the cheapest thing they could probably comp.)
• I had told the staff it was Seth's birthday when the girls and I came in, and that must have been forgotten during the steak fiasco because she brought the check and there was no singing or birthday dessert.  Which was actually fine because Seth decided he wanted ice cream and cake at home.
• When we got home, Seth got out of his car and informed me he had another work conference call.  So the girls went nuts because they wanted to watch their daddy open his presents.  But by the time we got home and Anna finished her homework, it was time for bed and Seth was still yelling at people on the phone.  So Seth will be waiting to open his presents until tomorrow, when the girls can watch.

Makes you want to eat out with us all the time, doesn't it?  You know you do!  Actually, it really wasn't that bad, and Seth did have a good time talking to the girls and helping them do the activities on their kid menus.  And I had a good time because I didn't have to cook a thing.  Oh, and Xavier was there, he's just not mentioned above because he was quiet, smiley, and perfect the whole time!

Happy Birthday Seth!