Don't worry, I'm a professional.

Ok, so we'll call this a stock photo. It wasn't taken today but you didn't know that. It was taken 3 wks ago on my birthday by my friend, Courtney. But it was taken at the sushi go round, which is where we went today, so I felt justified in using it to commemorate an event when I should have had my camera.

The first thing I did w all 3 kids was grocery shopping at the commissary. Should have taken my camera for that too. You see, sometimes the thought of ordinary tasks + 3 kids = me breaking out in a cold sweat. Scratch that. I actually AM sweating bc it is so freaking hot here. Unfortunately the heat also causes us to be indoors a lot so we are all going crazy. I know you've heard me mention this before...

Back in the day (about 7 wks ago) eating out was at least a weekly occurrence. That's why these days, eating out has become a rarity. A treat. Something I could potentially schedule as the 'activity for the day' when Oliver asks 'What are we doing today?' Eating out can now be considered the main event. Beginning w the very exciting drive there, closing w the equally as exciting drive home. Voila!

Ryan went to work. I was sick of being inside. I had been avoiding making any sort of grocery list so I wouldn't have to go to the store. I decided we'd go for lunch. It has to be somewhere fast. Not too packed at lunch time. A place I'd been before, clearly. Somewhere parking wouldn't be a pain & oh yeah, some place off base. Sushi go round was my obvious choice. Especially since it went so well 3 wks ago. But that was w a big group of gals. This time, I was on my own.

I laid out the ground rules bf we went in. No touching, no acting crazy. We were all alone & all together in this one. This was simply a test run that could determine the fate of our future eating out endeavors. I promised, if unsuccessful, we'd never eat out again.

Things went smoothly I'd say. We sat, we ordered, we ate. Elliot slept. No one looked at me w pity or irritation. At least if they did, I didn't notice. Like a hawk, I don't think I took my eyes of the kids for a second. As soon as we sat down Mimi stood & said, I have to go to the potty. Well, you can't, I said. You can't. You just have to wait.

Till when?

Till... it's time to leave.

This worked for the first half of the meal when, once the food was no longer winning the battle of the bladder, she took a line from my play book. She tilted her head to the side, blinked her eyes & said flatly, I guess if I can't go to the bathroom, I'll just have to pee in my pants. She said it in the way I would say, I guess if you aren't going to eat those carrots you'll just be hungry.

Luckily we were seated right next to the bathrooms. I was able to cover both zones, bathroom & table, as I darted in & out of the half curtains covering the bathroom entrance. But like all things there is a learning curve & today I learned - go to the bathroom first thing.