Going Out

It's been pretty chilly around these parts lately. Yesterday it was in the 30s when I took the pooch for a walk. So, because it's been so cold we have all been going a little stir crazy in the house so we have been venturing to shall we say, interesting venues with Q in tow to get out of the house. This past weekend we checked out Lowe's. Yup, that's the life we are kicking these days. It's fun to let your kid play with saws, drills and other pointy objects when someone else's liability is on the line. It's really unbelievable how big a Lowe's is and how much enjoyable family time one can spend in a 30 acre store. Shockingly, Lowe's didn't cure the cabin fever so we decided to go out for dinner.

When you go our for dinner at 5pm with the hope your one year old will not get crabby until after you get home you are afforded the best deals (happy hour!) and you only have to body check the over 65 crowd to get the best seat in the house. There is that and with it being fairly empty your service should be improved. So we went to a quasi bar-b-que Florida restaurant and decided to order the Qster some mac n' cheese. He insisted on eating it with a big person, awfully pointy fork. I obliged because dad's are pretty much here to push the envelope, let kids do what they aren't supposed to and give them a BB gun at far too early of an age to see if the old mother's adage of "you'll shoot your eye out" is true. So, of course I gave him the giant pointy fork. I was astounded to find out that the kid actually knows how to use one effectively. He was stabbing that pasta like he's been using one for years. And he was getting them into his mouth even though his fork was four inches longer than it needed to be. So our son is officially part of the civilized world. He uses eating utensils.

He wanted down by the end of dinner so I put him on the floor and this is the kind of place that allows you to discard your peanut shells on the floor (that's where the quasi part comes in) so he's digging the crunching noise. As Q is taking his sweet time winding his way through the tables trying to get out and avoid the speedy staff (it was like frogger because no one is looking out for someone 30 inches tall) the ladies are taking notice. Everyone is lovin' on little Q. He's got his farmer red/black plaid coat on and being all adult like cruising around so they are getting a kick out of it. We finally wind our way to the entrance and with it being early there is an abundance of hostesses; approximately 5. The oooh's and ahhh's come out in full force and he's loving it. So he just stops and poses, smiling for a bit giving them enough time to soak him all in. So handsome! One wants a hug and so he waits her out and goes in for the hug. Uh-oh. We are going to have to work on our stranger danger later. He wouldn't leave. Here we are like 5 feet from the door but he can't pull himself away from the lady action. He's a chick magnet. We'll have to take him to the beach when it gets warmer.

We finally get why people have kids - so they can get the chores down faster. Here he is outside raking the lawn for me. What a great helper!