Family Dinner

It was a Monday night; the husband had the day off so we decided sushi was in order for dinner that night. Oh man, can I get down with some sushi. Nom nom. We packed up Jax’s backpack and headed out for dinner. Miraculously we found a parking spot right across the street for the restaurant. Score!

I’ve eaten out enough with Ajax to know that no matter how early I order food for him, it’s never soon enough. So I always bring squeezes (fruit + veggies pouches, applesauce) and “yogurt chips” and goldfish, if there’s still some left in the house. Distracting Jax with food I know he will always eat is crucial to not having a total meltdown in the restaurant. At least not within the first fifteen minutes of being there.

We order edamame for us and steamed dumplings for Jax, and of course my glass of wine; tonight it’s Riesling. We chatted and felt young because we’re eating dinner out and our kid isn’t throwing food at the table next to us. Once the dumplings arrive, Jax decides that he only wants to eat the filling in the dumplings, which makes for a real nice mess. We don’t share the edamame because I’m weirdly worried about the soy content for Jax.

Our six (yes, six) rolls of sushi arrive and we pop out the iPhone to distract Ajax for a few minutes while we stuff our faces with sushi. He’s watching Baby Einstein, which used to be his absolute favorite, but now it’s getting less and less interesting to him, so we’re lucky if we get a few minutes of peaceful eating.  Still, it’s good sushi, even if eaten with one hand while catching the yogurt chips being flung on the ground with the other. Talent, my friends, talent.

We walk out of the downtown restaurant after finishing almost all of our sushi and since it’s such a beautiful night, we head towards one of my favorite ice cream shops. Ajax points out all of the trucks and bicycles as we walk the few blocks to the ice cream shop. He says “ice cream, ice cream” over and over when we tell him where we’re headed. It’s not his first time. I get worried about soy content from veggies, but sugar from ice cream… no problem.

It’s funny to see Jax run back and forth between chairs and our table, asking for “bites” and laughing. A few bits of ice cream and it’s a full on sugar high. Giggles also come with the sugar high. Sweet, innocent giggles. We’re downtown. We ate sushi and stopped in at a local creamery! Ajax is laughing as he rides on my husband’s shoulders as we walk back to the car, pointing out papa’s eyes, and his ears, and his teeth. It’s a sweet night.

As we start the drive home, we laugh. It’s 6:15pm.