I am going to pat myself on the back and call myself a trooper!

All week I have been anticipating taking the kids out for lunch on Friday.  I wondered whether I was biting off more than I can chew; two 18 month olds (give or take), a pub, a tiring week of off and on napping, schedules that don't quite match up yet with each child and lunchtime, which has been a bit of a struggle lately, as some days they eat like a horse and some days they throw ALL of their food on the floor or at me.

Needless to say when I asked their parents, they were happy for me to take them out.  One gave the best reaction when I asked, by chuckling, telling me it's hard when TWO parents take one child out and that she wished I had a video camera to record it all.  I was feeling the same way she was, but I wanted to try anyway.  The worst that could happen, is that they would leave fed, but antsy, the restaurant floor would be a mess and I would have to pack up my entire lunch, eat when we got home, and apologize to anyone else who was dining there in case we "ruined" their meal.

So today we set off.  I had prepared EVERYTHING I could possibly imagine to make this the most enjoyable experience for all of us.  I had them changed, snacked, watered (sounds funny describing it that way) and ready to go by 10:30.  I packed a bag with diapers, wipes, Cole's epi pens, bibs, crayons, colouring pages, sippy cups, craisins, crackers, two flip books, my camera, my phone, and a tupperware container full of their usual "starter food": cucumber wedges, snap peas, corn, broccoli and ham and chicken for Cole as he has allergies that I just wouldn't want to chance anything other than fries at this point unless it was guaranteed to be nut, dairy and egg free.

By the time we got to the pub at 11 (so nice it's open early), they were so excited when we got in and I sat them in the high chairs.  They said "Hi" 10x over to the older gentleman that was sitting at the table by the bar, and the waitress behind the counter.  I strapped them in and felt confident, mostly because the waitress told me that I could do it, she had faith in me and if worse came to worse, she would take one of the kids, help me dress them while I dressed the other and packed them up to go home (now that's service, and YES I left a tip!).

The kids started with their colouring books and crayons at the same time, letting them pick at whatever they wanted to eat in the tupperware while they coloured and we waited for their food.  I had never seen them eat so much, and so willingly, which made me start to worry that I was ordering food that was going to go to waste.  Once lunch arrived, I took their books and crayons, telling them they could have them back once they ate lunch, chopped their food and gave them each a plate (a real one) and a fork (an adult one).  The look on their faces was incredible!  I was terrified they were going to drop it or smash it, but instead, they just kept going, "WOOOWWW!  WOOOWWW!" and ate away like champs.

I happily ate my WHOLE lunch while still piping hot and enjoyed every moment of it, taking pictures of them enjoying themselves and feeling proud of what was accomplished.  After they finished eating, they "read" their books (which EVERY customer thought was ADORABLE) and babbled away saying, "DAT? DAT?" a million times over at anything new they saw.

Before we left, a Mom with her daughter told me that I was very brave, she could barely do it with one and that I had the most well behaved, well mannered children she'd seen in a long time.  I told her that I would love to take the credit for that, but that their parents should be very proud of them, as I was just the nanny.  She abruptly stopped me, thanked me for what I do for someone else's children and told me that no one should ever refer to themself as "just the nanny", as we help raise, mold and teach these children just as much, sometimes more than the parents depending on how long are days are and how many of them we work.  I humbly took some credit, as today was a lot of work, but well worth it.

I kissed Cayenne and Cole, put their winter gear back on, thanked them for a nice lunch, to which they each gave me a kiss, a HUGE hug and a smile back (I almost had a tear, realizing we all felt proud and happy).  It was ALMOST perfect.  I left with everyone saying goodbye to them, telling me how adorable they are and wishing we came back soon, literally.  I ended their day with laughter when the perfect moment ended our DATE :)

Cayenne refused to get into the stroller, started crying when we had to leave (guess she REALLY was having fun) and I had to push the double stroller out of the pub, while football carrying her in my left arm kicking and screaming!  The manager held the door and asked me if I was okay, to which I replied, "We're perfect, and we'll be fine once we get outside, thanks for an amazing lunch".  He laughed his whole way back in stopping at the door, watching me try to buckle her in!

What a fun day, a fun memory and I feel so blessed to have these kids in my life, especially for the parents to allow me to share in such precious moments of their development!

                                                     Now that's multi-tasking at it's best!

                
                                                          What are we doing L-Anne?

                                                        Really?  We're having lunch here?