Calling All Mommies: Why Didn't Y'all Warn A Girl?

I enjoy all things food related...... except doing dishes.  And one of my very favorite things to do is to discover a local restaurant & enjoy it to the fullest!

Now, by local I don't mean the local Zaxby's or Subway or McDonald's.

No.  No.  No.

I mean local, like there is only one or two or possibly three (if they're really successful) locations of its kind in ALL the land!

My husband & I love going into the city (Atlanta) & finding cool eateries.  It's one of our fun ways to enjoy being in Atlanta, & all the wonders it has to offer.

I love meeting friends & having a nice, long meal with stimulating & enjoyable conversation. I love slowly savoring my meal, & soaking in the sights, the sounds, & the smells! It's heavenly!

I never want to leave Atlanta........... except, of course, when I do!

I'd keep my permanent residence in the A T L, but I'd also like to have homes (or places to park a Glamper Camper) in Lexington, Charleston, & Colorado Springs.

I seriously don't think I could ever move very far away from My DeKalb Farmer's Market or  Highland Bakery.

My very favorite meal of the day is breakfast.  So, Highland Bakery is always my "go to" eatery when meeting friends in Atlanta for breakfast.

And that is exactly where WJ & I met a college friend of mine & her son for breakfast.

The morning started out gloriously.  I was wearing one of my favorite, cool, comfortable, & stylish summer outfits, & had on a cute wedge flip flop.  It was a nice, balmy 80ish degrees.  The sun was hidden behind some clouds, but the sky was still bright blue & full of beautiful, fluffy white clouds.  Parking was easy peasy (a feat of Olympic proportions here in Atlanta.)  There was NO wait at the restaurant either.  It was going to be fabulous!

When we sat down, they had adult menus & teeny, tiny, cutesy kid menus.  WJ was so excited to have his own mini menu.  I spotted ricotta pancakes on his menu, & I just knew he'd love them!

The waitress came to take our drink order.  "What would you like to drink for you & your son?"

Oh, shoot!  By this time, I'd been thinking about a delicous decaf, non-fat latte for about 36 hours, but I had given absolutely no thought of what to order for WJ to drink.  My sweet friend ordered coffee for her & orange juice for her 3 year old son.  I knew that OJ was out of the question for my 5 year old.  He doesn't drink any juice straight-up; it's all {majorly} watered down!  Not to mention the fact that the last time I ordered OJ for him, we left a full glass on the table because he didn't like it.  Thankfully, I had the bright idea to order milk for him.  Now my son doesn't like cold milk.  He only likes it hot.  {he'll actually ask me to prepare Hot Milk for him & then he'll down the whole thing}  So, like the champ I am, I recovered quickly & ordered Hot Milk for the baby boy.  Crisis averted!  Glorious morning could continue.

Drinks were delivered, & we ordered the food.  I ordered my all-time favorite; which is their French Toast made from challah bread & served with French cream & a brown sugar butter!  I think I could take a bath in those sauces!

I had to send baby boy's Hot Milk back because it wasn't hot enough for him.  And it wasn't until our server brought back the Hot Milk that I had a frightening flash back.

You see, they served this milk to him in one of those To Go coffee cups.  Ya know, the kind with the pop on lid & the teeny tiny oval hole from which you drink your hot beverage.  We had gone to Starbucks earlier in the week, & I'd ordered WJ a hot vanilla milk.......... which he spilled all over the back seat of my car.  Even though I tried cleaning it up with a wet towel, I couldn't get all the milk up. 

Spilled milk. 

Soaked into the seat of my car. 

In the middle of a Georgia summer. 

Yes, it smells as gross as you're thinking it would.

However, I quickly jerked out of my flash back & reminded myself that we weren't in my car, traveling down the road.  WJ was sitting nicely at a breakfast table.  We were good to go.  I gave him the milk.  He used both hands to steady his drink {like we've faithfully taught him}, & he loved it!  He also loved the pancakes that were delivered to our table.  He began scarfing those puppies down.

Somewhere though, during the middle of the meal, the earth's center began to shift & things began to fall apart. 

Syrup began ending up all over the table & all over my child.  My child began interrupting adult conversation for every reason imaginable.  He asked me about going to the bathroom & when I started to take him, he informed me that he was only talking about the bathroom at our house.  What???  Huh???  So, like any desperate Mommy, I began issuing commands.  Eat your pancakes.  Quit interrupting.  Sit still.  Drink your milk. 

My friend's son began to get up out of his seat & tried to walk around.  She began calling him by his first & middle name.  That's rarely a good sign people!  So I let her handle her son.

And I tried to handle mine........... all while still trying to reclaim the glorious breakfast this was to be!  But a dark cloud was moving in.  Thunder was rumbling & lightning was flashing! 

My commands were falling on precious, little deaf ears.  So, I picked up the Hot Milk in the ToGo cup & said again, "Drink you milk."  I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but as I brought the milk toward my son's mouth, that little ivory colored plastic lid shot off the top of that cup, & WJ's hands became like an octopus' tentacles, they were all over the place.  I tried to maintain control of that little cup.  I fought & fought & fought.  I did my best acrobatic moves with that cup, but nothing helped.  Milk sloshed out & ended up dousing my skirt, my purse, & my chair.  I sat in a state of shock & awe for a moment.  I was processing what happened.  Eventually I came to, & realized I needed to clean up my child.  I looked up at him, & he was sitting next to me, dry as a bone, & calmly eating his pancakes.

Needless to say, I hopped up in a huff & puff to clean up my area....... all while my child just looked at me with those sweet, innocent, big, brown eyes & finished enjoying his breakfast.

It wasn't very long after that before my friend announced to our server, "Um, we need the check please.  Our children are beginning to become uncontrollable."

Amen! 

The End.