IHOP - Come hungry, leave happy.

So yesterday afternoon Chad left for work around 2:45pm and I continued to paint my little socks off. Around 5pm Benjamin woke up from his nap and I decided that there was no way I was going to haul 3 kids to the grocery store, so we loaded up the van to go get a bite to eat. I racked my brain trying to think of a place where I could be waited on, that was cheap, and had kid friendly food, then it hit me, IHOP! Pancakes here we come. We pulled up and I gave my usual "use your manners, I expect you to be well behaved, don't kill each other; yada yada yada" speech that I always give them before we enter into public. We were walking up the sidewalk and Noah said "Ooooooo I love this place!", yay, score 1 for mom!

We sat down and the kids began to color their pages that they get, I let them both pick what they wanted, and they both agreed that they wanted the "Rooty Jr." which is a very yummy pancake covered in strawberries and whipped cream, with bacon and scrambled egg(see pic). Benjamin and I had pancakes. Our food came out and both Ariel and Noah oooooooed when they saw their whipped cream, it was hilarious. We all dug in and it was great. After Ariel and Noah ate ALL of thier food, which never happens, and Benjamin and I cleaned our plates, we were sitting there just enjoying being together, having a nice conversation, when an older couple walked up to our table. The lady says to me "Maam, excuse me, but I just wanted to tell you that you have the most well behaved children." If you could have seen the look on my face, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry. She just stood there waiting for me to reply, I said "well, tonight they are! Thank you!"

I have listened to many many mothers tell stories like this one, and have been patiently waiting my turn, only to be disappointed by the many trips to the bathroom with a screaming child in tow! Well, Noah must have read my mind, because after the couple walked away he looked at me and said, "Mom, I bet you have been dreaming about someone saying that to you for a long time." Yes Noah, I have, and now my dream has come true. I came to IHOP hungry, but left very happy(the pancakes made me happy too).

After praising them all profusely, we paid our bill and got back in the van, headed home for baths and a movie, it was one of the best nights I have ever had. I love being a mom, but sometimes it really seems like heaven right here on earth!