40th Birthday & A Proud Mummy

Right now I'm sitting in front of my Mac, the kids are back at school and a Gingerbread Latte is in my hand. Classical music is playing, the door is closed and I can start writing again, in peace! A fantastic Magic Moment in itself but not the one I want to write about today.

It was the hubby's 40th birthday on Saturday and I've been planning the celebrations for a couple of months now. His 30th hadn't gone to plan and I was fixed on this one. Nothing was going to go wrong.

On Saturday evening our family joined us for a meal at Chino Latino in Nottingham. A restaurant we've been to many times before Chino Latino turned out to be the perfect choice. We sat at the same table, chatting, and got to try each other's food. One of the great things about this restaurant is they encourage sharing. The decor is trendy and simplistic and the place is not rowdy like TGI Friday's sometimes gets. The best part is that the boys sat and enjoyed the same food as everyone else, no ordering from a children's menu.

My boys can be picky eaters; LP will say he doesn't like pizza if he doesn't like the look of one and BP will just decide he doesn't want to try new food. It can be frustrating at times but it doesn't make much difference however, at Chino Latino I knew it would. Chino's serves sushi, tempura and dim sum amongst beef, duck and pork, not really children-friendly food. I was concerned they wouldn't eat anything and the mother-in-law would have to make a trip to McDonalds on the way home.

My two champs did me proud, both of them tried anything we put on their plate, including the sushi. BP ate three whole sushi rolls, finished of Edemame (even when I'd only had a few!) and scoffed on beef fillet. He loved it all and revelled in the chance to try everything. LP loved the tempura and asked for more when it was gone. He wasn't so keen on the sushi but for a four-year-old that's understandable. He asked to try the fish cake and enjoyed it but his favourite part of the meal was when the rice came. He tried it and asked for more, I poured soy sauce onto the rice and mixed it in and LP finished off a whole bowl of the stuff! Having been concerned they wouldn't eat I was so pleased with the outcome of the evening. They'd both eaten loads, to the point that LP didn't want dessert! They wouldn't need McDonalds after all. 

The boys eating lots of food made me happy but what made me proud of both of them was their behaviour. They sat for two hours, ate food, drank coke and had perfect table manners. They thanked the servers and asked politely when they wanted more food, I didn't even have to threaten them. After the meal my boys went home with their nan and we had a night out. I was happy to let go of the 'mother stress' and relax with other adults but most of all I was pleased with the boys. They'd made the hubby's birthday much more enjoyable just by behaving themselves.

It's times like that when you realise you're doing it right. They may drive you mad all the time but they can behave when it matters and that makes it all worthwhile.

What makes you proud of your little ones?